Interview to Mr. Giannis Pantazopoulos for the tribute “The City of Xanax” in the printed edition of LiFO
[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][cc_quote]a beneficial drug within a very strict framework and at the same time a dangerous substance outside this framework[/cc_quote]What exactly is Xanax? How does the FDA classify it?
Xanax belongs to a class of psychotropic drugs called benzodiazepines. All drugs in this class act on receptors in the brain for its own major inhibitory neurotransmitter, called γ-aminobutyric acid, or simply GABA. Binding to such receptors allows benzodiazepines and other substances with similar afinity, such as the alcohol, to suppress – to a variable extent – the transmission of nerve signals. This function gives them their calming, hypnotic, anxiolytic, antispasmodic, anesthetic and muscle relaxant properties. Not coincidentally, Xanax is also known by the nickname “alcohol in pill”!
Different benzodiazepines differ in their duration of action. Xanax has a short duration of action and for this reason it is very powerful, and as a drug it is extremely addictive.
Where is Xanax needed and in what cases is it necessary to be administered?
Xanax has been approved for the short-term and symptomatic treatment of anxiety and panic disorder. It is intended mainly to be used just once, on acute symptoms and in any case the total duration of treatment with Xanax should not exceed four weeks. It is seldomly indicated for a longer period, up to a few months, and in any case this requires regular medical supervision until it is gradually removed. And this is where the iatrogenic nuisance begins with Xanax, as it is unpredictably prescribed for longer periods by several fellow psychiatrists and physicians in other specialties, so the patient engages in a real nightmare with a variety of reactions, very annoying or even hazardous.
What are the positives and what are the negatives?
[/fusion_builder_column][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][cc_quote]studies link Xanax to increased risk of Alzheimer’s and increased mortality and cancer[/cc_quote]Today, we know that the brain is injured, in essence, by the long-term use of Xanax. On the one hand, the symptoms for which it was initially administered worsen, with the risk of paradoxical reactions such as anxiety, irritability, aggression, hallucinations, mania, nightmares, hallucinations, psychotic disorders, inappropriate behavior, etc. On the other hand, the memory and the ability of judgment and self-control are affected, resulting in the abuse and in overdosing, or in combination abuse with other substances such as alcohol and other narcotics.
Since 2010 the number of deaths – mostly unintentional – from the use of sedatives has surpassed in the western world the deaths from substances such as heroin and cocaine. It is worth reminding you here, for example, of the famous deaths of Amy Winehouse in ’11 and Heath Ledger in ’08, in whose blood certain quantities – not even excessive doses – of benzodiazepines were found. Besides that, Xanax is very popular among opiate drug users. Finally, there are authoritative studies, published in the British Medical Journal in 2014 and 2012, that link Xanax to an increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease and to increased mortality and cancer. It is, therefore, a potentially beneficial drug in the immediate relief of the painful symptoms of anxiety, within a very strict prescription framework and at the same time a dangerous substance outside this context.
Should such drugs be combined with psychotherapy?
Specialized cognitive psychotherapy, or even the least specialized supportive talking psychotherapy, is “Santa Claus” for the restoration of most anxiety disorders. Sedatives are useful aids – the helper of “Santa Claus”! -, or the short make-up, if you prefer, for the problem until the rather slow and longer-term treatments commence, with other classes of drugs – which of course are not addictive – and with psychotherapy take place.
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Why do you think so many people turn to sedatives / antidepressants? Has consumption increased since the crisis?
Antidepressant use had increased dramatically before the onset of the nationsl debt crisis and the pandemic, and Greece was the second country with the highest rate of central nervous system drug use in Europe in the early 2000s. This was due to the demistyfication of specialized help from mental health professionals and possibly the effective marketing of the drug market. However, in the years of recession the prescription of sedatives increased by about 35%, according to published data from the pharmaceutical associations and especially in the age group of 35-45 year olds and in women. At the same time the visits to specialists with the request for withdrawing from benzodiazepines tripled.
[/fusion_builder_column][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][cc_quote]sedatives are the easy and cheap solution[/cc_quote] The effects of the economic downturn and the pandemic have definitely increased the cases of anxiety and depressive disorders. It is well known to us the mental health professionals that socioeconomic conditions are closely related to the incidence of mental illness anyway.
In my opinion, sedatives are the easy and cheap solution. On the other hand, public mental health services, that could provide specialized psychotherapy at no cost and prescribe other treatments with the rather expensive special, antidepressant meds, are weakening due to reductions in government spending. In Greece, private insurance does not cover the costs of psychotherapeutic interventions in general.
There is also a level of ignorance or even negligence on the part of primary health care providers when prescribing such drugs.And of course, there is the very nature, or even the culture, of addictions that entraps people in the vicious circle of addiction. I am convinced, however, that there is also a positive side from the effects of the economic downturn. Tha mental health has become a well acknowleged priority, so that the search for help from scientists bears a lesser stigma nowadays.
How much do they help? Is it addictive or not? Is xanax is more than a medical issue, is it a habit? Who gets Xanax and why?
Sedatives are useful when prescribed for the reasons for which they are intended. That is, in the short-term relief of several excruciating mental and psychosomatic symptoms, as part of a more comprehensive treatment plan. Indeed, there is no reason for anyone to suffer when the are specialized solutions, as long as these solutions are implemented exactly as they should be, based on medical protocols and guidelines. The denial of the achievements of our culture – which are a result of serious and well documented scientific research – is absurd. But it is just as absurd to use certain drugs as candy, or as substitutes to our personal endeavor to cope with the adversities and frustrations of our daily lives.
Xanax is definitely addictive because we observe the phenomenon of tolerance when it’s use is regular and reckless. That means that the body gets used to an initial dose, which inevitably has less and less therapeutic effect in the process and therefore one needs a higher dose over time to get a response.
We also notice severe withdrawal symptoms, not only in the course of reduction in dose or discontinuation, but also between two consecutive doses of Xanax in the same day, in which case a person feels, for example, nausea, fatigue or worry and anxiety, until the next pill is taken. This needs to be emphasized, as in this case users are mistakenly attributing beneficial effects to Xanax, when in fact by taking a dose it is the withdrawal symptoms that get alleviated, which in turn were caused when the the effect of previous pill simply faded out. But even when discontinued without a special and gradual reduction program or replacement with a longer-acting sedative-equivalent sedative, there is a serious possibility of recurrence of the bad symptoms for which Xanax was administered in the first place.
Are we slowly becoming a Xanax nation?
I’m afraid it’s already happening. So let me paraphrase your question: “Who is responsible for us becoming a Xanax nation?” Listen, even though we live in the one country where everyone can buy over-the-counter any antibiotic (while resistant strains of bacteria that do not respond to treatments because they have adapted to the pressure of polypharmacy), the availability of Xanax and drugs like it is still regulated. A prescription is indeed required.
Therefore, the responsibility lies exclusively with the doctors who prescribe them. There is no excuse for the systematic prescription of benzos. Neither it should be guided by patients themselves who visit doctors asking persistently for prescriptions. Experts must be properly informed and prevent the abuse. This presupposes that we do not underestimate the consequences of addiction and that we are willing to face our client, whenever needed, in order to inspire him to withdraw. Our oath is to benefit but not to harm.
[/fusion_builder_column][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][gkri]Read more:
LiFO’s tribute “The City of Xanax” [/gkri][/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]
