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 peskypoop
Registered: 06/24/11
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Loc: seattle
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 Scientists find anticonvulsant drug helps marijuana smokers kick the habit 
#16133980 - 04/24/12 06:05 PM (1 year, 29 days ago) |
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Scientists find anticonvulsant drug helps marijuana smokers kick the habit
In a 12-week trial of 50 treatment-seeking cannabis users, those who took gabapentin used less cannabis, experienced fewer withdrawal symptoms such as sleeplessness, and scored higher on tests of attention, impulse-control, and other cognitive skills, compared to patients who received a placebo. If these results are confirmed by ongoing larger trials, gabapentin could become the first FDA-approved pharmaceutical treatment for cannabis dependence.
"A lot of other drugs have been tested for their ability to decrease cannabis use and withdrawal, but this is the first to show these key effects in a controlled treatment study," said Barbara J. Mason, the Pearson Family Chair and Co-Director of the Pearson Center for Alcoholism and Addiction Research at Scripps Research. "The other nice thing about gabapentin is that it is already widely prescribed, so its safety is less likely to be an issue."
Mason led the new gabapentin study, recently published online ahead of print by the journal Neuropsychopharmacology.
Stress Circuits
Addiction researchers have long known that recreational drugs hook users by disrupting the normal tuning of their brains' reward and motivation circuitry. But as scientists at Scripps Research and other institutions have shown in animal studies, cannabis withdrawal after prolonged heavy use also leads to the long-term activation of basic stress circuits. "In human cannabis users who try to quit, this stress response is reflected in reports of drug craving, sleep disturbances, anxiety, irritability, and dysphoria, any one of which can motivate a person to return to using, because cannabis will quiet these symptoms," said Mason.
A 2008 study by Pearson Center Co-Director George Koob and his colleagues found that gabapentin, an FDA-approved anticonvulsant drug that resembles the neurotransmitter GABA, can quiet this withdrawal-related activation in stress circuitry in alcohol-dependent rats. That finding motivated Mason to set up a pilot trial of gabapentin in cannabis-dependent individuals, whose withdrawal syndrome features a similar over-activation of stress circuits.
She and her colleagues recruited cannabis users with local newspaper and web ads headlined: "Smoking too much pot? We want to help you stop." "We needed only 50 subjects, but we quickly got more than 700 queries from cannabis users who were eager to quit," Mason said. "Some people deny that cannabis can be addictive, but surveys show that between 16 and 25 percent of substance use treatment admissions around the world every year involve people with primary cannabis dependence."
Twice as Many Abstinent from Cannabis Use
The trial was based at Mason's laboratory at The Scripps Research Institute. Half of the 50 recruits were randomly assigned to take 1,200 mg/day of gabapentin; the rest were given identical-looking placebo capsules. Over 12 weeks, Mason and her colleagues, including a medical team from the nearby Scripps Clinic, monitored the subjects with tests. Using standard behavioral therapy techniques, they also counseled the patients to stay off cannabis.
The subjects' self-reports and more objective urine tests revealed that gabapentin, compared to placebo, significantly reduced their continuing cannabis use. "Urine metabolite readings indicate about twice as many of the gabapentin subjects had no new cannabis use during the entire study, and, in the last four weeks of the study, all of the gabapentin subjects who completed the study stayed abstinent," Mason said.
Gabapentin also clearly reduced the reported symptoms of withdrawal such as sleep disturbances, drug cravings, and dysphoria. And even though gabapentin normally is thought of as a brain-quieting drug that can cause sleepiness as a side effect, there was some evidence that it sharpened cognition among the cannabis users. Seven gabapentin and ten placebo patients sat for tests of attention, impulse-control, and other executive functions just before the start of the trial and at week four. While the placebo patients tended to score lower after four weeks of attempted abstinence, the gabapentin patients generally scored higher.
