A Caregiver’s Story- And How I Became an Addict

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“There are only four kinds of people in this world—those who have been caregivers, those who currently are caregivers, those who will be caregivers and those who need caregivers.”

                                                      –Former First Lady Rosalynn Carter

 

In 1994, my nineteen-year old daughter, Cristina, was diagnosed with chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML). It was a diagnosis that came totally out of the blue and as a complete shock. Soon after she was diagnosed, it became clear that I wasn’t going to be able to sleep because of the tremendous stress, so I asked the very kind doctor who diagnosed Cristina if he could give me a prescription for something that would help me sleep. He agreed, and so began my “relationship” with Xanax. I had never taken anything like that before and didn’t know anything about it. All I knew was that as my daughter’s primary caregiver, I needed sleep in order to fight to keep her alive.

Cristina opted for a bone marrow transplant, which we were told was the best chance for her survival. This procedure entailed the search for a donor, and lethal chemotherapy and radiation that, as one nurse told us, would have to kill her in order to cure her. Cristina had the transplant and over the next several years we spent endless hours, days, weeks, and months, and years in and out of the hospital for various emergencies, re-hospitalizations, and surgeries. I took the Xanax to at least give me some semblance of sleep throughout this time.

By about five years post-transplant, my daughter’s major emergencies lightened up, but I continued on Xanax. I did some research about it and finally learned that it was addictive (which I hadn’t been told by that very kind doctor) and that it was extremely difficult to get off. So I just stayed on it. I was overwhelmed with so many things, it just seemed easier. As far as I knew, the Xanax was just helping me sleep and I never took it during the day, only at night. As much as I recall, it was about two to three milligrams a night, which also depended on how much of an emergency situation I was dealing with. The years passed and I eventually tried on several occasions to get off it without success. I was told by a number of different doctors that the only safe way to get off it was to get on something else, so I tried several antidepressants and sleep medications. None of these meds helped, but instead, made my condition worse. With so many hospitalizations, rehospitalizations and emergencies, my sleep cycle had been completely thrown off. There was no longer any night or day, but only emergencies. Xanax seemed to be the only thing that could get me to sleep through all of this, and I was convinced I needed it.

About three years ago, I moved to Boulder, Colorado and continued the same routine of seeing everyone I could think of who could possibly help, but to no avail. Last year, I noticed that I was really slowing down. I was doing less and less, had no energy and basically felt like I was dying. I felt that in some way I was still alive just through sheer willpower. I got really scared, but still didn’t connect this with the Xanax. Through a friend, I met a healer and we began talking about Xanax. He told me that it exhausts the brain and totally rewires the nervous system (and not in a good way). Xanax causes the brain to cut back on GABA production (which calms the brain) and most other “feel good” hormones.

When he told me that, a light bulb went off. All of a sudden, I realized that Xanax must have been playing a part in why I wasn’t healing from the foot injury I’d acquired years earlier, why I was in so much pain, and why I was slowing down so much. I decided that my only, best option was to get off it, so I began the weaning process in early December 2012. I’d seen a doctor who told me I needed Xanax to function, but that if I wanted to get off, I should just take Qigong, and maybe go off a sliver at a time. He then sent me on my way. This was no help, really. I did some research into doctors, but Medicare, my only insurance, didn’t cover very much and I couldn’t find a doctor who really specialized in substance abuse. By this point, I was so close to completely shutting down that I couldn’t think straight, and I really had no idea what was in store for me. I took what I thought was my average dosage as the starting point for weaning. By early February I was down more than half. I didn’t realize that this was too fast, and I thought I was doing pretty well until I had one thought… literally just one thought… and I went over the cliff and into a nightmare.

