Klonopin Addiction

[Sorcerer386]

Johnny Stew, this would probably be best answered by you since you seem to know most about this kind of thing, but like, did Stevie REALIZE she was addicted to Klonopin? The way it sounded to me, especially on the Behind the Music, she didn't know she was addicted. She said it was hard to tell that the Klonopin was sapping her energy and everything because she was taking it like you take a Vitamin C pill. I imagine she eventually realized it like, maybe by 1991 or something, but I thought she didn't know it was such a terrible thing back like, around Other Side of the Mirror and Behind the Mask. By the way, this question isn't directly for Johnny Stew...anyone with any answers, please reply. It's just that, as I'm sure all of you have seen, Johnny...well, let's just say, he knows his trivia.

[Robert]

She really didn't realize she was truly addicted until sometime in '93 when "Street Angel 'was in production and she threw a baby shower for a friend and fell and hit her head.When she looked at her injuries in the mirror she realized the depths of her addictiion and checked herself into a 45 day detox and rehab which she described as far worse than her treatment for cocaine 'My skin became mottled and my hair turned gray 'I saw her on tour several times during these years and it boggles my mind that none of the people around her could see that something was really wrong and intervene when all of us fans saw it and commented on it to each other.

[tyshiria]

Originally posted by Robert
'My skin became mottled and my hair turned gray'

omg! she really said that? poor baby :weeps for stevie:

and i'm guessing that it must be pretty hard to tell if you're addicted to a perscription drug because it's perscribed by a doctor. if you doctor tells you that you're supposed to take it, then you don't doubt him. u know what i mean? and let's say she didn't take it for two days and all of a sudden she feels depressed, bad, whatever.....she would jump back in to taking it because she felt, not better, but more like she didn't FEEL when she took it. do you know what i'm trying to say? am i just rambling? am i making any sense? oh well...i don't know.

mimi:)

[BellaDonnaGypsy]

Originally posted by tyshiria
do you know what i'm trying to say? am i just rambling? am i making any sense? oh well...i don't know.
I know exactly what you mean, hon. :D And I agree... you expect your doctor to prescribe what's best for you... And when she came off it, she would have been feeling bad because she would actually be feeling *something*, whereas klonopin just makes you numb so she wouldn't be feeling anything at all on it.

Originally posted by Robert
it boggles my mind that none of the people around her could see that something was really wrong and intervene when all of us fans saw it and commented on it to each other.
Well, they most likely could see something was wrong, and maybe they did try to tell her... but you think she was going to listen to anyone in that state? Stevie is probably pretty damn stubborn at the best of times, but on klonopin she would have told people exactly where to go and felt no remorse for it... hence her quote about firing people who worked for her and stuff.

Laura.

[FiercestCalmSea]

I have to agree with pretty much everything you guys have said so far...addiction to prescription drugs is the most heinous thing...i have never been addicted before but my mom was addicted to Vicodin for like 8 years and none of us even knew it,and her withdrawl was horrible.The thing that gets me though is that doctors honestly don't give a s**t..I mean..there is no way in hell that she should have been allowed to have been on it for that long...it is ridiculous...they just write the freakin scripts out...and even though my mom is off of that stuff she still takes Ambien(the sleeping stuff) and you are only supposed to be on it for like,a few weeks and it has been years..and she takes Darvocet too...and it is not like she doesn't know she shouldn't be on them,she just doesnt' want to go through the withdrawl from them...there is really no talking to her about it...none of us can really do anything..and i don't really have proof on this but i swear it alters her moods alot more than usual..she is downright schizo now..Don't get me wrong i love my mom..but prescription drugs pretty much keep her in existence,and make her the way she is...which is horrible..but that is the way that it is...anyway i am rambling here...bottom line...pill popping is not cool at all...at least not for an extended amount of time..it just wrecks ya:distress:

[Robert]

Well we know that Irving Azoff and Frontline management intervened and sent her to Betty ford in late 1986.Which prompted her to fire Frontline.Whomever was managing her afterwards(I believe it was Tony Dimitriades)probably was not as forceful as Azoff ,but not many are I understand.

[miriamswell]

WARNING: The Surgeon General has determined that the following is a long rant and may cause excessive boredom and/or drowsiness.

