Posted by alan on December 7, 1998, at 12:29:51
In reply to ask my doc for benzos?, posted by Darrell on December 7, 1998, at 11:23:43
> I'm thinking of asking my doctor for a prescription for
> Valium or some other benzodiazepine. This is based on
> several things. My symptoms are mainly a combination of
> mild depression and anxiety--for years. I just don't feel
> vital and "alive" most of the time. My social life is
> non-existent, and there's just no joy in much of anything.
> My work performance has not suffered too much, thankfully.
> BTW, any form of anti-depressant or SSRI (incl. St. John's Wort)
> in any dosage leaves me feeling like a zombie.
> Quite a few years ago, right before I started college, I
> started taking Valium for several months. (I acquired these without
> a prescription...it was a long time ago.) I seemed to be able to
> stop taking them for a couple of days at a time with no
> problems, and when I finally ran out, I didn't
> notice any serious withdrawal effects. The remarkable
> thing about this time in my life was that my energy and
> concentration levels were higher than at any time in my
> life. That semester, I made the dean's list with a 3.9
> GPA. I never came close to that the rest of my college career.
> I also drank less alcohol, and had at least some semblance of
> a social life. That was a joyous and exciting time in my
> life. Was this due solely to the newness of the college experience?
> My concerns about asking my family doctor to prescribe a benzo center
> on whether he will take anything I say seriously, whether
> what I experienced many years ago with Valium is repeatable,
> and how sustainable a therapy like this is. I certainly didn't
> notice any problems with short-term memory loss at the time.
> I don't want to annihilate the rest of my life for the
> sake of feeling better. Any thoughts?
> Thanks.Personally, I think you should see a psychopharmacologist. If you just wanted to get thru a short, difficult bit of time, it wouldn't matter. But if there is any chance benzos will be your main or only psych med for some time, see someone you can trust to be expert. Many family docs see benzos as candy (more used to) or heroin; and the heroin camp (fairly numerous now) wish to protect themselves, as well as patients.
poster:alan
thread:1502
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/19981201/msgs/1504.html