Quote:
Originally Posted by Dion
The doc created another addiction problem for her. That's not safe. Benzo's are highly addictive where the body develops a tolerance for the drug resulting in the user having to ever increase the dosage to get the same effect. Mixing it with alcohol can be deadly as it increases the sedation the drug provides. For all we know, she could have taken too much of Xanax and fallen asleep in the bath tub where she drowned.
The doc had choices like Paxil that treats anxiety and it's not an addictive drug. He/she screwed up big time!
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Devil's Advocate:
It is very rarely deadly even if mixed with alcohol (even then it was drowning accident that killed her, not an acute overdose), though still dangerous. While SSRIs like paxil are first line therapy for anxiety disorders and they decrease the number and severity of "attacks", you still need something for acute anxiety. However, the doc could/should have ensured if they were going to prescribe it with her addiction habits, there should not have been many. Having said all that, she is a professional who works a lot. It would be reasonable to assume that she could lie about not having any (which addicts do), lie about losing them (which addicts do), or just tell the dr/pharmacist that she needed more as she was working and couldn't get back in for a while. Heck, how hard would it be for her to see three or four doctors and go to three or four pharmacies?
Even with her addiction, many docs would still prescribe it, especially in a for-profit environment where the patient is the Dr's customer.
Again, while benzo's are addictive (I definitely wouldn't say highly), there wouldn't have been many other options. If were her Dr, I don't think I would have prescribed it. However, without knowing the quantities prescribed our how many Dr's prescribed it, malpractice is not easily assumed.
And for all we know, she could have just drank and drown in the bathtub