Hosted by neuropsychiatrist Sotiris ”Pospo” Posporelis, this episode focused on benzodiazepines and featured Professor Edward K. Silberman. Knowing Dr. Silberman’s history, I was concerned that the podcast might result in spreading misinformation to prescribers and stigmatizing harmed patients. While the interview did get some important things right, my suspicions were ultimately confirmed.
Emily Laurence’s recent article, Do Prescription Sleeping Pills Actually Work?, appeared May 31 in the online outlet Well + Good. While I’m glad to see someone ask the question, the piece ultimately misses the mark, as it fails to warn about the most common issues with sleeping pill (benzodiazepine and Z-drug) prescription. It also ignores the dearth of literature about risk/benefit and harm and confuses physical dependence with addiction.
My name is Nicole. I am a physician assistant, although I have been unable to practice since the summer of 2010 due to iatrogenic illness—illness that resulted from taking benzodiazepines for about five years, only as prescribed, at a normal dose.