Thankfully for me, Cristina was also living in Boulder. Unfortunately for her, she took the brunt of what became my descent into psychosis from what was close to a cold-turkey withdrawal of Xanax. I wasn’t sleeping or eating, and was in total non-function mode. I was full of rage, and experienced weeping, paranoia, excruciating physical and, even worse, emotional, mental, and psychological pain. I couldn’t stay by myself and I couldn’t be around anybody. Nothing my daughter did or said was okay and I was petrified and terrified all the time. I was having back-to-back anxiety attacks. I couldn’t go to the store for food because even if I got there, I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to get back. The healer said I shouldn’t go back up on the Xanax to stabilize because I would be backtracking. I was at a complete loss, as was my daughter. I think if she hadn’t been around, I would have had to have been institutionalized. I had a few blessed friends who said I could leave whatever crazy messages I needed to at any time of the day or night. And I did! However, even with the help of some friends, no one I knew had ever gone through this. I felt totally isolated, alone and ashamed. I was in total grief about what was happening to me and I had absolutely no control over it. Over and over in my head I thought, “I can’t believe what this little pill did to me.” It was nearly impossible to wrap my head around the fact that this little pill, which was only supposed to help me sleep, was basically killing me. It is still hard for me to wrap my head around this.

A friend of mine had heard about Matt Samet, a rock climber here in Boulder who had gotten off benzos and was writing about his experiences, and reading his story helped me enormously. He described exactly what I was going through so at least I felt I wasn’t totally crazy. But still, what to do?  I knew about an online community of Boulder residents who have a Yahoo group called ‘Anna’s List’, so I figured I might as well check it out to see if there was any help there. Among the few people who responded to my plea for help was a wonderful functional nutritionist who helped me get the basics for some good nutrition. She suggested I contact a certified addictions counselor who did what is called LENS Therapy (EEG Biofeedback). I called her, set up an appointment … and the dawn came! The calvary arrived! LENS therapy basically disrupts the cyclical functioning of the brain caused by chemical, physical and emotional trauma. My brain had been totally traumatized by benzos and the neurons kept firing in the same chemically traumatized circle. LENS therapy can correct neurological pathways altered by Xanax, as well as create new healthy pathways. When I started this therapy in February, I was told to go back up to my original dose of Xanax to stabilize; when I did, some semblance of sanity returned. I continued getting the LENS treatments every week, and on May 6th, I began my official weaning process. It was not pleasant, to say the least;I wasn’t sleeping very well nor eating very much, but at least I wasn’t psychotic anymore. I also completely trusted the therapist and felt I was in good, compassionate, intelligent hands. I felt that this healthy rewiring of my brain made total sense and brought with it the gift of a new beginning. A second chance at my life. I realized that when I’d abruptly withdrawn before, it felt like I was reliving my childhood, which was one of fear, neglect, and abuse. When I withdrew from the Xanax with this therapist, most of those thoughts and feelings were gone. They are in the past now, where they belong. By July 4th weekend, I stopped taking the Xanax totally, which was when the real withdrawal began. It was as if I’d walked with a crutch for twenty years and had it suddenly kicked out from under me. My body was all swollen from the detox, both inside and out. This was been a big blow to my vanity on top of everything else.

As I’ve gone through this process I’ve done much research about benzos and the statistics are shattering and alarming. I know I am not the first, last or only caregiver to take prescription medication. There are approximately sixty-seven million caregivers in this country with approximately 30% taking medication (1). That’s twenty million people. I also researched the use of prescription meds in the general public. Between 1992 and 2002 the use of benzodiazapines increased almost 80% (2). Yes, shattering and alarming.

As of this writing, I am about fourteen weeks out, clean and sober. I have had some nights in which I can only sleep for forty-five minutes, other nights for two hours. I am exhausted beyond exhaustion, feel depressed, and can hardly do anything. Even having the most basic conversation is exhausting and draining. However, I am no longer feeling totally petrified. I can stay by myself and am learning literally to take it one day at a time. I’ve been doing some EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) to help with my withdrawal, and a few weeks ago, I tried some hypnotherapy in the hopes that it would help with my insomnia (which it really didn’t). I am also taking some neurotransmitter supplements that the LENS therapist recommended and they seem to help a little with the energy and the sleeping.

