Adictios

MY son was given Effexor xr. He was a Herion addict and is now on Methodone. For some crazy reason they gave him Klonopin. As a addict does he consumes a months worth in 3 days or sooner. He is rude mesam and dangerous..then falls a sleep for 3 days and wakes up thinking it was his break for 1 day because he is so stressed he needs that...He thinbks he is fine no problem..Yet he crashes the car..gets tickets and is a danger to himself and others when he binges. What can I do to knock some sense into him and WHY would a counsler give a addict this?

[Hensley258]

I agree with you. For any doctor or Psychiatrist to give a Benzodiazaphine like Klonopin to a former Heroin addict is just insane. I have never heard of any doctor doing such a thing.

That's like saying to an addict..."hey do you want to trade your Opiate habbit for a benzo addiction?"

That has bad idea written all over it. This is very unusual for any doctor to prescribe a Benzo to anyone with a past addiction of any kind. I would get a lawer and file charges against the doctor that prescribed this to him.

[ILADVOCATE]

Don't act confrontational. He needs help. The best thing to do is have him go to a rehabilitation clinic and if needed a psychiatric hospital. I honestly don't know why they prescribed him Klonopin. I take it and its a safe medication but there's the potential of addiction and its a controlled substance and they never prescribe people with addictive disorders Klonopin. Any psychiatrist would state that. He should be in a comprehensive rehabilitation program and a dual recovery group. They should adjust his psychiatric treatment and any co-existing substance abuse should be helped and unfortunately now Klonopin is part of that. I'd change from the place that prescribed him Klonopin knowning he had a substance abuse disorder and find out the regulations regarding that. If they were aware then they clearly should have been more careful.

[Hensley258]

I forgot to tell you that the first thing my Psychiatrist asked me before prescribing me Xanax (Benzodiazaphine) was "have you had any past addiction issues of any kind?"

Then he pulled all my medical records to ensure that I was never addicted to anything. Only Then did he agreed to prescribe Xanax for my anxiety dissorder.

Even given that I do not have an addictive personality and never have, even I find it hard to monitor my Xanax intake. I have to regulate it and resist the urge to take double my daily limit. An addict can not do this nor can they be expected to do this with any Benzo.

They are very addictive. Honestly if my Psychiatrist would prescribe me 200Mgs a month rather than only 60Mgs a month I have no doubt that I would endulge and take them all in 3 weeks.

Benzodiazaphines like Xanax and Klonopin give one a very relaxed and cozy body and head buzz. It in my opinion is the most wonderful buzz in the world. They make you feel so relaxed and the stress and anxiety simply vaporize in 30 minutes. Fortunatly I am not an addict so I have my braking system fully intact, thus I can say no not another dosage.

An addict can not say no, nor should they be expected to say no. It's not their fault, they are addicts and trading one addiction for another is no fix at all.

Shame on this doctor that prescribed him this Benzo.

[whodunnit]

Hospital is the best choice. Where meds are controlled and monitored while he stabilises. I was in hospital with a heroin addict a couple of years back. Great guy, we got on well and talked often.

Then it became clear why we were friendly. He wanted me to give urine samples for him. I refused and we lost touch. This little tale simply tells you how closely he needs to be monitored.

[AlisonV]

Thank you so mmuch for support. I am so confused because of all these privacy issues how to talk to this doc. He is getting it from the Metodone clinic doc so he know he is a addict. That being said I am sure my son would tell him anything he wants to hear to get what he wants. I would only hope doctors dealing with addicts would realize this..These laws make it impossible to help your family..

[mr.lucky66]

This is a big problem with people on methadone and that is benzos. I used to do the same thing, take a month's supply in 3 days and sometimes the results would be even worse than his, jail, hospitals etc. Methadone can only work if the patient obstains from all other drugs or highs. all the best