Medical Questions » Medicines Questions » Question No. 660
| Question: | I have been prescribed Serepax to help me cope with my divorce. What are the main side effects of Serepax? Are they addictive? |
| Answer: | The main problems associated with Serepax and the other anti-anxiety drugs are drowsiness and slowed reflexes. These are usually due to a dosage that is too high, but it may just require a few days on treatment for the side-effects to subside. Care should be taken with driving and operating machinery on the first few days of any tranquilliser course. Alcohol will exacerbate the side-effects, and must be avoided.
The major problem is dependence, when too many tablets are taken for too long. This is different to addiction, where severe withdrawal symptoms occur if the drug is removed. Dependence is easier to deal with, but still requires the cooperation of doctor and patient to slowly reduce the dosage of the medication over many months.
If your doctor prescribes a course of tranquillisers for you, please don' t throw up your hands in horror and refuse to take them. He or she will be doing this for good reason, and will be aware of both the problems requiring their use, and the problems that must be avoided by their use.
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