I have to be much kinder to myself. I feel so much guilt and shame over the fact that while I am functioning somewhat, I still cannot do very much. I feel like I have no life at all. My day ends a few hours after I wake up, should I actually sleep at all. I used to feel joy and laugh a lot. Right now, that seems like a distant memory of who I was; these days, I feel very spaced out. I go to a local recreation center to exercise. I mostly swim, because being in the water soothes and relaxes me. On most days, that’s my major outing and event.

Sometimes when I speak, I wonder who is talking, because the words don’t feel like they’re coming from me. The big question I have is, who am I now? After twenty years on a brain- and mind- altering “medication”, I’m not sure who I am anymore. I have hope that I am creating, or recreating, a new and better me. If I put my arm out, I wonder whose arm that is and how I did it. I feel so strange all the time. I struggle with anxiety and the fact that what used to make me feel anxious now so easily becomes a panic attack. I have to be very careful of everything I do and who I talk to. I feel very fragile in every way. I have come to realize, albeit the hard way, that I can’t do anything to move this process along any faster. Any detox that I might normally do, like juicing, rebounding on a trampoline (which gets the lymph system going), intense exercise, or a massage (oh how I’d love one), only sends me further into withdrawal hell. Even bone broth, which does wonders in healing the gut, which I learned through one of the blessed benzo withdrawal support sites I go to, is something I can only do a little at a time because of how sensitive my system is.

What has been one of the biggest, most wonderful gifts to me, and what has literally been a lifeline for me, has been connecting with benzo support groups online and a couple blessed people on the phone. I witnessed my daughter survive tremendous suffering and misery during her cancer battle; I have to say that second to this is all I’ve witnessed in these forums, where people talk about physical pain of all kinds, and mental, emotional and spiritual pain that’s even worse. As I connect with people, I am realizing that while I am going through hell, there are people whose situations are far worse. I am lucky that I was only on one benzo, as there are people out there who have been on four or five. I rage at the fact that these medications were prescribed by doctors who, in my opinion, have been, at the very least, negligent. I have witnessed courage and perseverance, and received heartfelt assistance, in these support groups. I am getting tons of helpful information about healing and health, but most important for me is the kindness I’ve received and the knowledge that I am not alone in this struggle to regain sanity and get my life back. I have decided to start a benzo support group here in Boulder, because while online support is lifesaving, I really would like to be able to get together with people in person to talk, share experiences, insights and knowledge, and maybe even to get and give a few hugs!

Bottom line, this has been an excruciating, but ultimately rewarding process for me. When I think sometimes of throwing in the towel, I realize the only thing I can go back to is death. Moving forward is my only option. I also feel that I haven’t gone through this hell to backtrack. If I keep up my courage and perseverance, I have another chance at my life. I am truly blessed and grateful.

(1) U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (1998). Informal Caregiving: Compassion in Action. (Based on data from the National Survey of Families and Households [NSFH]), Washington, DC: Author.
and, National Alliance for Caregiving & Evercare. (2006). Evercare® Study of Caregivers in Decline: A Close-up Look at the Health Risks of Caring for a Loved One. Bethesda, MD: National Alliance for Caregiving and Minnetonka, MN: Evercare.

(2) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benzodiazepine_dependence

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Mad in America hosts blogs by a diverse group of writers. These posts are designed to serve as a public forum for a discussion—broadly speaking—of psychiatry and its treatments. The opinions expressed are the writers’ own.

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Madeline Goldstein
Madeline is originally from the Bronx, New York and has done extensive community work throughout her life. She is the editor of two published books, had several articles published and is a freelance copywriter with web content, ghost writing, marketing and research expertise. She has written promotional materials for individuals, small businesses and non-profit organizations.

21 COMMENTS

  1. Madeline,
    You’ve hit upon a very important, often hidden epidemic: Caregivers who take “coping” medications in order to stop worrying so much and get some sleep. I did the same, although luckily “just” a popularly prescribed antidepressant, not a benzo. I tried getting off it after many months went by, the anxiety came flooding back, so assumed that I must need it. I tried again after a while, this time taking a longer term view, and supplementing with a homeopathic treatment. It worked. I eventually took up yoga and dabbled in meditation to learn better ways to cope. Mindfulness training and EFT were also useful tools. The lingering after effect of the antidepressant was the metabolic weight gain, which I resigned myself to for several years, until I eventually found a treatment for that, as well.
    Thanks for telling your story, and all the best for your continued recovery.

