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Default Jun 04, 2021 at 01:26 AM
  #1
So over the years I’ve been on and off Valium. Not a lot I would refill the prescription every couple of months or so. I would only use it in circumstances that were relatively extreme. With the tarditive dyskinesia that I am experiencing I had to go on Ativan. I took it three times a day. First she tried klonopin which didn’t work. And right away after that she prescribed the Ativan. It was going well. I had a special dentist appointment the kind for some seriously intense procedures. Officially she is also considered a sedation dentist. But I wasn’t looking for anything extremely serious. I told her the situation and she prescribed Valium. Five pills. And the only reason I took that instead of the Ativan is because I can’t take more Ativan than prescribed in order to have this procedure. I have also been on Adderall for 15 years. and when we were trying to sleep medication I requested restoral which I didn’t realize was also a benzo. And it didn’t work.

Well I think it must’ve been the Valium that triggered something but she called me and said she could no longer prescribe me benzodiazepines. I told her exactly what was going on because obviously the doctors go into that database and will know exactly what you’re prescribed. I met with her yesterday for my Tele visit and we were talking and she said she was getting alerts and she values her license and does not want to risk it. She said she could no longer prescribe benzodiazepines as long as I was on Adderall. I couldn’t figure it out I asked her if I can’t have them now why was it that I could have them over the course of a manu years off and on? She suggested I take BuSpar three times a day.

Another thing is I am flying to Yellowstone towards the end of the month. It’s a 10 day vacation that my in-laws plan to celebrate for different things and it was rescheduled because of Covid. I’ve only flown twice in my life the last being 12 years ago. When I was on that flight I nearly had a panic attack and I’m already fidgety and claustrophobic. So I told her fine you don’t have to prescribe me any benzodiazepines I was weaning off the Ativan(which she gave me no plan for and I’ve managed to do myself thank God I’m not addicted) after her hearing that anyway.

But I asked her for four or five pills of some kind of benzo for the flight. Again she reiterated she can’t prescribe benzos. She mentioned getting an alert probably because I had so many things prescribed to me in a short amount of time.

I was very clear that there was no abuse or drug seeking behavior. I just wanted to make sure she didn’t feel that was the issue. She assured me that no, it had nothing to do with abuse or diversion or drug seeking. It was purely about Alerts and her license.

What I think I’m going to do is make an appointment with my primary next week to talk about medication. I’m going to explain everything regarding the recent benzos and I’m going to talk to her about my flying anxiety. In addition to the anxiety with the tardive dyskinesia and fidgeting from ADHD it could be a nightmare for anyone next to me. i’m going to ask her for between four and six pills. Two for going and two for coming back and maybe two so one or the other could be taken as an extra. I’m really hoping it’s not an issue. I printed out my itinerary for both trips that I’m taking to prove they are legit. and faxed it to my psychiatrist because I will be requesting slightly early refills for Adderall. i plan on bringing that paperwork with me to the primary. What is your experience in a situation like this? Has it been easy to get a doctor or a primary to give you four or five pills for a legitimate condition and legitimate flight?
If your psychiatrist has all of a sudden decided not to prescribe certain medications, or you’ve had to ask about medication for a flight is that totally unusual? Do you think asking for 4 to 6 pills is going to make me seem like a drug seeker?

It’s so frustrating. How are we supposed to try out medication and see if they work if it flags some system and the doctors get scared? It’s not like I’m requesting opiates or a large prescription enough to sell, it’s just something normal. But apparently when you prescribe amphetamines and I guess multiple benzodiazepines over a certain amount of time, something gets flagged to alert the physician and I guess too many alerts is bad? Or maybe even getting one is bad? anyone have experience with that either?

Overall I’m basically asking if you’ve had an easy time getting a few pills for flights? Has your doctor taking of the answers for the same reason as mine?

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Default Jun 04, 2021 at 10:56 AM
  #2
I'm genuinely sorry for you. This anti-benzo crusade...they can kiss my azz.


As for flying, I have no experience with using a benzo for it. I've flown a lot, but I'm not a nervous flyer. Perhaps ask your GP for only 4 pills? That seems quite harmless. I hope she will prescribe them for you; it would be cruel of her not to.

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Default Jun 04, 2021 at 11:54 AM
  #3
I am on two benzo's xanax and restoril. The pharmacy looks at me like I have three heads when I go to refill them. It is a shame what drug seekers have done to us that really need these meds. I hope you are able to get the pills that you need for your trip. I would think that it would not be a problem because it is a reasonable request.

