This Is Life With Lisa Ling

[[Wh...]]

FG and Mon Pilote .. you two made me cry.  I don't know why but thanks for sharing.  It's such a desperate situation and we get a TV program and it's like being offered a drink of water after being lost in the desert for a very long time.  We will take that one little drink. 

[[mo...]]

Oh Whoopsie, you are family (()).

[[Wh...]]

Oh Whoopsie, you are family (()).

 

That's so sweet MP. 

 

We are offered a sip but we really need the whole dammit glass full. 

[[ma...]]

That makes sense. I have been in a program for PTSd for awhile and so I have 3 psychiatrists and three therapists, and after they rapid tapered me off of my benzo, it took me 6 months to convince 2/3 of them that the benzo "might" be playing a role. OF course none of them know what to do about it. A few now believe. But that just makes them ineffectually sad. My mom sees me every day and it took her months to come around. no one WANTS to believe this; I think because they don't know what to do as result.

 

I'm surprised after 50 years no (few?)  family member or friend of someone afflicted who is in research has even thought to make this their area of interest. Seems like every oncologist had a parent or sibling die of cancer or go through treatment. I get that that wouldn't necessarily result in a "cure" but to just not have any real sustained interest is disquieting. There are conditions that afflict a tiny minority of people that are much better understood than this.

 

I think it's because most times benzo victims themselves don't know the problem is the benzo. Cancer victims know they have cancer but benzo victims are usually unaware the benzo is harming them, they were told they have an underlying condition and they have believed it. Another reason is that cancer is widely recognized and cancer research is well funded whereas the problem with benzos has not yet been fully acknowledged by medical professionals (much less by the public). Looking at this problem more or less equates to going against the medical establishment.

[[Ch...]]

Link to the documentary has been added; top right of the board. Follow the eyes——> 

[[Cu...]]

Link to the documentary has been added; top right of the board. Follow the eyes——> 

 

I see it's up there....I was member suggesting it.  Thank You, from me & hopefully, other bb's will find this info. now, as well as find the special helpful/validating & maybe will pass along to loved ones' trying to understand. 

 

I haven't seen this episode trailer.  I don't know how members have viewed it.  I've clicked on the instagram link & that was a trailer for the series, not this particular episode.  -  It probably is like a grain of sand, but at least it's a start to raise public awareness, which is actually more than I'd anticipated, thinking this wouldn't receive any recognition at all, until the opioid crisis is better addressed & managed, since that's taking young lives. 

 

 

 

[[Qu...]]

I agree. Except there is a basic and fundamental error at play here. Even the drug companies say don't take this stuff longer that 4 weeks. They are coy about it, but still, they write it down. And yet many doctors ignore or are ignorant of that fact, and they tell us it is safe to take it for however long. That disconnection is at the center of all this.

 

My only understanding of this is that treating someone for the underlying causes of their depression or anxiety or whatever is extremely difficult and time consuming. Someone would have had to work with me, talk to me me, listen to me, and probably for quite some time. Not everyone is willing to do that. So here's a pill.

[[mo...]]

Link to the documentary has been added; top right of the board. Follow the eyes——> 

 

I see it's up there....I was member suggesting it.  Thank You, from me & hopefully, other bb's will find this info. now, as well as find the special helpful/validating & maybe will pass along to loved ones' trying to understand. 

 

I haven't seen this episode trailer.  I don't know how members have viewed it.  I've clicked on the instagram link & that was a trailer for the series, not this particular episode.  -  It probably is like a grain of sand, but at least it's a start to raise public awareness, which is actually more than I'd anticipated, thinking this wouldn't receive any recognition at all, until the opioid crisis is better addressed & managed, since that's taking young lives.

 

Thank you CuzKK, I do appreciate your presence here. I'm sort of hanging on by my fingernails and you have helped me feel better many times. I think you made some good posts today, don't want you to feel overlooked and ignored. It's been survival this spring and summer for me. I hope to be able to connect with you more as my load at home hopefully lightens. Thank you for your music contributions and the light and color, and all the support and good morale you add to BB.

 

I'm on my Mac now (finally) as of minutes ago, and not just an older iPhone, so hopefully posting should be more achievable and fluid for me sometimes now. The HP/Windows situation, what a challenge. Things that some people don't have, but still... things are challenging enough for me. I'd hate for it to be worse, and it certainly could be and almost was many times. I know I'm not alone in this kind of sentiment.

