Mental Health The UK's unfair rules on Benzos for Mental Health patients!

[Wilson Wilson]

This breaks it down nicely I think, agree with that totally. I think there's also an element of doctors having more ability to make their own choices around what is considered legitimate medical practice. For instance I reckon that if you went to a private doctor and said you were experiencing a lot of stress at work and were having trouble unwinding and switching your mind off afterwards or on days off, most would probably be happy to slip you a few benzos to deal with that. However I can't imagine that would ever fly with an NHS doctor, benzos are considered almost a last resort treatment in the NHS these days.

Absolutely, they have far more autonomy to use their own judgement. Older docs in particular tend to prefer older medicines they know whereas young docs are literally taught "benzos = bad" in med school (in the UK) and go for the newer stuff like pregabalin which, of course, isn't addictive at all...

Even if an NHS GP does have their own views that differ from the norm, the fact they're bound by NICE guidelines pretty much forbids them from exercising their own judgement. Specialists get slightly more freedom but still have to justify things if they use a path not set out by NICE.

But private docs have freedom. They can exercise their own judgement. And unless they are writing utterly ridiculous prescriptions they're unlikely to get into trouble. Regulation compared to the NHS is very light.

A surprising number of private psychiatrists tend to go off American prescription patterns too e.g. Adderall and Xanax. But I wouldn't know regarding the private GPs. I did know someone who got a script of loprazolam 2.5mg from a private clinic. That there is some rare shit!

No point trying to get Adderall over here though really. For one thing dexamphetamine is far cleaner anyway. And for another an Adderall script will cost you anywhere between £300-600 a month and you cannot transfer it to the NHS as it's not approved.

Xanax is not such a problem though, private benzo scripts tend to be cheap from most pharmacies. Diazepam especially is cheaper than the NHS prescription charge to get privately.

 

[THECATINTHEHAT]

Strangely enough I once had loprazolam scripted by an NHS doctor because it was basically the only sleep med I hadn't been on at that time. Fuck knows why they scripted me because I was a total mess at that point in my life. Went home and IV'd the whole script in one night.

 

[THECATINTHEHAT]

I think it was an NHS doctor anyway, could be wrong about that but I dont think I was visiting private docs at that time.

 

[AlphaMethylPhenyl]

I mean, if you can go without the benzo, that'd be more ideal.

 

[evo4ever]

Well I've got some bad news, I cut my self badly yesterday (04/05/20) which needed to be glued back together at the hospital, the Diazepam are no longer effective now not that they were much help anyway. When I was at the hospital I told the psych team this and they were confused as to why I was put on Diazepam as it's not primarily used as a sleep aid, they recommended Temazepam or Nitrazepam as they are hypnotic benzos which are used as sleep aids, they've yet again sent an urgent e-letter to my GP with the recommendation of using a hypnotic benzo instead, hopefully she will prescribe either one of these!

 

[THECATINTHEHAT]

Yeah that is correct diazepam is not a hypnotic benzo, I assumed they had chosen it for the longer half life to help you through the day as well.

Good luck when you go to the doctors, remember to stay calm and not be combative with the doctor. If they dont prescribe you in the way that is being recommended say thankyou very much and at the first opportunity make an appointment with a different doctor and get a different opinion. If they still wont script you after the hospital has sent multiple recommendations because they dont want to keep patching you up then things start to get a bit muddy and you're looking at having to make an official complaint of some sort (and I don't know what the process for that is).

Let's hope it doesnt come to that and they will look to script you.

 

[evo4ever]

Yeah that is correct diazepam is not a hypnotic benzo, I assumed they had chosen it for the longer half life to help you through the day as well.

Good luck when you go to the doctors, remember to stay calm and not be combative with the doctor. If they dont prescribe you in the way that is being recommended say thankyou very much and at the first opportunity make an appointment with a different doctor and get a different opinion. If they still wont script you after the hospital has sent multiple recommendations because they dont want to keep patching you up then things start to get a bit muddy and you're looking at having to make an official complaint of some sort (and I don't know what the process for that is).

