Why are GPs so reluctant to prescribe benzos in the UK?

[evo4ever]

I suffer from major anxiety and BPD and the most they will give me is a mood stabilizer like lamotrigine. This kind of practice sends sufferers to the darkweb!

Like I ordered 120 Rivotril (2mg clonazepam) tabs on EM for [a reasonable sum] and i only use as required, theyre like a crutch and theyre so effective!

 

[Cream Gravy?]

A lawsuit in the 90s related to diazepam (or so I've heard).

 

[Hylight]

probably bc they are told NOT to prescribe. in the u.s. when they were told that they CAN, they had NO problem prescribing anything.
guess this is what overcrowding and overpopulation does.
it's that exponential once again !

 

[CFC]

Surely you realise it's because of their perceived addictive qualities?

You can read about NHS NICE prescribing guidelines online. This link, for example, runs through some of their thinking wrt prescribing Diazepam.

I'm going to move this to DC since it's more of an abstract discussion than about HR. But please be careful not to let this thread stray into a "how do I get them" type thread, as that will just get it locked.

 

[negrogesic]

Frankly I think the logic is sound (they are way overprescribed here in the US). They are exceptionally addictive and destructive.

Still, i don't believe in drug restriction, but their logic has some merit.

 

[Hylight]

Sure they have alot of merit.

but instead they give out too much and now they can't give out anything.

seems like they go from too much to nothing at all.

of course, i am always going to be as biased as i always was because i want my little never ending pain alieviating dose because i know how to make em last.

so it's the sorry world for me.

i get it, OKayy.

 

[Hylight]

^^ maybe they didn't really know that certain scripts would be crippling; after all it took them long enough to catch on about marijuana and now there are stocks invested in the green stuff.

looking at both perspectives maybe everything should be taken and given in moderation.

should forks be banned bc they are making people OBESE and causing the world wide diabetes epidemic. I do think so.

i am sure since this is drug culture that i do belong in a bottle of hydrocodone since i no longer serve any purpose in life .

and never have i even asked to advance to oxycontin just wanted a simple prescription of hydrocodone to take as needed when in severe pain and needing the medicinal advantage of relief.

guess what everybody suffering from pain and anxiety, too bad there will be no more medical support for your kind.

there are plenty of other medications out there just waiting for you to try, some that aren't even tested yet.

but as far as the benzo's and opioids that have been around forever. drug abuse caused us all to suffer now.

unless there is some kind of shortage of opium and conspiracy to keep benzo's from ever being prescribed again.

I am actually sick of the stupidity of the whole planet and even trying to function around those of us called people, humans, or whatever pathetic name is given to this repugnant thing called existence.

If everything is just so horrible and wrong and disgusting ugly. Fuck It, why do I even WANT to exist anymore. heeeee he.

 

[Cream Gravy?]

(they are way overprescribed here in the US)

No they aren't. What magical land of plenty do you live in? Here all the doctors treat me like a junkie when I literally NEED them for chronic pain...

They are exceptionally addictive and destructive.

Maybe if you're irresponsible or don't actually have a need for it to function. Some of us can't leave our home without them and I'd prefer to die than go without bzds at this point.

 

[negrogesic]

I think alot of people taking benzos don't need them. The housewife who is prescribed 6mg of alprazolam, etc. Benzodiazepines haven't been shown to be that great in the long-term treatment of anxiety disorders. They are terribly addictive, are associated with higher mortality rates, and seem to have neurotoxic properties that cause long-term cognitive deficits even after cessation.

I've been addicted to benzos a few times and have lost vast amounts of time as a result. The withdrawals are pure terror. Physicians are inadequately aware of the gravity of benzodiazepine withdrawal.

 

[Burnt Offerings]

Most patients who are prescribed benzodiazepines never have any issues with them.

They also maintain their anxiolytic efficacy over protracted periods of time, even with everyday use.

 

[CFC]

It does suck that medical tools (drugs) that are perfectly suited to certain patients and certain situations, become dogmatically prohibited without regards to the specific situation of each case and/or each patient's particular needs.

But tbf this is totally representative of human behaviour in general - lots of black and white thinking, little application of 'common' sense, and a disinclination to invest the time, thought and effort required to investigate each patient and tailor their treatment programme appropriately without being blinded by lazy assumptions and judgements before the fact.

 

[negrogesic]

Most patients who are prescribed benzodiazepines never have any issues with them.

They also maintain their anxiolytic efficacy over protracted periods of time, even with everyday use.

While they are very effective in the short term, their long-term efficacy in the treatment of anxiety is actually quite unclear. Moreover, they are again, neurotoxic, and are associated with increased mortality and long lasting cognitive deficits. There is absolutely no question that they should be avoided unless other treatments have proven ineffective.

Psychiatric drugs cause permanent brain damage

www.bmj.com

They found it likely that use of benzodiazepines lead to permanent brain damage, which they called neurodegenerative disease.

[Anxiety and depressive disorders in 4,425 long term benzodiazepine users in general practice] - PubMed

Consumption rates of anxiolytic drugs, and especially of benzodiazepines, remain very high in France compared to other Western countries, whereas clinical guidelines limit their indications to short term treatments and only for some precise anxiety disorders. Recent epidemiologic surveys in the...

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

The main result of this study is that a great majority of the patients had significant symptomatology, in particular major depressive episodes and generalized anxiety disorder, often with marked severity and disability. These data are in line with the knowledge of a lack of efficacy of benzodiazepines in depressive and most anxiety disorders, despite long term treatment.