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    • Hi Rossa, Thanks so much for your most kind response. You are encouraging me to do more healing techniques that I keep kind of pushing off to the side. Yoga, meditation, etc. I am also wondering what treatment you found that helps with the weight gain. I have gone up two sizes and it’s pretty clear that it’s the withdrawal. I bought some garcinia cambogia to help with the weight gain but after about two weeks and more researched discovered it’s a detox and it had sent me into more withdrawal. I would love to know what you did for your weight gain. As I said in my article… the additional weight adds more to my not feeling too good about myself. THANKS SO MUCH!

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      • The HCG diet was created by Dr. Simeon in the early 1970s. Human Chorionic Gonadotrophin is a hormone produced by the placenta during pregnancy. It is believed that HCG maximizes the functional capacity of the body’s control centers in the hypothalamus. The hypothalamus is a part of the central nervous system and controls many different body functions. Dr. Simeons believed that one center in the hypothalamus, which he called the fat bank, controls the movement and distribution of fat throughout the body. HCG mobilizes abnormal fat and releases it as a source of energy and nutrients. Thus the hypothalamus ensures that the developing fetus has access to energy and nutrients even if a pregnant woman temporarily lacks access to food, thus protecting the fetus’s growth and development. Likewise, when a patient is on the Dr. Simeons HCG Protocol small amounts of HCG have been shown to mobilize abnormal fat and to make it available to the body as a source of energy and nutrients. – See more at: http://drbloem.com/treatment-options/dr-simeons-hcg-diet/hcg-diet-faqs/#sthash.dI5w847l.dpuf

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  2. Thank you for sharing your story. However, it’s not a story that I would share with friends or family in an attempt to get the word out b/c of your title and the terminology that you use in your writing.

    It’s hard enough for benzodiazepine victims to get support and validation from the medical community, friends and family members b/c they’re already disbelieved or simply written off as “addicts” when in the majority of cases this is NOT TRUE.

    There IS a difference b/w dependence(iatrogenic) and addiction and it’s even spelled out clearly in medical literature. I don’t see the people in the antidepressant withdrawal communities calling themselves “addicts” – because they’re NOT. They didn’t abuse their medications either. They took them as directed by and at the suggestion of their doctor. But they are still experiencing horrific withdrawal syndromes when attempting to stop their drugs. This is because of a physiological dependence, not a compulsion to “use” or “get high”. Big difference. Having withdrawal from something does not make one an “addict”. People get withdrawal from beta blockers for blood pressure.

    Perhaps it’s because benzodiazepines are a controlled substance. I don’t know. But it’s incorrect and it undermines our suffering and puts the blame on the patient which is incorrect. If we keep referring to ourselves as “addicts” then doctors are going to keep shipping people w/ iatrogenic dependence into rehab centers to be cold-turkeyed from their drugs- which we know causes severe withdrawal, psychosis, seizures and sometimes death and is the number one risk factor for a protracted withdrawal syndrome. I know because this happened to me. I was sent to one. Three years later, I am still suffering. I was also called an “addict” by the rehab staff and was treated like a street junkie and sat and rocked in bed in CT withdrawal while all the heroin addicts were outside playing basketball. It was extremely traumatic for me as it was barbaric and inhumane what I was put through. Until we start using properly terminology to explain this to people, it won’t stop.

    We are VICTIMS of no informed consent and of iatrogenic harm. Until we start holding the doctors responsible for this and stop blaming the victims and calling them “addicts”, when nothing is farther from the truth, nothing will change. Referring to ourselves as “addicts” gives the medical profession an “out” because they can BLAME THE VICTIM (which they do anyhow) and call them an “addict” instead of taking responsibility for CAUSING this dependence in unsuspecting patients.

