Do doctors still prescribe the drug marketed under the name Miltown?

Afaik, it’s still available as a prescription item. I doubt you’ll easily find any Drs. willing to prescribe it since there are far better alternatives nowadays with far less addiction potential. Believe it or not, some used to believe it was helpful in treating alcoholics. Ha. (That’s what good marketing will do, isn’t it?)

It’s not exactly the state of the art tranquilizer that it used to be thought of back in the 60s or so. As time went on, it’s addiction potential became more obvious. It is now a Schedule 4 controlled substance.

Most modern Docs would be hard pressed to come up with a valid reason to prefer it over a plethora of better meds for relieving anxiety. Using if for an alcoholic is like going from the frying pan into the fire.

And if a patient were specifically requesting it, they would most likely be wondering why.

Miltown was passé in the 70s [i took it late 60s],
replaced by Valium which, in turn,
has been replaced in the last 10 or so years by Xanax,
followed by Ativan.

Never heard of it.

@Rarebear

That’s so funny. I was considering mentioning that most Docs nowadays haven’t even heard of it but I didn’t want to be unintentionally insulting as I realize how much Docs do have to learn about so many different areas of medicine and pharmacology.

So, your statement doesn’t surprise me in the least. But prior to the advent of Valium, it really was a fairly big deal since they were marketing the hell out of it.

The dear family Dr. prescribed it for my Mother (an alcoholic) back in the late 60s-early 70s.

Years later in an Al-Anon meeting I heard a speakers response to a question about Milltown, Valium and the like. His answer was simple and direct. “Both of them are little more than powdered alcohol.”

Truer words have never been spoken.

In the days I took Miltown, the same psychiatrist prescribed chloral hydrate for insomnia
[the ol’ Mickey Finn].
Sort of puts it in perspective.

@Rarebear AKA meprobromate

It cropped up in Farnham’s Freehold, and since Heinlein tends to be very deliberate about his medicine-naming, I knew that it was a real thing, but I’ve not heard of it anywhere else.

I, too, remember it being one of the early anti-anxiety drugs and used in the 60’s.

@Kayak8 Vague bell ringing now. But I’ve never heard of it being prescribed in the last 20 years.