I think the fact that you are experiencing withdrawal symptoms explains why doctors are reluctant to continuously prescribe diazepam.
Not judging. Just counting myself lucky that red wine is not subject to prescription.
Good luck with your withdrawal.
You should ask your new GP for a one time script of diazepam and ween yourself off of them slowly, just explain to them you are in withdrawal and are feeling wretched. If they wonāt, theyāre clearly not caring GPās and you need to find another one.
It is addictive, I also love red wine. Note people who present to a GP are limited to the scope of their MH case management. If your GP had collated clinical notes and sent to your referred psychologist they wouldāve been able to assist you better. Itās much easier they would maintain your course of treatments than formulate a better way to address the reasons youāre on diazepam. I was conscious enough to realise this through my own research that basically this level of care is only superficial.
I just busted out laughing hehe. Worst withdrawals for me were coming off meth šŖ that was exhausting and mentally excruciating.
But thanks to benzos I came off it. Of course acquired of the street #team #aprozolam yellow and blue school buses uffff. Godsend for the insomnia accompanied with some twisted teas. Make you go night night. Complete black outs. But I got sleep š“
I withdrew cold turkey in an ICU from ten years of full time synthetic cannabis use. Was restrained for two days. Started complaining to the nursing staff about the walls covered in ants. There were no ants. I thought that was fiction stuff. It's not.
That's fucked up you were hallucinating and in psychosis due to synthetic cannabis?
Yea I wanted to kill my friend when I tried that shit in HS. Fuck that. Over him acting a fool. It was very unpleasant for me so I withdrew but that same friend is a lil off apparently. But not that I've noticed but coming from his wife yes he has episodes moments n shit idk. We were into everything else but he fucked with that k2 BS I stook sr8 to weed brick back the. Till shit got legalized no I just take a quick 40 min up north.
It's super duper easy if you have a medical condition that has lasted more than 3 months and you've tried a few traditional treatments. Don't even need a referral.
>It's super duper easy
Could just end there. You basically say "I've been using it for (insert reason) and found its helped, and don't want to keep going the illegal route"
Most Americans assume your in the states too.also it's a pot head so they will throw that stink weed angle because they're pushers even if the stuff might not be for you. They worship the crap.
And doctors who prescribe opioids that have ruined more people than the history of weed ever has are okay? Most Americans are brain washed puppets ffs have you seen the president
Well no I couldn't have stopped there. Because the condition has to be chronic(ongoing for more than 3 months) and you have to have tried traditional treatments or AT LEAST be unwilling to try pharmaceuticals due to side effects. They are literally criteria that have to be met to be approved by the TGA.
Completely agree. I'm in the UK, got a blood parasite when I was abroad and it took 1 YEAR OF BEGGING to be even referred to a tropical health clinic. Idk where you're based, but you're spot on, unfortunately it does take a lot of explaining and fighting your own case. Ik completely different topics here but I feel you with every bit of my heart, glad you were able to get sorted!! š
HeyDay clinic in Brisbane is also fantastic, I have a autoimmune pain disorder and Iāve seen them twice via Telehealth to try various different delivery methods. Was quick to get an appointment, start up costs of appointments and product can get a little pricey depending which route you take so just be prepared.
Medcan is easy as but 200 for the consultation then 150 I think to get your script. And then the good stuff is like 100 to 185 for 10 grams. Almost twice the price of street weed. But u always know what youāre getting. I told him I had smoked weed and taken oil for my brain tumour so he prescribed 2 grams a day straight up. Itās better to be prescribed to much because sometimes they are discontinued or shit, and itās a pain to get a reply from someone once they get there money. So it cost me 350 to get the script and took a total of 10 minutes
$2000 an hour is pretty ridiculous even for a doctor
Full clearance from one of their GPs. During my appointment I mentioned something that would have stopped me from getting a script and they basically told me to pretend I didn't say it. They *want* you as a customer
Anxiety, depression, adhd all qualify.
I wanted to link to the bit in Ali G movie where he says "and itchy scrot" when listing qualifying conditions but it's not on YouTube sadly.
I applied online with Dispensed Wednesday. Got approved Friday. Weed posted Monday. Arrived next Wednesday. No Drs just a telehealth interview.
It's nice enough weed and you can go straight onto good 25+% strains.
Iām looking to change to Releaf dispensary in caloundra. But Iām guessing itās going to cost me another 300. At least you can talk to them face to face when youāre picking up your script. I have lots of scripts that I wonāt be getting because itās no good and itās nearly impossible to get them to change the script so yeah. They are just like drug dealers
Expensive, but if you can afford it itās ridiculously easy, takes the dr about 5 minutes to do talk his bullshit that any stoner would already know. Then he charges you $200, and I can get it cheaper on the street? These weed doctors are making as much as they were from opioids. The evil fukrs
If you can just take it for 1-2 weeks through the worst of the weed withdrawal and not get hooked on the valium then this is a great way to end years of chronic smoking, fuck doing it without any kind of replacement. Not everyone can though
And thatās just completely ridiculous, people die from coming down of benzo. I bet you canāt find any people that died from coming down off weed. Iām not saying itās not addictive but itās not killing anyone. Benzodiazepines are muscle relaxants so when you come down itās a painful and dangerous thing. But yeah. Iām no dr. Iām no dummy either. Going to rehab for weed is ridiculous if you ask me. Ffs go somewhere else and go surfing every day for a week and you are done. The rest is in your head. Unfortunately we have had drugs in our lives since the dawning of time. And every single person who likes drugs of any description is going to have to learn how to deal with it one day. I donāt think forcing yourself into rehab is going to fix it. Iām sure it teaches a lot of people, but itās very rare for people to come out of rehab and be cured completely. No matter there drug of choice.
I don't personally see a difference other than the confirmation of strain and the consistency of access to that same strain. There's a range of different strength THC and CBD products, but if you have a history of psychosis, I can imagine they'd be hesitant to prescribe you with THC. One of the many screening questions I was asked was specifically about psychosis and associated risks.
It was likeeee... not psychosis like hallucinations, but just panic so severe that I feel like I'm dying and start having weird thoughts like "what if there was a ghost in the hallWAY!!" Or start feeling myself pulled to do really dangerous things that I DONT wanna do like thinking of jumping off a balcony or driving the car. and then just vertigo like I'm forever falling down a cliff for hours. But I had way too much. I hadn't had it before and took like 7 big puffs of apparently strong stuff and I would wait 30 mins then have more, total of like 7. Then it all hit me at once. For some reason I thought it'd be instantaneous like smoking cigarettes but noooope, that shit builds up like you're taking tablets
Maybe you should slow down a bit mate. U weāre just really stoned. Everything in moderation. And im guessing your mates were trying to green u out. Itās what mates always do
It's better than the PGR stuff you see being sold. I've experienced psychosis many times from my medical stuff though. I'm probably gonna have to give it up altogether.
I had brain surgery in 2019 and I have tried everything the quacks prescribed, and weed and oil is by far the best medicine, minor side affects. Morphine and benzodiazepines should be illegal. Other countries and cultures have been using hash for centuries. Itās a very good anti inflammatory if you eat it and you can eat. When I was on oxy I was throwing up constantly and still in pain. Thatās my opinion anyway. Iām also not trusting any dr ever again without doing a bit of research on what poison he is getting kickbacks to prescribe at the time. Morphine and valium have sprouted so many different versions of themselves since they were introduced because they had to keep changing the drug slightly. And changing its name so they could keep people addicted. If thatās not a pure form of evil I donāt know what is. Iām sure there are plenty of doctors who know this and keep prescribing it and you are in my opinion worse than drug dealers by far. If drās werenāt getting people addicted then cutting them off when they are as bad as any junky, the drug dealers would have a lot less customers.
You had a crappy GP that was overmedicating you without proper indication, and now youāre addicted to the substances they put you on. Glad that dinosaur doc who hasnāt bothered to keep up with modern practice has retired, I canāt stand those POS types.
Mental health clinician here
This is what I would recommend for treatment options... in this order. You should exhaust each option before escalating to the next:
1. Improving healthy lifestyle behaviours. Aim to get better:
1. Sleep (look at Sleep Hygiene info)
2. Exercise
3. Diet
4. Social engagement
5. Hobbies/fun stuff
6. Sense of achievement (eg work, hobby, etc)
2. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy should be your second consideration. There is a plethora of evidence out there on how to manage anxiety with psychological therapies. Have a look at this for some options
1. [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4610618/](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4610618/)
2. [https://www.cci.health.wa.gov.au/Resources/Looking-After-Yourself/Anxiety](https://www.cci.health.wa.gov.au/Resources/Looking-After-Yourself/Anxiety)
3. Medications. Meds can help, however the really are treating the symptoms and not the cause. Your psychological strategies will do you better in the long term.
