Misc Will phenobarbital as prescribed lead to ANY degree of tolerance/dependence?

[rolodex propaganda]

I was just prescribed 1 or 2 tablets daily of Donnatol for IBS. I just realized it includes 16.2mg phenobarbital per pill. I used to be prescribed benzos and swore never to take them again because of GABA downregulation making my anxiety worse in the long term. I'm worried if I take Donnatol, my IBS will just get worse in the long term as my body builds a tolerance to the drug. If it's like benzos, after a while it will stop working completely, and the only way to get an effect will be to increase the dose. I don't want to get stuck in that cycle with worsening IBS.

For those who don't know IBS is primarily caused by persistant stress which is why treatment is similar to anxiety.

 

[kthxbi]

though I have my suspicions that any daily amount will lead to both tolerance and dependence, I don't know for sure so won't push my half baked opinions on that. I will say however that if your problems largely come from anxiety & even before you've begun treatment you're worrying about potential problems way down the line, I would suggest that treatments other than pharmaceutical would seem to me to be a very good idea
I don't know about IBS but have anxiety and depression myself and so speaking from the point of view of an anxiety suffererer, have you considered things more along the lines of exercise? it can be extremely beneficial to anxiety sufferers as either a coping mechanism in itself or s supplementary one to other treatments.

maybe stating the obvious but it seems to me that something along those lines may be helpful.

 

[T. Calderone]

The phenobarbital can be habit-forming so if you're concerned about dependence, then you may want to only use it when you're having a flare-up. If you're needing it every day, try it just at night because it will probably make you sleepy. I've had IBS for years and found that the more meds that were thrown into the mix, the worse my symptoms got because I have Gerd too. Ultimately for me the thing which helped most was adhering to a strict diet.

 

[sekio]

16mg of phenobarbital is next to nothing, a starting anticonvulsant dose is like 50-75mg. It will have central effects but unless you take multiple pills, or take them more than once a day, you don't have to worry too much. Phenobarbital has a long half life, it takes days for the drug to be eliminated. (half life of 2.5 days+) At the same time you will build some tolerance to the effects of the drug but it should be at a "steady state" if you're taking it as prescribed. Phenobarbital is about as recreational as diphenhydramine is.

Just be careful and take your medications as directed. If it becomes an issue, discontinuing 16-30mg phenobarbital a day should be relatively painless.

 

[Blind Melon]

I say Yes. If you take it long enough, on a regular basis (even at a small dose)...Yes. Barbs are supposedly extremely addicting. I never got into them, I'm too young the good ones were long gone before I got into GABAergics, but I've known people addicted to <5mg methadone a day, <2mg Bupe a day, <2mg clonazepam a day. So yeah. Take it long enough you mos def run the risk of physical dependence.

 

[THE_REAL_OBLIVION]

Phenobarbital is weaker than any benzo on the market right now, except Serax. Some use it for rapid benzo detox (1 week) but I think it is an archaic torturous practice.

 

[THE_REAL_OBLIVION]

You shouldn't worry and just take the pills if they relieve you of what I hear is horrible (IBS), a friend of mine has it and i know he's struggling. sekio is right on the spot here.