 

[Burnt Offerings]

So a drug that's been used clinically since the 1960s is eating people's brains now huh? Gimme a break dude. That article said that benzodiazepine users had a doubled risk of developing Alzheimer's disease, according to some researchers. That's a far cry from "benzodiazepines lead to permanent brain damage".

A little farther down, they say that similarly correlated risks exist for antipsychotics, antidepressants, antianxiety and ADHD medications. So, basically any psychiatric medication.

As far as efficacy goes, there's plenty of info available online to suggest that even short-acting benzodiazepines maintain their anxiolytic efficacy for relatively long periods of time (while other effects of the drug, like the hypnotic effect, wear off relatively quickly).

 

[negrogesic]

So a drug that's been used clinically since the 1960s is eating people's brains now huh? Gimme a break dude. That article said that benzodiazepine users had a doubled risk of developing Alzheimer's disease, according to some researchers. That's a far cry from "benzodiazepines lead to permanent brain damage".

A little farther down, they say that similarly correlated risks exist for antipsychotics, antidepressants, antianxiety and ADHD medications. So, basically any psychiatric medication.

As far as efficacy goes, there's plenty of info available online to suggest that even short-acting benzodiazepines maintain their anxiolytic efficacy for relatively long periods of time (while other effects of the drug, like the hypnotic effect, wear off relatively quickly).

How is a 2x likelihood of developing a neurodegenerative disease that results in death and massive impairment in the quality of life not permanent brain damage? At a minimum the evidence of at least some cognitive impairment is incontrovertible (if not transient, as i hope was my case). If one suffers from intractable anxiety or muscle spasms then it is by all means justified, but if not, the risk outweighs the reward.

My point remains. Benzos are a last resort. Benzo withdrawal is horiffic, and it left a lasting impression on me. I am not a proponent of drug restriction, but I don't believe they should dispensed to naive patients without explicitly warning that should one ever wish to discontinue the medication, they face a potentially horrific withdrawal syndrome.

 

[evo4ever]

It's crazy though cos they will dish out opioids like smarties, but benzos... hell no, even though imo opioids r more addictive!

 

[Lizzy1Fair]

I suffer from major anxiety and BPD and the most they will give me is a mood stabilizer like lamotrigine. This kind of practice sends sufferers to the darkweb!

Like I ordered 120 Rivotril (2mg clonazepam) tabs on EM for [a reasonable sum] and i only use as required, theyre like a crutch and theyre so effective!

Go to a specialist for your psych meds! I'm not sure why you would think a GP would know much about mental health anyway. You really should have a psychiatrist if you suffer from bipolar disorder, that's a serious one.
In any event, GP's most certainly can prescribe benzos, amps, anti-depressants, ect.. I have had about 7 or 8 general practitioners prescribe me amps and benzos with no problem. I've had 1 gp tell me to find a psychiatrist to prescribe, but he wrote the script until i found one. He was a gp I had when i was living in Colorado.

 

[Cream Gravy?]

If one suffers from intractable anxiety or muscle spasms then it is by all means justified, but if not, the risk outweighs the reward.

That's fair enough. For me they're the only class of drugs that relieve pain/anxiety. SSRIs and SNRIs make both worse for me, and so do TCAs.

You know what else increases Alzheimer's risk? Being a smoker, forgoing adult education such as reading or mind games, eating shitty foods, being a lard ass who never exercises. Being any race outside Asians. If one lives a healthy, active lifestyle, BZDs are the least of their concerns I think.

 

[evo4ever]

Go to a specialist for your psych meds! I'm not sure why you would think a GP would know much about mental health anyway. You really should have a psychiatrist if you suffer from bipolar disorder, that's a serious one.
In any event, GP's most certainly can prescribe benzos, amps, anti-depressants, ect.. I have had about 7 or 8 general practitioners prescribe me amps and benzos with no problem. I've had 1 gp tell me to find a psychiatrist to prescribe, but he wrote the script until i found one. He was a gp I had when i was living in Colorado.

I am seeing a psychiatrist soon but one of the "psych nurses" said dont expect a benzo script cos they outright refuse to write them! They will give u anything else like antipsychotics, antidepressants and mood stablizisers, but benzos in this country r a big No No!!! Thats why I get them myself its pointless asking for them!

 

[Cream Gravy?]

Go to a specialist for your psych meds! I'm not sure why you would think a GP would know much about mental health anyway. You really should have a psychiatrist if you suffer from bipolar disorder, that's a serious one.
In any event, GP's most certainly can prescribe benzos, amps, anti-depressants, ect.. I have had about 7 or 8 general practitioners prescribe me amps and benzos with no problem. I've had 1 gp tell me to find a psychiatrist to prescribe, but he wrote the script until i found one. He was a gp I had when i was living in Colorado.

OP is in UK they don't give BZDs there.

Even here in US you'd be hard pressed to find a psychiatrist who will give any BZDs. I have treatment resistant anxiety issues that are easily solved with bzds and I was essentially told to fuck off for asking about them at the last psych I saw. So I essentially said fuck off and stopped going.

 

[Lizzy1Fair]

Are they legal in the USA? Yes by prescription. Find another doctor. You guys give up after the 1st visit when you've been denied. KEEP LOOKING until someone prescribes. Unless you have something strange on your medical records, you should be able to acquire a prescription. I'm not special.. I go in and tell them what i need that has worked for me. Done.