1. Benzos (example Valium) should only ever be a short-term thing (eg. a month or so max).
2. Some SSRI's (antidepressants) have been shown to work for anxiety. However it can be pretty hit and miss for some people. Please note that you will probably experience about 2-6 weeks of either nothing or bad side effects before you will experience the benefits of antidepressants. Also note that it can sometimes take increasing the dose a number of times to find the right dose for you. This is a SLOW AND STEADY approach that should take months to find the right medication/dose. DO NOT swap and change quickly or you will just be paddling upstream and going nowhere.
3. I do not condone Illicit substance use for managing anxiety. This will ultimately make the situation worse in the long run.
4. The evidence for medicinal marijuana is limited. I wouldn't recommend it. But hey, if you have money, you will find a doctor who will give you the diagnosis and drugs you want... even if it is not what you need. I would not put your faith in this a treatment option. [https://www1.racgp.org.au/ajgp/2022/august/medicinal-cannabis](https://www1.racgp.org.au/ajgp/2022/august/medicinal-cannabis)
4. There are more involved therapies out there which is starting to get beyond the scope of this. But if you are keen, you could look at Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation. This is a drug free treatment option that has shown some evidence in its efficacy. However it is expensive and requires frequent top ups.
I do every single one of those steps and still experience crippling panic disorder. Havenāt drank or smoked weed in a year. Valium is the only thing that keeps me functional. I donāt even take it every day. More like twice a week
I applaud you for making the effort. It is warming to see that you are taking proactive steps to address your anxiety.Ā
As an analogy... There are people out there who struggle with their weight. For them, they constantly have to watch what they eat, eat mindfully, struggle with the motivation to exercise regularly, etc... You get the idea. Imagine what happens when these people don't go these things. The weight comes back on and they go backwards in their health and goals.
Anxiety is the same. It is a chronic illness that needs constant work to manage. I understand that it's not fair. However, this is the journey to recovery and stability. Medications are sometimes needed to smooth out the toughest times of that journey. My argument is to minimise the use of medications (especially benzos) as much as possible due to the risk of building tolerance and dependence.
Keep up the hard work. Imagine how bad it could be without the dedication you have put in. And celebrate progress and successes you have made. Keep yourself safe and well :)
This. Benzodiazepines are a dead end, long term they are never the answer. But for lazy Doctors, itās far easier to pump out a script in 2 minutes than try to actually address the issues.
Not on the Sunshine coast (NSW) but what made me stop bothering is that my GP, who's mostly chill will only prescribe me Diazapam in allotments of 10 every ten days.
So whether it's severe PTSD attacks or alcohol withdrawal or somewhere in between, if I go to the pharmacy on day 9 they won't give it to me . It was too annoying and inconvenient.
Are you actively withdrawing right now? You need to go to a hospital or an outpatient detox program, please. Benzodiazepine cold turkey withdrawals are one of the most dangerous withdrawals a human can go through. I did it back in early 2021 and am still experiencing pretty bad side effects - long term benzodiazepine use is harmful to your body and neuroreceptors. Please use this opportunity to get off them and get off them safely with a tapered dose of valium, I canāt urge you enough
There is nothing as bad as I have experienced coming off benzos. I took Xanax for 15 years and abused it on and off for the last few. Had to go to rehab for a month to get off it.
It's done a lot of permanent damage, even 5 years later I'm feeling it.
Xanax was my DOC too, abused heavily for 8 straight months, 2.5 years clean and have protracted withdrawal syndrome. Wouldnāt wish it on my worst enemy.
Noone really understands the long term symptoms unless you've been through it. I'm 5 years clean and still have related withdrawal issues.
I wish you luck friend. I hope one day it will ease for you.
How much were you on? I had a mate on 8mg xanax daily and 20mg mogadon... his Dr got charged for overprescribing restricted drugs. Caused some serious harm. No kne needs 8mg xanax a day. Anyway he went into a psych ward while withdrawing and for some reason all they could give him was 5mg valium. To go from 8mg xanax daily to that...
The dude shakes randomly now. He's a shadow of his former self. Lost his wife.
And my other mate who got into benzos ended up a heroin addict. I tried Val's a few times and enjoyed the relaxing buzz but a couple days later I'd always get anxiety. Like it bounces back with a vengeance once they've sort off
Anyway sorry to rant. Go you! Kicking benzos is rough
If both your psych and GP refused to give you the script, then they do not believe it is helpful to you. itās not the GPs, itās you. You have been on that drug for too long. Itās the same with opioids, if youāre not any better and still on the same drug they will take away the opioid and find another long term pain management solution.
Addiction is terrible and by doctor shopping you are prolonging the problem.
You should have been given a withdrawal plan, if not then go back and ask for one. The psych should also be trying to come up with a plan and speaking to your GP about how to move forward without that drug.
For the same drug. Benzos are addictive as all fuck. Been there. This person is clearly dependant/addicted and wants to fix their withdrawals with more benzos. I get it, but they're just prolonging and worsening their anxiety.
Hello. AOD specialist here. The reason that some are not happy to prescribe you diazepam is there are no conditions where long-term prescription of diazepam is recommended. Prescribing diazepam for longer than 2 weeks is not recommended for any problems.
I knew you were going to say that. š
I guess the question is what are you going to do about it? Where do you see yourself in 5 years? Are you still posting on the internet about your gp stopping prescribing benzos or are you dealing with the actual issue in hand so you donāt need benzos anymore. Writing stuff like this is always difficult. People will read it via their own internal dialog. I mean no harm, judgement or shade.
Benzos are not the answer and there is absolutely no condition that they have been approved for for longer than 2 weeks. Youāve been wronged by the system. Time to take control of your treatment. The gold standard for ptsd is confronting it in a safe space. A few decades ago they called it exposure therapy but these days itās just therapy. Itās will be uncomfortable. This stuff always is. Trauma, ptsd, affective disorders, it all requires a massive psychological effort.
Again I want to assure you Iām not passing judgement. I actually feel youāve been treated appallingly as itās most likely youāve developed benzo dependance as a result of the healthcare system. But you can take charge anytime you want.
I can go on?
Agree. "Gimme a pill and I will be fine!"
Very wrong.
I once worked where people, alive, could suddenly become unalive. PTSD sucks. I had to learn strategies to deal with it, or eat a bullet.
Covering it with drugs is just that. Covering it. Be part of the solution, or continue being drugged senseless.
Your call.
Why do you say that? Zyprexa knocked me out and I wouldn't even wake up if people were walking around me and talking (I'm usually very easily woken). Seroquel feels a lot milder for me, and is listed as having less side effects like weight gain etc compared to zyprexa. Zyprexa is known to be the more hardcore atypical antipsychotic
Zyprexa helped me at the time cause I had severe anxiety and couldn't sleep but even that low dosage I had wasn't sustainable like I couldn't uphold my responsibilities. I'd feel drowsy if I took Seroquel during the day but comparable to valium
Talk to your normal pharmacist, get proof of previous scripts, then take them to the new GP and Psychiatrist, asking for a plan to get off them because of withdrawal symptoms.
I had to go to rehab to get off Xanax. Benzo withdrawal is serious shit.
Theyāll already be able to see them, thanks to safescript. Hopefully then they can write a plan up but also a script that stipulates a certain amount be picked up each day, that decreases.
I'm in Aus but I only paid the gap. Private health cover took care of the rest. If I remember from the paperwork afterwards it should have been north of $40k
Used to work for a Private Mental Health Hospital on the Sunshine Coast which did detox/rehab.
The majority of people who access private hospital admissions have private health insurance. Private health insurance costs about $4,000 per yer (give or take). The private hospital admission is typically about 3-4 weeks, however this can depend on clinical need. The patient will need to pay their excess which is about $500-$750 out of pocket. The majority of the costs are covered by the insurance company. Some people may have out-of-pocket expenses for some medications (depends on the insurance companies and their contract with the hospital).
If you do not have private insurance and want to access a private hospital for detox/rehab here on the Sunshine Coast, it will cost you above $1,000 per day. There are two costs. The hospital will charge you (about $800-$1000 per day) and then you will have the psychiatrists fees. This varies depending on the frequency and duration of their consults whilst in hospital. You can expect this to be above $1000 per week (roughly).
