benzos and brain holes

[razorwiredildo]

Swim has a friend that has been seeing various psychiatrists for problems with anxiety. Recently he saw a psych and he asked her about the possibility of being treated with benzodiazepines instead of his current regimen of Effexor, Trazodone and paliperidone. The psych told him that benzos were very dangerous and could put holes in his brain. When swim heard this he thought it was complete bullshit. He knows benzos are nothing to fuck around with, but he has never heard of them putting holes in brains. Has anyone heard this before, or is this psych full of shit?

[Nahbus]

Pretty sure if someone had "holes in the brain" they would die...

[Panthers007]

It could be the psychiatrist has his pharmacology mixed up. I've never heard of benzodiazepines eating holes in the brain. But the drugs psychiatrists used to love - phenothiazines - are noted for this. These drugs are used as "major-tranquilizers"* for people who are psychotic( and people who are not - they were widely misused in their hayday). Thorazine was the prototype of this class of chemical. And the condition tardive dyskinesia was the result of prolonged administration. TD would cause irreversible organic damage to the brain-stem. TD causes a shuffling of the feet(Thorazine Shuffle), flailing of the arms, slurring of speech, and other permanent conditions. Even if one was not psychotic, you sure would look it! Or mistakenly thought to be retarded.


* "Chemical Straightjackets"

[EndlessKnight]

I've heard of dissociative drugs like DXM, PCP and Ketamine causing "holes" in the brain (also know as Olney's lesions) but never benzodiazepines

[chinpokomaster]

Maybe the benzos have been cut with MDMA, I hear that can make your brain look like a piece of swiss cheese

[Jatelka]

This is bollocks