Benzos How do I find a doctor that will give me medication for my anxiety

[AvenaSativa]

People here make it sound so easy to get a benzo script but my anxiety is so bad I'm 22 and I don't even know how to get a doctor.

Watch this question get locked because "We don't tell people how to get drugs" thus proving my point. People here talk about their doctor giving them benzos like they're tylenol. I suffer constantly with underlying tension and dread.

I SUFFER people. With all the bullshit I've been through in my life combined with a time I took "ecstasy" when I was 18 that turned out to be a research chemical I live in a state of nothing but dread, tension, stress, and fear, and the only time it stops and I feel like I can collect myself is when I'm on a benzo. I used to live in Philadelphia and I had a doctor there because it was an LGBT clinic so I went there for my hormone medication because I'm transgender and he gave me the expected story about how benzos "aren't good for long term anxiety"

Again, ya'll make it look easy. People here talk like their doctors give them benzos like they're tylenol. Last RN I talked to wouldn't even prescribe gabapentin to people because it's got a "street value" (???? ARE PEOPLE STUPID ENOUGH TO BUY GABAPENTIN!?!?) and she said the government was thinking about making it a controlled substance (REALLY? GABAPENTIN?). This was right after I went to the hospital having a panic attack and the ativan the doctor gave me wore off and I started freaking out from the claustrophobia of being in a hospital.

I don't know what to do or where to start, I don't even have insurance but hopefully my mom will help me?? It's not like I've been able to ever hold a job for more than a month.

 

[AvenaSativa]

Like here I am, 4 in the morning, instead of sleeping I'm on a drug forum asking drug addicts how to get help with my anxiety, because unless I pass out after drinking, I can only pass out after depriving myself of sleep long enough that I can lay down and sleep without my thoughts racing faster and faster until I get back up to get on the computer to distract myself.

So it seems like my 3 choices are alcohol, benzo, perpetual suffering. If weed helped I wouldn't be here it's like a benzo for depression but it can make my anxiety worse.

 

[AvenaSativa]

And of course I expect a smartass to call it some kind of an addiction when I currently can't get benzos enough to sustain an addiction and I'm afraid of becoming an alcoholic because alcohol is the only thing that ever eases the anxiety even though it doesn't kill it like a benzo and I was suffering just as bad before my weed man in Philly was like "Ay yo, I got dem blues out too ya hear" and I thought I would try one and it kicked in and I was like "I haven't felt like this since I was a child. This must be what normal people feel like"

 

[opiatekrzy]

relax, you need to make an appointment at another family practice, get a second opinion, if you get denied CALL ANOTHER DOCTOR OFFICE! talk to that doctor ,before you know it you will walk out with a Benzo script. you don't think I had the same problem? of course, it took me a few years to find the right one that listens ,, and will provide me klonopin. its your own fault for not trying different practices lol. I'm sure I totally broke forim ruled by helping get need. sorry I had to tell you, we all go thru your problem, we moved on and didn't give up. plus your really young only 22, I'm willing your young age has a lot to do with the doctors tendency to prescribe. at tbe same token, these drugs are extremely physicially dependent. some doctors care and don't want a young 22yr old to go through the horror of Benzo addiction, as these doctors physjcally been through it, and seen countless other patients go thru the horror WDs

 

[Phee]

Let's put aside the issue of asking how to get scripts. It may seem like it's "easy" for everyone to get benzos, (i disagree with your perception that people are easily getting them, from a doctor) but i wouldn't make that call based on people posting in chat rooms. We are in an environment where doctors and prescriptions are under increasing scrutiny. Laws are changing, refills are shrinking, pressure is increasing. When it comes to opiates and benzos, doctors and patients need to exhaust other options which requires time and caution.

So a person goes to their primary doctor and complains about anxiety. Mild, or severe? Laws of different countries aside, your doctor may either refer you to a specialist, or engage you in a more indepth conversation about their anxiety to see if medication is even an appropriate answer. This could take time, tests, non-benzo alternatives, etc before they're willing to explore writing a benzo script.