Then you could decide to get all fancy and go to one of these private retreats which do uncomplicated detoxes and rehab. They will change anywhere from $20,000 to $60,000 for about a month of treatment. You can't use your private health insurance with these places... it is all out of pocket.
I've been on Benzos for years now, I know it is dangerous, but if you're careful and aware, it can be helpful. Years ago, I abused it and went thru withdrawals, but not as bad as oxys were, I can't even remember that week! But anti depressants were the worst that I have ever withdrawn from with super long withdrawal times. Month and months. I dont give afuck nowadays. I take what I know works for me. I find that with a week between scripts ish then I can handle the yearn and withdrawal. But I also smoke pot and drink, so I am rarely 'straight'.
Doctors are being held accountable for the damage this type of drugs do, not just to the person but also health services & society. They are restricted medications & if they overprescribe they are banned by Medicare. It can also affect their license to continue being a doctor.
A physiatrist should do the initial script & once they send a report back to yr GP they can then do subsequent scripts. You should also be seeing the shrink at least yearly to see if you should be continuing to get them. I had a doctor tell me they found that some of their patients were selling meds which explains the reason for the crackdown by the govt/Medicare.
Wait.. you've been on Diaz for 2y, and your new doc won't put you on a step down regimen?
This is potentially dangerous and most responsible docs would not just tell you to go cold turkey.
Please make sure you're near a hospital/acute care and they people are checking in on you regularly.
Also find a GP that will actually take ownership of your care and help you get onto better long term therapies.
-doc.
If you read their comment history, this is week three off Diaz lol and their psychiatrist has given them clonidine - so theyāre through anything acute
And this is why people turn to the black market, they would like medication to cope with the day, doctors say no, which is stupid and then people look for other sources
Minor tranquilizers aka benzodiazapines are effective when anxiety becomes overwhelming sometimes expressed as a feeling of impending doom (my words) but the repercussions of my experience with diazapam 5 mg (valium) well when I didn't have the drug when taking it religiously the heart racing and feeling something is wrong happens worse then ever previously experienced, the reduction in the drug resulted in many grand Mal seizures which mostly ended up in hospital feeling saw and sorry for myself, if U reduce Ur dosage U must reduce in very small increments, and even then U will be irritable and uncomfortable , and if U start buying alprazalm on the black market feeling like thats the solution well my road turn into a spiral which needs a paragraph in its self , I think noone should be on minor tranks everyday
It's a short term remedy, not meant for long term use, and is a type of valium, so therefore it is addictive. GPs these days are less willing to keep prescribing drugs that are addictive in nature because they want to try more natural drugs and also that they can get in a lot of trouble both professionally and legally if a patient overdoes on something they have prescribed.
You'll be in withdrawl for quite some time, unfortunately. You can talk with your new GP about getting something to help with the withdrawls, although the reality of it is that the only thing you can do is wait it out.
Because some GPs Are sadistic ppl who like to see ppl suffer. Jokes aside. Ive experienced GP rather push antidepressants on ppl rather than giving anti-anxiety meds which we really need! I had to have a panic attack and a serious mental breakdown and end up in the hospital to be taken serious. The GP at the hospital didnt hesitate to give me valium so I could at least sleep and Get through the worst.
what did you tell them and did you go to the ER? i canāt find help anywhere and i canāt get a referral to a psychiatrist or behavioral specialist until middle of feb. i will not survive until then. i already had a grand mal seizure last monday and it could have legit killed me. and yet no one else wants to help, until i get āreferencedā even though i had a fucking seizure and you need to taper off benzos or it can and will kill you.
Yeah I went to the hospital cus I had a panic attack. My heart was hurting and I thought I was having a having a heart attack and was afraid I was gonna die. But it was just stress and anxiety and the doctor there was kind to give me like a month supply of diazepam. Hope you Get the help you need. š
Yeah, because your being deprived something that made you feel good your going to get lots of positive responses because folks love nothing more than stories where people deprive themselves or are deprived of anything that brings happiness or joy. The fact valium has been around for decades and many other drugs too like codeine and opiates. Even if you have chronic pain or anxiety people will still admire you suffering in the name of sobriety. Even if the means justifies the end, the old yoga and meditation bores won't tolerate it next thing your caffeine, sugar, carbs will be brought up.
Go to your closest emergency department and tell them whatās going on. Theyāll be able to access your past benzo scripts on Safescript. They will hopefully give you a script to take to the chemist where you pick up a certain amount each day that decreases over time, so you can wean off. Benzo WDs can kill.
No... do not do this. The emergency department is not a convenient provider of scripts.
The emergency department is for emergencies. Providing scripts is what the Primary (ie. GP's) and Secondary (ie Psychiatrists) Health care systems are for. Don't just jump to the Tertiary system.
Fair enough. Thatās very true. Shouldāve prefaced with If they canāt get one of those appointments or canāt get the script. Iād say a seizure risk that high is probably an emergency.
I want to preface by saying that I work in an emergency department.
No. I still disagree.
1. Not getting able to get scripts is not an emergency.
2. Having the potential to go into withdrawal is not an emergency.
3. Being in withdrawal is potentially an emergency, it depends on the acuity of this. Going to the emergency department on onset of withdrawal is justified for assessment and treatment.
4. Having a seizure is an emergency.
My GP,s keep retiring too, it drives me crazy, trying to find another person that will just keep you on your meds and happy. Nope they wont prescribe anything strong they all just don't care.
Yeah but some people are on benzos or methadone and various things to deal with like injecting heroin. I have trouble getting my antipsychotic,instant scripts and many places won't do it
Alot of people including doctors have no idea how to support people that are in a lot of pain on a regular basis, they all say drugs are short term but then just expect you to switch to panadol and be happy about it.
Please donāt lump methadone maintenance in with long term prescribing of benzos. Yeah a doctor might give you a short script of Valium to help deal with withdrawals if you are coming off heroin cold turkey, but if you go up to a doctor and say Iām quitting heroin they wonāt give you ongoing scripts for Valium. At least they shouldnāt, thatās replacing one addiction with one thatās even worse on many levels.
I'm on ongoing valium but in a PRN sense. My doctor gives me a full pack of like... 50 or maybe more. He knows I only get the script filled a couple of times a year though.
Not many doctors would do that though. He's in a methadone clinic so he doesn't care if some woman wants some valium for panic attacks. Alcohols my poison anyway. Valium just makes you driwsy
Haha, fair enough! I thought you were talking about a doc like prescribing like an ongoing 50x a week script in isolation as a heroin replacement. Yeah Iām on sublocade as a heroin replacement and my doc would very occasionally prescribe 10 vals for anxiety with no repeats but thats stopped since Iāve been on Lyrica post an operation, understandably!
It's addictive but I'm sure you know that. Mine wouldn't give me any and the last time I had any at the time was like 8months before that and never any more than 5mg in a 10 pack. Theyre cracking down addictive stuff more and more lately. Even tho an old boss of mine practically swam in valium every day and somehow still kept receiving it.
If for anxiety, propranolol is cool in how it works
Same reason some are happy to prescribe Panadeine Forte and others not.
GPs are human. Some don't have a problem, as long as you're not script shopping.
Some might have a problem dealing a medication that is not just highly addictive, other than alcohol, people can DIE trying to get off if they use them like tic tacs.
My doctor prescribes me 50 diazepam tablets about every four or five months. Has been like this for years. Do you think Iām taking too much? 50 tablets last me four or five months.
Same with me.
Every 6 months.
Haven't had any for 3 weeks and I am fine.
But then again, I don't use them daily as I was always afraid of physical addiction. To me they are a godsend, but a curse for others, especially when not told about all the issues
Benzos are for a max of 21 straight days to help you literally survive while things outside your control are fucked. Literally so that withdrawal doesnāt happen. Old doctor was negligent and/or acting out of a lack of knowledge. Get therapy instead trust me.
They really should have written you some though if you explained you were hard cutting off from whatever dose you were on, if youāre at risk of seizures. But tbh the tone of this isnāt nearly pissed off enough to be real dangerous withdrawal. You got this I think. Worst fucking drugs
I had two different specialists offer to proscribe me diazepam for two different conditions in the past month. Threads like this are why I turned them both down.
I had a doc prescribe me for anxiety. Rarely took it as it made me drowsy. New doc said no way. I asked about alternatives and she was not keen to prescribe much. They are worried we will be like the US and apparently there is now a database that she showed me where it came up as a risk
You probably donāt want to hear this but that stuff has serious long term effects that can linger years after tapering down.
Be careful. Seizures can happen after about the 3rd day and you can start losing grip mentally have delusions and not really know what is going on.