Help Resisting Cravings
Addiction researchers now recognize that one of the effects of repeated drug use is the weakening of executive functions—which can happen through the over-activation of reward circuitry as well as by withdrawal-related stress. "That weakening of self-control-related circuits makes it even harder for people to resist drug cravings when they're trying to quit, but gabapentin may help restore those circuits, by reducing stress and enabling patients to sleep better, so that they function better while awake," Mason said.
She is now conducting a larger, confirmatory study of gabapentin in cannabis users, as well as a new study of a novel drug that targets the same stress circuitry.
"People in the treatment community have told me that they're eager for these trial results to come out, because until now nothing has been shown to work against both relapse and withdrawal symptoms," Mason said.
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qream
Sveppi
Registered: 05/18/11
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Re: Scientists find anticonvulsant drug helps marijuana smokers kick the habit [Re: peskypoop] 5
#16134052 - 04/24/12 06:20 PM (1 year, 29 days ago) |
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Using an addictive substance that has been shown to increase suicidal dendencies and depression to treat something nonaddictive that has just mild withdrawals after heavy usage seems totally insane.
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peskypoop
Registered: 06/24/11
Posts: 44
Loc: seattle
Last seen: 7 months, 4 days
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Re: Scientists find anticonvulsant drug helps marijuana smokers kick the habit [Re: peskypoop]
#16134056 - 04/24/12 06:21 PM (1 year, 29 days ago) |
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addict or not, i love using cannabis daily. however, the withdrawal symptoms (as described in the article) when i have to stop using it for some period of time are quite harsh, so i can understand why a cannabis user who wishes to stop or must stop for some reason would desire to use a drug that reduces those symptoms. but thinking in a broader sense, is it worth it? you have to pay into the drug war (via pharmaceutical industry) to take advantage of this assistance. the only thing keeping me from smoking weed right now is being unable to fit it into my budget. offering me another drug for sale doesn't help me a bit.
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lowbrow
Stranger
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Re: Scientists find anticonvulsant drug helps marijuana smokers kick the habit [Re: qream]
#16134073 - 04/24/12 06:23 PM (1 year, 29 days ago) |
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I really hope my tax dollars did not pay for this.
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peskypoop
Registered: 06/24/11
Posts: 44
Loc: seattle
Last seen: 7 months, 4 days
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Re: Scientists find anticonvulsant drug helps marijuana smokers kick the habit [Re: qream]
#16134098 - 04/24/12 06:30 PM (1 year, 29 days ago) |
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Quote:
qream said:
Using an addictive substance that has been shown to increase suicidal dendencies and depression to treat something nonaddictive that has just mild withdrawals after heavy usage seems totally insane.
so true! and the article provides NO information or comparison of gabapentin to cannabis. after even minimal research, if your choosing to do this, you really may have a "drug" problem, and marijuana may be your victim, not the other way around.
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supernovasky
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Re: Scientists find anticonvulsant drug helps marijuana smokers kick the habit [Re: peskypoop]
#16134246 - 04/24/12 07:04 PM (1 year, 29 days ago) |
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This is so stupid it's borderline farcical.
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melfdis
Stranger
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Re: Scientists find anticonvulsant drug helps marijuana smokers kick the habit [Re: supernovasky] 1
#16134464 - 04/24/12 07:55 PM (1 year, 29 days ago) |
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It reminds me of how heroin used to be advertised as the cure for alcoholism.
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BigPharma
Myco-Rising
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Re: Scientists find anticonvulsant drug helps marijuana smokers kick the habit [Re: melfdis] 1
#16134533 - 04/24/12 08:14 PM (1 year, 29 days ago) |
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actually, this is a rather novel finding. not only does it show a departure from the all-too-traditional agonist-substitute model, but being able to offer assistance to those who desire it is never a bad thing. just because you might be swapping one drug for another pharmie, if its something that would genuinely benefit some people, wouldn't that be worth knowing? obviously this shouldn't be construed as "everyone who smokes cannabis regularly needs to take gabapentin," but some people genuinely desire to quit but aren't able to on their own, and this bit of research may be exactly what they need to get back on their feet. I would hardly call this farcical research, and yes tax dollars probably DID pay for it (along with virtually all other research conducted). Just because its not directly relevant to YOU doesn't make it a waste.
