• The Dark Side 💕 Welcome Guest 💕
    Posting Rules Bluelight Rules
    Notable Threads Urgent Hotlines
    Bereavement Mindfulness
    Suicide Support Anger Management
  • TDS Moderators: AlphaMethylPhenyl | paranoid android

Mental Health Don't know what to do, can't fix my social anxiety

B

BrokenPromise

Bluelighter
Joined
Oct 2, 2012
Messages
58
I've been on Zoloft, Prozac, Celexa, Paxil, Effexor, Pristiq, Endep and Avanza. I have tried them all for 5 weeks plus with no benefits. Benzo's work but are only prescribed for short-term use. I've tried all the supplements and herbs. I also exercise everyday and eat healthy.

I've tried to talk to psychiatrists and GP's about Pregabalin or Clonazepam (I find both to be extremely beneficial) I always get shot down and told "In America they over-prescribe" or "That's meant for X condition not anxiety" even though there are studies that prove that they are effective.

I've pushed myself into situations over and over again in hopes that will work but if anything, it makes it worse. I've decided to start CBT next year but with my level of social phobia I doubt it will do much and I need something that works now instead of 6 months down the track.

I have just been released from prison and have no job. I can no longer self medicate as I'm on parole and subject to random drug tests. Since being released I've had constant panic attacks and my hands shake in any social situation.

Does anyone have any advice.
 
Dude, you need to find a new doctor. A doctor who has some compassion. I find male doctors are far more understanding in these types of situations, female doctors can be real cunts. I use that word very sparingly, but they can be absolute CUNTS.
We all make mistakes in life, and it sounds like you've paid your dues. That sounds like BS they're making you suffer.
With what your describing you SHOULD be on long term Valium, like I am.
The reason doctors are hesitant to prescribe it for long term use is you WILL become both physically and mentally addicted, and you WILL not be able to just stop. And doctors do not like having addicts on their roster, which is why they are so hesitant.
Find a doctor who gives a fuck about their patients, and not their personal history ( I'm not sure if they know it)...Do they???
I've found Xanax and Valium to be the two most effective, and yes you can use them for long term use. You can use them for life, and they help.
Go in their and pour you heart out man, the best way is to not ask directly....
Personal message me and I can give you some pointers on how to best get your point across wth the best chance for success.

Anxiety sucks, and in this day and age no one should have to go through it. I know how devestating it can be, but keep your head up man. With things like this sometimes it takes a bit of work. But trust me, things will come together.
 
Last edited:
I've had fantastic results with Pregabalin @ 300mg for my anxiety, it's a shame you're being denied from trying it.

Yes it's used off-label for anxiety but the results from the majority of those who use it for anxiety speak for themselves.

I'd really try and push for it.
 
I think the most important thing to know here is are they making you see a doctor who specifically deals with people being released from prison?
Because I could most definitely see why they would not want, and possibly even have their hands tied to prescribe you a benzo if they know your past.
Im finding it very hard to beleive a doctor turning you down with the symptoms your describing, thats an atrocity.
 
BlingBlangBlaow said:
Dude, you need to find a new doctor. A doctor who has some compassion. I find male doctors are far more understanding in these types of situations, female doctors can be real cunts. I use that word very sparingly, but they can be absolute CUNTS.
We all make mistakes in life, and it sounds like you've paid your dues. That sounds like BS they're making you suffer.
With what your describing you SHOULD be on long term Valium, like I am.
The reason doctors are hesitant to prescribe it for long term use is you WILL become both physically and mentally addicted, and you WILL not be able to just stop. And doctors do not like having addicts on their roster, which is why they are so hesitant.
Find a doctor who gives a fuck about their patients, and not their personal history ( I'm not sure if they know it)...Do they???
I've found Xanax and Valium to be the two most effective, and yes you can use them for long term use. You can use them for life, and they help.
Go in their and pour you heart out man, the best way is to not ask directly....
Personal message me and I can give you some pointers on how to best get your point across wth the best chance for success.

Anxiety sucks, and in this day and age no one should have to go through it. I know how devestating it can be, but keep your head up man. With things like this sometimes it takes a bit of work. But trust me, things will come together.
Click to expand...

I think when dealing with psychiatric issues you want a doctor of the same gender as yourself. This is no absolute rule, cause I had a female neuro advise me take clonazpeam, but my PCP (a female NP) would have none of it and I refused to try any SSRIs.

Doctors are not any different than most humans, they just went to school for 8 years and got a med doc, so now they can tell determine whats wrong with you (not necessarily accurately) and prescribe medications/treatment. They have the same tendencies as most other humans and its the tendency of one gender to view the others gender's problems as more trivial than their own gender's.
 
[Qn;12036477]I think when dealing with psychiatric issue youou want a doctoroomr of the same gender as yourself. This isnoo absolute rule, cse I had a female neuro advise me take clonazpemishapam, but my PCP (a female NP) wouldhavese none of it and I refused to try any SSRIs.