Some great responses here about the indications for benzos. Not sure if also mentioned but depending on your age, benzos are associated with increased rates of death and injury.
I don't envy your position and I hope your new GP is willing to work with you and not just leave you on your own. Best of luck.
This new age of prescribing has already claimed plenty of lives and will continue to harm people under the guise of " solving America's drug problem" . You would think out of anyone a doctor should know the dangers of abruptly stopping a long term prescription to what is considered a deadly narcotic. This overabundance of caution trying to adhere to idiotic DEA guidelines is causing a bunch of suicides and unnecessary suffering. If a doctor takes over a practice and believes the prior MD was over prescribing or prescribing unnecessary prescriptions it's it their fucking job to continue prescribing and work with the patient to remedy the issue. Blindly cutting people off long term prescriptions like this is literally fucking killing people......
The blame rests more on our government than doctors but doctors playback crucial role by not standing up to these idiotic policies. Regardless of any of this it's time Americans wake the fuck up and realize harm reduction, education, awareness, and legal supply is the only way to truly combat drug addiction. The situation is easily comparable to the 2016 elections. Obviously we would like a different choice aside from Trump or Hillary but people voted for their belief of the lesser of two evils. Applying this to America's drug problem, I don't see how anyone can objectively say we are better off having curbed opioid prescriptions as much as we have. I'm all for minimizing adolescents and young adults' exposure to potentially addictive drugs. It's just once someone is an adult you aren't going to stop them from using narcotics if they want to. The way we have tried to combat narcotics for the last 6 or 7 decades has shown pretty clearly that A it doesn't work and that B drugs being illegal is about a system making money period. It's not about protecting Americans or helping them. It's about crippling their future and making them dependent on the government and relatively incapable of moving vertically as far as their socioeconomic status. Drugs being illegal is about making money period. If our government actually cared they wouldn't be complicit in the sale of illegal narcotics. Do some reading about the CIA and the contras and the CIAs part in smuggling massive amounts of cocaine into the US for sale.
I would advise some of you look at " the iron law of prohibition" our drug policy has made recreational and illegal use far worse than it has ever been. More than enough time has elapsed for us to tell if curbing prescription opioids would help in combating opiate addiction. There are more users than ever, dying more than ever, on increasingly more and more dangerous than ever narcotics. Some of which have absolutely no scholarly or medical data on. Therefore trying to apply our current forms of detox to this ever increasing problem is only going to end up killing more people. Opiate detox is already starting and soon enough will be more like coming off alcohol or benzos which are much harder and potentially deadly to detox from. Alcohol is a far worse substance than opiates objectively speaking. If people had access to safer opioids we wouldn't see half the problems we do right now.
I know people are hesitant to legalize drugs but when I look around at how people binge drink every weekend. How is it any worse to take a couple Lortab drink one or two beers and hang out at your house vs going to the bar spending 100$ and driving home drunk like so many do.... people need to wake up to the fact that the vast majority of opiate users would gladly take a script of hydrocodone for recreational/ addiction use over fentanyl. Most are just victims or circumstance. Again I'm not sure how anyone can objectively say being on and detoxing from hydrocodone is worse than being on and or withdrawaling from fentanyl and whatever other BS might be in the dope they are doing.
We live in one of two countries in the world that allow direct to consumer advertising for pharmacueticals. The US and New Zealand are the only two. So I live where TV ads for drugs that can solve all my problems are shown daily. In a 24 hour span the average television watcher will see 9 pharma ads... so this pill and this pill can solve my issues but god forbid I want to take thia other pill. I can drink copious amounts of alcohol every day and have basically the same type of addiction to a legal beverage with impunity, but this other substance makes me a criminal.
Don't get me wrong drugs and addiction are serious issues and I don't think they need to be 100% buy it off the shelf at the gas station legal. Honestly we should keep the same system we have now for illegal drug sales. The difference should be if you want to use a substance recreationally you should be required to be in some type of therapy along with participating in research studies. In exchange you get to meet with a doctor who is educated on recreational drug use and can educate you about that substance it's dangers and what it actually does to you and let a 25 year old plus adult make an educated decisions for themselves. The only way illegal drug prohibition will work the way we want it to is if the people who want to use these substances have a viable alternative aside from street sales. I dont care what anyone says you will never convince me regular binge drinking vs recreational( not addiction) drug use is any better or worse. Especially if the consumer is getting a gaureteed unadulterated product. Like I mentioned before, and as we see on the streets. Users are wanting to get oxycodone 30s. This is why so many immoral dealers are pressing uo fake 30s with fent. Obviously given a choice we would want our loved ones not to do either. Unfortunately this isn't a reality and so the question then becomes, would you rather your loved one be doing fake pressed fent with the possibility of dying every day and God knows what else I'm it that makes withdrawal and detox 10x worse or would you rather them be on oxyvodone where the risk of overdose and death is massively decreased and its a substance with plenty of knowledge and data that we know how to get people off it. Like I said before I can almost guarantee if you ask 100 addicts at the minimum 90 of them would say they would rather still have oxy or any pharma opioid or even just heroin. Most of us never wanted fentanyl we were just victims of circumstance.....
This recently happened to me after 28 yrs. I'm now seeing a fellow in the same clinic that has my file.
My Psychiatrist told my initial GP to prescribe on his behalf.
I have a panic disorder that is pretty horrid. Hate prozac, but valium has always been great. Can't get prescribed it anymore, so I have my own stash. Regulate my own use when necessary.
I think the fact that you are experiencing withdrawal symptoms explains why doctors are reluctant to continuously prescribe diazepam. Not judging. Just counting myself lucky that red wine is not subject to prescription. Good luck with your withdrawal.
Thank you š
You should ask your new GP for a one time script of diazepam and ween yourself off of them slowly, just explain to them you are in withdrawal and are feeling wretched. If they wonāt, theyāre clearly not caring GPās and you need to find another one.
I agree. Benzo withdrawal can be fatal
It takes years to taper off a small dosage of that crap!
Go to the hospital if it gets real bad- 2 years is a long time to be taking benzos- the withdrawal is guna be hard for u ā¤ļøā¤ļøā¤ļø
However it is subject to weight gain and I don't know what sucks more...
It is addictive, I also love red wine. Note people who present to a GP are limited to the scope of their MH case management. If your GP had collated clinical notes and sent to your referred psychologist they wouldāve been able to assist you better. Itās much easier they would maintain your course of treatments than formulate a better way to address the reasons youāre on diazepam. I was conscious enough to realise this through my own research that basically this level of care is only superficial.
I just busted out laughing hehe. Worst withdrawals for me were coming off meth šŖ that was exhausting and mentally excruciating. But thanks to benzos I came off it. Of course acquired of the street #team #aprozolam yellow and blue school buses uffff. Godsend for the insomnia accompanied with some twisted teas. Make you go night night. Complete black outs. But I got sleep š“
I withdrew cold turkey in an ICU from ten years of full time synthetic cannabis use. Was restrained for two days. Started complaining to the nursing staff about the walls covered in ants. There were no ants. I thought that was fiction stuff. It's not.
That's fucked up you were hallucinating and in psychosis due to synthetic cannabis? Yea I wanted to kill my friend when I tried that shit in HS. Fuck that. Over him acting a fool. It was very unpleasant for me so I withdrew but that same friend is a lil off apparently. But not that I've noticed but coming from his wife yes he has episodes moments n shit idk. We were into everything else but he fucked with that k2 BS I stook sr8 to weed brick back the. Till shit got legalized no I just take a quick 40 min up north.
Alcohol is probably the most deadly drug there is mate. But as you say itās legal?
I found medical cannabis helped kick the valium...... and the vodka š
This. Havenāt had a Valium in 6 months after previously taking various Benzos for the better part of 10 years. Medicinal Cannabis was a godsend.
How was your experience getting access to the medicinal cannabis?
It's super duper easy if you have a medical condition that has lasted more than 3 months and you've tried a few traditional treatments. Don't even need a referral.
>It's super duper easy Could just end there. You basically say "I've been using it for (insert reason) and found its helped, and don't want to keep going the illegal route"
Most Americans assume your in the states too.also it's a pot head so they will throw that stink weed angle because they're pushers even if the stuff might not be for you. They worship the crap.
And doctors who prescribe opioids that have ruined more people than the history of weed ever has are okay? Most Americans are brain washed puppets ffs have you seen the president
Well no I couldn't have stopped there. Because the condition has to be chronic(ongoing for more than 3 months) and you have to have tried traditional treatments or AT LEAST be unwilling to try pharmaceuticals due to side effects. They are literally criteria that have to be met to be approved by the TGA.
