logoalt Hacker News

hn_throwaway_99 • today at 3:50 AM • 0 replies • view on HN

I'm not sure if it's just the US and Canada, but doctors here (in my experience) are absolutely atrocious and not properly trained when it comes to getting off benzos (but in fairness my experience was from the mid/late 00s).

Many years ago my partner at the time was prescribed Klonopin, primarily as a sleep aid. When he decided to go off it, he talked to his psychiatrist and was given basically no helpful guidance on how to go off. In retrospect I consider that malpractice. It was absolute hell and it took him well over 18 months to finally kick it (and it's not like he had a large prescription in the first place).

One reason I was so pissed is that as he was going off it I did some research and discovered that the NHS in the UK had an entire extensive protocol for people getting off Klonopin that required months of tapering and replacing Klonopin with a less powerful benzo (I think it was diazepam, or Valium) so you could taper at a more gradual pace.

It's insane to me that it's not required for doctors to explain the withdrawal procedures before writing a prescription for any drug that is physically addictive.