Doctors are not any different than most humans, they just went to school for 8 years and got amed doc, so now they can tell and determine whats wrong with yonotnot necessarily accurately) and prescribe medications/treatment. They have the same tendencies as most other humans and its the tendency of one gender to view the others gender's problems as more trivial than their own gender's.[/QUOTE]


Very well said! I couldn't agree with you more.
I've never had a good experience witha female doctor whilst seeking benzos/narcs. And these are for legit reasons.
The worst experience I had was with a lady who had horns and hooves, and nails 6 inches long that twisted like a candy cain.
First off she demanded a urine test, I abided. When I got back to the room, she grasped my arm without even asking and started checking for track marks... I put up with it thinking OK..OK..there is no way she is going to turn me down. Then....BANG..."What you need is Detox". Your not getting anything today. Then im like well atleast give me a sleeping pill.... Her head then spun around and green goo protruded from her mouth and with here devils pitchfork I was pointed to the door with here almost yelling YOU GET NOTHING!!
At this point I wanted to literally bite her finger off and ask her if she need some pain meds for that, sainer heads prevailed. As in Canada doctors can write in a chart saying of mishaps, which other doctors can read... At this point i was in full blown withdrawl 3 weeks post op having had16 pins taken out of my knee, and trust me...that shit is pain to max. Lady never even looked at my knee either.
I had mad the mistake of forgetting to see my doctor before my script mean out and he wasn't in for the next 2 days. So I went from being on 12 mg of Xanax and 400mg of oxycodone down to nothing... I think even hell would have been better, atleast in hell i wouldnt be that sick and would probably just be pushing around a big boulder or something.
Anyways my point is stay away from female doctors as they would be willing to let me walk out of there empty handed, facing a dangerous and potentially fatal withdrawl.
I've gotten off topic here, lol....but female doctors are far more mistrusting. And you can not trust anything that bleeds for 7 days and doesn't die.
 
The only long term solution is therapy and non-medicated exposure.

Being on a drug in public is not helping you at all.

You are trying to put a band-aid on a deep laceration...

Go see the right type of doctor.
 
I have a female doc & shes pretty fucking cool. Gave me a (small) script for Norcos when my back was killing me, gave me gabapentin for withdrawals/PAWS, & a small amount of Lorazepam too. She's always open to what I have to say & doesn't talk down to me for being an addict. So not all female docs are bad.
 
BlingBlangBlaow said:
Very well said! I couldn't agree with you more.
I've never had a good experience witha female doctor whilst seeking benzos/narcs. And these are for legit reasons.
The worst experience I had was with a lady who had horns and hooves, and nails 6 inches long that twisted like a candy cain.
First off she demanded a urine test, I abided. When I got back to the room, she grasped my arm without even asking and started checking for track marks... I put up with it thinking OK..OK..there is no way she is going to turn me down. Then....BANG..."What you need is Detox". Your not getting anything today. Then im like well atleast give me a sleeping pill.... Her head then spun around and green goo protruded from her mouth and with here devils pitchfork I was pointed to the door with here almost yelling YOU GET NOTHING!!
At this point I wanted to literally bite her finger off and ask her if she need some pain meds for that, sainer heads prevailed. As in Canada doctors can write in a chart saying of mishaps, which other doctors can read... At this point i was in full blown withdrawl 3 weeks post op having had16 pins taken out of my knee, and trust me...that shit is pain to max. Lady never even looked at my knee either.
I had mad the mistake of forgetting to see my doctor before my script mean out and he wasn't in for the next 2 days. So I went from being on 12 mg of Xanax and 400mg of oxycodone down to nothing... I think even hell would have been better, atleast in hell i wouldnt be that sick and would probably just be pushing around a big boulder or something.
Anyways my point is stay away from female doctors as they would be willing to let me walk out of there empty handed, facing a dangerous and potentially fatal withdrawl.
I've gotten off topic here, lol....but female doctors are far more mistrusting. And you can not trust anything that bleeds for 7 days and doesn't die.
Click to expand...

The doc doesn't have to be female to have no compassion. I went through a medically supervised suboxone taper about a year and a half ago and have been on and off of opiates ever since (but as far as my pcp knows I've been squeaky clean). I was in a car crash and fractured 2 of my vertebrae and went in to urgent care the next day, the nurse had to help me walk to the exam room, I was literally in tears from pain just trying to stand, and I had visible cuts and bruises all over my body (Including several on my face).

The motherfucker looks at me, sees I'm in bad shape, looks up my name and says "you're not supposed to have anything for pain." I begged for anything and finally ended up getting 20 30mg codiene w/tylenol and a very judgemental look (mind you a day after breaking my fucking back). The dude didn't even X-Ray me. I laid in bed for 2 weeks before I even knew the extent of my injury. When I finally did get an x-ray and MRI the ER doc told me I could have very easily become paralyzed if I moved the wrong way with my back in this condition.

