Benzos Benzo for panic disorder/social anxiety

[OlympicSwimmer]

Hey everyone, the question I have is how to get my psychiatrist to give me a script for a benzo. That being said I'm not seeking a benzo to get high off of, just to get me to stop having panic attacks and ease my social anxiety. Here's my story and the reason i want to try a benzo.

So i started off going to my doctor with bad anxiety and he referred me to a psych who start off prescribing hydroxyzine, it did nothing, then he prescribed me propanalol which also did nothing, then gabapentin which makes me sleepy but doesn't help my anxiety at all. When i asked him to switch from gabapentin to a benzo long ago he said he's not going to prescribe me a benzo cause he thinks im just looking for a quick fix. So, he told me to go to a behavior therapy place, i did and have spent thousands of dollars on behavioral therapy and it still did nothing. I go to see my psych again in a few days, still on gabapentin after going to behavior therapy and i'm planning on asking for a benzo again. Idk if this doctor is just scared of writing a script for a benzo, if it's im only 19 or what but i still have disabling anxiety that literally makes it so i can't function. Can someone please tell me what they would do? Should i look for a new doc, ask politely for something stronger or what? I think my reason is justified, i've literally tried everything there is besides a benzo and none of it has worked. PLEASE HELP! also, please tell me if you think i shouldn't try a benzo and why or if you think a low dose of a benzo would help me get my anxiety under control, also say which one works the best please! Thank you guys.

 

[OlympicSwimmer]

oh also as a side note, my doc prescribed me temazepam for insomnia a few weeks ago, long after i asked for a benzo for anxiety, i thought it might be important to note that he actually has prescribed me a benzo that he wants me on long term, so why wont he prescribe one for my main issue, anxiety?

 

[Hodor]

Weird, Temazepam is, as far as I know, considered to be one of the more addictive benzos.

Your doc does have a point about being wary of prescribing benzos as a "quick fix" for social anxiety, although I do find it puzzling that he'd give you Temazepam for insomnia and hydroxizine for panic attacks / social anxiety, as opposed to giving you hydroxizine instead of Temazepam at night and giving you Xanax for panic attacks.

Anyway, the problem with using benzos for social anxiety is that they're often not exactly conducive to socially appropriate behavior - these are GABAergic drugs, so while they may help you interact with people, you might not necessarily leave the best impression with them. Thus I'd say that benzodiazepine monotherapy is *not* the way to go for social anxiety. How do you react to stimulants? I've had some success with combining Lyrica and Ritalin (Lyrica works well for generalized anxiety and, at the right dose, doesn't feel impairing) - IMO, these drugs synergize nicely, as the Lyrica smoothes out the jitteriness while leaving the increased motivation, confidence and energy. Now, I'm not going to mince words here - while Lyrica doesn't really produce euphoria, I do acknowledge that I am still dependent on these drugs; however, I am not addicted to them as I was to benzos (as in not just needing the drug to function, but escalating my dose and continuing the habit despite obvious negative consequences).

Lastly, if your current therapist isn't doing it for you, there's nothing wrong with trying different therapists, possibly specializing in a different form of psychotherapy.