Doctors & diazepam

[EmeraldRoulette]

Hi
I suppose I'm addressing the people who know me well from this board

I have a horrendous amount of dental work coming up and it's made me really anxious

I asked the doctor if I could have some diazepam for a week or so to help out with it

Of course the answer was no

I don't know how anyone is getting diazepam out of the doctor any more. I've had other people talk to me about this IRL and they've all said it was impossible to get -including someone who suffered three bereavements in a year.

And I think she felt forced into saying it, but the doctor did say that there are so many legal issues attached to it now, no one wants to take responsibility for prescribing it

I don't understand how we got to this point

Anyway, she pulled out the usual crap that doctors have to say, you know about CBT and long-term medication, blah blah blahI understand they have legal obligations to say it

But talking to me like I don't have decades of experience of meds is kind of nuts. I actually had to say to her "please may I speak, Dr".

And at the end of her nonsensical information spiel, I said to her "what do you think patients do when they can't get some diazepam?" (I think in many cases the answer is drink alcohol or abuse other drugs)

And she talked a lot about holistic well-being and blah blah

And I said to her "goodness, aren't you the optimist"

And she said "well I have to be optimistic, I'm not going to tell you that it's hopeless am I?"

Or words for that effect.

I appreciate I'm not in a great mental space right now so it's not normally amusing to me, but I had to find some amusement somewhere. It felt like a strange achievement to have a doctor actually say "no one wants to take the responsibility legally". She could've saved 15 minutes and just said that in the first place.

but honestly, all this distress to me and I suspect to her - just because they won't subscribe short term benzos any more

I'm just posting this because some of you will know what I

How much of the mental health crisis is due to the classic useful pills being unavailable I wonder.

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.

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?

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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”

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.

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.

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!

Dentist has now rode back and won't do sedation

right after I found someone to take me home after the procedure as well.

Who is it that is suing them that it's so problematic for them to do this?

There must be more to it. It's very strange.

i'm not really a drinker. How much do I have to drink after the procedure in order to wipe it from my memory? I genuinely don't know. Perhaps six units will do over the course of an evening? as I'm not really a drinker?

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

I drink occasionally

Drank a fair bit - for me - in lockdown but that wasn't a lot.

I can't have more than two units of an evening or I feel weird the next day