Let's hope it doesnt come to that and they will look to script you.

Yeah. I'm gonna phone my GP surgery today and make an urgent telephone appointment to speak to my GP today and hopefully she will script me one of those hypnotic benzos and finally I might be able to get some sleep!

 

[THECATINTHEHAT]

Yes do that. If she doesnt prescribe then it's important you stay calm otherwise you'll really fuck your chances bur perhaps you may like to politely ask why she is going against the recommendation of the specialist team if that happens. At least then you know why and you also have a chance to make a counter argument with the next doctor that you see.

I've just had a night.of insomnia, one or two is bearable though!

 

[Wilson Wilson]

The bloke above me speaks wisdom, he knows the game. You have now had two mental health specialists send urgent referrals for benzos. You are owed your meds. But if your GP still resists, speak to another one.

 

[evo4ever]

Some good news at last! I spoke to my GP before and she's scripted me a weeks supply of Temazepam and she said if its effective she will continue to script it until the end of the month . I forgot to ask her what dose she's gonna give me, what dose range does Temazepam come in? Temazepam is the only benzo I've never tried!

 

[Wilson Wilson]

Some good news at last! I spoke to my GP before and she's scripted me a weeks supply of Temazepam and she said if its effective she will continue to script it until the end of the month . I forgot to ask her what dose she's gonna give me, what dose range does Temazepam come in? Temazepam is the only benzo I've never tried!

Excellent news!

Temazepam comes in 10mg and 20mg. I'd assume you will get the 10mg. But if your tolerance is low enough to feel 5mg diazepam this won't be problem. Temazepam is my favourite benzo and I've tried most of them. Hope it helps you!

 

[evo4ever]

Excellent news!

Temazepam comes in 10mg and 20mg. I'd assume you will get the 10mg. But if your tolerance is low enough to feel 5mg diazepam this won't be problem. Temazepam is my favourite benzo and I've tried most of them. Hope it helps you!

Yeah they gave me 10mg, I've only been taking 5mg Diazepam tablets since Friday so should my tolerance be low enough for 10mg Temazepam to be effective?

 

[MsDiz]

Yeah they gave me 10mg, I've only been taking 5mg Diazepam tablets since Friday so should my tolerance be low enough for 10mg Temazepam to be effective?

Temazepam is pretty strong so it will be more than enough.

I’m so sorry you’re going through a tough time and I’m really pleased you got something that will help in the mean time until you can speak to your psych. I really hope that he/she can help you deal with the root of the issue that causes you to self harm. It can be a long process but don’t give up hope, you can gain a life back. I’m not sure where you are from but can you look into joining a support group? In the UK there are many such groups and I’ve found they do a great job for people in crisis. Due to the current situation they have set up zoom calls for meetings and I think lots of people find that better as they are generally find socialising and being in public a lot harder.

Try to hold out until your appointment. If you ever need to talk to someone please don’t think twice about sending me a DM. I’ll always do my best to listen and help you. Please stay safe!

 

[Wilson Wilson]

Yeah they gave me 10mg, I've only been taking 5mg Diazepam tablets since Friday so should my tolerance be low enough for 10mg Temazepam to be effective?

Yes the 10mg temazepam will be effective, in fact temazepam is half the potency of diazepam so 10mg temazepam = 5mg diazepam anyway. It is effectively an equivalent dose. But temazepam should be much more useful for sleep.

 

[MsDiz]

Yes the 10mg temazepam will be effective, in fact temazepam is half the potency of diazepam so 10mg temazepam = 5mg diazepam anyway. It is effectively an equivalent dose. But temazepam should be much more useful for sleep.

I didn’t realise that, I always thought it was stronger for some reason as they rarely prescribe it now. Good to know.

 

[Wilson Wilson]

I didn’t realise that, I always thought it was stronger for some reason as they rarely prescribe it now. Good to know.

Yeah it's not very potent, the reason they don't like to prescribe it is because it is particularly euphoric compared to diazepam and most other benzos for that matter. It used to be heavily abused in Scotland (jellies) and they'd melt down the caps and shoot them up over there. They came in doses of up to 60mg back then I think.

