Greetings,
Pharmacist here. I see plenty of benzos being prescribed where I am. I would say vast majority are being prescribed by PCPs or midlevels. I understand the rationale. Psychiatrists aren’t easily accessible and hence PCPs end up managing the anxiety symptoms.
However, I am bit curious about the prevalence of benzos being prescribed for chronic use. Current evidence points out benzos shouldn’t be used for managing everyday anxiety or panic attacks. In fact, it actually worsens the anxiety if taken daily! Also, in rare conditions where some patients are stable on benzos, Xanax should never be used according to all threads in psychiatry forum. It’s more addictive compared to something like klonopin, results in more cases of OD and harder to get off of. However, it’s by far the most popular choice among PCPs (plenty of folks on 0.25, 0.5 and even 1 mg bid/ tid dosing where I am).
My question is why is this the case? Benzos are great for MRI or getting off the plane in the same manner as opioids for fracture or kidney stones. However, daily use is very dangerous and not backed up by evidence. In my humble opinion, benzo epidemic is just as dangerous as opioids and hasn’t received enough attention from DEA and state licensing boards.
Pharmacist here. I see plenty of benzos being prescribed where I am. I would say vast majority are being prescribed by PCPs or midlevels. I understand the rationale. Psychiatrists aren’t easily accessible and hence PCPs end up managing the anxiety symptoms.
However, I am bit curious about the prevalence of benzos being prescribed for chronic use. Current evidence points out benzos shouldn’t be used for managing everyday anxiety or panic attacks. In fact, it actually worsens the anxiety if taken daily! Also, in rare conditions where some patients are stable on benzos, Xanax should never be used according to all threads in psychiatry forum. It’s more addictive compared to something like klonopin, results in more cases of OD and harder to get off of. However, it’s by far the most popular choice among PCPs (plenty of folks on 0.25, 0.5 and even 1 mg bid/ tid dosing where I am).
My question is why is this the case? Benzos are great for MRI or getting off the plane in the same manner as opioids for fracture or kidney stones. However, daily use is very dangerous and not backed up by evidence. In my humble opinion, benzo epidemic is just as dangerous as opioids and hasn’t received enough attention from DEA and state licensing boards.