The thing that has always baffled me about Stevie's addiction to Klonopin is that it is a drug primarily used to manage petit mal seizures -- and then only after other drugs have failed. It is used secondarily for panic disorder but because it has such strong side effects it is not the first drug of choice for that either. Klonopin is one of the older drugs in its class and is not widely used because it causes such profound cognitive impairment. Further, it is absolutely contraindicated for anyone who has a history of addiction/substance abuse, like, oh I don't know, addiction to cocaine maybe?:rolleyes: Another yummy side effect is that it can trigger a depressive disorder or exaggerate a pre-existing depression. And last but not least, it is one of the hardest drugs to stop using. Withdrawal is always medically managed because of the high risk of seizure, heart and respiratory disorder and in some cases, psychosis. Just like vitamin C.

It is perfectly reasonable that Valium or some other benzodiazapene be used as part of a cocaine withdrawal regimen. I can even see using an anticonvulsant because some people do seize during withdrawal. But it would be for a very short duration and very closely supervised. One of the many things places like The Betty Ford Clinic don't talk about is the incidence of cross addiction. So weaned from cocaine, but addicted to Klonopin. These clinics also tend not to address the underlying cause of addiction; mainly, what is it about this person's life that is so unbearable that being numb seems like a reasonable choice. I know that Stevie has said that her cocaine use was recreational and in keeping with the times, but at the same time the amount she was using was so totally boggling, it was obviously for more than the "energy boost."

The most insidious thing about cocaine is the 10 seconds of euphoria followed by 12 hours of irritability, loss of concentration,
grandiosity --“I can pack for my next tour, organize my closets, write my book, write 3 songs and clean the house all at once” -- mood swings and depression when you're coming down. Also your body acclimates and so it needs more and more for that 10 seconds of bliss and this when overdose becomes a very real and life threatening hazard.

It seems to me that The Betty Ford Clinic absolutely failed Stevie =and= set her up for a second, more insidious addiction. Yes, Stevie needed to kick the cocaine addiction, but she also needed a trained psychotherapist to help her deal with all of the underlying issues and to help her transition into a world where she was no longer numb and where there were very real, very painful feelings, events, memories, etc. Being numb for 10 years tends to cause a hefty amount of emotional baggage that has never been addressed or dealt with. Stevie herself has said, that once she stopped using cocaine she became her normal dramatic, sometimes very depressed and tragic self. And that what felt "normal" to her, her doctors considered pathological.
IMHO, I think the doctor who was filling the prescriptions should be locked in a cage full of angry weasels.

And the point everyone has made about trusting your doctor not to harm you is so true. And doctors capitalize on the fact that we are conditioned to never question or contradict them. I have been struggling with a chronic illness for the last five years and early on, was put on some nasty drug combinations that made me feel like a turnip and which wound up exacerbating some symptoms and masking others.

Of all the incredible things Stevie has done, bringing the danger and pervasiveness of prescription drug dependence to light is one of the greatest gifts she has given the world. Particularly since it is primarily women who wind up addicted to prescription medications, which is something else Stevie has been very vocal about. And that is one of the millions of reasons we love her so dearly.

End of rant. My apologies if it was boring and pompous, but nothing gets me more riled up than the shameful way some physicians exploit the trust and naivete of their patients.
~Mim

[Sorcerer386]

Well put Miriam, although I don't think it was the Betty Ford Clinic who put Stevie on the Klonopin. Stevie said she came out of Betty Ford and was fine, but everyone forced her to see a psychiatrist (or in the words of Ricky Ricardo, a "fizz-ee-ah-kee-a-trist") :p . The other problem was that Stevie doesn't have an anxiety problem. That's what Klonopin is for, as Miriam said. Plus, I think Stevie WAS on Xanax at first, I believe she said that in a few interviews. But the point is, if you don't HAVE anxiety, than these downers are just going to do no good. I personally take three xanax a day, but I NEED to take those or I start to freak out. I have panic attacks, my head goes numb, etc. So the pills DO help me while my anxiety is up right now until this other medication starts to take effect, this Serzone. And as far as trusting doctors go, I think I'm one of the only people who DON'T trust a doctor's orders. Part of my anxiety problem NOW is that I'm scared to take the Serzone...for some reason, even though I KNOW I have a panic disorder, I feel that it's going to harm me even more because maybe I don't need it. I KNOW I need it, but something in my subconscious keeps telling me I don't. Plus, I have been told of bad liver problems as a result of the Serzone, but it is so rare that I have a better chance of getting hit by a car. Also, I can't seem to get it into my head that IF the Serzone did hurt my liver, it would take months for it to hit me, and if I get my blood tested regularly, I won't have a problem. For some reason, I seem to think I'm going to take it and my liver will just fail on a whim. THIS is an anxiety problem...THIS is why I take xanax. Stevie, however, I'm sure didn't have any of this. She said she was fine after leaving Betty Ford, so it's ridiculous that the doctors told her to take the Klonopin. If anything, it should have been given to her on an "as-needed" basis, not an everyday thing unless she NEEDED it every day. The only thing I can think of is maybe back in 1987, the knowledge of these drugs wasn't as well known as it is today. We tend to forget how much has been learned in the past 15 years. In any case, this ends MY rant. :wavey:

