Veteran,
Meet Your New Bunk Mate:
Killer Benzo
Twenty-two veterans a day, on average, are committing suicide. In fact, since the beginning of 2014, there have been more than 2,000 veteran deaths by suicide according to Veterans Administration figures. Who doesn't find this news disturbing? And why is it happening? It's time we begin to speak about the unspeakable: prescription drug addiction. This is a national conversation we can no longer dance around or postpone.
We hear about multiple deployments and tours, but the elephant in the room is the large-scale drugging of vets for their PTS(D). Many of these drugs are highly addictive. Some are known to cause psychosis during withdrawal, and can often lead to violence and suicide.
In light of the shootings at Fort Hood, I'd like to talk about PTS and the drugs being prescribed for it. (I'm dropping the (D)isorder. Post-traumatic stress sounds more healable than a disorder, less stigmatizing.) Various reports say the shooter was being treated for his depression and anxiety with Ambien, as well as undisclosed anti-depressants. Doctors are more likely to prescribe Ambien than they are benzos because Ambien is thought to be non-addictive, and not of the benzodiazepine family. Although Ambien isn't technically a benzodiazepine, it's the closest you can get and has been proven to be extremely dangerous, depending on an individual's brain chemistry. Give Ambien to vets suffering from PTS, on top of other psychiatric drugs, and what might you imagine will happen to their brain chemistry, already damaged by the abnormality of war? How many vets are being prescribed Ambien, Xanax, Valium and other assorted benzos for their stress? Has the effect of mixing benzos with SSRI's been sufficiently studied, or is the study to be found right here, in the stats of veteran suicides, or in the violence at Fort Hood?
We hear about multiple deployments and tours, but the elephant in the room is the large-scale drugging of vets for their PTS(D). Many of these drugs are highly addictive. Some are known to cause psychosis during withdrawal, and can often lead to violence and suicide.
In light of the shootings at Fort Hood, I'd like to talk about PTS and the drugs being prescribed for it. (I'm dropping the (D)isorder. Post-traumatic stress sounds more healable than a disorder, less stigmatizing.) Various reports say the shooter was being treated for his depression and anxiety with Ambien, as well as undisclosed anti-depressants. Doctors are more likely to prescribe Ambien than they are benzos because Ambien is thought to be non-addictive, and not of the benzodiazepine family. Although Ambien isn't technically a benzodiazepine, it's the closest you can get and has been proven to be extremely dangerous, depending on an individual's brain chemistry. Give Ambien to vets suffering from PTS, on top of other psychiatric drugs, and what might you imagine will happen to their brain chemistry, already damaged by the abnormality of war? How many vets are being prescribed Ambien, Xanax, Valium and other assorted benzos for their stress? Has the effect of mixing benzos with SSRI's been sufficiently studied, or is the study to be found right here, in the stats of veteran suicides, or in the violence at Fort Hood?
This is personal, and I'm sharing it because the danger of benzodiazepines needs to be addressed when it comes to the treatment of our veterans, or this epidemic of veteran suicides will continue unabated, as will homicides.
I was once a POW, and won't go into detail other than to say I've suffered from PTS off and on all my life. I've also been addicted to Ativan, a powerful benzodiazepine and the scariest time of my adult life was the summer I spent kicking Ativan cold-turkey. I hadn't done my research, clearly. And within weeks I’d become addicted to 0.5 mg of Ativan nightly, to sleep. Acquiring a prescription was as easy as buying a candy bar. What I didn't know: anxiety can increase with use to serious consequences, and when it comes to kicking benzos, that's just the tip of the iceberg.
A year into benzo addiction I started having Tony Soprano-like panic attacks. Aside from physical withdrawal symptoms, I was often confused, unable to concentrate. I tried to get medical help, told several doctors, including a neurologist, that I'd been taking Ativan and had stopped. The neurologist's solution was to prescribe Gabapentin, another drug known to provoke suicidal tendencies. In the end, I gave up on seeking 'western' medical help and withdrew successfully through self-care. I was saved by the right supplementation, e.g. Vitamin B-5 at night for sleep, exercise, acupuncture, diet, creative outlets and the talk and support of a few good friends. I feel incredibly grateful to still be here, alive, after what ended up as nearly an entire year of severe, often excruciating withdrawal symptoms. All this to say, there is hope to be found, away from a psychiatrist's prescription pad.
Knowing that men are far less likely to seek help with mental and emotional problems, what must these medicated vets be going through? I have an uncle who served as an MP in Vietnam, and from what I've heard and read, the atrocities of Vietnam were beyond the usual scope of evil, rendering the Guantanamo Bay torture photos as mere child's play. They weren't doping our Vietnam vets the way they do now; too many of those unfortunate vets ended up with serious heroin addictions, or homeless, mentally ill and forgotten. Comparatively, the suicide rates of our recent Iraq and Afghanistan vets are astronomical to those of Vietnam. Prescription drug therapy, especially with benzos, is not working to help PTS; in fact, it's making matters far worse.