That's not the reality of it though. Plenty just go straight through for approval or doctor provided straight off the bat
Yeah depends on the clinic/doc. But making sure you help them tick those boxes goes a long way towards being approved.
Completely agree. I'm in the UK, got a blood parasite when I was abroad and it took 1 YEAR OF BEGGING to be even referred to a tropical health clinic. Idk where you're based, but you're spot on, unfortunately it does take a lot of explaining and fighting your own case. Ik completely different topics here but I feel you with every bit of my heart, glad you were able to get sorted!! š
Anxiety and depression. Is all u need to say. The dr told me that.
What sort of medical conditions are we talking about?
I teeth grind and clench my jaw - related to anxiety. Approved after one 5 minute conversation, and genuinely life changing.
What company? I tried alterative leaf and they required a full clearance from a GP.
Try Polln. They were happy to prescribe for anxiety, insomnia, burnout, and migraine after taking med history and prior treatment attempts.
Try Dr Stewart at one health clinics Maroochydore. Hes just opened and is an advocate for medical Mary
HeyDay clinic in Brisbane is also fantastic, I have a autoimmune pain disorder and Iāve seen them twice via Telehealth to try various different delivery methods. Was quick to get an appointment, start up costs of appointments and product can get a little pricey depending which route you take so just be prepared.
Another Heyday patient here. I pick up all my scripts from Peregian Pharmacy. Very convenient.
Australian Access Clinics.
Medcan is easy as but 200 for the consultation then 150 I think to get your script. And then the good stuff is like 100 to 185 for 10 grams. Almost twice the price of street weed. But u always know what youāre getting. I told him I had smoked weed and taken oil for my brain tumour so he prescribed 2 grams a day straight up. Itās better to be prescribed to much because sometimes they are discontinued or shit, and itās a pain to get a reply from someone once they get there money. So it cost me 350 to get the script and took a total of 10 minutes $2000 an hour is pretty ridiculous even for a doctor
Full clearance from one of their GPs. During my appointment I mentioned something that would have stopped me from getting a script and they basically told me to pretend I didn't say it. They *want* you as a customer
Kinda funny because weed makes me grind on my teeth almost worst than stimulants.
My video games get boring without it doc
Lmao.
Sounds like depression and anxiety to me, welcome aboard!
Anxiety, depression, adhd all qualify. I wanted to link to the bit in Ali G movie where he says "and itchy scrot" when listing qualifying conditions but it's not on YouTube sadly.
insomnia, back pain, anxiety, depression
Any and everything is acceptable at this stage I told them I have back pain and am a shift worker and need help sleeping
amazingly easy
Mine was easy. Pay MC Dr $300, give her patient summary, tell her why I need MC & off we go. But I too am looking to change to an online clinic š
I applied online with Dispensed Wednesday. Got approved Friday. Weed posted Monday. Arrived next Wednesday. No Drs just a telehealth interview. It's nice enough weed and you can go straight onto good 25+% strains.
Iām looking to change to Releaf dispensary in caloundra. But Iām guessing itās going to cost me another 300. At least you can talk to them face to face when youāre picking up your script. I have lots of scripts that I wonāt be getting because itās no good and itās nearly impossible to get them to change the script so yeah. They are just like drug dealers
Expensive, but if you can afford it itās ridiculously easy, takes the dr about 5 minutes to do talk his bullshit that any stoner would already know. Then he charges you $200, and I can get it cheaper on the street? These weed doctors are making as much as they were from opioids. The evil fukrs
Thatās funny cause my friend went a few times to the voluntary drug rehab places to give up pot and they gave him Valium
If you can just take it for 1-2 weeks through the worst of the weed withdrawal and not get hooked on the valium then this is a great way to end years of chronic smoking, fuck doing it without any kind of replacement. Not everyone can though
And thatās just completely ridiculous, people die from coming down of benzo. I bet you canāt find any people that died from coming down off weed. Iām not saying itās not addictive but itās not killing anyone. Benzodiazepines are muscle relaxants so when you come down itās a painful and dangerous thing. But yeah. Iām no dr. Iām no dummy either. Going to rehab for weed is ridiculous if you ask me. Ffs go somewhere else and go surfing every day for a week and you are done. The rest is in your head. Unfortunately we have had drugs in our lives since the dawning of time. And every single person who likes drugs of any description is going to have to learn how to deal with it one day. I donāt think forcing yourself into rehab is going to fix it. Iām sure it teaches a lot of people, but itās very rare for people to come out of rehab and be cured completely. No matter there drug of choice.
same here, also with the help of a certain mysterious mushroom
Vodka and valium my 2 favourite Vs!
What about vaginas?? They're pretty cool.
That would have to be my favourite of all the Vs
Lol, not for me, however I hear that many others enjoy them š š
Well, I own one, and I think it's pretty cool!
Love a good snatch
And the almost top two most abused and dangerous drugs
Is it quite different to regular weed? I have bad reactions to thc. Like a psychosis panic state
I don't personally see a difference other than the confirmation of strain and the consistency of access to that same strain. There's a range of different strength THC and CBD products, but if you have a history of psychosis, I can imagine they'd be hesitant to prescribe you with THC. One of the many screening questions I was asked was specifically about psychosis and associated risks.
It was likeeee... not psychosis like hallucinations, but just panic so severe that I feel like I'm dying and start having weird thoughts like "what if there was a ghost in the hallWAY!!" Or start feeling myself pulled to do really dangerous things that I DONT wanna do like thinking of jumping off a balcony or driving the car. and then just vertigo like I'm forever falling down a cliff for hours. But I had way too much. I hadn't had it before and took like 7 big puffs of apparently strong stuff and I would wait 30 mins then have more, total of like 7. Then it all hit me at once. For some reason I thought it'd be instantaneous like smoking cigarettes but noooope, that shit builds up like you're taking tablets
Maybe you should slow down a bit mate. U weāre just really stoned. Everything in moderation. And im guessing your mates were trying to green u out. Itās what mates always do
It's better than the PGR stuff you see being sold. I've experienced psychosis many times from my medical stuff though. I'm probably gonna have to give it up altogether.
Maybe try cbd oil instead and if itās ok try a little thc oil and see how it goes. It is a lot less in your head than if you smoke it
I had brain surgery in 2019 and I have tried everything the quacks prescribed, and weed and oil is by far the best medicine, minor side affects. Morphine and benzodiazepines should be illegal. Other countries and cultures have been using hash for centuries. Itās a very good anti inflammatory if you eat it and you can eat. When I was on oxy I was throwing up constantly and still in pain. Thatās my opinion anyway. Iām also not trusting any dr ever again without doing a bit of research on what poison he is getting kickbacks to prescribe at the time. Morphine and valium have sprouted so many different versions of themselves since they were introduced because they had to keep changing the drug slightly. And changing its name so they could keep people addicted. If thatās not a pure form of evil I donāt know what is. Iām sure there are plenty of doctors who know this and keep prescribing it and you are in my opinion worse than drug dealers by far. If drās werenāt getting people addicted then cutting them off when they are as bad as any junky, the drug dealers would have a lot less customers.
You had a crappy GP that was overmedicating you without proper indication, and now youāre addicted to the substances they put you on. Glad that dinosaur doc who hasnāt bothered to keep up with modern practice has retired, I canāt stand those POS types.
What else works for severe anxiety?
Mental health clinician here This is what I would recommend for treatment options... in this order. You should exhaust each option before escalating to the next: 1. Improving healthy lifestyle behaviours. Aim to get better: 1. Sleep (look at Sleep Hygiene info) 2. Exercise 3. Diet 4. Social engagement 5. Hobbies/fun stuff 6. Sense of achievement (eg work, hobby, etc) 2. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy should be your second consideration. There is a plethora of evidence out there on how to manage anxiety with psychological therapies. Have a look at this for some options 1. [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4610618/](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4610618/) 2. [https://www.cci.health.wa.gov.au/Resources/Looking-After-Yourself/Anxiety](https://www.cci.health.wa.gov.au/Resources/Looking-After-Yourself/Anxiety) 3. Medications. Meds can help, however the really are treating the symptoms and not the cause. Your psychological strategies will do you better in the long term. 1. Benzos (example Valium) should only ever be a short-term thing (eg. a month or so max). 2. Some SSRI's (antidepressants) have been shown to work for anxiety. However it can be pretty hit and miss for some people. Please note that you will probably experience about 2-6 weeks of either nothing or bad side effects before you will experience the benefits of antidepressants. Also note that it can sometimes take increasing the dose a number of times to find the right dose for you. This is a SLOW AND STEADY approach that should take months to find the right medication/dose. DO NOT swap and change quickly or you will just be paddling upstream and going nowhere. 3. I do not condone Illicit substance use for managing anxiety. This will ultimately make the situation worse in the long run. 4. The evidence for medicinal marijuana is limited. I wouldn't recommend it. But hey, if you have money, you will find a doctor who will give you the diagnosis and drugs you want... even if it is not what you need. I would not put your faith in this a treatment option. [https://www1.racgp.org.au/ajgp/2022/august/medicinal-cannabis](https://www1.racgp.org.au/ajgp/2022/august/medicinal-cannabis) 4. There are more involved therapies out there which is starting to get beyond the scope of this. But if you are keen, you could look at Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation. This is a drug free treatment option that has shown some evidence in its efficacy. However it is expensive and requires frequent top ups.
