[Lady LAvish]

Okay, here's the problem: In the past 9months to a year, i have developed severe anxiety. Anxiety to the point where i rarely leave my house, have panic attacks when put in stressful situations (like going to the store alone), and i dont even feel comfortable around my friends and in familiar environments anymore.
I've gone to my doctor about this and he precribed me to Proxac which didnt help even in high dosages. He then put me on Cymbalta which also didnt help even in the high dose.
I should state right now that i have a documented history of drug abuse including addiction and commiting crimes for drugs. I've been in recovery for a year and a half. I went to 2 months of inpatient rehab and have attended AA and NA meeting.
Because of my drug history i know that Xanax helps. I have a friend who is prescribed and he has given me his drugs before (yeah yeah yeah, i knoooow) and they helped IMMENSELY! I had no anxiety or fear, i could function normally and i just had a general sense of well being instead of constant gnawing fear.
My doctor will not prescribe me to anything that is narcotic because of my history (which he knows) even though i know it will help. Even tho he has not said this outright, i know it is why he wont prescibe me to what will help.

My question is, how should i approach my doctor to tell him that i know what will help and i would like a prescription for it. What should i tell him, how should i say it, etc? I dont want to come across as some pill-hungry junkie, i just genuinely want to feel better.

Thank you for your help, its greatly appreciated.

-Gina B

[erinkj]

First off you'r dr gave you the wrong anti-depressant med's. Why he chose prozac or cymbalta as first choices is way beyond me. The reasons: Prozac is meant primarily for the treatment of depression and is not commonly used for anxiety or panic disorder as it has more of a stimulating effect which can actually make panic worse. In all the years I have re-searched these med's and panic/anxiety disorders I have found that prozac should only be attempted for anxiety when other SSRI med's fail and even then it should be started at very low dose with a gradual build up, again; because it is so stimulating. (I lost my mind on it) Cymbalta is actually an SNRI (seretonin norepinephrin reuptake inhibitor) as it also targets the reuptake of norepinephrine it can be stimulating as well which may result in increased anxiety. Personaly I have had succes with paxil and celexa, both of which are available in generic and quite cheap and they are both SSRI med's. So, if you wish to try a different med either of the two I mentioned would be better choices for panic disorder. If you'r dr won't prescribe a benzo because of past drug abuse, you may want to ask him if you could try bu-spar. Bu-spar is NOT a benzodiazepine but, has a similar mechanism of action. (calming anxiety, kind of like a watered down version of a benzo) Bu-spar is not supposed to be addicting. If you do ask you'r dr for a benzo be sure to ask for a low dose...Good luck...Erin

[Lady LAvish]

Yeah, i knew all of that about the Prozac and Cymbalta which is why i wandered why my doc prescribed them in the first place. *shrug*
I've never heard of bu-spar but im going to do a little research on it and see what i think. I just wnat my doctor to stop giving me the run around just because i've had a problem in the past and hes afraid im going to abuse whatever he gives me.
Thanks for your advice. ^_^

[vduda]

Lady LAvish,

Erin gives very good compassionate advice. She is very knowledgeable. As for me I was a 40 to 50 mg a day user of Xanax for a decade. I have an Anxiety Disorder and can relate to everything you are going through. I kicked the opiates after 2 times through Detox. But when it comes to the Benzos I have chosen to keep taking them for medicinal reasons. Now I only take .5 mg at night before sleep. This small dose helps with my insomnia and somewhat helps with the anxiety the next day. But I do not want to get back into taking them during the day because of my history. My doctor prescribed 3 mg a day, but like I said I only take .5 mg. I was clean for 4 and a half months and the detox nearly killed me. Went cold turkey bad mistake (seizures and all). It really is a quality of life issue. Perhaps, you can approach your doctor with that arguement. What good is it being clean if your an agoraphobe with extreme anxiety. If you had diabetes you would take insulin right? Erins right about the Prozac and Cymbalta. Family Practioners really push that poop. The side effects are horrible. May be you should go to a different doctor. Since you have a history of addiction it is a good idea if you have someone dispense the Xanax (that is if you get a script for them) to you. Hope this helped. God Bless

[Lady LAvish]

Thanks for that advice as well. I will try to approach him like that. And the only thing keeping from switching doctors is that i dont want to appear to be "doctor shopping", just trying to find a doc who'll give me what i want. I want to do this all on the up and up but it seems that they wont gimme a chance.
Again, thanks for that and congrats on kicking the habit. ^_^