    It’s time we start using the correct terminology in order to educate the general public as well as the medical professionals about this. Otherwise, there is confusion.

    I remember when I read about benzodiazepine withdrawal when I was taking prescribed benzos myself and was ignorant to the truth about them. The stories I read were just like this one, where people were calling themselves “addicts”. I remember thinking to myself, “Oh, well no wonder they’re suffering- they ABUSED their drug. I am taking mine like my doctor told me to, so nothing to worry about”. That is the message you’re sending to people.

    Unless you truly ARE a benzodiazepine addict and you were abusing these pills like an addict uses heroin or alcohol, you shouldn’t call yourself one. If you’re doctor prescribed these medications to you, you took them as directed and became DEPENDENT on them unwillingly, you’re not an addict.

    Terminology is IMPORTANT when you’re discussing this and attempting to educate about this topic.

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    • Thank you for your thoughtful response. I am only just learning about the different terminologies and views of what it means/does to be on any of these psych meds. As I said in my article, I’ve actually been more dead than alive for the last year due to the Xanax. It is, of course, your choice whether or not you want to share the article with friends and family. I would only say that sometimes it doesn’t serve anyone to throw the baby out with the bath water. Even if the terminology isn’t exactly “correct,” I would have hoped that the ESSENCE of my story, my anger at doctors, my having absolutely no knowledge of what this little pill was doing to me (and millions of others) could in some way help and/or resonate with someone. Again, thank you for your thoughtful response.

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        • Actually you called yourself “clean and sober”. If you want to refer to yourself as an “addict” and be written off as someone who abused her medication, that is your choice.

          I chose to use properly terminology for all the reasons I listed above. The charities in the UK have fought for YEARS to get doctors and the general public and doctors to see that this is NOT addiction and these people are simply victims of iatrogenic dependence through no fault of their own. We undermine their work by turning around and wrongly calling ourselves “addicts”, in my opinion. Even if you say “accidental addict” it’s better than using rehab/12-step terminology, in my opinion.

          I’m not the only one who felt this way- a number of other people who read this told me via private message that it “pissed them off” too when they read this.

          I still appreciate your story and your struggle and that you were brave enough to share it. I just don’t like a group of victims to be represented publicly as something they’re not by one person b/c the terminology is incorrect. That’s all.

          Best to you.

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    • elocin: I disagree; it’s high time that we use the nomenclature of the addiction treatment industry to force addiction specialists to admit how hypocritical it is to teach people to ‘just say no to drugs’ while encouraging millions of addicts to trade in their label of addict for a psychiatric label and medicate one’s pain with dependency forming, harmful mind altering substances. This term ‘self-medicate’ makes me boil.

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      • I agree, the drug companies are happily lining their pockets by producing legalised drug addicts.

        They do it by fooling Dr’s.

        We all suffer.

        People who are addicted to illegal drugs often start from a similar position, they are looking to block out the pains of their lives. I think we condemn them far too easily. Their behaviour in obtaining the money to get their drugs maybe appalling and it isn’t a Dr that encouraged their habits but the drug use itself is done in a similar way to those who have been hooked on prescription drugs.

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        • Well, see, see THERE is where you’re wrong. “Looking to block out the pains of their lives”….not everyone who is prescribed benzos was looking for that or anything. Many people are put on these medications for back pain, muscle pain, menopause, insomnia, car accidents, eye twitches. Just because these are psych meds, don’t assume that’s the only reason they’re prescribed. A lot of people weren’t “looking” for ANYTHING but to follow their doctor’s instructions for a simple PHYSICAL health problem.

          To be called an “addict” is totally off-base.

          I am not going to change my opinion on this. The terminology is incorrect, unless you abused the drug.

          People who were made iatrogenically dependent shouldn’t have to live w/ the stigma of being an “addict” or be blamed for this or written off by their doctors, families and friends b/c people don’t understand that this is a physiological problem that was caused by nothing more than following your doctor’s instructions.