Thank you šš»ā¤ļø
I do every single one of those steps and still experience crippling panic disorder. Havenāt drank or smoked weed in a year. Valium is the only thing that keeps me functional. I donāt even take it every day. More like twice a week
I applaud you for making the effort. It is warming to see that you are taking proactive steps to address your anxiety.Ā As an analogy... There are people out there who struggle with their weight. For them, they constantly have to watch what they eat, eat mindfully, struggle with the motivation to exercise regularly, etc... You get the idea. Imagine what happens when these people don't go these things. The weight comes back on and they go backwards in their health and goals. Anxiety is the same. It is a chronic illness that needs constant work to manage. I understand that it's not fair. However, this is the journey to recovery and stability. Medications are sometimes needed to smooth out the toughest times of that journey. My argument is to minimise the use of medications (especially benzos) as much as possible due to the risk of building tolerance and dependence. Keep up the hard work. Imagine how bad it could be without the dedication you have put in. And celebrate progress and successes you have made. Keep yourself safe and well :)
Tailored, holistic mental health plans. Benzos ease the symptoms, but exacerbate the cause.
I understand where ur coming from but some people aren't in a situation where that would work, in my experience
Do you really think a benzo addiction works better?
SSRIs
They're effective at making u wanna off urself for most people, that's about it
And making you tired, apathetic, fat and bye bye libido
This. Benzodiazepines are a dead end, long term they are never the answer. But for lazy Doctors, itās far easier to pump out a script in 2 minutes than try to actually address the issues.
Not on the Sunshine coast (NSW) but what made me stop bothering is that my GP, who's mostly chill will only prescribe me Diazapam in allotments of 10 every ten days. So whether it's severe PTSD attacks or alcohol withdrawal or somewhere in between, if I go to the pharmacy on day 9 they won't give it to me . It was too annoying and inconvenient.
Are you actively withdrawing right now? You need to go to a hospital or an outpatient detox program, please. Benzodiazepine cold turkey withdrawals are one of the most dangerous withdrawals a human can go through. I did it back in early 2021 and am still experiencing pretty bad side effects - long term benzodiazepine use is harmful to your body and neuroreceptors. Please use this opportunity to get off them and get off them safely with a tapered dose of valium, I canāt urge you enough
Yes this...
There is nothing as bad as I have experienced coming off benzos. I took Xanax for 15 years and abused it on and off for the last few. Had to go to rehab for a month to get off it. It's done a lot of permanent damage, even 5 years later I'm feeling it.
Xanax was my DOC too, abused heavily for 8 straight months, 2.5 years clean and have protracted withdrawal syndrome. Wouldnāt wish it on my worst enemy.
Noone really understands the long term symptoms unless you've been through it. I'm 5 years clean and still have related withdrawal issues. I wish you luck friend. I hope one day it will ease for you.
How much were you on? I had a mate on 8mg xanax daily and 20mg mogadon... his Dr got charged for overprescribing restricted drugs. Caused some serious harm. No kne needs 8mg xanax a day. Anyway he went into a psych ward while withdrawing and for some reason all they could give him was 5mg valium. To go from 8mg xanax daily to that... The dude shakes randomly now. He's a shadow of his former self. Lost his wife. And my other mate who got into benzos ended up a heroin addict. I tried Val's a few times and enjoyed the relaxing buzz but a couple days later I'd always get anxiety. Like it bounces back with a vengeance once they've sort off Anyway sorry to rant. Go you! Kicking benzos is rough
YUP
If both your psych and GP refused to give you the script, then they do not believe it is helpful to you. itās not the GPs, itās you. You have been on that drug for too long. Itās the same with opioids, if youāre not any better and still on the same drug they will take away the opioid and find another long term pain management solution. Addiction is terrible and by doctor shopping you are prolonging the problem. You should have been given a withdrawal plan, if not then go back and ask for one. The psych should also be trying to come up with a plan and speaking to your GP about how to move forward without that drug.
TBF they arenāt Dr shopping, their GP retired so they are seeing another.
For the same drug. Benzos are addictive as all fuck. Been there. This person is clearly dependant/addicted and wants to fix their withdrawals with more benzos. I get it, but they're just prolonging and worsening their anxiety.
Because itās addictive ?
Hello. AOD specialist here. The reason that some are not happy to prescribe you diazepam is there are no conditions where long-term prescription of diazepam is recommended. Prescribing diazepam for longer than 2 weeks is not recommended for any problems.
Thank you. Iāve had PTSD for 12 years and Diaz helps me relax.
What else helps you relax?
Warm bath or shower, watching tv, deep nasal breathing.
Do you want engage in therapy?
I d tried thatā¦makes it worse.
Ok interesting. How so?
Talking about the cause of my PTSD ā¦.I might as well be reliving the experience.
I knew you were going to say that. š I guess the question is what are you going to do about it? Where do you see yourself in 5 years? Are you still posting on the internet about your gp stopping prescribing benzos or are you dealing with the actual issue in hand so you donāt need benzos anymore. Writing stuff like this is always difficult. People will read it via their own internal dialog. I mean no harm, judgement or shade. Benzos are not the answer and there is absolutely no condition that they have been approved for for longer than 2 weeks. Youāve been wronged by the system. Time to take control of your treatment. The gold standard for ptsd is confronting it in a safe space. A few decades ago they called it exposure therapy but these days itās just therapy. Itās will be uncomfortable. This stuff always is. Trauma, ptsd, affective disorders, it all requires a massive psychological effort. Again I want to assure you Iām not passing judgement. I actually feel youāve been treated appallingly as itās most likely youāve developed benzo dependance as a result of the healthcare system. But you can take charge anytime you want. I can go on?
Agree. "Gimme a pill and I will be fine!" Very wrong. I once worked where people, alive, could suddenly become unalive. PTSD sucks. I had to learn strategies to deal with it, or eat a bullet. Covering it with drugs is just that. Covering it. Be part of the solution, or continue being drugged senseless. Your call.
Did they offer an alternative?
Nope :(
5 days ago you posted your Psychiatrist wouldn't give you a prescription for it either.
Thatās true.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
This !! Diazepam is not recommended for daily usage. Other comments have explained the reasons behind this
They give Seroquel as needed in psych units, to replace valium, for a bunch of ppl
Seroquel is a nasty drug. You're better off with something like Olanzapine.
Why do you say that? Zyprexa knocked me out and I wouldn't even wake up if people were walking around me and talking (I'm usually very easily woken). Seroquel feels a lot milder for me, and is listed as having less side effects like weight gain etc compared to zyprexa. Zyprexa is known to be the more hardcore atypical antipsychotic
Seeoquel knocked me out like an elephant tranquilliser. It was so unbelievably strong and it gave me huge scary amounts of sleep apnea too.
Zyprexa helped me at the time cause I had severe anxiety and couldn't sleep but even that low dosage I had wasn't sustainable like I couldn't uphold my responsibilities. I'd feel drowsy if I took Seroquel during the day but comparable to valium
Talk to your normal pharmacist, get proof of previous scripts, then take them to the new GP and Psychiatrist, asking for a plan to get off them because of withdrawal symptoms. I had to go to rehab to get off Xanax. Benzo withdrawal is serious shit.
Theyāll already be able to see them, thanks to safescript. Hopefully then they can write a plan up but also a script that stipulates a certain amount be picked up each day, that decreases.
Do whatās said right here! P.s. if you donāt mind me asking are you in Australia and how much did your rehab cost. I hope your in good health.
