my husband is taking rivotril for the last 3 years

Hello Chats,firstly i will make my position very clear so you can get a sense of where i'm coming from.I'm not an advocate of the ease in which doctors prescribe medicines for symptoms that can be treated more naturally.I've found that gathering information about a persons life which includes their Goals,long term and short term, hobbies, interests and how they would like things to be,also taking into account their Basic Human Needs and whether these needs are met plays a fundamental role in keeping ones mental health balanced and on an even keel.To gain a greater understanding of this, the website that goes with this forum is particularly helpful.I do not claim to have professional knowledge of this drug but i have looked it up in The British Medical Associations Guide To Drugs and here is some of the information for you:Adults dosage range:1mg daily starting dose increased gradually to4-8mg daily(maintenance dose).Side effects:Drowsiness,Dizziness,Salivation,Altered behaviour and sometimes confusion and forgetfulness.This drug is a benzodiazepine anticonvulsant not to stopped without consulting your doctor first.
It sounds like your husband is on a very low dose and instead of focusing on his usage of it you could gently encourage your husband to be proactive in finding things to do that he enjoys.Also finding out what allows him to relax and maybe encouraging positive activities from the past that he could do again.Sometimes we forget and need to be reminded of times and places that have gone before, that can happen again for fulfilment in the here and now.All the best Nick H.

thanks Nick.Its great to be able to share your thoughts with other like minded people.I do agree with you that maybe its almost all to do with the state of mind.If My husband can start enjoying what he did before or indulge in some kind of activity which makes him better it might help him in the longrun.But here i would like to share something with you.We have been married for 9 years and went around for another 8 years.During these long years... i tried my level best to boost his confidence.My husband still does what he used to do before.He loves to read.He loves to be with family & fool around.Whenever he gets time he plays cricket,golf,tennis.Recently due to work pressue he is not been able to do it as much as he would like to.Its not as if he has turned away from life.It is just that he feels nervous in front of certain people ( people who are aggressive) he is always scared that he will be made to look like a fool.He ffle speople will be able to find out that he is nervous.He is a 38 year old hardworking Chartered Acctant.He feels that by 38 he should have been a GM or a VP.Its a strange situation.my battle is with what he feels peopl might be thinking about him.And its not all the people.I am scared about the addictive nature of rivotril His present stock of medicines are depleting.Now he is thinking ways of getting hold of the medicine someway or the other.How do I deal with the situation.After being his sounding board for almost 15 years,i am losing hope and i cant share my problem with anybody else.My husbannd does'nt want to help himself coz he feels that this medicine makes him deal with work pressure & people.This medicine gives him confidence.Help.

Hi Chats.
Thought you might like a bit of information re: rivotril. As a pharmacist, I see quite a few patient on rivotril and other benzodiazepines as you can imagine. I think the first thing I would like to point out is that the dose your husband is on is really quite low. I completely understand your conserns about the addictive side to the drug, which, presumably has not been eased by his doctors desire to see him stop using it. I would suspect, however, that your doctors request is more as a result of current prescribing guidelines rather than concern that he is an addict.

The guidelines suggest that where a benziodiazepine is prescribed for short-term anxiet or similar conditions, the treatment length should be minimised - ideally to about 18weeks. Of course thats in an ideal world. Many people take it for a few years. Indeed, for some epileptics, it may be the only way to control seizures effectively and these people will be on it for most of their lives and at higher doses than your husband.

It certainly is worth discussing withdrawal with your husband though. It is not recommened that he stop abruptly as there is a chance of withdrawal symptoms such as anxiety occurring. It is worth re-iterating that should anxiety occur, it is an effect of the drug levels lowering in the body too quickly and NOT a sign that any existing anxiety condition is getting worse.

If he does decide to come off them I would suggest something along the lines of:

drop to 3 x week for two weeks
then 2 x week for two weeks
then 1 x week for two weeks then stop so you need 12 tablets for the withdrawal process.

As for another way of dealing with the social anxiety - would he consider going to see a hypnotherapist? A solution focussed form of therapy combined with hypnosis is normally very effective at dealing with such cases.

sorry if I've gone on a bit, but hope it was of some use.
Take care