[loeg]

You can use some of that money to buy Alprazolam / Clonazepam :-). They're available as relatively inexpensive generics at this point. Maybe not an option if you are totally broke / impoverished, but certainly something billionaires have access to.

[jimothywales]

You said this in at least 2 different places in this thread, but I hope you understand that 1) all drugs do not have the same effects on different patients and 2) Clonazepam is in the class of drugs known as benzodiapines, which are considered some of the most dangerous and addicting drugs given to patients. In fact, bad withdrawals from benzodiapines often result in worsened anxiety symptoms and at times hallucinations and even delusions.

Throwing around alprazolam/clonazepam as a solution for anxiety is trite and can be damaging. Take caution with them.

[loeg]

> You said this in at least 2 different places in this thread

Only one, as far as I know. Not sure where this other phantom comment is supposed to be.

> Clonazepam is in the class of drugs known as benzodiapines

I'm not sure why you picked that one in particular; Alprazolam is as well (and is perhaps the more well-known one). I'm sure you know this, but to clarify for other readers, most benzodiazepines (including these two) are in a category of drugs known as anxiolytics, as in, drugs which reduce anxiety.

> which are considered some of the most dangerous and addicting drugs given to patients

Wikipedia mostly disagrees with that claim.[0] Nevertheless, even taking the claim at face value, they are given to patients because they do have great therapeutic use, or at least little harm, for the vast majority.

And in general, Alprazolam's shorter duration of action probably lends itself more to abuse than Clonazepam — hence first-line preference for Clonazepam in treatment.

> Throwing around alprazolam/clonazepam as a solution for anxiety is trite and can be damaging.

I did not intend to suggest they're some kind of magic bullet. Re-reading my comment, maybe it suggests that. Sorry!

Sure, they don't necessarily solve the underlying problem. But they are a useful tool, and certainly may help.

[0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drug_harmfulness

[jimothywales]

So I think hacker news either did some magic (?) to have it show up in two places at once or someone copied your comment word-for-word. Anyway:

> I'm not sure why you picked that one in particular

No particular reason. They use the same general mechanisms so I lazily chose to only include one.

> Wikipedia mostly disagrees with that claim.

I don't know what to believe on Wikipedia articles about drugs because of the high prevalence of biased medical research. All I know is 1) anecdotally I've experienced benzo withdrawal - it's not pretty and 2) statistically speaking, benzo withdrawal is a common enough phenomenon that much care goes into warning patients of the dangers of benzos and the appropriate usage approaches.

Anyway not tryna persecute you, I just saw this text twice in the thread and felt like it appeared dilletante in addressing benzo usage. Didn't want self-medicating types (like many people on hnews) to screw themselves up.

[skinnymuch]

There’s issues with benzos like the one you mentioned. Besides what the other commenter said about withdrawal and other issues, your tolerance will build very quickly with benzos. You can’t just take them daily and have the same or even remotely close to the same effect.

[loeg]

I certainly did not mean to suggest that they were some magic bullet, or that anyone should take them daily for extended periods of time. Your doctor should work with you to determine the correct dose and duration. Or if you self-medicate, you should thoroughly research anything you're thinking about taking before doing so. Benzos can be taken daily for something like a month.[0]

[0]: https://www.jpshealthnet.org/sites/default/files/prescribing...

[skinnymuch]

That’s just not true, taking it for a month daily will not work. I haven’t looked at studies recently but the few psychiatrists I know, none believe you can take a bento for a month daily with it still being effective. Same with people taking it. Placebo can be a powerful thing.

[loeg]

That contention does not match my understanding, but I would love to read more if you have some published studies to point to.

Taking the claim at face value: if the effect at one month is entirely placebo, isn't that still useful for treatment?

(You're not trying to claim that the entire effect on day 1 is placebo, right? I think that's pretty clearly false.)