[Curb]

I know there have been a few threads on this topic, but how hard would it be to get a benzo from a doctor? Would it really be that bad if I straight up asked him for it? Or do I have to dance around the idea? I've had them in the past from friends and they are a miracle, and I could really use a miracle right now...

I have zero interest in using an ssri. Period. End of story. I would not even entertain the idea.

What are your experiences?

 

[KurtG85]

It simply depends on your psychiatrist. The first two meds I ever tried were adderall and xanax and I didn't ask for either of them, and I was 13. Most people, from what I hear on here anyway, have a harder time getting those two meds than anything else.

 

[lucey]

I agree it depends on the doctor... My GP was totally against prescribing xanax, but my psych doctor was more than willing to.. I even told my psych doc that my GP was against it and she wasn't surprised. She asked how old my GP was and I told her mid 30's. She said a lot of the younger doctors these days are taught differently than "old school" doctors, who she said are willing to fire off benzo prescriptions without even thinking about it.. :um

 

[sunkist009]

I've seen 2 docs for my SAD, and both prescribed SSRI's along w/benzos. But someone mentioned that you are 13? That'd be a different situation, I'm sure.

 

[GSH]

My experience is that a Psy is more likely to prescibe it b4 a family doc would

 

[meyaj]

Any doctor that would give you a script with that attitude is not doing their job right. You should be seeing a doctor/psychiatrist with the goal of getting better, not with the goal of getting x medication. Benzos are not an effective monotherapy at all, and are only going to make you worse in the long run if you're not otherwise being treated...

Enjoy the dependence.

 

[DMBfan]

Go to a primary physician ask for a generic $4 a month SSRI plus a benzo while you taper onto the SSRI. Fill the SSRI script but don't take it. Once you have a history taking benzos doctors are much more likely to prescribe them. I'm not endorsing this method, just answering the question. If you really are 13 years old you can pretty much forget about getting a benzo prescribed.

 

[sidekick]

I agree with the person who said that older doctors are more likely to prescribe benzos than younger ones. My doctor (a family doctor, not a pdoc) is in his 50s and wrote me a scrip for Ativan right away (along with one for Zoloft) and doesn't hesitate to give me more. I work for 2 family practice doctors--one older, one younger. The older one writes benzo scrips like crazy, and the younger is fairly reluctant to give controlled substances.

 

[meyaj]

I agree with the person who said that older doctors are more likely to prescribe benzos than younger ones. My doctor (a family doctor, not a pdoc) is in his 50s and wrote me a scrip for Ativan right away (along with one for Zoloft) and doesn't hesitate to give me more. I work for 2 family practice doctors--one older, one younger. The older one writes benzo scrips like crazy, and the younger is fairly reluctant to give controlled substances.

My family doctor is about 60 years old and he is really careful about prescribing benzos... he'd never give me more than 5-10 at a time. Which I can really respect, actually, as benzo addiction is very serious and that kind of prescribing is best left to a psychiatrist.

What's interesting though is that he is very liberal with prescribing painkillers. He prescribes strong narcotics like dilaudid by the bucketful. I think most doctors are the other way around, but it really makes sense to me as opiate dependence might suck, but it's not dangerous. Withdrawals are just like a really bad flu. Benzo withdrawals, on the other hand, have the potential to kill.

 

[db0255]

I know there have been a few threads on this topic, but how hard would it be to get a benzo from a doctor? Would it really be that bad if I straight up asked him for it? Or do I have to dance around the idea? I've had them in the past from friends and they are a miracle, and I could really use a miracle right now...

I have zero interest in using an ssri. Period. End of story. I would not even entertain the idea.

What are your experiences?

I've been to two psychiatrists, and I didn't see any hesitancy to prescribe a benzo. If you tell them you get panic attacks that's the first thing they'll prescribe.

 

[sidekick]

My family doctor is about 60 years old and he is really careful about prescribing benzos... he'd never give me more than 5-10 at a time. Which I can really respect, actually, as benzo addiction is very serious and that kind of prescribing is best left to a psychiatrist.

5-10 pills? Seriously? I don't really think I'd want to have a doctor who didn't trust me enough to give me at least a month's worth of benzos at a time. At my last appointment, he was actually encouraging me to take more. I guess it depends on the doctor and the patient. If the doctor is careless or the patient is abusing the meds, then it's a problem.

 

[October]

I saw a physicians asst. who offered me paxil and xanax or klonopin, it was pretty simple, but I was pretty much having a panic attack in his office. I found the xanax and klonopin (I tried both) to be worthless (.5mg x2 daily). I ended up taking 5 pills a day, still worthless...paxil helped more than anything.

 

[meyaj]

5-10 pills? Seriously? I don't really think I'd want to have a doctor who didn't trust me enough to give me at least a month's worth of benzos at a time. At my last appointment, he was actually encouraging me to take more. I guess it depends on the doctor and the patient. If the doctor is careless or the patient is abusing the meds, then it's a problem.

lol... not a trust thing at all, otherwise he wouldn't be giving be giving me the more abuse-liable narcotics so prolifically. And the 5-10 doses he'd give me would BE for the month. He just recognizes that benzos carry serious dependence risks. And I can respect that he doesn't **** with his patients' lives by overprescribing them.