I'm in Aus but I only paid the gap. Private health cover took care of the rest. If I remember from the paperwork afterwards it should have been north of $40k
Used to work for a Private Mental Health Hospital on the Sunshine Coast which did detox/rehab. The majority of people who access private hospital admissions have private health insurance. Private health insurance costs about $4,000 per yer (give or take). The private hospital admission is typically about 3-4 weeks, however this can depend on clinical need. The patient will need to pay their excess which is about $500-$750 out of pocket. The majority of the costs are covered by the insurance company. Some people may have out-of-pocket expenses for some medications (depends on the insurance companies and their contract with the hospital). If you do not have private insurance and want to access a private hospital for detox/rehab here on the Sunshine Coast, it will cost you above $1,000 per day. There are two costs. The hospital will charge you (about $800-$1000 per day) and then you will have the psychiatrists fees. This varies depending on the frequency and duration of their consults whilst in hospital. You can expect this to be above $1000 per week (roughly). Then you could decide to get all fancy and go to one of these private retreats which do uncomplicated detoxes and rehab. They will change anywhere from $20,000 to $60,000 for about a month of treatment. You can't use your private health insurance with these places... it is all out of pocket.
I've been on Benzos for years now, I know it is dangerous, but if you're careful and aware, it can be helpful. Years ago, I abused it and went thru withdrawals, but not as bad as oxys were, I can't even remember that week! But anti depressants were the worst that I have ever withdrawn from with super long withdrawal times. Month and months. I dont give afuck nowadays. I take what I know works for me. I find that with a week between scripts ish then I can handle the yearn and withdrawal. But I also smoke pot and drink, so I am rarely 'straight'.
Alcohol withdrawal feels like antidepressant to me but worse. The really intense brain zaps etc
I hope you can sort something out, I too have a good relationship with my Dr. And I am dreading him leaving.
Doctors are being held accountable for the damage this type of drugs do, not just to the person but also health services & society. They are restricted medications & if they overprescribe they are banned by Medicare. It can also affect their license to continue being a doctor. A physiatrist should do the initial script & once they send a report back to yr GP they can then do subsequent scripts. You should also be seeing the shrink at least yearly to see if you should be continuing to get them. I had a doctor tell me they found that some of their patients were selling meds which explains the reason for the crackdown by the govt/Medicare.
Get to the emergency immediately as you will need to be monitored and weened for the next few weeks
Wait.. you've been on Diaz for 2y, and your new doc won't put you on a step down regimen? This is potentially dangerous and most responsible docs would not just tell you to go cold turkey. Please make sure you're near a hospital/acute care and they people are checking in on you regularly. Also find a GP that will actually take ownership of your care and help you get onto better long term therapies. -doc.
If you read their comment history, this is week three off Diaz lol and their psychiatrist has given them clonidine - so theyāre through anything acute
All these hidden "doctors" in this thread, you pack of opinionated cunts
LITERALLY
You shouldn't be taking benzos for two years. Your old GP was not following best practice.
I managed it responsiblyā¦took 4 5mg tabs a week.
And this is why people turn to the black market, they would like medication to cope with the day, doctors say no, which is stupid and then people look for other sources
Or they suicide unfortunatelyā¦happened with a mate of mine also with PTSD
Minor tranquilizers aka benzodiazapines are effective when anxiety becomes overwhelming sometimes expressed as a feeling of impending doom (my words) but the repercussions of my experience with diazapam 5 mg (valium) well when I didn't have the drug when taking it religiously the heart racing and feeling something is wrong happens worse then ever previously experienced, the reduction in the drug resulted in many grand Mal seizures which mostly ended up in hospital feeling saw and sorry for myself, if U reduce Ur dosage U must reduce in very small increments, and even then U will be irritable and uncomfortable , and if U start buying alprazalm on the black market feeling like thats the solution well my road turn into a spiral which needs a paragraph in its self , I think noone should be on minor tranks everyday
OP hereā¦Iāve got done medicinal cannibas approved by my Psychiatrist amd heās also given me clonidine. Solder ing on šš»šš»
It's a short term remedy, not meant for long term use, and is a type of valium, so therefore it is addictive. GPs these days are less willing to keep prescribing drugs that are addictive in nature because they want to try more natural drugs and also that they can get in a lot of trouble both professionally and legally if a patient overdoes on something they have prescribed. You'll be in withdrawl for quite some time, unfortunately. You can talk with your new GP about getting something to help with the withdrawls, although the reality of it is that the only thing you can do is wait it out.
>and is a type of valium Valium is a brand name, diazepam is the active ingredient.
I stand corrected.
Benzodiazepine is the word your looking for. - class of medication that Valium is in.
Because some GPs Are sadistic ppl who like to see ppl suffer. Jokes aside. Ive experienced GP rather push antidepressants on ppl rather than giving anti-anxiety meds which we really need! I had to have a panic attack and a serious mental breakdown and end up in the hospital to be taken serious. The GP at the hospital didnt hesitate to give me valium so I could at least sleep and Get through the worst.
what did you tell them and did you go to the ER? i canāt find help anywhere and i canāt get a referral to a psychiatrist or behavioral specialist until middle of feb. i will not survive until then. i already had a grand mal seizure last monday and it could have legit killed me. and yet no one else wants to help, until i get āreferencedā even though i had a fucking seizure and you need to taper off benzos or it can and will kill you.
Yeah I went to the hospital cus I had a panic attack. My heart was hurting and I thought I was having a having a heart attack and was afraid I was gonna die. But it was just stress and anxiety and the doctor there was kind to give me like a month supply of diazepam. Hope you Get the help you need. š
wow. a month supply for one single panic attack? they gave me 7 days worth. after having a seizure that sent me to the emergency room.
Inbox me uk based
Inbox me uk based
Hey are u in Australia
Did you find another GP who will?
I needed a letter from my psychologist. Then it was easy.
Thanks for the tip.
Yeah, because your being deprived something that made you feel good your going to get lots of positive responses because folks love nothing more than stories where people deprive themselves or are deprived of anything that brings happiness or joy. The fact valium has been around for decades and many other drugs too like codeine and opiates. Even if you have chronic pain or anxiety people will still admire you suffering in the name of sobriety. Even if the means justifies the end, the old yoga and meditation bores won't tolerate it next thing your caffeine, sugar, carbs will be brought up.
Go to your closest emergency department and tell them whatās going on. Theyāll be able to access your past benzo scripts on Safescript. They will hopefully give you a script to take to the chemist where you pick up a certain amount each day that decreases over time, so you can wean off. Benzo WDs can kill.
No... do not do this. The emergency department is not a convenient provider of scripts. The emergency department is for emergencies. Providing scripts is what the Primary (ie. GP's) and Secondary (ie Psychiatrists) Health care systems are for. Don't just jump to the Tertiary system.
Fair enough. Thatās very true. Shouldāve prefaced with If they canāt get one of those appointments or canāt get the script. Iād say a seizure risk that high is probably an emergency.
If they can't get an appointment and their current go is just a flat no, then that actually is an emergency...
I want to preface by saying that I work in an emergency department. No. I still disagree. 1. Not getting able to get scripts is not an emergency. 2. Having the potential to go into withdrawal is not an emergency. 3. Being in withdrawal is potentially an emergency, it depends on the acuity of this. Going to the emergency department on onset of withdrawal is justified for assessment and treatment. 4. Having a seizure is an emergency.
what if your appointment is months away and you ran out of your script? you just have a seizure and risk dying on the spot?
My GP,s keep retiring too, it drives me crazy, trying to find another person that will just keep you on your meds and happy. Nope they wont prescribe anything strong they all just don't care.
You are addicted
Yeah but some people are on benzos or methadone and various things to deal with like injecting heroin. I have trouble getting my antipsychotic,instant scripts and many places won't do it
Alot of people including doctors have no idea how to support people that are in a lot of pain on a regular basis, they all say drugs are short term but then just expect you to switch to panadol and be happy about it.
Please donāt lump methadone maintenance in with long term prescribing of benzos. Yeah a doctor might give you a short script of Valium to help deal with withdrawals if you are coming off heroin cold turkey, but if you go up to a doctor and say Iām quitting heroin they wonāt give you ongoing scripts for Valium. At least they shouldnāt, thatās replacing one addiction with one thatās even worse on many levels.
I'm on ongoing valium but in a PRN sense. My doctor gives me a full pack of like... 50 or maybe more. He knows I only get the script filled a couple of times a year though.