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      • I never suggested we teach people to “say no to drugs and turn in their label of addict for a psychiatric label”. I don’t think people should use psychiatric medications at all, nor do I agree with labeling people. What I DID suggest was using proper terminology to describe something that is widely misunderstood.

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    • I thank you, elocin. It has been difficult, at the least, to correct the assumption that a drug problem is an addiction problem. You just did it and so eloquently.

      Many drugs must be tapered to avoid harm. We don’t send beta blockers to rehab; the benzo-sick should not be sent to rehab either. The incapacitated benzo victim is further victimized by this careless labeling. You explained well, and I thank you.
      Bananas

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  3. Thanks for sharing your story! I was particularly excited to see you mentioned a form of neurofeedback as part of your healing process, since that is the field I work in. Although our office does not use LENS, specifically, we spend a lot of time walking people through medication reduction and the accompanying withdrawal symptoms. Because that’s why most people come to us: they either want to get off medication or avoid going on it. We also keep professional relations with functional medicine doctors, acupuncturists, counselors, and even open minded psychiatrists, and refer our clients consistently depending on their needs. Because as far as we can tell, getting off of medication requires a holistic integrative approach and a LOT of support. I wish you all the best on your continuing journey, and may you encounter all the support you need as you need it.

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    • I am thrilled to hear that you know and use a holistic and integrative approach to helping people. That, as far as I know, is sorely lacking and part of the reason why people have so much trouble weaning off the psych meds. The LENS therapy has helped make this journey even remotely doable and I feel very blessed and grateful to have found it. It was also a huge blessing that the therapist who did it with me made it affordable. I don’t know where I’d be without this therapy. Bless you and all the healers you work with. Thank you for your most supportive comment.

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  4. Hi Madeline, Thank you so much for your story. I have had to deal with multiple layers of cancer experiences husband, close friend, only sister, and mother. Three were terminal. I also had to experience caretaking with my identical twins scoliosis surgeries where both needed extra surgeries. I wonder how much of my mental health experience was drug related. I did fine in the 90’s but hit bottom in the early 2000’s when I was pushed to take medicine and ended up in the hospital despite my wishes not to take meds and not to be in a psych unit. NO provider ever adequately addressed the caretaking issues which were multiple in that I was also dealing with a daughter with severe food allergies, another with food sensitivities, and a son with autism. No one really understood. I was without meds for over a year and then it all came back. I ended up back on meds and I want to go off again. Good for you you are starting a face to face group. That is so needed. There is so little out there for caregivers especially in crisis. Sometimes things are so bad you don’t have the energy to go to a group so the online support is great. Did you find the cancer branding difficult in terms that those with cancer seem to get a free ticket to automatic support whereas other stressors are invisible such as siblings of those with cancer. I am so glad they have the support but it would be nice for all medical folks to see things holistically and include the family in treatment.

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    • Wow! you are sooo strong to have gone through what you have gone through as a caregiver of so many family members. You are indeed very brave! Yes, there is very little support for caregivers and/or understanding of what we go through. We are called the “forgotten survivors.” Unfortunately, medical people, in my experience, see virtually nothing holistically. There are many caregiver resources now. When I was going through the stuff with my daughter, there was nothing. I wrote a caregiver’s guide way back in the early 90’s and one just about a year ago. I would be happy to help you find some caregiver support. There are definitely some on line groups that could hopefully assist you. Yes, we should be included in treatment, but much like what we have to do in dealing with these psych meds, it seems we have to find assistance and understanding outside the medical profession. Again, please let me know if there’s anything I can do. Many blessings to you.

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      • Thanks Madeline though I don’t feel brave especially during a panic attack. I am somewhat involved in the Autism community and we do have a cancer support agency that is wonderful but not for the long term issues. I guess I need a shit happens group for support! Thanks again. Cat

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    • Yes, John! I’d suggest taking the incomes of those practitioners. How about taxing incompetent prescribing? People have suggested placing these irresponsible docs on an island where they are forced to take benzos and then to C/T benzos. Really these perpetrators might prefer benzo poisoning to loss of income. I am not being facetious.

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