What can my GP prescribe for anxiety relief?

[Davit]

Nicola does there have to be a reason? I can stop if you would like. I'm not selling anything. If you can read My pms you know what I'm doing here and not wonder that. Everything I have to say is in the panic forum so I can stop posting unless it is a direct question to me as a lot are, including this one. And as I have said before it is almost all in google anyway. A few things are only known to Therapists in house. I'm lucky to be privy to them.

[MyNameIsTerry]

Benzos are highly addictive. Based on your situation and alcohol consumption, it wouldn't be wise IMO.

Positive thoughts

I've taken Diazepam in the past and my GP would not issue more than 7-14 at a time without a new appointment.

So, whilst I agree they are no solution here as a longer term one with meds would be better, there may be little or no risk of building a tolerance if the GP follows the guidelines that have been set unless a patient buys them illegally and they can already do that.

[Fishmanpa]

Cal,

When it comes to meds, there are many options. Before you make a decision if and/or what to take, I believe you have to kick the alcohol habit. You've been self medicating heavily for some time and it wouldn't surprise me if there's some level of physical dependence at this point. On a positive note, I recall you posting that you went straight for a period of time and the retching stopped. It started again so you said "f it" and started drinking again. I really do think it's a vicious cycle you're in and it needs to stop in order to make positive forward steps toward healing.

Getting off the alcohol, getting into therapy and then discussing meds would seem to me the prudent thing to do. I'm a firm believer in "alcohol and anxiety don't mix" and many meds used to treat anxiety don't mix with alcohol. You mentioned benzos and that is a very dangerous combination with alcohol. I have Buspar for "scanxiety" and I totally refrain from any alcohol when I take it. The manufacturer says to avoid alcohol while taking it so I do. It's just not worth the risk.

I've said this before... They say the definition of crazy is doing the same things over and over and expecting the results to change. You've been suffering with this issue for a long time and have been self treating it the same as well. It's obviously not working. Something has to give. You can't keep doing the same things and expect to get better.

I'm not a doctor nor a mental health professional. That being said, I believe my advice here to be sound based on common sense. I can only hope you take it to heart and act on it.

Positive thoughts

[MyNameIsTerry]

FMP - I wasn't questioning the "alcohol & anxiety" thing, merely suggesting that Calum has little choice when it comes to Benzo's - his GP just won't give him enough. Standard UK practice thesedays.

Lets not keep doing this. I wasn't suggesting taking Benzo's with alcohol and I firmly believe that Calum needs to speak to his GP, the one that has already prescribed him a SSRI which is he afraid to take. That GP will hopefully be aware of his alcohol issues and if not I would urge Calum to to inform his GP so he can decide whether it is worth the risk to try them or refer him into another service.

[Fishmanpa]

I've taken Diazepam in the past and my GP would not issue more than 7-14 at a time without a new appointment.

Yeah... the ultimate "chill pill" IMO. When I was in treatment, I was given that to help with the stress and anxiety of being strapped down to a table with a fiberglass mask on my face for radiation treatments. It was a bit unnerving to say the least. I would take one about 20 minutes prior and it made it much easier. As time went on, I got used to it so I didn't need the meds.

The medical profession is the same way concerning pain killers. I was on them for close to 9 months and some really strong opiates too. Coming off was challenging as I was physically dependent. It was akin to heroin withdraw.

I stand by my previous post concerning getting off the alcohol totally before attempting any drug therapy.

Positive thoughts

---------- Post added at 01:30 ---------- Previous post was at 01:27 ----------

FMP - I wasn't questioning the "alcohol & anxiety" thing, merely suggesting that Calum has little choice when it comes to Benzo's - his GP just won't give him enough. Standard UK practice thesedays.

I know... I wasn't implying at all that you were. I was just referring to Cal's history of alcohol abuse in reference to meds. If his GP is aware of this, I don't think they would even prescribe it all to be honest.

Positive thoughts

[MyNameIsTerry]

Yeah, it doesn't even work sometimes either. The paradoxical effect is not something you want when you feel you can''t take anymore.

I agree with you about Calum kicking the booze, I do, I just think that if he has been straight with his GP and they still prescribed his SSRI, then if we disagree with their treatment plan we should encourage him to challenge it. He could not take them and go back and the GP may look towards a different solution but its their call. The issue he has with self medication, which I don't fully understand anyway, is going to stick around otherwise because he has been using it to stop the retching to and that could be seen as a safety behaviour so as well as the chemical issue, there could be some subconscious issues to resolve alongside it so behaviour doesn't revert.

To be honest, his disorder is pretty complex aside from the alcohol and I think he needs a good diagnosis & referral for therapy so he gets someone who understands his issues fully as a GP just won't have the knowledge or time to help him and he is really struggling.

I don't think Benzo's much use when the condition is long term. Using them to keep the side effects in check while you start makes sense but beyond that they are just going to create another problem long term whereas there are many meds Calum can try until he finds what helps.

To be honest, I resist taking them at all and only buckled my last 2 days but I only ever took one a day unlike the 3 a day my GP was telling me to.

I'm lucky I haven't been through dependence, so I don't know how it feels and I can understand your cautious approach to it after that.

EDIT: Just noticed the repost. Cool. They may not do. I guess they have to weigh up whether they may bring his anxiety down a bit to enable him to function more or whether they will just make him worse due to side effects and the impact is to the drinking. I think he needs some real support for the hard journey he has ahead of him. From what I understand, they Diazepam (and a few other Benzo's) but its to control the side effects of the withdrawal so as you rightly say, they are not to be taken together. I don't know what they do with SSRI, SRNI's, etc but I'm sure they will take a very cautious approach eitherway and I know they won't prescribe things like Pregabalin where a prior substance issue has been detected.