Pain Management Termination Due To Dr Prescribed Benzodiazepine (Page 2) (Top voted first)

I have acute anxiety/panic attacks. My pain mgmnt Dr used to prescribe Ativan along with hydrocodone up till 2016 as their new policy prohibited it. Family Dr then prescribed my Ativan till the opioid crisis hit with the DEA, etc telling Dr's basically how to treat their patients. After several referrals to Psych Dr's within the same hospital as pain mgmnt, they said they could not prescribe it, that it had to be pain mgmnt. Each said other Dr had to. Anyway, found a decent Psych who after in depth appointments, past history, prescribed Ativan for me in June 2019. Went to my scheduled pain mgmnt appt July 3, 2019, and was dropped because I now take a legally obtained benzodiazepine and their policy is "One or the other, you choose". So I chose to be able to function in public places, drive to see my grandchildren and not have major anxiety/panic that renders me literally nonfunctional. So if you have chronic back pain issues PLUS PTSD, anxiety, etc that can only be helped by benzodiazepines, you will have to choose. Sorry, can't have other issues. So now I try to dumb down the pain with ibuprofen. Sad state of affairs.

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Re: Roy (# 8)

Hi Roy, I watched Lisa Lings cover of the benzo. I did like that she stated, or someone did, that we are held hostages on them. And it is the hardest medication to get off of, and there isn't anything that will help the withdrawals. I think I am on a FB group with you. I did not have any suicidal issues, or rage, I had pain, nightmares, night sweats, tinnitus, agoraphobia, and so much more.

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Re: Sheila (# 18)

I know. I take three, 1 mg tablets of clonazepam in a day for seizures and Meniere’s disease plus anticipatory anxiety and GAD. But mainly for the seizures and the vertigo disease. My last three labs, showed up with zero clonazepam medication in my system. I never miss a single dose because I risk the chance of having a major seizure. And with every tonic clonic seizure I have I also go into cardiac arrest. So it is basically a death sentence for me if I do not take my medications. Sometimes it won’t happen for four months of no medication. They did try to take me off of it once before and it took about six months before I started having seizures again. But I did. . So they put me back on it. The dose has not changed in 10 years. But, my last three labs have showed up negative for clonazepam. I was taking the blue ones. Made by Soclo or Accord. There actually the same company, one is an LLC of the other. So he switched me to the orally disintegrating ones for a month. This really didn’t help much. And I found out it was also made by the same company that made the blue ones that showed up negative. So basically I have been getting new medication at all. They finally ordered a yellow tablet for me with an R and a 34 on it. I believe it is made by to have TEVA/ activis. It’s better than the blue ones but they are not great. They are much different than the old yellow ones I used to be on and the old green ones. And I hate when people tell me that I need to get off these things that they are dangerous and they are killers and everything else. But I I’ve had surgery with no pain medication so I can stay on these. You do what you have to do and you don’t complain. That’s how the system works and it’s unfortunate.

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Re: Lydia (# 15)

Thanks.
Although I do agree that they are over prescribed. I think there are legitimate reasons for people to be on them. There are people that cannot leave their house that their panic attacks are so bad or they have such bad PTSD. There are people that can Not function because their anxiety is just that incredibly bad. But I’ve met many people with mild anxiety that take these and I feel it gives the rest of us a bad name. People that have legitimate issues. These drugs were originally designed as anti-seizure medications. Because they slow down the nerve activity in the brain. That’s why they also work on the vertigo disease that I have. I’m sorry that I missed read your statement. It just seemed like you were putting down people for being on them at all. But I understand that’s not the case. Thank you for your feedback. Have a good night.
And also my dosage has not changed in 10 years. I’ve gotten a bad batch is that have not shown up in my lab work. And I never miss a dose because I would never risk having a seizure in front of my children and scaring the daylights out of them ever again. I had one once at the top of the stairs. I broke my arm and I do not remember a thing. I started remembering things when the nerve block wore off from the surgery that occurred three days later. It was one of those long acting nerve blocks. But I’m lucky to be alive. And if I have to take benzos to be alive then so be it. I may be on them the rest of my life. But at least I am able to function in society. I am able to hold down a wonderful job. I am able to get my children to college interviews and college visits. But I want to be alive to see them be married and have their first children.
Because as you know my moms relationship with teenage daughters can be fraught with attitude and hateful glaring. LOL. But I know That will go away and they will be coming to me for everything again. They do come to me for somethings but they are just at that age where they are trying to find themselves. And I need to realize that and get over it. Sorry if I digress. Nice talking to you Lisa.