[Skylark]

:wavey: Hi Fans!
Thanks for the "rants...that was very interesting!
My best friend was put on Klonopin when his wife
died...he got so depressed...withdrawn...so I told
his sister what Stevie said in her BTM about it...he
is now on a less harmful drug to smoothe out the
edges for a week or two! My Heart Bleeds for Him!


ps...Did any of you see Stevie and Mick on The TV
Guide ads preview station???It was about Stevies
B-Day and The Mac working on their new Album!;)
Take Good Care of Each Other!!!:p Blessings, Sky:)

[Bella Figura]

ladies, our prayers are with you while you both fight your chronic diseases...I personally work in the Health Care profession which makes me very wary of drug prescriptions as the main way to resolve emotional disturbances. I personally suffer from mild but chronic depression and like Stevie, I chose to feel my feelings rather then getting numbed out by mind-altering medications. tho, i have used Valium for very nerve-wracking situations such as flying...it is so gratifying to see Stevie so healthy and happy now and the other email regarding her flight to NY...so we should all be inspired by Stevie's own battles with illness and addiction...

[tyshiria]

Originally posted by Sorcerer386
Well put Miriam, although I don't think it was the Betty Ford Clinic who put Stevie on the Klonopin. Stevie said she came out of Betty Ford and was fine, but everyone forced her to see a psychiatrist (or in the words of Ricky Ricardo, a "fizz-ee-ah-kee-a-trist") :p . The other problem was that Stevie doesn't have an anxiety problem. That's what Klonopin is for, as Miriam said. Plus, I think Stevie WAS on Xanax at first, I believe she said that in a few interviews. But the point is, if you don't HAVE anxiety, than these downers are just going to do no good. I personally take three xanax a day, but I NEED to take those or I start to freak out. I have panic attacks, my head goes numb, etc. So the pills DO help me while my anxiety is up right now until this other medication starts to take effect, this Serzone. And as far as trusting doctors go, I think I'm one of the only people who DON'T trust a doctor's orders. Part of my anxiety problem NOW is that I'm scared to take the Serzone...for some reason, even though I KNOW I have a panic disorder, I feel that it's going to harm me even more because maybe I don't need it. I KNOW I need it, but something in my subconscious keeps telling me I don't. Plus, I have been told of bad liver problems as a result of the Serzone, but it is so rare that I have a better chance of getting hit by a car. Also, I can't seem to get it into my head that IF the Serzone did hurt my liver, it would take months for it to hit me, and if I get my blood tested regularly, I won't have a problem. For some reason, I seem to think I'm going to take it and my liver will just fail on a whim. THIS is an anxiety problem...THIS is why I take xanax. Stevie, however, I'm sure didn't have any of this. She said she was fine after leaving Betty Ford, so it's ridiculous that the doctors told her to take the Klonopin. If anything, it should have been given to her on an "as-needed" basis, not an everyday thing unless she NEEDED it every day. The only thing I can think of is maybe back in 1987, the knowledge of these drugs wasn't as well known as it is today. We tend to forget how much has been learned in the past 15 years. In any case, this ends MY rant. :wavey:

i thought you were talking to me :laugh:

mimi:)

[Sorcerer386]

Lol Mimi :laugh:

[ShangriLaTroubl]

im sure it was real hard for Stevie..in the past a couple of fans have commented that they wish Stevie would stop talkin about her addictions in every interview, they say it gets old and depressing...

I SAY...more power to her! SHe has beat her addictions, for one she should be proud, second if her talking about that helps JUST ONE person out of a horrible situation, great, certainly we can all spare the chat on the new album or something...thats just what i think...i think its great shes open and talks about it, takes a lot of guts im sure..