Shredder
11-03-13, 21:20
I first visited my doctor (doctor A) back in December as I was having trouble sleeping and infrequent bouts of anxiety. He sent me for blood tests and gave me seven 3.5mg zopiclone pills for sleep. He asked me to come back in a week and let him know how i'd got on.
I went back to see him again the next week and found that my blood tests indicated type 2 diabetes. As my blood sugars were only slightly raised (7.9 and 8.1) I was told to lose some weight and avoid sugary foods. I've been doing well and have so far lost 2 stones (still got a few more to go but it's going in the right direction). I told him that the zopiclone were helping me sleep somewhat and he then prescribed me a further 28 pills to take as and when needed. Doctor A asked how the anxiety was and whether I needed anything for it. I declined as I felt it was manageable at that time. He told me to come back in a month for a third check up.
Fast forward to February when I made my follow up appointment. I didn't go back before then as I still had about 7 zopiclones left. This time I was told that Doctor A had gone to work in A&E and was introduced to Doctor B. Over the last few weeks I had noticed that my anxiety attacks were getting more frequent and more unpleasant so I wanted to discuss this with a professional and maybe see whether I could get some medication (as suggested by Dr A back in December). Doctor B immediately told me that I would not be getting any more zopiclone as it is very addictive (despite me only taking 14 tablets in nearly 3 months!) and suggested I take mirtazepine 15mg for both the insomnia and anxiety. I was prescribed 28 tablets.
Having gone home and read about the side effects of Mirtazepine, I decided against it. I am already overweight and weight gain seems very common. I also suffer from RLS and have found that over-the-counter sedating anti-histamines make the symptoms almost unbearable. As Mirtazepine belongs to the same class of drugs, I felt it was probably the wrong drug for me. I also objected to having to take a strong pill every single day to treat something that may only bother me once a fortnight.
I went back to the surgery last week and saw Doctor C (as I didn't feel Doctor B was taking me seriously). I explained my concerns and asked if I could have something to use as and when needed. Doctor C said this was not an option as these drugs are all very addictive. He dismissed my fears about weight gain and RLS and said that Mirtazepine is generally well tolerated. The end result was that I should take the Mirtazepine and see how things go.
Fast forward to today. I've taken the Mirtazepine for seven days and sure enough, I nearly always wake in the night with severe RLS that keeps me awake most of the remainder of the night. I also feel like a zombie and am always craving food. I went back to Doctor C and told him this. Doctor C told me that the symptoms should ease off in a few weeks and to persevere. He said that the only potential alternative was to consider prescribing a Parkinsons drug to combat the RLS. He warned that this has many side effects so was only given to patients who were suffering severely from lack of sleep. His advice was to get out of bed, walk around and take some paracetamol! I said I would have to manage and left with a repeat prescription for a second box of Mirtazepine.
All in all, I feel like I'm banging my head against a brick wall here. My doctor refuses to listen to me and will not take my concerns onboard. I only want something to take when I have an attack and i'm pretty sure that the placebo effect from knowing that I have a "safety net" will help in itself. I have also had a quick look online and have found there are many possible short term treatments for both anxiety and RLS (not just Parkinsons medication!).
Is it worth me changing surgeries or is this advice normal? Help!!
(sorry for the long first post by the way!)
I went back to see him again the next week and found that my blood tests indicated type 2 diabetes. As my blood sugars were only slightly raised (7.9 and 8.1) I was told to lose some weight and avoid sugary foods. I've been doing well and have so far lost 2 stones (still got a few more to go but it's going in the right direction). I told him that the zopiclone were helping me sleep somewhat and he then prescribed me a further 28 pills to take as and when needed. Doctor A asked how the anxiety was and whether I needed anything for it. I declined as I felt it was manageable at that time. He told me to come back in a month for a third check up.
Fast forward to February when I made my follow up appointment. I didn't go back before then as I still had about 7 zopiclones left. This time I was told that Doctor A had gone to work in A&E and was introduced to Doctor B. Over the last few weeks I had noticed that my anxiety attacks were getting more frequent and more unpleasant so I wanted to discuss this with a professional and maybe see whether I could get some medication (as suggested by Dr A back in December). Doctor B immediately told me that I would not be getting any more zopiclone as it is very addictive (despite me only taking 14 tablets in nearly 3 months!) and suggested I take mirtazepine 15mg for both the insomnia and anxiety. I was prescribed 28 tablets.
Having gone home and read about the side effects of Mirtazepine, I decided against it. I am already overweight and weight gain seems very common. I also suffer from RLS and have found that over-the-counter sedating anti-histamines make the symptoms almost unbearable. As Mirtazepine belongs to the same class of drugs, I felt it was probably the wrong drug for me. I also objected to having to take a strong pill every single day to treat something that may only bother me once a fortnight.
I went back to the surgery last week and saw Doctor C (as I didn't feel Doctor B was taking me seriously). I explained my concerns and asked if I could have something to use as and when needed. Doctor C said this was not an option as these drugs are all very addictive. He dismissed my fears about weight gain and RLS and said that Mirtazepine is generally well tolerated. The end result was that I should take the Mirtazepine and see how things go.
Fast forward to today. I've taken the Mirtazepine for seven days and sure enough, I nearly always wake in the night with severe RLS that keeps me awake most of the remainder of the night. I also feel like a zombie and am always craving food. I went back to Doctor C and told him this. Doctor C told me that the symptoms should ease off in a few weeks and to persevere. He said that the only potential alternative was to consider prescribing a Parkinsons drug to combat the RLS. He warned that this has many side effects so was only given to patients who were suffering severely from lack of sleep. His advice was to get out of bed, walk around and take some paracetamol! I said I would have to manage and left with a repeat prescription for a second box of Mirtazepine.
All in all, I feel like I'm banging my head against a brick wall here. My doctor refuses to listen to me and will not take my concerns onboard. I only want something to take when I have an attack and i'm pretty sure that the placebo effect from knowing that I have a "safety net" will help in itself. I have also had a quick look online and have found there are many possible short term treatments for both anxiety and RLS (not just Parkinsons medication!).
Is it worth me changing surgeries or is this advice normal? Help!!
(sorry for the long first post by the way!)