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Mental Health long term benzos/barbs for social anxiety.

flyhighk

flyhighk

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So I've been having serious social anxiety problems for about 2 years now. I'm not functional enough to complete high school. And I'm willing to do whatever it takes to get rid of that anxiety.
SSRIs and TCAs help a tiny bit.
Would benzos still help after years of daily use (same dose) ? It seems that the anxiolytic effects of benzos do last for quite a long time.
Any experiences with long term therapeutic benzo use?
Thanks
 
Barbs would be off the table......No doctor in there right mind is going to risk there license for SA. Now benzo's will work and the anti anxiety effects will continue but there is a always need to bump up at some point.....First it will be sedation than you should get the benefits from them....They can burn out tho and if you take more then prescribed it can ruin the blood levels and in turn leave you with nothing more than a pill that no longer works.
 
I don't plan on taking more than prescribed. I don't get any high/euphoria from benzos so I won't use them recreationally. I was thinking about phenobarbital because it has a pretty long half life.
 
Phenobarbital is like a last resort and is for people in benzo detox clinics that can't sleep........I think if you where prescribed this you wouldn't even be able to function plus if you take both benzo/Barb you have the chances of not waking up when you go to bed.....They really don't prescribe barbs other than what you mentioned....But that's in rare cases......I don't know tho that's the way it is here in America.
 
Benzos aren't that great for social anxiety IME. Long term they can even increase anxiety. :\ Have you tried any kind of talk therapy? It can take a little time, but I think you might find it to be much more effective.
 
I'm seeing my school psychologist, but I really need something "stronger". If my anxiety doesn't get any better soon, my school will kick me out because I'm missing so many days.
If not long term, then on an as needed basis.
Thanks guys
 
spork said:
Benzos aren't that great for social anxiety IME. Long term they can even increase anxiety. :\ Have you tried any kind of talk therapy? It can take a little time, but I think you might find it to be much more effective.
Click to expand...

I agree with this. Flyhigh, you mention that ssris and tcas help a small bit, so perhaps try to talk to your doctor about increasing your dose on that or trying a different med. have you tried a snri such as venlafaxine? I found that med very helpful.
 
I'd honestly like to try clomipramine before any snri. I heard it works very well for social anxiety.
Sertraline makes it harder for me to enjoy normal activities, so I don't really want to increase that. And doxepin makes me sleep 9-10 hours. I'm currently tapering off to see how I feel and I might start taking anafranil after I stop the doxepin.
I didn't explain my SA to my doc yet, I will tell him about it in my next appt and I'm seeing another doc next week probably.
 
T(e)CA's and SARI's are anxiolytic (and hypnotics)
Blunted affect is to be expected from SSRI's, as well as some other anti-depressants.
Doxepin made you sleep for 10 hours because that's what it's meant to do.
All TCA's antagonise adrenal glands (the reason you slept for 10 hours). Some target a1 more than a2, some the other way around, and others are closer to even.
I would expect Clomipramine to have a similar affect to Doxepin.

How can you expect to get treatment for your anxiety of your doc doesn't even know?
What is he prescribing them for? Depression?

Benzos aren't sustainable and GABA addiction/withdrawal is the nastiest of them all.
 
I wanted to try clomi because it seems to be less sedative at normal doses.
And yes he prescribed them for depression, I've only seen him 3 times so far and we're treating one issue at a time, that's why I haven't told him about my SA yet.
 
Hahaha sorry but there isn't a shrink in their right mind that'd Rx a barbiturate for someone with comorbid depression. Of course there are a number of shrinks out there who aren't in fact in their right minds, so YMMV. Just don't be surprised if they laugh at you like I just did.
 
What makes you think it's less hypnotic?
I'm all for you trying it, hell try them all, but I'm not sure how you came to that conclusion (unless you've tried it before)

From what I understand, most people with depression have troubles with anxiety. As in, it's more likely for a depressed patient to have anxiety problems than it is for them to just be depressed.
I don't consider myself to have anxiety problems as I've had very few panic attacks and I rarely get anxiety out of nowhere. I'm fine with being anxious in social situations, even though I know I shouldn't be (anxious, not that I shouldn't be okay with it)

Psychiatry doesn't work by treating one thing at a time. Let your psych know your issues, or none of them will be addressed properly.

PS pinpoint we try to cultivate a supporting environment here.
Laughing at people for asking questions is not cool.

Barbs are off the tables though, nobody who cares about their medical licence (ime doctors care more about their licence than they do your wellbeing) and/or your health would rx them to you.
Comorbid depression or not, barbs have a low therapeutic index (the range between medicated and overdosed) and a very bad safety profile.
They're last line medications reserved for extreme situations.
 
maybe give Paxil a try?it seems to help some people..made me too sluggish though...

ill be honest not much has helped long term for social anxiety..phenibut and benzos do help temporarily..ghb is a cure-all for it but cannot be used 24/7

i really have no advice..
 
I am sure my anxiety is NOT caused by depression. I have been feeling good for the last 3 months, sometimes even manic.
And my anxiety is still almost the same.
My depression is now non existent. My only issues now are anxiety and attention deficit.
And I don't think my shrink will laugh at me. He knows that I want drugs for good reasons. If I just wanted to get high or kill myself I could just buy drugs from the streets.
Thanks guys.
 
I wasn't saying your anxiety is caused by your depression. I was saying depression and anxiety is more common than depression alone.
Because of this, answering no when he asked if you have anxiety problems is a bad move.

Attention deficit will not provide any ground for stimulants until your depression and anxiety are under control, as they can impair concentration/attention.

There is no good reason to prescribe you barbiturates.
Any medical practitioner that does so stands to lose their medical licence.

PS good luck finding barbs on the streets ;)
 
He never asked if I had any anxiety. And I never said I didn't have anxiety.
And fine, I have no reason to prefer barbs over benzos.
I just wanna know if benzos can be used long term. I mean, what if I stayed on benzos my whole life ? I'd increase my dose every few years.
 
There's more to prolonged use than just tolerance. Sure, you'll have to increase your dose to get the same (or lesser) effects... but eventually your massive doses won't be providing the relief they once did. You'll take them and still be in a state of panic. You'll go into a panic attack and be shit out of luck because your GABA receptors are dulled from repeated high dosing. You'll have to take benzos in order to stop w/d's in which you can have a seizure and die.

You're more than welcome to take benzos daily, there are plenty of doctors who prescribe such harmful regimes.
Just know that eventually the benzos won't help with your anxiety. You will have a physical tolerance and addiction that requires high doses of benz in order to prevent withdrawal.
If and when you do come off benzos you can expect intense rebound anxiety worse than the anxiety that prompted you to start them in the first place.

Long term benzo use actually results in worsened anxiety.

I'm not trying to fear monger either, I'm just giving you facts.
If benzos are still helping you in a years time after daily use I will be surprised.


Diminished effects occur with all drugs.
Potentially lethal withdrawals only occur with GABA affecting drugs.
 
I am well aware of the risks, and if I choose to use them long term I will never come off (unless I have to for some reason)
However I don't think my anxiety will get worse if I stay on the same dose for years. The relief will disappear, I agree but I don't see how my anxiety will get worse if I don't stop using.
Thanks again
 
You don't have to think it, time will tell.

Good luck with your decisions.
 
Sedative antidepressants do the trick, and a good tricyclic is amitriptylin or trimipramine. Forget benzos for regular/long term use, it's very addictive and you have to up the dose like every week.
 
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