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"There are no differences, but differences of degree between different degrees of difference and no difference."
-William James on NO2 in 1882
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 bourgeo
Pharmacologist & Biochemist
Registered: 02/10/12
Posts: 600
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Re: Scientists find anticonvulsant drug helps marijuana smokers kick the habit [Re: BigPharma]
#16134743 - 04/24/12 08:59 PM (1 year, 29 days ago) |
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Quote:
What side effects can this medication cause?
Gabapentin may cause side effects. Tell your doctor if any of these symptoms are severe or do not go away:
drowsiness
tiredness or weakness
dizziness
headache
uncontrollable shaking of a part of your body
double or blurred vision
unsteadiness
anxiety
memory problems
strange or unusual thoughts
unwanted eye movements
nausea
vomiting
heartburn
diarrhea
dry mouth
constipation
increased appetite
weight gain
swelling of the hands, feet, ankles, or lower legs
back or joint pain
fever
runny nose, sneezing, cough, sore throat, or flu-like symptoms
ear pain
red, itchy eyes (sometimes with swelling or discharge)
Some side effects may be serious. If you experience any of the following symptoms, call your doctor immediately:
rash
itching
swelling of the face, throat, tongue, lips, or eyes
hoarseness
difficulty swallowing or breathing
seizures
- http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0000940/
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Seraphically Free
From Taint of Personality
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gnarfbuckle
Above The Ignorance
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Re: Scientists find anticonvulsant drug helps marijuana smokers kick the habit [Re: bourgeo]
#16134895 - 04/24/12 09:29 PM (1 year, 29 days ago) |
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id rather just suck it up for a couple weeks while the chemistry balances back out instead of taking an FDA approved drug...
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ThldKrvMlkBr
Canucks hatin Canuck
Registered: 04/14/12
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Re: Scientists find anticonvulsant drug helps marijuana smokers kick the habit [Re: gnarfbuckle]
#16135203 - 04/24/12 10:27 PM (1 year, 29 days ago) |
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Hahahaha, marijuana addiction. I'm a smoker and use to be addicted to codeine. I know codeine isn't a real strong opiate but I was a functioning addict for around 8 years and I'll tell you that opiate withdrawls are real withdrawls. Legs feel like someone has taken a baseball bat to them, depressed, sick, no appetite, tired all the time but can't sleep, and huge cravings. It wasn't until I had part of my finger cut off then a laproscopic appendectomy 2 weeks later and subsequent hospitalization that I could quit. Heavier hospital administered opiates and lots of time at home is what did it.
Pot addiction to me is a myth. Jonsing is not withdrawl, at least not in the sense that it can stop anyone with a shred of will from quitting smoking pot. I smoke weed on and off now, sometimes I have 2-3 hoots before bed and sometimes I don't smoke for months. It's nothing.
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BigPharma
Myco-Rising
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Re: Scientists find anticonvulsant drug helps marijuana smokers kick the habit [Re: BigPharma]
#16135436 - 04/24/12 11:22 PM (1 year, 29 days ago) |
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withdrawal and addiction, while commonly associated with each other are in fact independent concepts with little overlap. frequently, people use the terms "dependent," "abuse," and "addicted" interchangeably, while they are quite different. Withdrawal is associated with dependence and refers to the simple chemical adaptation of your body to the presence of a substance in such a way that you experience some deficit in response to its sudden absence. Abuse simply refers to a consumption pattern that is risky or maladaptive, such as driving while drunk or drinking to relieve depression. Addiction is a totally different animal and can occur with virtually ANY behavior and is not necessarily related to substance use. Addiction is a chronic brain disease that results in continued engagement in a particular behavior DESPITE the fact that the behavior directly results in serious negative consequences AND the person is unable to discontinue the behavior despite honest attempts to do so; it is marked by chronic relapse, generally over the course of years. The thing with addiction is that it continues far beyond the final withdrawal symptoms; generally speaking, addicts relapse months or years since their last exposure to the drug, not days. So yes, marijuana can certainly be addictive to a certain sub-category of users, as is internet, television, gambling, sex, etc. Cannabis just has a far lower percentage of individuals who become addicted, its somewhere around 10% of users (for a comparison, about 30% of heroin users become addicted and around 40% of tobacco users).
