Tranquilizer addiction

Klein E, Uhde TW, Post RM Preliminary evidence for the utility of carbamazepine in alprazolam withdrawal. Am J Psychiatry 143 235—236, 1986 Kouyanou K, Pither CE, Wessely S Medication misuse, abuse and dependence in chronic pain patients. J Psychosom Res 43 497-304, 1997 Kryspin-Exner K [Misuse of bezodiazepine derivatives in alcoholics] (German). Br J Addict Alcohol Other Drugs 61 283-290, 1966 Kryspin-Exner K, Demel 1 The use of tranquilizers in the treatment of mixed drug abuse. Int J Clin Pharmacol Biopharm 12 13-18, 1973... 

A person can meet criteria for abuse or dependence for one drug and not others, although there is concern about what has been referred to as cross-addiction. Cross-addiction means that a person who is dependent upon one substance may be dependent upon another, very similar one. An example might be a person who is diagnosed as dependent upon tranquilizers and who, you may fear, is also addicted to a similar substance such as alcohol. However, the research is not entirely clear on whether cross-addiction occurs, and I have known clients who had very specific problems with one substance who did not generalize into problems with other, similar substances. A person also may meet criteria for abuse or dependence for multiple substances generally, this is referred to more simply as substance abuse or substance dependence. 

Lader M (1993). Historical development of the concept of tranquillizer dependence. In Hall-strom C (ed.) Benzodiazepine Dependence. Oxford Oxford Medical Publications, pp. 46-57 Lader M Morton S (1991). Benzodiazepine problems. British Journal of Addiction, 86, 823-8... 

Tone, Andrea. The Age of Anxiety A History of America s Turbulent Affair with Tranquilizers. New York Basic Books, 2009. This book traces the history of drugs to treat anxiety from the first tranquilizer sold in 1955 to the billions of antianxiety drugs sold today. Although tranquilizers like Valium fell out of favor because of their addictiveness, the use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) antidepressants have become widely popular treatments for anxiety. The book places the popularity of these types of drugs within the larger context of what Tone calls the tranquilizer culture. 

Prescription medications such as pain relievers, central nervous system (CNS) depressants (tranquilizers and sedatives), and stimulants are highly beneficial treatments for a variety of health conditions. Pain relievers enable individuals with chronic pain to lead productive lives tranquilizers can reduce anxiety and help patients with sleep disorders and stimulants help people with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) focus their attention. Most people who take prescription medications use them responsibly. But when abused—that is, taken by someone other than the patient for whom the medication was prescribed or taken in a manner or dosage other than what was prescribed—prescription medications can produce serious adverse health effects, including addiction. 

The quinazolone methaqualone (129 R = Me) was introduced as a sedative in 1965. It also has anticonvulsant and muscle-relaxant properties, but it has produced problems of addiction. Sedative effects are also produced by many antihistamines, and by tranquilizers of the benzodiazepine group. 

Clonazepam (Klonopin), a benzodiazepine tranquilizer, has been used to treat both acute mania and as prophylaxis. It has all the many, sometimes severe, problems associated with the other benzodiazepines, including sedation, rebound and withdrawal syndromes, addiction, and behavioral abnormalities (chapter 12). Neuroleptics remain the mainstay for controlling acute manic reactions. 

Dl-R ligand (> 10), D2-R ligand (>10), Dl-R ligand (>10) (D-TR, 5HT-TR, O-R) [anti-addictive, anticonvulsant] D-R antagonist (Glu-R antagonist) (Mayan [anti-spasmodic, antiviral, neuroleptic] blue lotus emblem of Nefertem, God of Perfiimes in wine gives tranquil euphoria ... 

Bitter (nACh-R agonist) [addictive, antinociceptive, insecticide, respiratory paralytic, toxic, tranquillizer] Gamel Abdul Nasser excessive smoker and diabetic (inevitable complications premature death 1970)... 

The treatment of drug addiction has become big business. Private treatment centers charge thousands of dollars a week to get people off cocaine, alcohol, marijuana, narcotics, and tranquilizers Twelve-step programs modeled on Alcoholics Anonymous have proliferated m all cities, and special programs now exist to treat the relatives of dependent persons — Adult Children of Alcoholics and Codependents Anonymous, for example. Despite the boom in the treatment industry, the rate of addiction has only increased. 

But we can t do that " argue some parents. "If our child found out that her grandmother is addicted to tranquilizers and that her grandfather is a closet alcoholic, she d lose respect for them. They d be furious at us for telling what we ve always been expected to conceal and they still deny. You don t understand. It s supposed to be kept secret "... 

What my conqxxind does is suppress the irratioDal inq ilses of the low brain. That s what tranquilizers such as Valium, Thorazine, and Librium do. But they also suppress the wotking of the upper brain, causing dullness and disinterest, almost like a lobotomy. They also dull die reflexes. Furthermore, after a few months on tranquilizers, the user becomes addicted and stopping brings on the same withdrawal symptoms as su ing heroin. 

The names and formulae of some of the psycholeptic compounds which cannot be classified in the major chemical categories so far considered are set out in Table 5.3. Meprobamate VIII) was one of the earliest used tranquillizers. It was developed from mephenesin VII), which was introduced as a muscle relaxant and was soon seen to have a sedative action too. In small doses, meprobamate is a sedative. In larger doses, it causes muscle relaxation and has been classed, with similar compounds, as a tranquillo-sedative . Like the barbiturates, it produces no sign of extrapyramidal or central autonomic stimulation. Well-authenticated reports of addiction to meprobamate have appeared . Both mephenesin and meprobamate produce muscle relaxation by inhibiting interneurones—and hence polysynaptic reflexes—in the spinal cord. Though not described as a hypnotic, meprobamate has been successfully used in the treatment of insomnia, perhaps because it reduces tension. 

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