Posted by F43 on June 24, 2008 at 16:44:56:In Reply to: Re: Kava? posted by dethronedsleepqueen on June 23, 2008 at 17:33:33:
I would be very careful about claiming there are "so many people on here who are addicted to prescribed medication" and that "it only leads down one road and that road is bad." These are generalizations.
From my experience on this site, many people have said they are concerned about the possibility of becoming dependent, not that they are. Their concerns doesn't mean that prescription medication hasn't helped them.
Every person's experience with medication is different. There is no single outcome that can be predicted from using prescription meds, bad or good.
My own experience with herbs vs. Zopiclone (a synthetic hypnotic) has been eye-opening. I won't use herbs, except for chamomile and mint. I actually find them dangerous. They aren't standardized; the potency varies from batch to batch; and I've experienced synergistic effects from combined herbal tea formulas that couldn't be predicted from knowing (or experiencing) the herbs individually. After my last experiment with a sleep tea from my local pharmacy caused me to have problems breathing, I decided that was the end of that.
Zopiclone has been a saviour for me, and it's what's allowed me to get through an incredibly bad period. I'm now sleeping without any medication. I've never had a bad experience with it. Because it's a standard formulation, I can split the pill into any amount and predict pretty closely what effect that will have on me.
To each, their own.
Janet