So the terminology is more complex than how its used in general language, and there is a lot of detail that gets washed out in the mis-use of the vocabulary that leads to gross misconceptions about the nature of the beast. Mind you I also work in research, so these definitions haven't quite made it to the clinical level yet; however this is the commonly-accepted paradigm in the field of addiction research nowadays.
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"There are no differences, but differences of degree between different degrees of difference and no difference."
-William James on NO2 in 1882
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mexicanjewlucas
sleep, save, blow stuff up
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Re: Scientists find anticonvulsant drug helps marijuana smokers kick the habit [Re: ThldKrvMlkBr]
#16135567 - 04/24/12 11:47 PM (1 year, 29 days ago) |
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MARIJUANA IS NOT ADDICTIVE, IT CREATES A DEPENDENCY BUT IS NOT ADDICTIVE (i think)
i do not belive marijuana is addictive. what is addictive is the almost constant release of dopeamines that marijuana gives daily users. my evidence for this is that when im at home doing my normal day to day things and i stop smoking i get cravings and it seems like the world is about to end because i have shut off that release of dopeamines. if i go on a vacation and stop smoking for a couple of weeks i don't get craving because i am doing exciting vacation things and they are realising the dopeamine for me. if you can get the release of dopeamine somewhere else and this takes away the craving for marijuana doesn't that prove its not the marijuana that is addictive? you are addicted to something the marijuana causes, not the marijuana itself.
Quote:
ThldKrvMlkBr said:
Pot addiction to me is a myth. Jonsing is not withdrawl, at least not in the sense that it can stop anyone with a shred of will from quitting smoking pot. I smoke weed on and off now, sometimes I have 2-3 hoots before bed and sometimes I don't smoke for months. It's nothing.
you don't sound like someone that smokes everyday for years on end, therefore you don't have the same withdrawls as users like myself do, a few puffs every now and then before bed will not cause you to become dependent. try smoking when you wake up and ever 2 or 3 hours after that everyday for a couple of years then tell me you are not addicted to something the marijuana causes
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"We can get 2 birds stoned at once."
Edited by mexicanjewlucas (04/24/12 11:57 PM)
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Jim
Registered: 04/07/04
Posts: 20,888
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Re: Scientists find anticonvulsant drug helps marijuana smokers kick the habit [Re: peskypoop]
#16135595 - 04/24/12 11:52 PM (1 year, 29 days ago) |
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ha!
I was on Neurontin when in rehab, which is gabapentin.
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Use the Fucking Reply To Feature You Lazy Pieces of Shit!
afoaf said:
Jim, if you were in my city, I would let you fuck my wife.
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ThldKrvMlkBr
Canucks hatin Canuck
Registered: 04/14/12
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Re: Scientists find anticonvulsant drug helps marijuana smokers kick the habit [Re: Jim]
#16135931 - 04/25/12 12:49 AM (1 year, 28 days ago) |
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Dude, I smoked every day pretty much from when I was 14-25, especially the first 8 years. Wake an bakes are fun, sometimes they still are once in a blue moon. From my experience both with weed and real drugs, its a psychological addiction which is what whoever was trying to say by picking apart the difference between withdrawl and addiction with semantics. Like me and sugar. I have a sweet-tooth and candy is hard to resist but I don't lose sleep over it. Sure sometimes it was tougher after a stressful day to get to sleep with no pot but being a polydrug user from an early age I can tell you that weed along with coffee are the two drugs that are most easy to get off of. I smoked a lot of pot in my youth and also sold for free weed and a little cash. Free pot = couple ounces or more smoked a month. I've never had an easier time quitting any other drug, and I've never personally met a single stoner who has claimed withdrawls. What I believe your experiencing is cravings for a substance that you rely on to get through the day. If you smoke when you wake up then again when you get home from work until you finally get burned out and crash, obviously you've built a reliance on the sedative properties of weed to make you sleepy by the end of the day.
