We'll I went to the pdoc over a week ago. There is really no reason for my wife or me to even be there anymore. We are very stable. Always have a good report from the pdoc. The ONLY reason we have to go is the "scam" that he can't issue us our prescriptions without a doctors visit every three months.
I got on him about the six week delay in not sending in the paperwork so that we could get our drugs for free since I lost my job and had no health insurance. We did get a two month supply of Lamictal for free. However the Risperdal drug paperwork came back from the drug company only a few eeeks before my new insurance came into effect. He didn't want to issue the drugs to me because he felt it would be fradulent due to the fact it was so close to my new coverage.
If they'd just had done the paperwork right away we could have had all our drugs for free and I wouldn't have had to pay for them out of pocket for three months.
I told him about my attempt to stop taking the Lorezapam (generic Ativan). I told him of the violent reaction I had. Couldn't sleep, very irritable, etc. He was a little upset that I tried that on my own. He said the only way you can get off the benzos is under doctor supervision over a six to eight week period. I know thats the truth !!
I'm working 10-14 hrs day in my new job right now. If anyone believes the economy is bad then you should work where I do. The is not enough days in the week to fill all the orders we have. This manufactoring sector is booming in our area. The company is properly managed and we are building a new prototype for customers nearly every week. What a differance between the job I lost and the one I have now.
Im so busy right now that I barely had time to even post this.
Friday, May 19, 2006
Saturday, May 06, 2006
Makes you wonder
Ever since I was diagoised as being Bipolar, I have been prescribed Lorazepam (Ativan) for stress, but mainly to help me sleep. I only take it at bedtime (3mg) I was doing some random surfing tonight and came across this old article....
..."Golombok and her coworkers were unable to follow up with tests after drug termination. However, these findings of chronic brain dysfunction raise a serious concern about possible permanency. The investigators comment: "It is impossible to determine how long it is safe for a patient to continue to take benzodiazepines, or at what dose, before cognitive ability will begin to deteriorate. Nevertheless, it is clear from the inspection of our data that taking a low dose for a short time has little effect, while a high intake is almost always certainly harmful." (P. 371)
The test results indicate that "these patients are not functioning well in everyday life," while they remain unaware of their impairment: "This is in line with clinical evidence that patients who withdraw from their medication often report improved concentration and increased sensory appreciation and that only after withdrawal do they realize that they have been functioning below par.... It appears, therefore, that not only are long-term benzodiazepine users at risk of dependence, but that cognitive impairment also represents a very real hazard." (P. 373)
It cannot be overemphasized that brain-disabling treatments render patients less able to evaluate their own dysfunction. The Golombok study is exceedingly important from the viewpoint of the patient who wishes to avoid brain dysfunction and from the viewpoint of the ethical physician who wishes to avoid causing it in his or her patients.
If doctors wish to prescribe minor tranquilizers or if patients want to take them, it would be prudent to follow the advice of The New Harvard Guide to Psychiatry ( 1988): "The main usefulness of the antianxiety agents is in general medicine in the short-term treatment of relatively transient forms of anxiety, fear, and tension" (p. 524). "
I've been taking a benzo (Ativan) for two years now. It hasn't effected me one bit. At learsytn the ntrhats tyhf knogfy thshtjhsxn at least that I know of !!
Makes you kind of wonder (or paronoid)if that you really are able to your own best judge of things.
Go to the pdoc on 5/8. Let you know how it went.
..."Golombok and her coworkers were unable to follow up with tests after drug termination. However, these findings of chronic brain dysfunction raise a serious concern about possible permanency. The investigators comment: "It is impossible to determine how long it is safe for a patient to continue to take benzodiazepines, or at what dose, before cognitive ability will begin to deteriorate. Nevertheless, it is clear from the inspection of our data that taking a low dose for a short time has little effect, while a high intake is almost always certainly harmful." (P. 371)
The test results indicate that "these patients are not functioning well in everyday life," while they remain unaware of their impairment: "This is in line with clinical evidence that patients who withdraw from their medication often report improved concentration and increased sensory appreciation and that only after withdrawal do they realize that they have been functioning below par.... It appears, therefore, that not only are long-term benzodiazepine users at risk of dependence, but that cognitive impairment also represents a very real hazard." (P. 373)
It cannot be overemphasized that brain-disabling treatments render patients less able to evaluate their own dysfunction. The Golombok study is exceedingly important from the viewpoint of the patient who wishes to avoid brain dysfunction and from the viewpoint of the ethical physician who wishes to avoid causing it in his or her patients.
If doctors wish to prescribe minor tranquilizers or if patients want to take them, it would be prudent to follow the advice of The New Harvard Guide to Psychiatry ( 1988): "The main usefulness of the antianxiety agents is in general medicine in the short-term treatment of relatively transient forms of anxiety, fear, and tension" (p. 524). "
I've been taking a benzo (Ativan) for two years now. It hasn't effected me one bit. At learsytn the ntrhats tyhf knogfy thshtjhsxn at least that I know of !!
Makes you kind of wonder (or paronoid)if that you really are able to your own best judge of things.
Go to the pdoc on 5/8. Let you know how it went.
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