Please I Really NEED Advice

[BananasAndOranges]

I previously made a thread about benzodiazepines mainly Xanax. I went and saw a psychiatrist today and I Really am sick of this. I was completely honest with this doctor. He asked me what I am prescribed. I said 15mgs(not enough but dont care) of dexedrine I then paused and just said I am Perscribed 6mgs of Xanax a day, but have been taking 4mgs and on stress filled anxious ridden days 5mgs. Well just about those exact worda. He without pause said I dont like that , its like mixing an upper and A downer. Then said theres NO real point on being on Dexedrine (rollin eyes at this badly) and Xanax because he ,to sum things up, think it evens you out and it is starting to be an issue. I thought I had the greatest doctor but now I am stuck of Fuck. When leaving I even told the guy because apparently I am just coming in there for medication to him that I Wasnt asking for refills of any kind just was seeing if he was capable of helping me. He thwn said upper and downer bpah blah the dexedrines probably making you more anxious as its a side effect for wveryone apparently even though I Said before this I find dexedrine to help my anxiety. What has medicine come to?!?! On my way out I did reschedule an appointment and he said he wanted consent to basically be nosey. He said I can fax stuff over after I found old doctors via Moms. I then ask for a.form not knowing what it was and just thought this sounda bad I had a bad last doctor this would be supid. I left feeling and probably looking really awkward. I do Not like thia. Everyone seems to think I should have to detox or taper and Now really isn't the time. This is year five exactly ? I have been on benzodiazepines. I have been on Adderall forever. ten plus years then have been on Dexedrine for a year and a half and I see more progress is outcome when taking it versus other add meds. I am asking for advice. Where can I go. I dont and shouldnt have to deal with all this. YES everyone needs to get off benzos at some point I Suppose but I think It is doing nothing but help. What kind of doctor should I look into? Should I keep calling Psychiatrists or keep working with me doc. Also can she make me detox? I totally feel like I am being fucked over badly with all of this its like never ending.

 

[Dave]

She can't make you detox, no; but she is not under any obligation to keep prescribing you medication if she thinks that is the more appropriate course of action.

What other treatments are you undergoing for your anxiety? Stimulants to tend to increase anxiety in most people, but everyone will react differently., and benzos are only good for removing the symptoms of anxiety, not the cause. For that you need therapy.

 

[BananasAndOranges]

She can't make you detox, no; but she is not under any obligation to keep prescribing you medication if she thinks that is the more appropriate course of action.

What other treatments are you undergoing for your anxiety? Stimulants to tend to increase anxiety in most people, but everyone will react differently., and benzos are only good for removing the symptoms of anxiety, not the cause. For that you need therapy.

I just want to treat the anxiety right now to begin with I care Little about Dexedrine anymore. A switch to Diazepam and Serax I think may be my best bet. That and maybe an antidepressant. I just dont want stigmas on me anymore it is scaring me.

 

[BananasAndOranges]

I say Diazepam because for long term its helped me best but Xanax is good for panic attacks and I figure Serax takes a few hours to kick in so taken in the evening then by bed time I would be fine and I wouldnt deal with rebound. I just dont know why I keep getting looked bad upon for taking xanax. I function on that. Without it I would be an anxious weird mess. I dont mind taking an antidepressant if I have to but this doctor thinks antidepressants can allow me to take less and less Xanax and it annoyed the shit out of me its my body right? I am prescribed higher dosing than I even take!! I just dont get it

 

[Dave]

Yes, but are you doing anything else to help the trouble, or just taking pills? The more complicated the cocktail, the more likely that things will just get confused. More/different pills may well not be the answer.

 

[Tommyboy]

It can be very difficult for you to find a doctor willing to prescribe you these meds. I have been prescribed benzos as long as you, and in order to see a doctor at school I had to taper with her. When I returned home, no doctors would see me. I called around, they asked what I was being treated for and what I was prescribed, I said anxiety, and that I have actually tapered down to 2mgs of valium, but was looking to stay there until the time was right to taper down. They all said no to me, and I had to return to my old shitty doctor that initially prescribed me higher doses of xanax.

I have had a few good doctors that kept me at a dose of 1.5-3mgs of xanax since they knew that I was being prescribed 3mgs of xanax for a while already, but none of them are located where I live. Some would say that they aren't good doctors if they prescribe benzos long-term, but I was already in that position when I saw them.

It seems like most doctors just view you as a liability if you are on benzos. They don't see much benefit in taking you on as a new patient, because the risks outweigh the rewards for them. I just think they don't think it's worth it to taper someone off, since they will only be getting paid for 6-12 months, and then have to worry about this new patient having seizures from the withdrawal.