Also, if a substance causes the release of chemicals in your head or excites the receptors for said chemicals it is possible to cause addiciton. That is really the definition of addiction. Pot just doesn't alter the function of receptors enough to cause much of an addiction or withdrawl if any, thats supported by your observation of being on vacation and not needing weed right? When I was on codeine it didn't matter where I was I NEEDED IT. Tobacco is a bastard, weed not so much.
If you can find something exciting to keep you occupied maybe you won't need it so much. One thing weed is perfect for, for when your bored!!
Lastly, weed doesn't need a drug to stop it. Other drugs need weed to stop them.
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tizjack
Tizzy
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Re: Scientists find anticonvulsant drug helps marijuana smokers kick the habit [Re: ThldKrvMlkBr]
#16136217 - 04/25/12 01:59 AM (1 year, 28 days ago) |
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Fuck that. Everyone who is seeking to treat marijuana addiction were probably sent by their parole officer. Jail or rehab, take your pick.
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withoutawire
Bunny Lover
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Re: Scientists find anticonvulsant drug helps marijuana smokers kick the habit [Re: qream]
#16136340 - 04/25/12 02:29 AM (1 year, 28 days ago) |
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Quote:
qream said:
Using an addictive substance that has been shown to increase suicidal dendencies and depression to treat something nonaddictive that has just mild withdrawals after heavy usage seems totally insane.
Neuronton is not habit forming. There is some physical dependency issues, but it's rare. Most people don't experience them, and increase in suicide can be applied to almost any drug.
Marijuana is an addictive drugg. It is habit forming unlike Neuronton. Dependency and addiction are two completely different things. Neuronton has some issues with dependency and they require a couple weeks to taper safely in extreme cases. This is not drug addiction.
Don't knock modern medicine because of your own beliefs. Advances like this help treat addiction, a very real and miserable consequence from using drugs like marijuana. Education would help prevent many of these things from happening and learning to treat marijuana addiction with a drug that is incredibly safe is ridiculous.
Death is a possible side effect of APAP, yet you probably take it when you have a headache. A possible side effect does not imply any true safety profile for a drug.
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mexicanjewlucas
sleep, save, blow stuff up
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Re: Scientists find anticonvulsant drug helps marijuana smokers kick the habit [Re: ThldKrvMlkBr]
#16136464 - 04/25/12 03:00 AM (1 year, 28 days ago) |
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Quote:
ThldKrvMlkBr said:
What I believe your experiencing is cravings for a substance that you rely on to get through the day. If you smoke when you wake up then again when you get home from work until you finally get burned out and crash, obviously you've built a reliance on the sedative properties of weed to make you sleepy by the end of the day.
i couldn't agree more, i never said i was addicted to marijuana, no one is. but i am dependent on it, very dependent. dependent and addicted are two different things.
Quote:
Also, if a substance causes the release of chemicals in your head or excites the receptors for said chemicals it is possible to cause addiciton. That is really the definition of addiction. Pot just doesn't alter the function of receptors enough to cause much of an addiction or withdrawl if any, thats supported by your observation of being on vacation and not needing weed right? When I was on codeine it didn't matter where I was I NEEDED IT. Tobacco is a bastard, weed not so much.
once again i agree, i am not addicted to marijuana i am de pendant on it because it releases the large amounts of dopamine that i am addicted too. going on vacation my addiction to the release of dopeamine is satisfied by doing exciting vacation things, my dependency on marijuana has been replaced but my addiction to the release of dopeamine is still there, just being satisfied differently to smoking marijuana.
Quote:
Lastly, weed doesn't need a drug to stop it. Other drugs need weed to stop them.
and again i agree.
we seem to both have the same idea that marijuana is not addictive but are getting mixed up with the different terms. point being marijuana is not addictive but it causes an addiction to dopeamine that makes users become dependent on marijuana.
