Doctors & diazepam

Yes - I just drink now. Which has a much greater effect on me than taking what was never a high dose of diazepam. If response times were a genuine concern, I think we’d see airlines limiting passengers’ consumption. They don’t, and the budget airlines actually incentivise buying more alcohol. In fact, on an Air France flight a few years ago I told cabin crew I was anxious and they fetched me a cognac in response!

But it is the reason I was given.

Dont use alcohol. If you dont normally drink it might make you feel a lot worse.

They'll just take them onboard a bit drunk instead than, which probably inebriates them more than a 2mg taking the edge off, to allow somebody to function like a none scared passenger. If this is the case maybe they shouldn't serve alcohol on planes than, or in airports.
I also doubt a nervous wreck will be much use in an emergency anyhow!

I am not surprised, they wouldn't even give me it after a death, received huge condescending lecture like I was some sort of drug addict; gp had me in tears. Talk about kicking somebody when they're down, I couldn't eat or sleep but apparently that didn't matter. I only asked for 2 days worth. I spoke to a second gp who gave me 4 tablets, they did nothing really, 2mg tablets, needed the 5 so doubled 2 up.
I would ask for sedation instead op from your dentist, you will need somebody with you to take you home, but it’s well worth it.

It think it’s sort of an overcorrection because a lot of GPs used to throw them at you very carelessly.
In my early 20s my GP very breezily asked me if I wanted them because he saw that I was already on psychiatric meds prescribed by a psychiatrist. I didn’t ask for them. My psychiatrist had no clue and would have hit the roof if she did.
They were only yellows but they were on a repeat prescription and they automatically renewed it.
The funny thing is I had been trying to avoid them. I got addicted in my early teens. The source? My mother had a drawerful of Valium and Xanax the same GP had given on a repeat prescription and forgotten all about.
Eventually I weaned myself off and asked the doctor to remove it from the prescription and never give it to me again. He laughed.

It’s because these are serious medications and there’s little to no way to monitor you when you’re on them if they’re “short term”

I really do not understand the NHS viewpoint that you cannot be prescribed short term medication for a one off event, such as an invasive medical procedure, but you can be prescribed long term medication instead.

I do not go to the dentist as cannot cope with it. I had to have a general anaesthetic (and wait six months) for an endoscopy as I could not tolerate it. Is diazepam worse than GA?

Talking therapies, long walks, talking to friends does not stop panic attacks.

Airlines don’t like passengers taking medication like benzos that delay reaction time. In the case of an emergency they need everyone fully ready to move.

If the dentist thinks you need medication to prepare you for their procedure (eg the diazepam it they think thay would be helpful) they are perfectly able to prescribe it.

GPs are not meant to prescribe for dental issues, which this is.

I am prescribed diazepam when I am under the crisis mental health team. But they don't like me to be on it for more than a couple of months at a time.

I get diazepam on prescription from the Community Mental Health Team as an emergency medication. One strip normally lasts three months as I don't take it very often. My GP will also prescribe if I'm struggling with sleep which can be triggering for my bipolar.

Diazepam is a serious medication and it can have really serious side effects. Where I live you can only be prescribed it as a pre-med if you’ve been reviewed in a high risk clinic.

If it’s making you that anxious, ask to be prescribed to your local hospital and be treated either under sedation or general anaesthetic?

Get help and stop using addictive drugs to cope.

I used to take it for fear of flying, as did many. Taking a couple of 2 mg tablets per flight a few times a year is not going to lead to an addiction. When it started getting difficult to get, the reason the GP gave for prescribing ever more pointless diseases was the concern I’d be stupified in the case of an emergency (risible in
my case!), not addiction risks.

I get it, op. I remember a thread on the topic years ago where someone’s gp had commented that all the effective drugs were being withheld now. It’s the same story with a lot of pain medication. I understand these drugs can cause problems which mean guidance has changed, but it’s cold comfort to those of us who benefitted from them without any ill effects.

Same with my gp, although they will give me buckets of codeine and push it onto me frequently

My dentist prescribed diazepam 10mg. Her first offer was lower and I had to negotiate. I had just had a panic attack for the hygienist so they relented.

My private dentist was pretty generous. He gave about 14 x 10mg tablets. But I did have like 13-14 major composites that needed doing and I was pretty terrified. So that was for several appointments.

I would hope dentist is more likely than GP to give it.

My GP only ever gives like maybe 4 x 5mg if I'm lucky. That's when I'm having a full on panic attack. In fact he's left now so the new one might be even tighter. But I have only ever asked about 5 times in my life.

The sad thing is the more you ask, the less you get.

I got a prescription for it from my dentist ..one solitary 2mg pill.

OP, I know you said no to street ones, very sensible.

How about, going to a country with more lenient prescribing rules, and getting an emergency supply from a doctor abroad.

This poster clearly doesn’t understand what is like to have years of therapy that doesn’t work (at a huge expense), be prescribed SSRIs that have frankly scary side effects and no, exercise and a ‘hot bath’ won’t cut it.

Ignore them.

Do you know this is an addictive medication? It's also prescription only, so a GP has to agree to it.

It's like saying: 'I can't believe the GP won't just give me a bottle of morphine just because I fancy it.' saying 'well I'll just use alcohol or other drugs then' doesn't strengthen your case.

Get help and stop using addictive drugs to cope.

I also tried to get a short term prescription for some recently to cover me during long haul travel which I was having major anxiety with. I thought it would be easy to get a small number of tablets as I had some last time I traveled long haul 10 years ago - nothing at all since then. I put my request in online and had a messsge from my doctor saying they don’t prescribe them for things like travel anymore. I was really surprised, given I don’t think I’ve had so much as an antibiotic in the past 10 years so I’m hardly abusing them.

The stupidity of it all is that I got a friend to enquire about getting me some black market ones, which she was easily able to do. I didn’t actually get any from her in the end, but I’d imagine a lot of people are buying them in similar ways and who knows what’s in them. Like you say, desperate people will find ways to self medicate and it does not seem sensible to have a flat out ban in these sorts of circumstances.