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Default Jun 04, 2021 at 12:05 PM
  #4
I'm sorry you're dealing with this. The anti-benzo push really pisses me off. I'm lucky my prescriber is will to still prescribe them for me, although we are weaning me off them slowly. Hope you can get some help from your GP.

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Default Jun 05, 2021 at 12:59 AM
  #5
I'm sorry you're dealing with this. It's complete unneeded torture that you're going through. You're not drug seeking at all - I'm on a stimulant and I get dissociative (Depersonalization/derealization) psychedelic flashback panic attacks and rarely needed a 1-3 benzos to kill the episodes. These have been happening for 4-5 years and have nothing to do with the stimulant - Completely unrelated.

Last year was particularly bad and I was taking alprazolam that I bought online because I wanted to be in control in case my doctor stopped prescribing lorazepam - I told him this and I mentioned diazepam to taper so he did. I was also prescribed 5x temazepam to help me sleep if the zopiclone didn't work. I then successfully tapered off.

Eventually I was hospitalized because I was too dissociated in the summer of 2020 and the unfamiliarity caused a severe panic attack which lasted for 5 hours and stopped by diazepam and 5mg of olanzepine. They wanted to put me on 0.5mg of clonazepam twice a day but I saw the emergency psychiatrist and he prescribed 10mg olanzepine which stopped the dissociation (Thus, stopping the panic attacks). I only now take a 0.25mg clonazepam once a week or so if I have a hard time sleeping. I still take the stimulant - I was prescribed a sleep med because I had insomnia and anxiety even when I wasn't on the stimulant. The panic attacks were complete ego deaths and horrible as they could get but I only had one in the past 6 months.

I don't think it's the drug users that caused a problem for non drug-seekers but instead the drug war itself. People should have the choice to use anything as long as they're educated about the risks or are supervised by a professional doctor. Regulations shouldn't be telling doctors what to do unless they aren't trained properly - That's the reasonable solution to the problem - Not punishing people that use (They're gonna use drug regardless of if they are illegal or not) - Especially punishing patients that aren't drug seekers.
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Default Jun 05, 2021 at 05:26 AM
  #6
Quote:
Originally Posted by Desoxyn View Post
I'm sorry you're dealing with this. It's complete unneeded torture that you're going through. You're not drug seeking at all - I'm on a stimulant and I get dissociative (Depersonalization/derealization) psychedelic flashback panic attacks and rarely needed a 1-3 benzos to kill the episodes. These have been happening for 4-5 years and have nothing to do with the stimulant - Completely unrelated.

Last year was particularly bad and I was taking alprazolam that I bought online because I wanted to be in control in case my doctor stopped prescribing lorazepam - I told him this and I mentioned diazepam to taper so he did. I was also prescribed 5x temazepam to help me sleep if the zopiclone didn't work. I then successfully tapered off.

Eventually I was hospitalized because I was too dissociated in the summer of 2020 and the unfamiliarity caused a severe panic attack which lasted for 5 hours and stopped by diazepam and 5mg of olanzepine. They wanted to put me on 0.5mg of clonazepam twice a day but I saw the emergency psychiatrist and he prescribed 10mg olanzepine which stopped the dissociation (Thus, stopping the panic attacks). I only now take a 0.25mg clonazepam once a week or so if I have a hard time sleeping. I still take the stimulant - I was prescribed a sleep med because I had insomnia and anxiety even when I wasn't on the stimulant. The panic attacks were complete ego deaths and horrible as they could get but I only had one in the past 6 months.

I don't think it's the drug users that caused a problem for non drug-seekers but instead the drug war itself. People should have the choice to use anything as long as they're educated about the risks or are supervised by a professional doctor. Regulations shouldn't be telling doctors what to do unless they aren't trained properly - That's the reasonable solution to the problem - Not punishing people that use (They're gonna use drug regardless of if they are illegal or not) - Especially punishing patients that aren't drug seekers.

I agree. It’s like they’re so afraid because of the nonsense when it comes to regulations, Alerts, and paperwork, they put their licenses and concerns over patient care. I’m not saying their license isn’t important. And I’m not saying they haven’t had patience and I’ve done some really shady stuff. But my history of 17 years under the care of various psychiatrists should prove otherwise. Ironically my other doctor had no problem prescribing me an antipsychotic that I didn’t need for years and years how come that’s not a problem ?