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"We can get 2 birds stoned at once."
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ThldKrvMlkBr
Canucks hatin Canuck
Registered: 04/14/12
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Re: Scientists find anticonvulsant drug helps marijuana smokers kick the habit [Re: withoutawire]
#16136517 - 04/25/12 03:17 AM (1 year, 28 days ago) |
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So what your saying withoutawire is a physical dependence is desirable compared to a habit or "addiction"? Shit, I have a candy addiction, what can you get me for that? Bullshit. Addiction doesn't just mean habit or psychological addiction. It may be seperate from dependance, but you can't tell me that without supervision, a person on neuronton can just stop taking it as they see fit if they are dependant chemically. Wouldn't that still be addiction, can dependancy of itself still not lead to addiction? Or do you only count euphoric or otherwise pleasant "habits" as addictions? When doctors prescribe narcotics for legit pain, and the pain happens to be long term usually the patient develops dependancy. Is that person not also addicted, not because of a regular habit of seeking a high but a regular habit of treating pain? If not supervised well enough or over-prescribed do many of those people not seek ever increasing amounts of the drug?
Anyways you nailed it in your post withoutawire. Pot=habit. Other drugs=dependancy. Whats worse? And why does everyone (doctors, researchers) focus on treating something psychological like habit with rounds of drugs that are almost always dependency forming? Its fucking backwards, those types of issues should be dealt with with a change in the persons life not more chemicals.
Furthermore, doesn't the cause and effect of addiction and dependancy get even more blurred when we take into account how everything we do and eat has some sort of chemical effect on our mind/body? And to mexicanjewlucas, marijuana has little to do with dopamine. Your brain has cannaboid receptors meant for similar chemicals produced naturally within your body. I think I've read it affects seretonin levels/receptors more than dopamine, but by far it mostly affects CB1 and CB2 receptors.
Edited by ThldKrvMlkBr (04/25/12 03:21 AM)
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withoutawire
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Re: Scientists find anticonvulsant drug helps marijuana smokers kick the habit [Re: ThldKrvMlkBr]
#16136541 - 04/25/12 03:32 AM (1 year, 28 days ago) |
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Quote:
ThldKrvMlkBr said:
Also, if a substance causes the release of chemicals in your head or excites the receptors for said chemicals it is possible to cause addiciton. That is really the definition of addiction. Pot just doesn't alter the function of receptors enough to cause much of an addiction or withdrawl if any, thats supported by your observation of being on vacation and not needing weed right? When I was on codeine it didn't matter where I was I NEEDED IT. Tobacco is a bastard, weed not so much.
There are many substances that "excite" receptors that are not addicting. Is tylenol or advil addicting? It excites the receptor. Clearly, it's not.
Weed is absolutely addictive. Don't kid yourself. It's by far the safest intoxicant that I can think of, and probably the healthiest too. That doesn't mean it's not addicting.
It doesn't cause traditional withdrawal, but there is a withdrawal to marijuana. The physical withdrawal is extremely mild worst case scenerio. The overwhelming of majority of people don't experience that who are marijuana addicts, but it's there.
Seriously read a book before you say things that aren't true. It's not a big deal that you are wrong. I say things that are wrong on this forum and I get corrected. It doesn't make me an idiot and no one cares, but what is important that when I am wrong I can admit it and learn something from it.
Quote:
ThldKrvMlkBr said:
So what your saying withoutawire is a physical dependence is desirable compared to a habit or "addiction"? Shit, I have a candy addiction, what can you get me for that? Bullshit. Addiction doesn't just mean habit or psychological addiction. It may be seperate from dependance, but you can't tell me that without supervision, a person on neuronton can just stop taking it as they see fit if they are dependant chemically. Wouldn't that still be addiction, can dependancy of itself still not lead to addiction? Or do you only count euphoric or otherwise pleasant "habits" as addictions? When doctors prescribe narcotics for legit pain, and the pain happens to be long term usually the patient develops dependancy. Is that person not also addicted, not because of a regular habit or seeking a high but a regular habit of treating pain? If not supervised well enough or over-prescribed do many of those people not seek ever increasing amounts of the drug?