[[ma...]]

I agree. Except there is a basic and fundamental error at play here. Even the drug companies say don't take this stuff longer that 4 weeks. They are coy about it, but still, they write it down. And yet many doctors ignore or are ignorant of that fact, and they tell us it is safe to take it for however long. That disconnection is at the center of all this.

 

Yes, it's amazing and to me it shows the degree of denial of the medical establishment. You can't imagine how many doctors have told me to not pay attention to the drug literature, that drug companies exaggerate to protect themselves, etc.

 

My only understanding of this is that treating someone for the underlying causes of their depression or anxiety or whatever is extremely difficult and time consuming. Someone would have had to work with me, talk to me me, listen to me, and probably for quite some time. Not everyone is willing to do that. So here's a pill.

Yes, they were taught to treat people with meds and if you take the meds off  the equation they don't know what to do. That and also if you keep on being sick they keep on earning money. Many don't like this to be said but the reality is that it's a twisted incentive.

 

 

[[Qu...]]

But when a patient you've known all their life, and who you've treated forever, comes to you and says I want to get off this medication, and you say ok, stop taking it. So they do, and then they come back and they say I'm in hell, I can't stop pacing, I haven't slept in 2 weeks, blood is pouring out of my eyes, whatever...and you look at them and say, "must be an underlying condition." What condition would that be? At the point where the symptoms are so severe as to boarder on the psychotic, and they can be almost instantly relieved by reinstating the drug....that seems to me to be the moment when you start to rethink prescribing this stuff.

 

There is something pathological at work, and it isn't with the patients.

And then you meet great doctors who say, how the hell did they give you that stuff? And you are just left knowing that your life was ruined by the luck of the draw.

[[su...]]

Hey guys in the documentary they name a medical hospital that says it should not be used for more than a couple weeks or something along this line. I have to watch again for the exact quote but it was a doctor in the psych dept at that exact hospital that put me on it long term 7 years ago.  I moved after maybe 2 or 3 years and was kept on it but I don't think this doctor had plans of tapering me back off or anything after several years.  That doctor was terrible for several reasons but I just don't understand how there are so many disconnects in this world sometime.

[[Tr...]]

What I would like to see emphasized is the crucially vital understanding of a " slow taper" when attempting to get off these drugs. Drs often don't believe us when we describe the horrific sxs when withdrawing. We are perceived as addicts and treated as such. It's criminal and I wish to God someone would bring that to light. I would hope that addiction and dependence are brought up each being two different animals. They are not equal. I would also like to see attention paid to the victims of these drugs and the lack of patience and empathy for the suffering we go through trying to withdraw from these drugs rather than the entire focus being on how harmful they are to the body, while that's important there is much more that needs to come to light here.

Trish

[[Fl...]]

I agree. Except there is a basic and fundamental error at play here. Even the drug companies say don't take this stuff longer that 4 weeks. They are coy about it, but still, they write it down. And yet many doctors ignore or are ignorant of that fact, and they tell us it is safe to take it for however long. That disconnection is at the center of all this.

 

They tell you not to take it longer than 4 weeks but they don't tell you that it is possible to suffer from painful, debilitating health issues that can last for months or years after you stop taking it. So what good is that, really?

 

I was taking a PPI for acid reflux. I asked my doctor if it was ok to take long term,and if so why does the package say not to take for longer than 2 weeks. She said "They just say that because they don't want patient's diagnosing themselves. It is fine to take it long term."

 

Years later I come to find out that PPIs can cause vitamin absorption issues and other problems, which is the real reason why they aren't supposed to be taken long term. But they don't put any of that on the package so no one pays any attention to it.

[[In...]]

I’d just like to know the time.

 

We all don’t live on the east coast. I’m in Utah, and that is Mountain time.

 

The CNN website is somewhat difficult to navigate. And I’m usually rather good at navigating websites.

 

So if it 10 pm Eastern Time, that’s 8 pm here. Right?

[[pi...]]

I’d just like to know the time.

 

We all don’t live on the east coast. I’m in Utah, and that is Mountain time.

 

The CNN website is somewhat difficult to navigate. And I’m usually rather good at navigating websites.

 

So if it 10 pm Eastern Time, that’s 8 pm here. Right?

 

Yes, the show will be broadcast at 10pm Eastern time.

