Ok so i need some advise/encouragement.
I have been on alprazolam 2mgs a day for severe panic disorder where all other treatments have failed for approx a year, have never abused my dosage however the PBS now wont approve my authority to prescribed anymore. My poor GP couldnt do anything and watched me crumble in the room. She prescribed me valium 5mg tablets to keep my disorder at bay. I did some research last night and ofcourse Dr google scared the s#*t out of me.. im so terrified i will suffer from withdrawal from alprazolam as i have had to come off cold turkey and am petrified of seizures etc.. i am hoping the valium will help me combat some withdrawal symptoms.. i took my first valium this morning and 5mg is a small dose as 40mg is equivelant to the amount of alpraz i was on and i feel calm yet super drowsy... will my body have to get used to this like it did with alpraz? Has anyone experienced anything similar to.mine?
Thanks
Your doctor is following the Aston Manual. Valium is the benzodiazepines that have the longest half life , which means it can stay in your blood longer. Your dr is using it to taper off your Xanax.
I am on Valium 15 mg. I had tried Xanax but it too short acting for me . I need to wean off my Valium very soon .
Are you in the states? Ive ben on alpraezolam for over five years same Dr,he emphasised I must taper off if i ever quit,very strongly emphasized it,im basically on it just to stay normal and from having withdrawals,if what you named and i have no idea what those intials stand for is ins,in the states even if my ins didnt pay for it my monthly script only costs 5 dollars a month. Ive heard of valium being used but thought it was used along with smaller doses of alpraezolam. Ive read a slow taper is best and can take up to a year. Like I said,Im in the states. My doctor is the head of the drug addiction department of our hospital so I assume he knows what hes doing. Good luck.
You are so lucky. Benzos are the ONLY drug that's ever worked for me and the doctors here in Ohio are totally freaked out about prescribing it! I don't abuse it either, yet they are so skittish about prescribing it. I don't see how it's any worse than alcohol! If I could stay on it life long I would! Maybe I should come visit your dr?
No im in Australia and Xanax is prescribed with an authority from the Pharmaceutical branches.. without an authority it cannot be prescribed. So there was no way i could even get a script to taper down. I am on i guess a small dose compared to others.. 2mgs a day. Im hoping i can get through this. I am very scared .. rhe valium got me through the day at work atleast so thats a plus
Im hoping the valium will help combat the withdrawals for xanax. Thats all im concerned about now and whats causing me anxiety
Some people from what ive read are on it for life as withdrawal would be too hard on them or they just need it for horrible anxiety.. Ive ben on it a long time,my doctor probably feels it would be too hard on me to do a withdrawal. Being older im sure i will be tapered down,im on 2mg a day also,but as i get older i probably will need to be on a smaller dose,who knows. With all Ive read on the net,I definitely think it should be tapered down slowly.
It actually angers me that benzodiazepines are so restricted. Why not alcohol? It does the same thing. Ppl needlessly suffering from severe anxiety is a disgrace.
I think at least the patients themselves including us have to feel comfortable and are ready to taper . It is hard to taper when you are not ready . I had a very unpleasant experience with my tapering with lorazepam back in 2014. 😭😭😭😭could still recall the pain .
Exactly plus it affects work,family life etc if a person has to go through withdrawals. I realise it isnt as effective as a person gets used to it,but it still allows a person to hopefully keep on with a normal lfe. Im hopeing Im never forced off of it,at my age it would be horrible.
I seriously need to see your Dr, he or she sounds like they are compassionate.
States a way and unfortunately his practice is full,not accepting new patients ,he has quite a practice built up,ive had him 30 years,keep looking you will find a more compassionate doctor. Good luck
In Hong Kong, the prescribing of benzos are not very strict . If the dr sees that there is a need to give it to the patients they will . The alprazolam 2 mg that you are taking is 20 mg of Valium. Are you on that everyday ?
I havent taken that much no because what i have taken which is 10mg has made me so extremely groggy and tired that i feel out of sorts im not sure if my body needs to get used to it. Its strange how i could tolerate xanax which is so potent but i feel zonked on this. I feel kind of calm and have not had a major panic attack but the anxiety is sitting in the pit of my stomach ready to start. Im scared to go to work because 1. I dont wanna be loopy and 2. Im scared it wont work for an anxiety attack if it explodes!
I think you react better to Xanax than to Valium . For me, Xanax kicks in like in a minute or two hen I have a panic attack but is very short acting . But I am definitely addicted to Valium and I am scared to taper which I know I needed to .
Ok, the PBS are cracking down on all S8 drugs here in Australia, that's the reason, however in saying that, what's the relationship between you and your GP like ? I have had this happen to me twice in 3 years due to the law change, and doctors being dead set against drugs of addictiveness, if your doctor is really good and understanding he/she should have no problem keeping you on the alprazolam, they may have to haggle, by that I mean reduce you from 2 Mg to 1 Mg but very slowly. I have been on this medication for 22 years so they can't take you straight off it, they have to wean you with the assistance of Valium (Diazepam), which is measured by the amount of alprazolam you take daily, body weight, etc. I was able to track down my original doctor that had moved on and he simply rang the PBS and authority given straight away.
I dare say because you have been on 2 Mg's a day they have reviewed your dosage, hence the refusal to authorise, but a letter should of been sent out to your GP explaining this, and your GP making you aware of the PBS plan or at least offered some alternative , like dropping to the 1 Mg tablet.
I should of added, because you have only been on the 2 Mg alprazolam for one year this is probably why they have done this, even so they should of sent a letter of their concerns and recommendations to your GP to discuss with you.
If you are being weaned off alprazolam this is how you should feel, it's to help in the alprazolam withdrawals, although you shouldn't be extremely groggy, only to the extent where you feel calm and relaxed, with a bit of grogginess, much like when you first started the alprazolam.
It can be prescribed but you would have to pay full price for the medication, if you wanted it on the PBS, that's when an authority number is required.
Yes i sent a rather large email to the PBS about my dissaointment in being unauthorised and having to go cold turkey. I am now day 5 without alpraz and just the valium.. the first 3 days were hard. I didnt feel real.. i felt i was living in another world. Im now not as drowsy and have gotten through work without a panic attack and even attended a meeting which causes me severe anxiety. Im starting to feel much calmer however im rather dissapointed in how everything was handled and how i wasnt weaned off this drug. And the reasons why my authority was not granted was not specified. Im going back to.my doc next week and am going to ask her to call. However ive come this far without it.. is it worth going back on them?