Anxiety, self medicated due to doctor being of no help.

Mental health
1

Hello all, 

I joined this site a while back, i first started out on tramadol for my lower back, i was on repeat taking upto x8 50mg capsules per day, now i don't take them at all after 3 years of this, slowly cutting back until i could finally kick it, however, as i was coming off the tramadol i started getting my anxiety back,. I went back to my doctor, explained the situation and feelings i was getting and he was fobbing me off with propanolol and citalopram which make you feel worse before feeling better and i have been on them in the past and i felt backed into a corner that i had to take what he was offering me. However since deciding not to take these as i am not depressed, just down and get mixed feelings, mood swings, sleeping problems, anxiety on a daily basis, a friend of mine offered me 100 diazepam 10mg to take 1 - 2 per day and see how i feel. As this is what his doctor gave him when he had such problems similar to mine

I took 2 the first day and since then been taking 1 per day 10mg which instantly took effect and made me feel much better about myself, i got the sleep i truely needed, muscle spasms stopped and even my back felt more relaxed i felt it to be a wonder medication but after taking the full 100 on 1 - 2 per day i feel a need for them when i dont have them. 

If i went back to my doctor and told him what situation i am in and have tried to self medicate with medication not prescribed from them but has worked, what would the outcome be ? Would they help me reduce what i have been taking by prescribing them to me in a smaller dosage ?

Any help or advice is much appreciated. Thank you in advance

2

Inc:  I live in the USA, however, it is highly against the law to take someone else's drugs.  Perhaps you should mention that a friend of yours takes it for his problems, which are similar to yours and see if he will let you try it on a trial basis....If you go back and tell him how wonderful you feel, he will probably give you a prescription which can be filled....Hope this helps...

3

This is one of the main problems in taking medication which has been prescribed for someone else. It's not breaking the law, but has given you what seems like an addiction.

You said you had similar problems coming off  Tramadol and now seem to be in the same position with diazepam. Diazepam will help with back pain as its a muscle relaxant, but it is addictive and usually a dose of 2 mg twice daily for a maximum 14-28 days depending on the severity of the pain. It maybe that your anxiety has returned due to withdrawal of the drugs, the tramadol and diazepam. Personally there's no point in seeing your doctor if you aren't going to be honest. You need to tell your Dr exactly what you've posted here, as you will most probably need help in coming off diazapam.

4

Oh dear, Oh dear, Oh dear. Firstly I am not patronising you I am stating a point of view. Tramadol is the last analgesic prior to opiate medication. Coming off them on your own is a risky business. You need to detox from then and that is no easy task. It can take months of planning, if not you could get a rebound effect that makes the original problem much, much worse.  However you are now taking someone elses medication.

Can I ask you a question?

1. Where did he/she get them from?

2. Were they purchased from an online pharmacy off the internet?

3. From dealers?

4. Did they purchase them off the internet?

5. What is in them?

6.Why and how did they come to be in posession of so many diazepam?

Have you thought of that? That's only a few answers of the top of my head. You could be poisoning yourself!!!!

Self diagnosing is a dangerous thing to do. A GP's training is a further 5-6 years from qualifying as a doctor, no easy task. It takes the same time to become a qualified GP as it does to become a consultant in one particular field.

This brings me on to your original problem. You are digging yourself a big hole and are having trouble getting out of it. It will become more and more difficult if you don't start to believe in your GP. If I was a GP and someone ignored my advice and consultation I would be quite conserned and dam right annoyed. Taking diazepam even for a relatively  short time can be more difficult to detox from than heroine. The reason is that it is a benzodiazepine and should only be used for a very short term for things such as muscle spasm and anxiety type disorders.

I would write to your GP apologising for the way you acted. Say it was out of order for you to do such a thing and you only did it iout of desperation for the pain that you were in at the time. You need his professional help to get out of this mess you have got yourself in.

Plese, please never try to self diagnose yourself because there are so many reasons for a pain in your back. Back pain is an effect of so many quite serious conditions and as such be checked out by blood tests and x-rays to rule out these conditions.

Diazepam can also add to your anxiety and mood changes. I have in the past helped with detoxification of people who had long term diazepam use, some over 30-40 years. It is a very slow prosses because diazepam is so very difficult to titrate from the system and any significant drop in the dose has pretty nasty side effects, so you need to go back to near the dose you started on.

Hope you can see that only you can do this. Be humble and write that letter. Best regards and good luck. Peter.

Tell us how you went on

5

I fully agree with you. Self diagnosis is very dangerous as is taking medication 'prescribed' for another person. 100 10mg tablets is a huge amount and I would have thought any professional Dr would not prescribe that dosage and quantity.

inc3 I would strongly recommend seeing your GP ASAP as this is a serious condition which can only get worse without proper medical care

6

Hello Peter and thankyou for the detailed reply. Is there any way i can chat with you in a private mannor as you seem very intelligent on this matter and i need someone i could talk to before hand about this as i don't have many people i can actually talk openly to.

7

Hi inc, there are ways to contact between contributers via email. One of the moderators will tell you how to do this. I am quite happy to talk because it is the best medicine going. Its now up to the knowledge and wisdom of the moderators. Best regards I await your email. Peter.

8

I hope you manage to sort out about approaching your Dr. As Peter has said you've got yourself into a big hole which you need to get out of sooner rather than later. I know it will be difficult going back to your Dr, but you do need his help. From your original post you say you now have no tablets left and that was two days ago. How are you coping without the diazapam. Have you got increased anxiety, or sleep problems? Please come back and let us know how you're doing. Good luck.

9

You need to tell your gp whats going on or a counselor who works with medications. You need guidance and its serious buisness dealing with medicines and withdrawls so best to get medical help because they would know how to handle this. If the go gets angry he might nit want to be your go anymore, youll just need to find a new one. Many people get desperate with bad anxiety and do self medicate. Its a terrible idea but makes sense because oanic attacks and anxiety are crippling overall. Good luck and feel well

10

Hello Vicky, i've been given a weeks supply of tablets from a friend as i am working days and finding it difficult to arrange an appointment with the doctor i need to see as he is only in certain days. But i am coping a bit with anxiety but seems to be creepy back, my sleeping is great whilst taking them but when not i dont sleep whatsoever.

11

I am going to be seeking help from a counselor or drugs interaction team asap, i have a lot going on in my life at the moment, work, problems at home, personal problems etc. But i am this week getting some help, i thank you all for the replies. 

12

Hello Peter, i have contacted you via email on this website as i couldn't find a way to contact a moderator. Hope this is okay

13

I have made the first step to contact and drugs and alcohol interaction team to help me with this as my GP is not the right person i should be seeing as i see someone different each and every time. I hope that by going through this i can get the help i need. Thank you for the replies people and still any and all advice is welcome. 

Thank you