[[Qu...]]

The website also said 10pm PST, so maybe it just runs at 10 wherever you are?

 

TVGuide? Does that still exist?

[[In...]]

The website also said 10pm PST, so maybe it just runs at 10 wherever you are?

 

TVGuide? Does that still exist?

 

I’m not sure about the TV guide and whether or not it still exists. That’s actually a good question. It’s probably online now like everything is.

 

Piano Girl just posted that this Lisa Ling show is 10 pm ET. So I’ll just keep checking starting at 7 pm going forward every hour.

 

I once read that people on Mountain Time were kind of unwillingly to stay up and watch anything past 10 pm. Guess it’s the altitude. But I’ll watch this.

 

[[no...]]

I agree. Except there is a basic and fundamental error at play here. Even the drug companies say don't take this stuff longer that 4 weeks. They are coy about it, but still, they write it down. And yet many doctors ignore or are ignorant of that fact, and they tell us it is safe to take it for however long. That disconnection is at the center of all this.

 

Yes, it's amazing and to me it shows the degree of denial of the medical establishment. You can't imagine how many doctors have said to me to not pay attention to the drug literature, that drug companies exaggerate to protect themselves, etc.

[[Si...]]

Hello all.  I just discovered this thread.  I attend a benzo withdrawal support group in Chicago, and Lisa and her crew filmed one of our meetings for the documentary.  I am 27 months off and suffering from severe protracted withdrawal syndrome.  Lisa talked to me very briefly, but she was much more interested in those who were struggling to taper off.  I'm not saying that's right or wrong or good or bad, but I think that's what the main focus of this documentary will be.  Either way, I hope it will be effective at raising awareness of this hideous condition.  -Jeff 

[[Fl...]]

Hello all.  I just discovered this thread.  I attend a benzo withdrawal support group in Chicago, and Lisa and her crew filmed one of our meetings for the documentary.  I am 27 months off and suffering from severe protracted withdrawal syndrome.  Lisa talked to me very briefly, but she was much more interested in those who were struggling to taper off.  I'm not saying that's right or wrong or good or bad, but I think that's what the main focus of this documentary will be.  Either way, I hope it will be effective at raising awareness of this hideous condition.  -Jeff

 

There is an emphasis on people tapering but they also touch on the consequences of coming off.

[[...]]

I keep writing similar today but couldn't even get into description because of how disappointed and hurt I also feel that it failed in all of these areas. It didn't go into how extensive the withdrawal symptoms list is or how devastating each one is and can truly be, and what it is like to have a combination of them happening daily for sometimes years. It didn't cover how some people can't even taper slow enough or that they reach such a tolerance that no amount of benzo in their system is of any help at all. It doesn't cover how none of us know how long our symptoms will last, or what happens when we can't work at all or socialize, none of these things. And it didn't cover a whole lot more.

 

What about the part regarding being labeled and addict by prescribers and pharmacists, or when a doctor doesn't even write the script and schedule an appointment in time to cover even a 30 day supply and the patient is waiting in a living hell nightmare of an experience while being gaslit by the medical profession and can't even be sure their prescription will be covered. What about walking into the pharmacy and you are about to fall on the floor or pass out, eyes wild, being tortured internally in ways no one even came close to describing on that segment? What about these things.

 

I am extremely tired, etc. from my symptoms and from being at this for three (plus) years. And to think, there are those of us here who have it continue for 5, 8, 10 yrs. Ha! Yeah right I'm excited and satisfied. Nonplused is more like it. Thankful that something is out at all, finally. That's about how I feel. And I like the series too, and also like Lisa Ling as a reporter.

 

F*ing hell. This was and is nowhere near close to good enough...

 

"in my opinon." <-- Why do so many of us we seem to think we always need to say that here, myself included?

 

These are all very valid points but I think you are looking a gift horse in the mouth. This is absolutely GROUNDBREAKING as far as benzo coverage goes. It is at the very least a primer. It doesn't point the finger at US, which is huge.

 

The video of that poor guy crying to his mom is worth more than a list of symptoms a mile long. I have a high tolerance and my emotions are in check but I was in tears when I saw that. Literal tears. People respond to things like this. If you want people to listen you have to hit them in the feels, and I think they managed to do that.

 

That's what I'm talking about, FG doing what he does best, i.e. stating in two short succinct paragraphs what would take me 10 rambling paragraphs and I'd probably still miss the mark.