If you think you need to be on valium 24/7, he'll refer you to a psychiatrist (as he did with me.) I'm still not on benzos 24/7, nor do I want to be. But GPs really have no business handing out huge monthly prescriptions of benzos... there's a specialty for stuff like this that doctors take an extra 3 years to learn - Psychiatry.

 

[sidekick]

lol... not a trust thing at all, otherwise he wouldn't be giving be giving me the more abuse-liable narcotics so prolifically. And the 5-10 doses he'd give me would BE for the month. He just recognizes that benzos carry serious dependence risks. And I can respect that he doesn't **** with his patients' lives by overprescribing them.

If you think you need to be on valium 24/7, he'll refer you to a psychiatrist (as he did with me.) I'm still not on benzos 24/7, nor do I want to be. But GPs really have no business handing out huge monthly prescriptions of benzos... there's a specialty for stuff like this that doctors take an extra 3 years to learn - Psychiatry.

I just can't see only having 5-10 doses at a time. My last scrip was for 120 1mg Ativan.. and I still had probably 30 left from the scrip before. But I'd rather have more than enough to last until my next appointment. I probably won't need another scrip for about 6 months, but this way I know I'm set. I guess my point is, dependence is only a risk if you take it enough to develop dependence. Just because a doctor gives you enough to be a problem doesn't mean you need to TAKE enough to be a problem. A doctor who refuses to acknowledge that there are patients responsible enough to not abuse their benzos is not a doctor I'd want.

Benzos aren't only for psychiatric disorders. There's no reason why ONLY psychiatrists should be prescribing (large amounts of) them. Case in point--there's a patient at the office where I work who is on valium 24/7. She's also on propanolol. My first thought was "oh, must be anxiety--benzos for the mental problems, and the beta-blocker for the physical." Nope. She's on valium for seizures, and I suppose the beta-blocker is for whatever it's really for. Should she go to a psychiatrist for her valium because it's a benzo, even though it's for a physiological problem? Does the reason a benzo is prescribed change its risk of dependence? No. I can't imagine that family practitioners aren't aware that benzos carry the risk of dependence. They weigh the pros and cons of the medication for the individual and prescribe accordingly.

 

[meyaj]

I just can't see only having 5-10 doses at a time. My last scrip was for 120 1mg Ativan.. and I still had probably 30 left from the scrip before. But I'd rather have more than enough to last until my next appointment. I probably won't need another scrip for about 6 months, but this way I know I'm set. I guess my point is, dependence is only a risk if you take it enough to develop dependence. Just because a doctor gives you enough to be a problem doesn't mean you need to TAKE enough to be a problem. A doctor who refuses to acknowledge that there are patients responsible enough to not abuse their benzos is not a doctor I'd want.

Benzos aren't only for psychiatric disorders. There's no reason why ONLY psychiatrists should be prescribing (large amounts of) them. Case in point--there's a patient at the office where I work who is on valium 24/7. She's also on propanolol. My first thought was "oh, must be anxiety--benzos for the mental problems, and the beta-blocker for the physical." Nope. She's on valium for seizures, and I suppose the beta-blocker is for whatever it's really for. Should she go to a psychiatrist for her valium because it's a benzo, even though it's for a physiological problem? Does the reason a benzo is prescribed change its risk of dependence? No. I can't imagine that family practitioners aren't aware that benzos carry the risk of dependence. They weigh the pros and cons of the medication for the individual and prescribe accordingly.

If you're having seizures you should REALLY be seeing a neurologist anyways... doesn't really dispute anything. Even moreso than prescribing medication for anxiety, a GP doesn't really have any business managing epilepsy...

 

[sidekick]

If you're having seizures you should REALLY be seeing a neurologist anyways... doesn't really dispute anything. Even moreso than prescribing medication for anxiety, a GP doesn't really have any business managing epilepsy...

I believe in this case, there's a very good reason for a GP managing it.

 

[John_in_SF]

A psychiatrist who gives amphetamines to a 13 year old is insane.

And your medical qualifications are . . . ?

Getting a benzo is not hard if you don't act like it's some super-bad illicit pimp-worthy drug. In fact, the best thing is not to ask for it. Just be honest about your symptoms. If anxiety is a huge issue just say so. An intelligent, qualified, humane physician will try to help you the best she or he can. If your doctor is more worried about government drug vendettas than about you, find another one. There are quite a few doctors around, you know.

 

[Akane]

Depends on your doctor. I've been offered them 5 times in the past week. I have to keep telling them I've already tried that and that my current health problems are not the result of SA. I've been having symptoms that could be the result of panic attacks but I'm not anxious at all when it happens.

 

[silverfish]

It depends on your doc. some will give you whatever you want, some will not give you anything even if you get on your knees and cry.

 

[John_in_SF]

There are way more doctors than benzos. So find another.