I have seen a broad spectrum of doctors, so I suggest that you keep looking. I agree that a switch to valium is in your best interests. When I found myself being denied xanax by doctors in a new location, I got very bad withdrawal symptoms from dropping a few mgs. When I got on valium though, I didn't have to worry if I missed a day of dosing, and that was after 5 years of never going more than 24hrs without a dose of xanax, other than 1 time that I made it to like 26hrs. I was shaking a lot at that 26hr mark, and you probably couldn't even match my signature at that time to myself now. With valium the withdrawals take a lot longer to come on, and are mild compared to xanax. I don't get panic attacks anymore, and that was the primary reason I was on the xanax to begin with.

 

[BananasAndOranges]

Well I am so sick of looking would you suggest I seriously have a talk with my doctor about diazepam and that Im NOT O.K. with a huge taper or a detox of Any kund. I find it Very aggravating. I am seriously clueless. I could easily switch to 40mgs of Diazepam but I think I would need serax in the evening(or temazepam like I was on before with diazepam for sleep). I really dont see the issuewith it. TBH I asked to be on Diazepam over Xanax to begin with. My current doc thinks serax is Only for alcoholics....what kind of doctor do I need to see because I get the same response from every psychiatrist it seems and Its seriously retarded. I am sick of it. It really upsets me that health care hasbecome so careless

 

[Missykins]

Perhaps you can approach your doctor with a list of goals rather than a list of medications. For example, saying that "less anxiety," or
"improved sleep" and "better concentration" are your goals may get your further with a doctor than specifically requesting medications.

You need to be open-minded to the fact that your doctor may recommend medications other than what you are requesting.

 

[OverDone]

Perhaps you can approach your doctor with a list of goals rather than a list of medications. For example, saying that "less anxiety," or
"improved sleep" and "better concentration" are your goals may get your further with a doctor than specifically requesting medications.

You need to be open-minded to the fact that your doctor may recommend medications other than what you are requesting.

Perfectly stated

 

[THECATINTHEHAT]

Your doctor is probably closer to the truth then you are, stimulants are clearly not going to help if you have anxiety issues. I know you don't want to face up to the reality of the situation, but if you truly do have anxiety issues, then long term benzo use is not the answer. You would have to be housebound with fear for a doctor in this country to even consider getting you near that dose of alprazoam.

As someone else has mentioned, approaching a doctor with a particular drug (that's what they are!) regime in mind is clearly going to set off arm bells. Of course, you are a drug addict and you want/need your drugs, but have a sit down and ask yourself whether this is truly the answer. It might be uncomfortable, but if you are serious about improving your health you clearly need some kind of help/therapy. Poking your psyche in different directions with chemicals isn't going to make for a happy life.

'What has medicine come to?!?!'........Sorry to say this but this just highlights your naivety. Medicine isn't about just writing someone a script for some drugs and hoping they get better, it's about involved treatment of the root cause of symptoms. Your doctor is probably correct. If this is not a good time for you to detox go to them and say that. Show a willingness to engage in some non-pharmaceutical treatment and say you want to get healthy and clean but need a bit of breathing space and they might show you some compromise...

 

[Tommyboy]

Well I am so sick of looking would you suggest I seriously have a talk with my doctor about diazepam and that Im NOT O.K. with a huge taper or a detox of Any kund. I find it Very aggravating. I am seriously clueless. I could easily switch to 40mgs of Diazepam but I think I would need serax in the evening(or temazepam like I was on before with diazepam for sleep). I really dont see the issuewith it. TBH I asked to be on Diazepam over Xanax to begin with. My current doc thinks serax is Only for alcoholics....what kind of doctor do I need to see because I get the same response from every psychiatrist it seems and Its seriously retarded. I am sick of it. It really upsets me that health care hasbecome so careless

Well I really think that you have to be open to tapering down. I don't think that it is realistic to basically find a new Doctor and tell them that you wish to continue taking a steady dose of benzos for the foreseeable future.

As others have states, a list of goals to show your doctor seems like a good idea, and I think that lowering your benzo dosage should be on that list. Tapering down isn't all that bad, and they would probably allow you to stay at some lower doses for a long period of time. I didn't think that I could ever get down to such a low dose of benzos, but certain circumstances made me have to taper on my own, and once I finally got to see a doctor, I knew that I could taper, and they were a lot more willing to work with me since I told them that I wanted to at least lower the dosage, and see how low I could get, even if that meant staying at the low dose and not getting off of it. I really think that if you were to taper down to half your current dose, you would feel the same exact results from the drug once you stabilize at that dose.