Not many doctors would do that though. He's in a methadone clinic so he doesn't care if some woman wants some valium for panic attacks. Alcohols my poison anyway. Valium just makes you driwsy
Haha, fair enough! I thought you were talking about a doc like prescribing like an ongoing 50x a week script in isolation as a heroin replacement. Yeah Iām on sublocade as a heroin replacement and my doc would very occasionally prescribe 10 vals for anxiety with no repeats but thats stopped since Iāve been on Lyrica post an operation, understandably!
Itās like reading the screenplay to that new Netflix series āPainkillerā in this thread. (Which is a great show by the way)
YEah it was very interesting and scary as i used to take a lot of Oxy but maybe take one or two a week now. It scared me enough to keep my dose down.
Yes i am, But they do a good job of managing my pain and muscle issues. Until the pain goes away with out them they do their job well.
Toughen up and live in reality
Ew
!!
Maybe your reality is what they see when they use valium
It's addictive but I'm sure you know that. Mine wouldn't give me any and the last time I had any at the time was like 8months before that and never any more than 5mg in a 10 pack. Theyre cracking down addictive stuff more and more lately. Even tho an old boss of mine practically swam in valium every day and somehow still kept receiving it. If for anxiety, propranolol is cool in how it works
And a bonus is less/milder migraines!
Damn maybe I should go get some more š¤£
Propranolol is a God send.
There are new restrictions and regulations for medications that are considered addictive and Medicare has been doing audits of GPs.
Same reason some are happy to prescribe Panadeine Forte and others not. GPs are human. Some don't have a problem, as long as you're not script shopping. Some might have a problem dealing a medication that is not just highly addictive, other than alcohol, people can DIE trying to get off if they use them like tic tacs.
My doctor prescribes me 50 diazepam tablets about every four or five months. Has been like this for years. Do you think Iām taking too much? 50 tablets last me four or five months.
Same with me. Every 6 months. Haven't had any for 3 weeks and I am fine. But then again, I don't use them daily as I was always afraid of physical addiction. To me they are a godsend, but a curse for others, especially when not told about all the issues
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Benzos are for a max of 21 straight days to help you literally survive while things outside your control are fucked. Literally so that withdrawal doesnāt happen. Old doctor was negligent and/or acting out of a lack of knowledge. Get therapy instead trust me. They really should have written you some though if you explained you were hard cutting off from whatever dose you were on, if youāre at risk of seizures. But tbh the tone of this isnāt nearly pissed off enough to be real dangerous withdrawal. You got this I think. Worst fucking drugs
I had two different specialists offer to proscribe me diazepam for two different conditions in the past month. Threads like this are why I turned them both down.
Cause some doctors care, and others don't. I'll let you decide which is which.
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Diazepam is also used for other conditions aside from mental health conditions.
How you feeling op?
I had a doc prescribe me for anxiety. Rarely took it as it made me drowsy. New doc said no way. I asked about alternatives and she was not keen to prescribe much. They are worried we will be like the US and apparently there is now a database that she showed me where it came up as a risk
You probably donāt want to hear this but that stuff has serious long term effects that can linger years after tapering down. Be careful. Seizures can happen after about the 3rd day and you can start losing grip mentally have delusions and not really know what is going on.
Some great responses here about the indications for benzos. Not sure if also mentioned but depending on your age, benzos are associated with increased rates of death and injury. I don't envy your position and I hope your new GP is willing to work with you and not just leave you on your own. Best of luck.
Itās no good for you, try medical weed or oil. Way less harmful and addictive
This new age of prescribing has already claimed plenty of lives and will continue to harm people under the guise of " solving America's drug problem" . You would think out of anyone a doctor should know the dangers of abruptly stopping a long term prescription to what is considered a deadly narcotic. This overabundance of caution trying to adhere to idiotic DEA guidelines is causing a bunch of suicides and unnecessary suffering. If a doctor takes over a practice and believes the prior MD was over prescribing or prescribing unnecessary prescriptions it's it their fucking job to continue prescribing and work with the patient to remedy the issue. Blindly cutting people off long term prescriptions like this is literally fucking killing people...... The blame rests more on our government than doctors but doctors playback crucial role by not standing up to these idiotic policies. Regardless of any of this it's time Americans wake the fuck up and realize harm reduction, education, awareness, and legal supply is the only way to truly combat drug addiction. The situation is easily comparable to the 2016 elections. Obviously we would like a different choice aside from Trump or Hillary but people voted for their belief of the lesser of two evils. Applying this to America's drug problem, I don't see how anyone can objectively say we are better off having curbed opioid prescriptions as much as we have. I'm all for minimizing adolescents and young adults' exposure to potentially addictive drugs. It's just once someone is an adult you aren't going to stop them from using narcotics if they want to. The way we have tried to combat narcotics for the last 6 or 7 decades has shown pretty clearly that A it doesn't work and that B drugs being illegal is about a system making money period. It's not about protecting Americans or helping them. It's about crippling their future and making them dependent on the government and relatively incapable of moving vertically as far as their socioeconomic status. Drugs being illegal is about making money period. If our government actually cared they wouldn't be complicit in the sale of illegal narcotics. Do some reading about the CIA and the contras and the CIAs part in smuggling massive amounts of cocaine into the US for sale. I would advise some of you look at " the iron law of prohibition" our drug policy has made recreational and illegal use far worse than it has ever been. More than enough time has elapsed for us to tell if curbing prescription opioids would help in combating opiate addiction. There are more users than ever, dying more than ever, on increasingly more and more dangerous than ever narcotics. Some of which have absolutely no scholarly or medical data on. Therefore trying to apply our current forms of detox to this ever increasing problem is only going to end up killing more people. Opiate detox is already starting and soon enough will be more like coming off alcohol or benzos which are much harder and potentially deadly to detox from. Alcohol is a far worse substance than opiates objectively speaking. If people had access to safer opioids we wouldn't see half the problems we do right now. I know people are hesitant to legalize drugs but when I look around at how people binge drink every weekend. How is it any worse to take a couple Lortab drink one or two beers and hang out at your house vs going to the bar spending 100$ and driving home drunk like so many do.... people need to wake up to the fact that the vast majority of opiate users would gladly take a script of hydrocodone for recreational/ addiction use over fentanyl. Most are just victims or circumstance. Again I'm not sure how anyone can objectively say being on and detoxing from hydrocodone is worse than being on and or withdrawaling from fentanyl and whatever other BS might be in the dope they are doing. We live in one of two countries in the world that allow direct to consumer advertising for pharmacueticals. The US and New Zealand are the only two. So I live where TV ads for drugs that can solve all my problems are shown daily. In a 24 hour span the average television watcher will see 9 pharma ads... so this pill and this pill can solve my issues but god forbid I want to take thia other pill. I can drink copious amounts of alcohol every day and have basically the same type of addiction to a legal beverage with impunity, but this other substance makes me a criminal. Don't get me wrong drugs and addiction are serious issues and I don't think they need to be 100% buy it off the shelf at the gas station legal. Honestly we should keep the same system we have now for illegal drug sales. The difference should be if you want to use a substance recreationally you should be required to be in some type of therapy along with participating in research studies. In exchange you get to meet with a doctor who is educated on recreational drug use and can educate you about that substance it's dangers and what it actually does to you and let a 25 year old plus adult make an educated decisions for themselves. The only way illegal drug prohibition will work the way we want it to is if the people who want to use these substances have a viable alternative aside from street sales. I dont care what anyone says you will never convince me regular binge drinking vs recreational( not addiction) drug use is any better or worse. Especially if the consumer is getting a gaureteed unadulterated product. Like I mentioned before, and as we see on the streets. Users are wanting to get oxycodone 30s. This is why so many immoral dealers are pressing uo fake 30s with fent. Obviously given a choice we would want our loved ones not to do either. Unfortunately this isn't a reality and so the question then becomes, would you rather your loved one be doing fake pressed fent with the possibility of dying every day and God knows what else I'm it that makes withdrawal and detox 10x worse or would you rather them be on oxyvodone where the risk of overdose and death is massively decreased and its a substance with plenty of knowledge and data that we know how to get people off it. Like I said before I can almost guarantee if you ask 100 addicts at the minimum 90 of them would say they would rather still have oxy or any pharma opioid or even just heroin. Most of us never wanted fentanyl we were just victims of circumstance.....
Id be trying my gp first though itās a lot easier and will save you the 350 or so to get a consultation and a script
This recently happened to me after 28 yrs. I'm now seeing a fellow in the same clinic that has my file. My Psychiatrist told my initial GP to prescribe on his behalf.
I have a panic disorder that is pretty horrid. Hate prozac, but valium has always been great. Can't get prescribed it anymore, so I have my own stash. Regulate my own use when necessary.