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Default Jun 07, 2021 at 11:38 AM
  #7
My doctor is weird and he keeps increasing my Xanax even though I don’t ever ask him to. But the last doctor I had didn’t like benzos and it was all of a sudden because I had been on Ativan for a number of years. But I remember one time I was out and my insurance wouldn’t pay for a couple more days or something so my primary doctor prescribed me about 4 to get me to my next refill. I may have paid cash I don’t really remember. There was just an issue with it being filled by my psychiatrist.

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Default Jun 07, 2021 at 02:28 PM
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My pdoc encourages me to take Klonopin. It's me who wants to eventually go off of it, because I'm terrified that whenever I see a different pdoc the person will abruptly pull me off of it. The entire benzo thing is a freaking MESS. And it burns me, because when I was first prescribed Klonopin in 1986 I was told it was a very safe drug with no bad side effects, and easy to stop taking. It makes me wonder about the validity of the meds prescribed for mental health issues. Like you said, Sarah - why prescribe an AP for anxiety, which is so much more dangerous than a benzo?

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Default Jun 08, 2021 at 01:35 AM
  #9
Regarding anxiety when flying, in the past when I had nausea when taking a ferry, I was able to get a prescription for anti-nausea medication specifically for when on some type of boat, and this medication made me very drowsy. This was great as I was able to nap and feeling nausea was not an issue at all. Maybe look into asking for anti-nausea medication that also causes drowsiness. The anti-nausea medication was called meclizine.
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Default Jun 10, 2021 at 05:46 PM
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Yeah my doctor prescribes me benzos. Rightfully, and with my consent, he and I want to get me off of them because I think they cause some of the tiredness I experience. But he still will prescribe them PRN. I don't understand the thing about the alerts or whatever. I mean, once with my psychiatrist, I had thrown out my benzos (completely my fault and I owned up to it), but he prescribed me more because I was honest with him. Anyway, that obviously is a different situation than yours. I was very grateful for my psychiatrist for understanding that benzos are serious s*** and the decision to take them or not should not be taken lightly. I know some psychiatrists or psychiatric nurse practitioners refuse to prescribe benzos though. Which is ridiculous. Why not keep it as an option in the arsenal of psych meds? I mean are they going to go after antidepressants next? To me it just seems like psychiatrists who refuse to prescribe benzos just have not done their due diligence on benzos and their effects. They can help at times. Not to mention that you're asking for 6 or fewer pills. Honestly, your psychiatrist has caused you more anxiety, it seems, rather than actively trying to reduce your anxiety. I am sorry for the situation - it sounds very stressful.

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Default Jun 18, 2021 at 06:41 AM
  #11
Thank God! I saw my primary yesterday and she had no problem prescribing me 10 Xanax for the flight and airport layovers. Basically five going and five coming back. I’m very appreciative. I brought proof of my trip with the dates of departure and arrival LOL but she didn’t even seem like she needed it.

I also saw my pain management doctor yesterday and I also brought Proof for both of my trips. He also said I didn’t need to do that and prescribed me 10 extra pills for pain like it was no big deal. He was a new doctor replacing my NP on maternity leave but I didn’t want to just walk in there the first time seeing him and tell him what to do. This is an opiate I’m talking about and he didn’t even blink but my psychiatrist acts like she’s about to be thrown out of the medical Association.

I’m just very grateful and I’m less worried because I leave on the 29th. My psychiatrist at least is willing to send my adderall over early. But she is really strict and I had to fax her proof of my two trips. Well she didn’t ask for proof but I knew she’s very very strict so I faxed it anyway. And then I wrote on the paper the days I would be requesting the refill. I really don’t get it. I really think it happens to be that she had prescribed me two benzo‘s and a benzo sleep aid in a short period of time when I was withdrawing from the antipsychotic and somehow got flagged. We had a talk and she assured me it has nothing to do with addiction or concern over abuse. she said it was a concern over her license. If that’s true it’s really crappy that doctors need to worry about their license instead of their patients.

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Default Jun 18, 2021 at 08:25 AM
  #12
It’s the politicians interfering in doctors business as well as big insurance, but mostly the war on drugs is a political interference. Politicians have no business interfering with patient care. Drs should be free to adjust medication to individual patient needs.

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