Dr won’t prescribe me diazepam aibu ?

[Bluewaterbottlebig]

So been mad stressed since the summer
building work going wrong
costing loads and non stop stress
mess hassle etc

as a result of this I’ve had bad bad insomnia and generally stressed
never been like this before

anyway asked for diazepam for given 14x 2mg
so have to take 3 to get any effect to help me sleep

so that’s only 4 and a half doses

so in 6 months I’ve only had 8 doses
but it’s massively massively helped
and I don’t get any side effects from it

dr did give me 14 zopiclone but I get bad side effects
Brain zaps
and feeling wired and feeling horrible in general and v v dry mouth
i still have about six of these to take as gave up on them
due to how horrible they make you feel

I've done all the good sleep hygiene practices
bath milk no screen time before bed
already don’t read the news at night
avoiding stress as much as I can

but I know this is a temporary situation
but I need help getting through the next few weeks
as the lack of sleep is making me unable to function properly

bit the dr os refusing to prescribe me anymore diazepam but I’ve only had it prescribed twice to me in six months
2 lots of 14 x 2mg tabs
Which having to 6mg to get any effect to sleep works out to 9 doses !!!

the dr won’t prescribe me anymore
so aibu

i desperately need sleep and these doenst cause me side effects
even if I could only take it once or twice a week it would be such a relief

I’m also been trying loads of other complimentary treatments too
massage etc and I’m booked in to try acupuncture
reflex only

please help
cant function properly without sleep and I’ve tried all the otc sleep stuff too

There are countless people rotting in prisons around the world and Countries violently corrupted for dealing drugs like the ones on this thread, because they have different names to the 'socially acceptable' elite pharma-family, and aren't 'government friendly'. Grim.

Do you think zopiclone is not as bad as diazepam ? As I have about 5 of them left

Try the advice in this video;

OP I really sympathise, as someone who has had trauma and stress related sleep issues my whole life. My concern here is you are desperate for the answer to be medication. I appreciate getting to the cause of this is going to be hard and solutions are more complex than good sleep hygiene. But start with the basics - a wind down routine, good sleep hygiene, eating well, exercise, meditation and relaxation exercises. Look into somatic release work on Google and do the exercises. It sounds like you simply want a pill to make it better and aren't prepared to do the work to properly address this.

Yes, I didn't know quite how to put it. Something needs to change in your life OP, a more significant change than getting massages and whatever else you're trying. You don't get to go down a list of medication and pick and choose the ones you want and the fact that you're so determined to get medication points to much deeper problems causing your insomnia. Getting addicted to medication - or anything else - will only make whatever is troubling you a thousand times worse

I can really relate to this, having also needed/needing benzos.

My ex takes zopiclone for sleep and has paranoid schizophrenia (not a schizophrenic there's more to him than his diagnosis). The doctor may feel happy dealing with them for the 10 minutes he sees them. But it is the families that are picking up the pieces and dealing with them 24/7. Something so many health professionals forget. Him being able to sleep rather than me having to be up all night with him talking him down etc was a life saver. It's not ideal taking any medication but if it stops harm to others/self then it can be necessary.

The first 3 I was in a psychiatric hospital and they were PRN. When I came out my GP just prescribed exactly as I was getting in hospital including my full PRN even paracetamol! I was getting 28 1mg per week. I asked for it to be halved as I didn't need anywhere near that amount.

OP I am very sympathetic re insomia. It's horrid.
This is going to sound trivial, but it is well-intentioned:
*if you have a spouse or partner, put a gentle hand on their ribcage and try to time your breathing in and out with theirs. It is, in my experience, strangely hypnotic and meditative.
*If you have a pet dog or cat, allow them on to the bed and just touch them; feel their warmth and friendship and relax. It's the child and teddy scenario, but it really works for me.
*This will freak out so many dieting Mumsnetters - with good reason - but we are in the realms of lessening a serious health problem, insomnia. Carbohydrates have quite a strong sedative effect. So a milk drink or even weak milky tea plus a piece of cake or some biscuits or a slice of toast and butter and honey just before you get ready for bed might be helpful.
*Exercise = even better and much more healthy. If your body is really, really tired, you willl sleep.
*A cool, quiet, dimly-lit bedroom will help. No phones or screens. Absolutely no bright lights as you get into bed. Not too hot - with good ventilation. I have a small walkman-type radio with small earphones for when I really, really can't sleep and start to fret. Tuned to BBC World Service. But that's emergency measures. It doesn't help me sleep- God, the world is a tragic place at the moment - but it does give me something to think about, other than my - in the scale of it - very trivial worries.

So am I just lucky not to feel any tolerance, nor any withdrawal? I mean we were all on them in the psych ward. We get withdrawals from missing our regular meds but not our PRN lorazapam.

I take Zopiclone, have for years, but even I find 1 tablet makes me feel like crap the next day. I tend to break them in half, they then help me sleep but without the awful side effects. Worth a try.

a swim works well for me. Are saunas or steam rooms out?

daily walk

Morning or night time yoga

Both benzos and Z drugs interfere with the natural sleep cycle, so you don’t get good quality sleep on them.

Their only positive effect is slightly to reduce sleep latency (time taken to fall asleep), but only by about 20 minutes. Most of the effect people get from them is placebo, which would be fine if they weren’t harmful (nothing wrong with a placebo if it’s helpful). Unfortunately, though, they are highly addictive with many short-term disadvantages too.

I will be honest OP from your opening post you are on your way to being addicted to them already as you are desperate to get some more, so the doctor did the right thing.

I hope you sort your sleep out somehow.

Probably lucky yes. Or a medical miracle.

My daughter has melatonin on repeat prescription from the GP

Sounds strange, but try the podcast "nothing much happens".

Often when we are stressed we go to bed hoping to sleep but our mind is still super active, chewing over future plans, tick lists, what ifs etc.

Your mind just needs something to focus on that is distracting enough that it won't ruminate but no so distracting that you will stay awake to continue listening IUSWIM. This podcast hits that balance perfectly.

Also helpful to get anything that you're holding in your head down on paper before bed. You can also keep a pen and paper beside the bed so if something pops into your mind at night you can jot it down and relax knowing it will be delt with in the morning.

Yeah o do listen to “nothing much happens". Sometimes

She is probably still buying them off the street and could maybe be getting more than 1 relative to buy them online as well as getting them herself.

Early 50s with full facilities is capable of using the Internet herself.

It sounds like she is an addict and you are one of her suppliers!

OP, you might feel better off diazepam. I was taking it too often last spring (couldn't get an appointment for ages and the duty staff recommended doubling my dose - stupid).

I didn't feel normal until maybe two weeks after fully stopping. On a higher dose and daily use I felt ridiculously anxious all the time.

I’ve only had about 7 doses in like almost 6 months

Well, clearly not a medical miracle as we were all the same. Maybe how they were managed? We weren't taking them all the time or in increasing doses, perhaps?