It may very well ne that benzos are indeed appropriate for you, but if you take on the attitude of "come on man, everyone else is getting them, and if i don't get them im just gonna drink heavily", then many doctors are going to either label you as a drug seeker, or refer you to alcohol or mental health counseling. I don't know your mefical history, what's in your chart so to speak, but if there's history or red flags around this, that may add to your difficulty. I don't know what your doctors have said to you in the past, but maybe benzos are not appropriate for you for a variety of reasons.

 

[Phee]

By the way, you asked this question 3 years ago too.

 

[gmlifer]

I know you don't want to hear it but the bottom line is that there IS someone out there that wants to help. It sucks but you have to keep looking.

I have suffered chronic pain for 26 years. When I finally decided to get help for it I had to bounce around from doc to doc (my primary care is awesome and did everything they could to help) before finally landing in a pain management clinic. My pain is legitimate and documented but it still took two years to get a script. I do not and will not ask for them to up my dosage. I do my best to at least appear to them that I am playing by their rules.

Don't give up. And if they are suggesting something other than a benzo for treatment you have to at least try. Try like hell to make whatever they do/suggest for you work.

If you don't mind me asking, what anxiety issues are you having?

 

[opiatekrzy]

doctors use a stepping stone process. will start you with an ssri for example, if that don't work, maybe they try buspar, eventually they will resort to benzos. its a process. some doctors will give benzos the first time you ask

 

[MoreFeens4Morphine]

Jesus fucken christ how I can relate to you. Let me tell you right now the heavy drinking is only making your anxiety so much worse. Once I stopped drinking heavily and went through DT's I hardly ever have anxiety anymore. Alcohol will kill the anxiety in the short term, but in the long run is a huge pain in the ass to give up once its a daily routine. Everyone already has given the best advice. Find another doctor. Try to find a doctor that specializes in depression/anxiety. They will understand better than most and describe in detail how you feel when you are experiencing a panic attack. Do you feel like your having a heart attack? Going to die? Impending doom? What physical symptoms do you experience? For me, my left arm goes numb, my heart jums up into my throat and I hyperventilate and sweat and sometimes even break down crying until I pass out from the anxiety and wake up feeling physically and mentally exhausted from a single panic attack. Don't be afraid to say how it is even if you feel like your exaggerating, the thing is with anxiety everything is exaggerated so you're not really "exaggerating".

I wish you the best of luck, but the best advice I can give that I havent seen here is give up the heavy drinking. The sooner you knock that off the sooner you'll go back to having less panic attacks. It's crazy I do get a benzo script and I do fill them every month but only because I'm worried I might get cut off without a warning so I horde my xanax to be honest. But I hardly ever need them anymore. Of course my doc doesn't know that

Have you looked into benzo RC's? I hate advocating drugs especially potentent RC's to someone but that's the beauty of legal RC's. People who can't get prescriptions now have a viable way of obtaining something for their anxiety/pain.

Stay safe my friend, I wish you the best
-MF4M

 

[ShroomySatori]

I didn't know that benzos existed until a year after my daily panic attacks started. I could only show up at the ER claiming I was having a heart attack so many times before they gave me some xanax. Eventually I was switched to a longer acting benzo. At the time, I was taking an antipsychotic which wasn't working and had already been scripted ssri's. They told me to stop taking those and start taking the xanax and my panic attacks immediately vanished. Then I got some etizolam for times when... like you can't really trust them to keep your script in check, for example my doc went on vacation and forgot to fill mine before leaving so I would have been out benzos a month and they don't really see that as a big deal but of course, it could very well be a big deal. I don't think they would just give you benzos they are sort of the end of the line when nothing else works. I don't feel like I'm having a heart attack anymore.
They definitely still prescribe them long term though I've been scripted them for years and get like 6 refills an appointment for that one. Opioids are much more restricted in my opinion.

 

[opiatekrzy]

believe it or not, benzos are heavily prescfibed in the USA. don't go in the doctors office acting STUPID playing a guessing game with them Hoping they will mention benzos. ME, I literally ask the doctor if he feels comfortable prescribing me a Benzo, I explain the panic attacks I get, I explain what past meds I tried over the years, with no success, and explain I was once taking klonopin and it did wonders. and yes, my doctor agreed to restart my klonopin. it's easy just SIMPLY ASK your doctor how he would feel about a benzo. most.my visits with doctors go how I wanted it to all cause I had talked with him and respectfully and humbly asked for it. you cant go in there clueless about your anxiety and not have knowledge of what past meds you took, otherwise they will try an SSRI or an SNRI. you need to stress you been down that road before and know what helps you.

