Problem with anxiety prescription

[OverteHorizonRadar]

So im 17, had social anxiety as long as i can remember and have recently (past 6 months) started to have severe panic attacks. Im seeing my psyciatrist who treated me for depression, and he has prescribed me prozac. Ive been taking it for 13 days now and the effects have not been seen. I still am afraid and nervous in public and have panic attacks 3 or 4 times a week. i also never feel relaxed, and am constantly tensed up and sore. from what ive read, a benzodiazepine seems like it would be a logical step to take. i also know that these are abused by addicts, and are the target of pill hunters. i truly feel that these would help, but i dont wanna suggest it and make him think im pill hunting. i have an appointment in like 10 days, so if the prozac doesnt start to help by then he said, than we will try something different like another anti depressent. also my grandma takes klonopin, and my mom said that it seems like i should maybe try a benzodiazepine. so what can i say to my doctor to make him consider it an option, without looking like a juinkie lookin for pills?

also if this is in the wrong section please dont close just move it please and thank you

 

[sekio]

We can't tell you what to tell your doctor to get medication. Benzodiazepines are not a sustainable therapy for anxiety and panic attacks because they rapidly lose efficacy. Detoxing from benzodiazepines, especially high-dose, is not something you want to be doing.

Tell your doctor this, not us. If you don't like his answer, find another doctor. I suggest exhausting all possible other treatment options before you try ebnzos. Perhaps something non-controlled like buspirone would be worth a try.

 

[Stay.Blazed.420]

lol you sound like me when i wanted a benzo prescription..

Now here i am months later after trying klonopin(clonazepam), ativan(lorazepam) and am now currently on xanax(alprazolam) and while yes they do help - never take more than you're prescribed. Dependency starts as early as 2 weeks for some people and i found i was already addicted after a month.

before i switched to xanax i ran out of my clonazepam script 3 days early and i already experienced horrible withdrawals. My anxiety was HORRIBLE (way worse than before), i would have tremors, i'd be shaking and i'd be constantly paranoid..

Listen carefully to me - you sound exactly like me a few months ago, benzo's are not something to mess around with and you should only take them as a last resort.

if prozac isn't helping just ask to go on a different ssri.. They usually take 2 weeks to a month to start working fully. benzo's just lead to an addiction and in the end leave you worse off.

 

[SPC123]

A benzo is a bad idea. They aren't bad if you need them once a week or less for the off panic attack, when your anxiety is otherwise controlled. But I wouldn't want to rely on benzo's 100%. Luckily for me venlafaxine does the trick.

 

[TheLostBoys]

So im 17, had social anxiety as long as i can remember and have recently (past 6 months) started to have severe panic attacks. Im seeing my psyciatrist who treated me for depression, and he has prescribed me prozac. Ive been taking it for 13 days now and the effects have not been seen. I still am afraid and nervous in public and have panic attacks 3 or 4 times a week. i also never feel relaxed, and am constantly tensed up and sore. from what ive read, a benzodiazepine seems like it would be a logical step to take. i also know that these are abused by addicts, and are the target of pill hunters. i truly feel that these would help, but i dont wanna suggest it and make him think im pill hunting. i have an appointment in like 10 days, so if the prozac doesnt start to help by then he said, than we will try something different like another anti depressent. also my grandma takes klonopin, and my mom said that it seems like i should maybe try a benzodiazepine. so what can i say to my doctor to make him consider it an option, without looking like a juinkie lookin for pills?

My response on this subject will always go against the norm........I do not like or think SSRI's should be prescribed as often as they are for depression, anxiety attacks & social anxiety. On the other hand, I myself dont like benzos as much as others do but I do believe they are a better response to your problem than Prozac or any other SSRI.

Doctors seem to use us as guinea pigs when it comes to SSRI's & could take years before they even find one that works for you, meanwhile, you walk around confused & in a zombie like state & so many other side effects including suicidal tendencies.

I will always argue against SSRI's so maybe my advice should be taken with a grain of salt in your case. Low doses of opiates are a another great drug that could be used for your problem but please dont ask your doctor for this or he will definitely think your pill shopping.

Imo, if you can control yourself with benzos, thats the way to go but its gonna be hard getting them prescribed. I had a friend go threw many SSRI's before he was finally given a benzo.

Good luck with your doctor..............%)

 

[Stay.Blazed.420]

My response on this subject will always go against the norm........I do not like or think SSRI's should be prescribed as often as they are for depression, anxiety attacks & social anxiety. On the other hand, I myself dont like benzos as much as others do but I do believe they are a better response to your problem than Prozac or any other SSRI.

Doctors seem to use us as guinea pigs when it comes to SSRI's & could take years before they even find one that works for you, meanwhile, you walk around confused & in a zombie like state & so many other side effects including suicidal tendencies.

I will always argue against SSRI's so maybe my advice should be taken with a grain of salt in your case. Low doses of opiates are a another great drug that could be used for your problem but please dont ask your doctor for this or he will definitely think your pill shopping.

Imo, if you can control yourself with benzos, thats the way to go but its gonna be hard getting them prescribed. I had a friend go threw many SSRI's before he was finally given a benzo.

Good luck with your doctor..............%)

I know two people (the only two people) who are on ssri's who have had great success with anxiety and depression relief from ssri's. However as you said - it's not the same with everybody. However I definitely do NOT recommend using opiates for anxiety relief. First off - You will never get a permanent opiate prescription. They are given to people for pain. Unless you have cancer or some other form of chronic, horrible pain then you won't be given opiates for longer than a month or two, and the addiction that comes with opiates won't help with your anxiety at all. Benzo's are extremely addictive and the withdrawals from them are worse than heroin - but atleast when you're prescribed benzo's and you're ready to get off of them your doctor will give you a tapering dosage.

To op: If your main problem is anxiety ATTACKS then xanax is your best bet. Only take them when you have an attack, and don't take them for any other reason.
If your main problem is just generally being anxious all the time, clonazepam is the best bet as it has a much longer duration of effect and half life.

I noticed clonazepam helped with my OCD alot more than xanax did, however xanax calms me down alot more. I kinda wish i could be on both clonazepam, and xanax but i can't, nor do i really want to ask my doctor unless i need to. I'm already addicted to xanax as is.

 

[Mugz]

You have had a lot of advice on this matter, but we really try not to encourage "What should I say to my doctor to get X drug" threads in BDD.

I hope that you find some way to beat your anxiety, but also hope that you don't end up on the long depressing path that is benzo addiction as it can sometimes be worse than the anxiety itself.

Going to close the thread now for the reason stated in the first paragraph.