What do veterans need? Compassionate, moral talk therapy, professionals who can taper them off dangerous drug cocktails slowly, with the right supplementation, nutrition, and exercise. Creative pursuits, a sense of community, support groups. Fulfilling civilian lives filled with engaging, integritous, healthy work and play. And, dare I say it? Love, in huge quantities. Not only from family and community, but from the government who threw them to the wolves in the first place. A new paradigm is required to heal our wounded. And the fact that the Republican Senate just derailed a veteran's bill that would have provided $21 billion worth of desperately needed care can't be making our vets feel on top of the world either. The Republicans say yes to tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires, but we can't afford help for our veterans. Their message is loud and clear; veterans, you can all take a long walk off a short pier. The 1% are the ones who count.
Young men are a tangle of desires, hormones and frustrations all seeking an outlet, craving for adventure and action. In essence, creative needs to work, to build, to "make" something out of nothing. They deserve to return home to more of an American dream than this brief scene from Kathryn Bigelow's The Hurt Locker.
I was once a POW, and won't go into detail other than to say I've suffered from PTS off and on all my life. I've also been addicted to Ativan, a powerful benzodiazepine and the scariest time of my adult life was the summer I spent kicking Ativan cold-turkey. I hadn't done my research, clearly. And within weeks I’d become addicted to 0.5 mg of Ativan nightly, to sleep. Acquiring a prescription was as easy as buying a candy bar. What I didn't know: anxiety can increase with use to serious consequences, and when it comes to kicking benzos, that's just the tip of the iceberg.
A year into benzo addiction I started having Tony Soprano-like panic attacks. Aside from physical withdrawal symptoms, I was often confused, unable to concentrate. I tried to get medical help, told several doctors, including a neurologist, that I'd been taking Ativan and had stopped. The neurologist's solution was to prescribe Gabapentin, another drug known to provoke suicidal tendencies. In the end, I gave up on seeking 'western' medical help and withdrew successfully through self-care. I was saved by the right supplementation, e.g. Vitamin B-5 at night for sleep, exercise, acupuncture, diet, creative outlets and the talk and support of a few good friends. I feel incredibly grateful to still be here, alive, after what ended up as nearly an entire year of severe, often excruciating withdrawal symptoms. All this to say, there is hope to be found, away from a psychiatrist's prescription pad.
Knowing that men are far less likely to seek help with mental and emotional problems, what must these medicated vets be going through? I have an uncle who served as an MP in Vietnam, and from what I've heard and read, the atrocities of Vietnam were beyond the usual scope of evil, rendering the Guantanamo Bay torture photos as mere child's play. They weren't doping our Vietnam vets the way they do now; too many of those unfortunate vets ended up with serious heroin addictions, or homeless, mentally ill and forgotten. Comparatively, the suicide rates of our recent Iraq and Afghanistan vets are astronomical to those of Vietnam. Prescription drug therapy, especially with benzos, is not working to help PTS; in fact, it's making matters far worse.
What do veterans need? Compassionate, moral talk therapy, professionals who can taper them off dangerous drug cocktails slowly, with the right supplementation, nutrition, and exercise. Creative pursuits, a sense of community, support groups. Fulfilling civilian lives filled with engaging, integritous, healthy work and play. And, dare I say it? Love, in huge quantities. Not only from family and community, but from the government who threw them to the wolves in the first place. A new paradigm is required to heal our wounded. And the fact that the Republican Senate just derailed a veteran's bill that would have provided $21 billion worth of desperately needed care can't be making our vets feel on top of the world either. The Republicans say yes to tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires, but we can't afford help for our veterans. Their message is loud and clear; veterans, you can all take a long walk off a short pier. The 1% are the ones who count.
Young men are a tangle of desires, hormones and frustrations all seeking an outlet, craving for adventure and action. In essence, creative needs to work, to build, to "make" something out of nothing. They deserve to return home to more of an American dream than this brief scene from Kathryn Bigelow's The Hurt Locker.
We could be building a new society together, one where being tricked, duped and shanghaied out of our own happiness is a thing of the past. Instead, we're allowing a crowd of billionaire white male bullies beat us all into submission. And in some cases, after risking our lives for an illusory dream, into prescribed suicide and homicide. How long will we put up with it?
For starters, how about a scientific study on veterans suffering from PTS, pinpointing exactly which drugs they are being prescribed and in what numbers? Our veterans deserve so much more. So do we all.
For starters, how about a scientific study on veterans suffering from PTS, pinpointing exactly which drugs they are being prescribed and in what numbers? Our veterans deserve so much more. So do we all.
I’ve written blogs for the Huffington Post in the past, but they've just DECLINED this one,
about the drugging of US Veterans suffering from PTS(D)and the dire consequences involved.
Tell me if you think it's too over-the-top radical…
or has speaking truth to power become a radical act in this country?
Would love to hear your thoughts on this.
Write to me at ADELE B.
about the drugging of US Veterans suffering from PTS(D)and the dire consequences involved.
Tell me if you think it's too over-the-top radical…
or has speaking truth to power become a radical act in this country?
Would love to hear your thoughts on this.
Write to me at ADELE B.
