Why are docs so funny about prescribing medicine

Even if the medicine can't give you a buzz. But I needed a refill on my Xanax, so the pharmacy faxed it to the doc and he didn't respond that day so the next day I called the office and the lady said she'd let him know and he still didn't refill it, so then finally after the pharmacy faxed again then he finally refilled it, but there no other refills so I have to go through this again when this bottle is used up. Xanax doesn't even give me a buzz, it just helps anxiety and keeps me from getting nervous or agitated easily.

Does Xanax give anyone else here a buzz? It doesn't me but it helps me out with the stuff I just mentioned

 

It is a "Controlled Substance." a lot of docs are, stupidly, reluctant to prescribe these drugs, even if they help people who are't abusing them. Some people do abuse them, and it makes it harder for people who need them.

I had a hell of a time getting pain meds for years for my chronic pain disorder. You would think they would CARE!

 

xanax is one of the more abused prescriptions out there. most people can't get a prescription for drugs like that at all, no matter how much they need it. In my state, many doctors went to prison after the FBI set them up with phony patients making up symptoms and asking for certain drugs a few years ago. Now all the doctors are afraid to prescribe anything that has a remote possibility of being used recreationally, to anyone, for any reason.

 

Yea, exactly, the government is doing a lot to entrap doctors, and making them afraid to help people that legitimately need it. It's really sick. Fuck the government. All it wants to do is make our lives miserable. I have no respect at all for it anymore.

 

Most doctors LOVE prescribing drugs because they have a lot of love for the drug companies they all work for, which they in turn get a lot of freebies and kickbacks from. Most doctors are nothing more than licensed drug pushers in my opinion. And of course the phamaceutical industry isn't centered around treating ANYTHING, but rather making people dependent on their drugs. The aim of the drug compnaies is to get everybody on drugs for whatever reason they can find, and doctors are their willing servants.

And to answer your question, Xanax WILL give you a buzz if you take enough of it.

 

diazepam is handled the same or worse

 

bah, 'round here you even have to push for antibiotics half the time. For things like strep... yes it's a mild case that I have but they said it would clear up on it's own... but I work retail and have to spend all day talking, stressing my throat out more.


Just explain the situation to your doctor, let him know you understand that it's a substance that's abused by some but you just want to save him the time of going through an appointment/rewriting scripts all the time and see what he thinks about it. It's ultimately his decision

 

You said it doesnt give you a buzz alot of times!!!!!!

They wont prescribe it to certain people because of the addiction that can and may have followed, speak to your gp and ask about other drugs you could have - maybe even find out the reasons why you have anxiety and sort them out

 

No it doesn't give me a buzz at all

 

Yeah we know it doesnt give you a buzz

Maybe thats what you want from a drug!!!!!

 

Bullshit. Many of us with chronic health problems have LIVED this, not being able to be treated, because doctors are either unedcuated or afraid to prescribe. If you actually LIVED half of what you say, you might have a different point of view.

Most doctors do NOT work for drug companies. And, in many cases, even getting drugs you NEED is difficult. Try it. Go to a doctor and TRY to get some Vicodin, or some Xanax or some sleeping pills or even some muscle relaxants, just by asking for them. Not just a one time prescription, enough to actually TREAT the disorder for which the drugs were MADE for. Your "theory" will be out the window.

 

Many docs I've known ARE overly eager to prescribe SOME drugs. Antidepressants, birth control pills, and even things like blood pressure or diabetes medication for very low-level disorders that could very well be managed naturally, without creating a dependance on an expensive prescription substance.

But in the case of pain pills and many anxiety meds, they are definitely tight with their prescriptions because of paranoia or whatever.

OP, it probably isn't even your doctor's call. Chances are it's a state regulation requiring his approval for EVERY refill, and even requiring that he re-assess your case. Now that you know this is an issue, maybe next time you can plan ahead and get your refill before you're completely out. And definitely work o your anxiety issues in other ways too. You don't want to be dependent on that shit for the rest of your life if you can help it. Try meditation, breathing exercises, and examining what parts of your life are causing you to feel this way and how you can change those things.

Drugs are bad! (except when they're good - I have a healthy respect for drugs!)

 

Thank you, but my state has no regulations on what an MD or a DO can prescibe. I have been in good treatment, and have now no problems getting meds from my doctor (I don't take anxiety meds, I have a chronic pain problem.) And, yes, I will take the meds for the rest of my life. It isn't "dependent" anymore than someone with diabetes is "dependent" on insulin. No one says to them, "You don't want to be shooting up that insulin the rest of your life, do you?" Yes, because they have no choice.