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Re: Sheila (# 18)

Omg. So agree . My last 2 labs showed up negative for Clonazepam but the subutex showed up. It has been like that ever since they switch me to the blue Soclo / accord brand!!
Finally back on yellow but not the TEVA!! These are crap too.

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Re: Sheila (# 18)

I do not think its the fillers that are the problem, you are intolerance, which means you need more and more to do the same thing as the dose you were previously on. I know this from experience. and the more they up dosed me, the worse I became, the symptoms of agoraphobia, anxiety, and panic attacks got worse.

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Re: Sheila (# 25)

that is to bad, I did not have an issue with getting both. I am surprised because they usually use the benzo to relax the muscles along with pain medication. Also, I am sorry you have anxiety, I have normal anxiety, in fact I was hyerthyroid at one point, and when I got off of the benzos it was the most horrid and traumatic thing I went through. Its not like an opioid withdrawal, oh no! much worse and lasts months to yrs.! be careful if you get on a higher benzo, like Klonipin or clonazepam, or Xanax, that is when your Ativan is no longer working, again from experience, unfortunately, I was misdiagnosed and was on all of them for over 6 yrs!

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Re: Brenda (# 22)

They did this to my 98 year old grandmother , we managed to keep her with family til the 3rd hip break. She had been on same dose Valium all her life. Her vocal cords would freeze up when she got nervous and she couldn’t speak.

So the last two years of her long and wonderful life was absolute misery. No pain medication, no Valium. They were worried it would make her dizzy. My aunt is a physician assistant and her and her husband had power of attorney. And they demanded that she not get any narcotic medication or any benzodiazepine. And the doctor tried talking to them. But ultimately he caved and my grandmother died just before her 100th birthday w/ tears in her eyes. Unable to speak. I will never forgive them.

For gods sake, this was a woman who had given birth to twins during WWll , while my grandfather was overseas and they didn’t have ultrasounds then so she didn’t know. She deserved to die on her terms and with dignity. And so does everyone.
It’s the indignity of the way they treat sick people that has me so angry. Opium based narcotics have been around for hundreds and hundreds of years.

What a sad state of affairs. I wish you and everyone that goes through this the best.

I have to take an alternative for my pain. And I do take a Benzodiazepine for epilepsy, Ménière’s disease and anxiety. I do not mind being tested each month but I sometimes worry what if I get sick and miss my appt. then I’m out. It’s not easy to keep up. But I like being alive and not in hospital.

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Re: suzysurf (# 27)

Saddened to read about tour grandmother. Very inhumane for anyone to go thru. Don't know how most of these Dr.'s and Nurse Practitioners call themselves "Caregivers" .

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Re: suzysurf (# 27)

they should have never, never taken her off the Valium without slowly tapering, I mean very very slow. you are held hostage to the med once you have been put on it, and it is almost impossible without inhumane withdrawals! I know I was in the horrid, unexplainable, unrecognizable withdrawal horror show for over 18 months of my life, it was traumatic, and I will never take a benzo again. So so sorry for you and your grandma. :(

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What state are u from? They apparently worry that we will OD from the combination. U have rights; if they refuse to treat u for addiction (pain management) and u use, and something happens to u; that’s a law suit in ur favor!! I had to sign a waiver stating I understood what suboxen and a benzo combination can cause. It’s your body and u know what works for you. These doctors are complete a$$e$ !! But I bet they write out scripts for themselves!! Keep haunting them until u get exactly what u want. Or find a understanding doc. I have PTSD and have to take Clonapin. If I don’t take it I can’t be a functioning member to society!! Good Luck and fight for your right to know what works for u and your body!!!

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Did you ever find a Dr to take you in?

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Re: MadAsHellAtPHDs (# 30)

Mississippi, Gulf Coast.

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It's a horrid medication. You are better off without it, taper so so slowly, the withdrawals are so much different then an opioid withdrawal, they last for months to yrs. Its unrecognizable to the medical community. Watch Lisa Ling's story on it on CNN coming up.

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Re: Juliana (# 1)

so sorry to hear about your brother, I will tell you, Xanax is known for terrible anxiety, and going cold turkey the withdrawals are so horrific I have read where ppl have taken their own lives. Benzos are so horrible, I wish more would investigate this horrible medication before taking them. Dr.s do not know much about these.

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