My doctor has stopped my diazepam!

[Alabasterlyn]

Hi Lyn,
When did the guidelines change ?
My repeat is for 56 and my last repeat was in August.

Decca.

Hi Decca, I'm not totally sure when the guidelines changed, but it's been around a year or so I think. I did go to see my GP when my repeat suddenly dropped to only 28 days worth of meds and he said there were new guidelines in place to stop people getting addicted. Quite frankly I think this is just rubbish as first of all these are only guidelines and people are still being given repeats for 56 days. I personally think it's just a way to get more money. I find it really hard sorting my meds out on a 28 day basis as I find that no sooner have I requested a repeat and got it picked up and filled etc., that it's time to start all over again. What people who are addicted to benzos need is proper help to come off them, not more hassle.

There is a national scandal of people being left addicted to benzos with absolutely no help with withdrawing from them as GP's know only too well that it's very hard to give the help needed. My GP told me that I am addicted to my benzos and that it will be harder to come off them than if I were on hard drugs and offered no help at all other than for me to go and chat to him if I have problems!

If you smoke you can get tons of free help on the NHS to stop smoking. If you are an alcoholic there are rehab places to go to. If you are a drug addict there is help out there. If you are addicted to benzos it seems you are just left to help yourself

[decca]

Hi Lyn,
I reckon that must have been when they reduced the script for my my heart to 28 at a time, I was still working then so I told them that it was just inconvenient to me and my Doc. agreed to increase it to 56 at a time but she said that was the most she could do,I gather it's something to do with reducing the cost of meds to the practice. I've noticed that if I put a request in to soon it'll come back marked "not due yet" the NHS computer system even counts down the days and calculates how many pills you should have left. I can think of other things the NHS could save money on.
Yea you're right about not getting help comming off of meds, yet each practice is supposed to have a dedicated person to help patients do just that.
How much Diaz. are you taking & have you ever felt the need to increase them ?
Decca.

[Elaine19825]

Hi guys,

I'm currently taking 4mg a day for the past 5/6 weeks at least and have been taking D on and off for over 12 months. I'm starting to notice it doesn't make me as tired as it used and its not enough on its own to calm my anxiety as am taking propranolol as well.

I'm worried too about stopping this drug. There are a few GP's at my surgery and one will hand them out, another is very restricted about how many they give out. I'm worried that i'm addicted and will have problems stopping them. My anxiety is getting better but not gone and i do not feel ready to stop taking my drugs yet. Sometimes i worry more about the fact i'm taking the drugs than my anxiety. It's hard to know what to do for the best but at the moment i know i need both drugs in order to function.

I think its awful that a GP would stop a perscription cold turkey.

This anxiety rubbish is really getting me down! :(

[ElizabethJane]

you could have problems withdrawing from diazepan. I would suggest a chat to your GP with regards tapering if you are to come off them. I have had very bad withdrawals from mirtazapine and have been using diazepan to help with the panic and anxiety attacks. If you are unable to function without it perhaps you could ask for a referral to a psychiatrist who could help you understand what is causing the panic and anxiety in the first place.

[Elaine19825]

I'm seeing a counsellor and trying reflexology, acupuncture, hypno - i have tried most things. I think recovering from this awful thing takes a long time and there is no quick fix. I've been suffering really bad since June and am feeling much better than i was then. Am half way there. It's just gonna take time. But at the moment, i do not feel strong enough to completely stop the meds.

Ex

[Alabasterlyn]

Hi Lyn,
I reckon that must have been when they reduced the script for my my heart to 28 at a time, I was still working then so I told them that it was just inconvenient to me and my Doc. agreed to increase it to 56 at a time but she said that was the most she could do,I gather it's something to do with reducing the cost of meds to the practice. I've noticed that if I put a request in to soon it'll come back marked "not due yet" the NHS computer system even counts down the days and calculates how many pills you should have left. I can think of other things the NHS could save money on.
Yea you're right about not getting help comming off of meds, yet each practice is supposed to have a dedicated person to help patients do just that.
How much Diaz. are you taking & have you ever felt the need to increase them ?
Decca.

Hi Decca, I take 20mgs of Librium a day, which equates to 8mgs of Valium. As I've taken it for so many years I know it's no longer working. I still get really anxious and over the years have also developed depression, which I have heard can happen if you take benzos. I've now been taking anti depressants for about the last 14yrs and even though I have tried to stop taking them, as I know they are no longer working either, I get really bad withdrawal symptoms. For me it was like I constantly had the flu as I was achey and had a pretty much constant headache, yet my GP said it was just psychosamatic. It got to the point where I just couldn't handle feeling so ill and went back on the meds. Within a few weeks I was back to "normal" if there is such a thing!

I would dearly love to get off all of these horrible meds as I really do not believe they are a long term answer to anxiety disorders. However even though I have major agoraphobia problems I manage to struggle along and as I am now caring for my granddaughter whilst my daughter in law goes to work I dare not risk having withdrawal symptoms and having to let people down.

[Natural Mystic]

I'm surprised they've been prescribing these for that long to be honest

[*Kimzhoe*]

I've been on benzo's the sleeping kind since i was 17 im now in my 20s when i first got them i hadnt slept and i was a reck to the point of seeing things. I also have been on valium on and off saying that i miss it lol and now i carry it around its like my lifeline and reading that artical i really didnt think about it till now but it does anger me a bit that being the age i was i had no clue id be addicted and now i cant go with out.