After exhausting every "alternative" treatment over a period of 20 years, I am stuck with the meds, they work, they do me no harm, and I have a good doctor. Thing is, many patients who have long term pain or anxiety problems cannot get help. It has more to do with doctor's preconceptions of what people should "tolerate" than anything else. A doctor with compassion knows that a daily Level 7 to 10 pain can't be "tolerated" or the patient won't be around long.

Thank you for your concern. I appreciate it. I have been part of the Chronic Pain Community as an advocate for 7 or 8 years now. If you haven't know nonstop pain, there is no way to describe it. It actually changes WHO you are. My concern now, is the people who can't get the meds they need. Who cares if a med works, and you need to take it "for the rest of your life" It's better than the condition you needed the med for.

Blessings.

 

Sorry, Maggie, if you misunderstood what I was saying. I was offering a probable explanation to the OP's problem with refilling her Xanax (a med that IS prescribed for dealing with anxiety and other related issues, which in many cases could be effectively managed with alternative treatments).

I understand that chronic pain disorders are VERY different, I've had several friends diagnosed with FMS and CFS... I nursed a dear friend of mine with CFS during her most difficult time, when she was only 17. My own doctors on several occasions have thought that might even be MY problem, but it turns out I just have a crappy body As I said in my last post, I have a healthy respect for drugs. I choose to steer clear of most everything chemical until such a time when it is REALLY necessary for me to function. This way, less becomes more, and I've found that since I "cleaned up" in this way (when I was younger I liked to take some pharmacuticals recreationally) I usually find my relief much sooner. In the case of chronic pain, the situation is obviously different, and therefore different rules apply.

And you're probably one of the last people on the planet I would ever try to educate about these things! In any case, I'm glad that you're getting the treatment and the help that you need and deserve. A compassionate doctor who truely understands your condition is at the root of an effective treatment - and it sounds as if you've met your match!

Here's hoping I'll find someone who will be willing to insure me this year, for a price I can afford...

 

That makes a lot of sense to me. I have PTSD and no one seems to understand that some days I NEED 5-10 mg of xanax to not think that every man who gets within 3 feet of me is going to attack me or that closing the door while having a one-on-one meeting with my boss makes me want to trow up and I need to take something to keep from skipping the meeting or shaking during the entire thing. I need xanax and for me I am not going to think of it as an addiction unless I go beyond the daily maximum dose of 10mg.

 

And I completely understand that for some people, it IS a necessesary thing to take such drugs. All I'm saying is that with illnesses like anxiety, depression, PTSD, OCD, etc. Drugs should be a LAST RESORT course of action, and even then not be the ONLY course of action. Does this make sense? I've known far too many people who get depressed, get prescribed an anti-depressant without any accompanying therapy or anything, and just stay on the drug indefinitely. PTSD, for example, is not purely a chemical imbalance in your brain - it was triggered by an event. So for a while it may be necessary for you to take xanax in order to function, but by continuing therapy, etc. you should be able to wean off of it someday (with your doctor's supervision, of course).
Does this make sense to anyone besides me?

 

I guess it all depends on the doctor too. A doctor fo mine prescribed me sleeping pills at the drop of a hat but I didn't take them because I have heard what they can do and didn't want to take the risk.

 

lynsey, I hope you can get a good doctor, who can get you the treatment, both meds and therapy, that you need.

Thank you for your understanding, humm.

In the Chicago area, the docs are SOOOO worried about "drug seekers" that you basically have to come in with a compound fracture to even get a prescription for Codeine. Too many people suffer near big cities, because of those who take advantage of the system for recreational desires.

 

I dunno, I am a doc and my gynecologist (really her nurse practitioner) wouldn't give me refills on birth control pills I have been taking for years until I ragged at them on the answering machine -- you hardly ever get a real person anymore.

Offices can be hectic places and unless you have 100% electronic medical records, which are breathtakingly expensive, looking up a patient's paper record is time consuming and a royal pain.

Xanax in particular carries a suicide risk I suppose, which may be why no refill was given. More likely, it was the hectic office thing. scubadoc

 

Would one of your office colleagues prescribe your BC for you? Antidepressants are actually a higher suicide risk than Xanax. But, too many docs worry about the "buzz" factor. Heaven forbid someone should feel good, instead of shitty while taking medication.

scuba, what do you do when a pt needs pain meds? (Hippies, I am asking for curiosity, DO NOT ASK scubadoc to prescibe for you. Okay?)