 

No doubt, all very valid points, mp, and I'm sure many of us also thought of some other nice-to-haves for the show.  For instance, I think there was a missed opportunity for a mention of antidepressant withdrawal in the same sentence as the opiate comparison.  But it's not a criticism, I have zero complaints, I think they did a stellar job.  Even bringing in her elderly father, I think was excellent, just enough to plant a seed in the viewers' minds, that people need to consider benzodiazepine withdrawal (and/or other medications) as being the cause of troubling, unexplained symptoms, as well as - most importantly - thinking very long and very hard about the risk involved in making any dose adjustments in the elderly.

[[Ms...]]

I keep writing similar today but couldn't even get into description because of how disappointed and hurt I also feel that it failed in all of these areas. It didn't go into how extensive the withdrawal symptoms list is or how devastating each one is and can truly be, and what it is like to have a combination of them happening daily for sometimes years. It didn't cover how some people can't even taper slow enough or that they reach such a tolerance that no amount of benzo in their system is of any help at all. It doesn't cover how none of us know how long our symptoms will last, or what happens when we can't work at all or socialize, none of these things. And it didn't cover a whole lot more.

 

What about the part regarding being labeled and addict by prescribers and pharmacists, or when a doctor doesn't even write the script and schedule an appointment in time to cover even a 30 day supply and the patient is waiting in a living hell nightmare of an experience while being gaslit by the medical profession and can't even be sure their prescription will be covered. What about walking into the pharmacy and you are about to fall on the floor or pass out, eyes wild, being tortured internally in ways no one even came close to describing on that segment? What about these things.

 

I am extremely tired, etc. from my symptoms and from being at this for three (plus) years. And to think, there are those of us here who have it continue for 5, 8, 10 yrs. Ha! Yeah right I'm excited and satisfied. Nonplused is more like it. Thankful that something is out at all, finally. That's about how I feel. And I like the series too, and also like Lisa Ling as a reporter.

 

F*ing hell. This was and is nowhere near close to good enough...

 

"in my opinon." <-- Why do so many of us we seem to think we always need to say that here, myself included?

 

These are all very valid points but I think you are looking a gift horse in the mouth. This is absolutely GROUNDBREAKING as far as benzo coverage goes. It is at the very least a primer. It doesn't point the finger at US, which is huge.

 

The video of that poor guy crying to his mom is worth more than a list of symptoms a mile long. I have a high tolerance and my emotions are in check but I was in tears when I saw that. Literal tears. People respond to things like this. If you want people to listen you have to hit them in the feels, and I think they managed to do that.

 

I agree actually FG, it's just ugh... frustrating. I want the public and the medical profession to see the entire picture.

 

Yeah, I actually agree--these are just my emotions about it all. Sure though, this is probably a good primer as you say.

 

It's just we need more and better/more precise and all-encompassing, and hopefully soon. And even more "feels." As in more stories, further in-depth, a fuller picture. Yes, I don't negate the emotional impact of that young man's story, but I wanted even more of it! Please, heaven above.

 

I don't think this will be the end. There are thousands of hours of information about benzodiazepines that have never been portrayed accurately. I know I am biased, but I view this as stellar for what it attempted to do. There wasn't a portion of it where I felt like "oh no that's not right" or "well... sorta". I agreed with 100% of what was said. That's literally never happened before in video. There's only 2 articles I've read that I agreed with everything. Ever.

 

If it just dropped everyone in on the benzo war, the public wouldn't understand what they were dropped into. Lisa Ling is clearly very aware of what's going on and seems angry at the medical field for not knowing. And that's what the benzo story really is. A story of medical incompetency, pharmaceutical manipulation and the righteous arrogance that keeps it going. And.. us, the people who suffer and die from it.

[[Qu...]]

I've been "taunting" other media outlets to catch up to her reporting, sending them a link with the time/network/name etc.

 

 

[[no...]]

I've been "taunting" other media outlets to catch up to her reporting, sending them a link with the time/network/name etc.

 

oooh good tactical thinking! sneaky and clever!

[[Fl...]]

Everyone needs to remember that ultimately when a media outlets report on something it is the producers of the show that are making the decisions about how the story should be told and it probably isn't often that the narrative is completely accurate as it is in this case.

 

Incomplete is MUCH better than inacurrate.