So fuck conventional doctors. From now on I'm going outside my insurance to dirty doctors and just selling the pills I don't need in order to make up the difference in cost.
 
Klonopin works and it has a long half-life. However, I'd advise against taking it every single day.
 
Went to a mental health clinic and same story. He said if anti-depressants don't work then therapy is the only option. He said Clonazapam and Pregabalin are just band-aid drugs that don't fix the actual problem. I've tried some other doctors but everywhere is booked out, I guess I'll try again in the new year.
 
BrokenPromise said:
Went to a mental health clinic and same story. He said if anti-depressants don't work then therapy is the only option. He said Clonazapam and Pregabalin are just band-aid drugs that don't fix the actual problem. I've tried some other doctors but everywhere is booked out, I guess I'll try again in the new year.
Click to expand...

Dude!!!! You need to book in with an actual doctor, not just go to some rundown clinic with bottom of the rung doctors.
Book an appointment with a REAL doctor!!! Those walk in clinics are USELESS!!!!!! Book in with a GP and I guarantee you will get results.
You could go into a walk in clinic with a broken back and they wouldn't even give you a damn T3!!
You must book with a GP, a male one. Of course a mental health clinic wouldn't prescribe you a benzo, lol. Mental health clinics are there to provide therapy through talking, not prescribing a drug like clonazapam.
Please post your plan of action this time, and I'll tell you if its a good one.
 
BrokenPromise said:
therapy is the only option. He said Clonazapam and Pregabalin are just band-aid drugs that don't fix the actual problem.
Click to expand...

I've heard so many doctors, medical professionals and other know-it-alls tell me that medication is a band-aid to the actual problem, yet not one of them is able to tell me what the actual problem is, or how to fix it. I've tried years of 'talking therapy' but rarely have anything negative to talk about, it's just been a waste of several hundreds hours of their time and mine.

I cannot stand those who claim medications just mask 'the real problem'.
 
^^umm no one knows what the root cause of social anxiety, some were seem to have been born with it, ive had it as early as i can remember, pre-school years..i think therapy can help some whereas others need medication..same goes with depression, some things work, some things dont..there are NO absolutes when it comes to mental illness..
 
Rybee said:
I'e head so many doctors, medical professionals and other know-it-alls tell me that medication is a band-aid to the actual problem,yet not one of them is able to tell me what the actual problem is, or how to fix it. I've tried years of 'talking therapy' but rarely have anything negative to talk about, it's just been a waste of several hundreds hours of their time and mine.

I cannot stand those who claim medications just mask 'the real problem'.
Click to expand...

That's what infuriates me the most, some egotistical prick telling me what's best for my problem, without having the problem.
Conceded narrow minded pricks who think they know more about what your dealing with because they read a book. There are doctors I've had the misfortune of meeting that it makes me sick they have a license to practice.
Finding a doctor who is willing to at least try and put themselves in someone else's shoes is rare.
Its best to find an older doctor, at med school these days they get brain washed that benzos and pain killers are the devil. For some reason they want people to suffer.
 
^Dude, chill out, you've clearly had a few bad (female?) doctors are you're extrapolating across time and space.
(And you live in Thailand, which has ZERO relation to the US in terms of health care)

Personally I've had a female psychiatrist who gave me copious benzo scripts and more, young docs who started me on benzos in the first place, and middle-aged doctors be the most understanding. Old guys are the ones who would never write me a script for anything, because they had some idea that no one under ago 40 could possibly be very sick... But I'm not extrapolating, that's only a few of the doctors I've seen (and where's the young-old cutoff anyway, haha).

As far as therapy goes, it's probably a good idea, it's the only thing that can help your anxiety in the long-term, unless you're willing to do more for yourself than you've been doing. Benzos do just mask the problem, BUT I'm NOT denying that some people need them, I'm just saying that used by themselves, without any other medication, without talk therapy, is ineffective and will make the problem worse.
 
BrokenPromise said:
Went to a mental health clinic and same story. He said if anti-depressants don't work then therapy is the only option. He said Clonazapam and Pregabalin are just band-aid drugs that don't fix the actual problem. I've tried some other doctors but everywhere is booked out, I guess I'll try again in the new year.
Click to expand...

Funny(?) that it takes thousands of dollars for tests to even try (no guarantee) to find out what the problem is so a fix can be attempted.. and if I don't have thousands of dollars for tests... is it a bad thing to use affordable band-aids in the meantime? I really don't think so.
 
If you are ok with the risks associated with being on benzos long-term ( please make sure you weigh the pros and cons) then I think they are relatively easy to obtain (Schedule IV). I think they are much easier to obtain than opiates. I would go the shrink route. I think it will increase your chances of success. Clinics won't do the trick. You gotta go to the place where they agree with your philosophy.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top