 

[opiatekrzy]

Benzos have been known to cause opposite effects, anxiousness, lowered inhibitions causing aggressive behavior, more outgoing anxious feeling, similar to alcohol...benZos aren't for everyone

 

[StalinsLipstick]

It took me a very long time to get a benzo for my anxiety. The doc would just write me script after script of SSRIs and shit until one day I just told her "I want to try a benzo" and they gave me a very small dose of klonopin .25 mgs to be exact until I got an appointment at a psychiatrist practice. So, basically fuck your family doc and go to a psychiatrist and don't be ashamed to just suggest it. BUT, they won't let you take it for that long if they are responsible but now I'm up to 3mg a day of klonopin and that took months. Patience. Anxiety can turn your life into a living hell. good luck

 

[opiatekrzy]

A psychiatrist in my opinion is the worst doctor to go to for benzos or controlleds if you are an addict or have history . a psychiatrist is linked with the office of Mental Health and they have all of your records trust me when I tell you they review it before they meet with you if you ever went to a methadone clinic that will be on your file that's it is considered Mental Health being drug addiction is a mental health disorder. Seeing a family doctor or a nurse practitioner is the easiest way to get help from them for anxiety issues that may include benzos, and they don't have access to the skeletons in your closet as psych. Does

 

[Lobotomykid]

Phee gave you already a real good response imo, basically I agree with Phee's comment. His or hers other comment about you asking the same here years ago already made me take just a quick look at your former threads. Last year you posted "I'm diagnosed with Major Depressive Disorder and Generalized Anxiety Disorder. I've been put on all kinds of SSRIs and 2 antipsychotics (which I now tell doctors I refuse to take antipsychotics altogether.)" so I don't know why you're claiming above that you don't even know how to get a doctor.

If your medical history includes a diagnosis and former treatment of GAD then you'll have no problem to get a prescription for Xanax or whatever might suit you best. It all depends on the severity of your anxiety and your personal situation atm but if one suffers from severe anxiety attacks, cannot function normally and carry out the daily tasks or worse even hold down a job then the use of Benzos to help stabilize a patient is certainly up for discussion. True like Phee pointed out Benzo prescription practises are under increasing scrutiny, there's a rethinking in the medical community with regards to prescribing Benzos, in Europe there is a veritable anti-Benzo sentiment going on in recent years I'd say and the new generation of doctors often favours SSRI's and second generation neuroleptics, esp. for longterm treatment while Benzos are increasingly viewed as second choice for short-term treatment only. For GAD, social phobias and such psychotherapy is always an alternative to medication.

But again if you were indeed diagnosed with depression and GAD and was in treatment then you know what to do. Also doctors from a LGBT clinic will either prescribe you something or refer you to some psy/other doc. Other patients there will know doctors who are quick to prescribe stuff too I'm sure.

 

[jamesBrown]

Just don't give up...
My pain doc says that I HAVE TO go see a psychiatrist in order to get my benzo prescriptions...and I was seeing a psychiatrist for about 3 years or so...until he INSTANTLY retired with no warning. He left me with 3 months of scripts to cover me until I could find a new doctor, but wouldn't/couldn't recommend one.
...I had to contact/interact with more than 120 doctors offices before I found one that was even willing to see me!! I couldn't believe it. Most of them had some ridiculous reason as to why they couldn't see me as a patient(this is even before I mentioned anything about benzo's or ANY kind of med). They would tell me shit like..."We only treat children 5 and under." or "We aren't accepting any new patients right now and won't be for the foreseeable future." or "We only treat women."(complete BS...ever heard of an office that only treats men?) or "We only treat people with X condition." and on and on and on.
It took me FOREVER to find a doctor. You just can't give up. Although I'm pretty sure I had a few strokes and a couple minor heart attacks just TRYING to find a psychiatrist. LOL.