Is it true that most psychiatric medications stop working after about a year or so? by Connie b. Dellobuono
Answer by Connie b. Dellobuono:
The Beers List of medications to avoid in the elderly, first developed in 1991 and updated several times since, has routinely advised against benzodiazepine use. Studies show seniors who take sleeping pills have twice the rate of falling of those who don’t.
When Medicare launched its drug plan in 2006, benzodiazepines were not covered, although the program overturned that decision starting in 2013. And the health watchdog group Public Citizen advises against the use of benzos in its Best Pills, Worst Pills list.
The Physicians Desk Reference recommends against long-term use of benzodiazepines, and drugs like Ativan, Xanax and Valium were all approved by the FDA only for short-term use. Ignoring the guidelines may have unnecessarily exposed millions of patients to drugs so addictive they are in some ways much harder to stop than opiates such as heroin or prescription pain medications.
http://www.bendbulletin.com/localstate/2119922-151/benzodiazepines-treat-anxiety-cause-long-term-problems
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The drugs over the long run created more side effects that would be hard to tolerate for the elderly. My GF who was diagnosed with psychosis took all the prescribed meds from her doctors that helped her short term but made her shake more so she stopped them (tapered dose) after 6m.
Is it true that most psychiatric medications stop working after about a year or so?