Anyways you nailed it in your post withoutawire. Pot=habit. Other drugs=dependancy. Whats worse? And why does everyone (doctors, researchers) focus on treating something psychological like habit with rounds of drugs that are almost always dependency forming? Its fucking backwards, those types of issues should be dealt with with a change in the persons life not more chemicals.
Furthermore, doesn't the cause and effect of addiction and dependancy get even more blurred when we take into account how everything we do and eat has some sort of chemical effect on our mind/body? And to mexicanjewlucas, marijuana has little to do with dopamine. Your brain has cannaboid receptors meant for similar chemicals produced naturally within your body. I think I've read it affects seretonin levels/receptors more than dopamine, but by far it mostly affects CB1 and CB2 receptors.
Here are some things we should establish first.
Quote:
Addiction may be defined as the continued use of a mood altering substance or behaviour despite adverse consequences.[1] Alternatively, it may be defined as a neurological impairment leading to such behaviors[2].
Addictions can include, but are not limited to, alcohol abuse, drug abuse, exercise abuse, and gambling. Classic hallmarks of addiction include: impaired control over substances/behaviour, preoccupation with substance/behaviour, continued use despite consequences, and denial.[3] Habits and patterns associated with addiction are typically characterized by immediate gratification (short-term reward), coupled with delayed deleterious effects (long-term costs).[4] Physiological dependence occurs when the body has to adjust to the substance by incorporating the substance into its 'normal' functioning.[5] This state creates the conditions of tolerance, and withdrawal. Tolerance is the process by which the body continually adapts to the substance and requires increasingly larger amounts to achieve the original effects. Withdrawal refers to physical and psychological symptoms people experience when reducing or discontinuing a substance the body had become dependent on. Symptoms of withdrawal generally include but are not limited to anxiety, irritability, intense cravings for the substance, nausea, hallucinations, headaches, cold sweats, and tremors.
Quote:
Physical dependence is the body's adaptation to a particular drug. In other words, the individual's body gets used to receiving regular doses of a certain medication. When the medication is abruptly stopped or the dosage is reduced too quickly, the person will experience withdrawal symptoms. Although we tend to think of opioids when we talk about physical dependence and withdrawal, a number of other drugs not associated with addiction can also result in physical dependence (i.e., antidepressants, beta blockers, corticosteroids, etc.) and can trigger unpleasant withdrawal symptoms if stopped abruptly.
You can have addiction and not be dependent and vice versa. Candy addiction is a real thing. It's not the same as drug addiction because of social factors, prohibition being the most essential, but that doesn't mean people don't cry themselves to sleep every night because they are fat and can't stop eating candy. These people are just as addicted to candy as a drug addict is to drugs. It takes different forms of treatment and management, but what is essential is that it's effecting one's happiness and life. It doesn't matter if it's candy or heroin. Misery is misery.
If someone is truly dependent on GabaP then yes they need to be tapered. Non addiction specialist do this all the time with GabaP because it's so easy and safe. It takes a lot of Neuronton to get to this point. I can tell you I took it for 8 weeks at 600mg and I tapered for 7 days and it was fine. I'm not saying it's without side effects or consequences, and if you look at what I said I clearly didn't say it's 100% safe. What I am saying is that it's very, very safe and any doctor knows how to handle someone with GabaP dependency. Their body physically requires the drug. Their mind doesn't tell them to take the drug from a craving, they get physically ill without it.
There are a lot of drugs like this. SSRI's are a perfect example. You can become very physically dependent but it's not habit forming drug. No one is coping SSRIs to get high. No one is shooting or snorting SSRIs because they get high. Neuronton is the same, and there are some isolated cases of people saying that very high doses feel like benzos. I'd disagree, and say Neuroton is as ab-useable as Seroqual or Bendryl. If you take enough there are some intoxicant effects, but these drugs do not rewire your brain to think it needs the drug like addictive drugs.
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