These days they come in regular tablets in doses of either 10mg or 20mg but they still don't like scripting them too often because of their history.

Nitrazepam is a similar type of story. Moggies were abused heavily back in the day so they're rarely scripted now too. Don't think they were injected like temazepam was though.

 

[F.U.B.A.R.]

I think he meant a private convo

No, I meant private healthcare - I.e. paying a fortune for a consultation then paying a fortune for a private prescription. But yeh, you're more likely to get something useful that way...

 

[Wilson Wilson]

No, I meant private healthcare - I.e. paying a fortune for a consultation then paying a fortune for a private prescription. But yeh, you're more likely to get something useful that way...

If you do everything on video consultations it's much more affordable these days too. Not cheap, just not absurdly expensive. Online ADHD consultation is £250 for example. To get that done on Harley St you're looking at £800 or more.

And you can get scripted drugs that are blacklisted on the NHS (e.g. Adderall, Xanax) especially if you see a private psychiatrist who went to med school in the US. But then you are stuck only getting those on a private script which is expensive for Adderall. Xanax is actually pretty cheap from a pharmacy that stocks it for private patients. Because they just get it from Pfizer Ireland. Adderall gotta be imported from the US so, obviously, stupidly expensive. Ironic considering Shire, who own Adderall, are British.

Really am gonna try one of them private GP video appointments too, bit of recent drama with my NHS GP has me wondering what a second opinion on a few things may be...

For OP though happily he managed to get his one month script through the NHS so no need to spend the cash. Figured that would be the case as it was already referred by an NHS hospital and they're not too bad when giving benzos only for one month use.

 

[evo4ever]

Yeah it's not very potent, the reason they don't like to prescribe it is because it is particularly euphoric compared to diazepam and most other benzos for that matter. It used to be heavily abused in Scotland (jellies) and they'd melt down the caps and shoot them up over there. They came in doses of up to 60mg back then I think.

These days they come in regular tablets in doses of either 10mg or 20mg but they still don't like scripting them too often because of their history.

Nitrazepam is a similar type of story. Moggies were abused heavily back in the day so they're rarely scripted now too. Don't think they were injected like temazepam was though.

I tried Nitrazepam years ago in the form of Mogadon and I found them quite euphoric and very hypnotic! I've always wanted to try its big brother Flunitrazepam (Rohypnol) but it's like bigfoot rare lol, probably because of it's bad rep as a "date rape drug" which I think is BS cos u could use any benzo as a "date rape drug" if u gave them enough of it! But I do know the NHS prescribe it but only in extremely exceptional and probably end-of-life situations.

 

[Wilson Wilson]

I tried Nitrazepam years ago in the form of Mogadon and I found them quite euphoric and very hypnotic! I've always wanted to try its big brother Flunitrazepam (Rohypnol) but it's like bigfoot rare lol, probably because of it's bad rep as a "date rape drug" which I think is BS cos u could use any benzo as a "date rape drug" if u gave them enough of it! But I do know the NHS prescribe it but only in extremely exceptional and probably end-of-life situations.

The whole date rape drug thing is pure media hype. Aside from the fact any benzo could be used for that purpose, the most common date rape drug by a huge margin is alcohol. Pretty obvious when you think about it. But that doesn't sell papers or get clicks.

Nitrazepam is definitely one that knocks you out and if you stay awake it proper messes with your head and has you fucked up. Personally I wasn't a massive fan since I prefer my more gentle floaty benzos like diazepam or temazepam. But I still had some fun with it.

Honestly for me personally, if I just wanted a straight sleeper, I have found zolpidem does an excellent job. If I just take one and go straight to bed I'll be out like a light even if I'm still stimmed up. It just works for sleep. If I only wanted something to help me sleep, not get high on, I'd go for those. But the NHS doesn't really like scripting it and prefers zopiclone which ime isn't as effective for sleep, although is more fun for recreation. I think the reason is the whole "Ambien walrus" thing which I've never really had but to be fair it seems common enough that it's a legit concern so I understand why they don't like to use it.