 Benzos vs. SSRI's
I've been reading various articles debating the efficacy of both the benzos and SSRI's on the treatment of panic disorder. A recent trend seems to indicate that psychiatrists are going back to the more traditional Benzodiazapine treatment. Rationale: more effective, quicker response time, less side effects. The counter argument has always focused on the potential of addiction. However, the statistics that I have seen, indicate that less than 2% of users become addicted, which is similar to the population of people who become addicted to alchohol and street drugs. Also, in order for a Benzo to be effective, the dosage usually needs to be increased several times in the initial stages of treatment. However, many physicians will tell their patients to discontinue the benzo as it becomes less effective, instead of ramping up the dosage.
I gathered this information from an article by Dr. Abbot Lee Granoff, Diplomat of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, entitled "New insights into what treatment is best", and another article from Dr. Stephen Cox, Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at UKMC.
Granted, these are only two opinions out of the thousands of psychiatrists treating panic disorder, but its something to think about nonetheless. Both articles took some subtle pot shots at the $$$$ being generated by the Pharm. industry, being that benzos have had generics for many years now, while SSRI's do not. On the flip side, they both made mention that SSRI's are very good meds for treating other disorders, just not particularly effective for panic.
Any thoughts?
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