Not sure what kind of doc to see/what to ask for

[benzo4me]

I had my first panic attack 2 years ago during a period of heavy stress.. they returned every few months the first year.. Not too bad, I could control it to an extent. But this past year they've gotten alot worse, to the point I rushed to the hospital 3 times in 1 month (had many more attacks than 3, but 3 'big' ones, to the point where I actually thought I was going to die)

Each time I went to the ER/urgent care, they did the usual blood pressure checks.. & mine was out of control.. To the point they rushed me straight back thinking it was something major.. After being assured by the doctors that all my tests were coming back normal, my blood pressure went right back to normal.. Heart stopped racing.. no more tightness in my chest/trouble breathing.. Stopped feeling dizzy/lightheaded..

Each time I went they told me to go see my GP.. after the third one I finally took their advice.. My doctor told me I had some type of anxiety/panic disorder.. Put me on 1mg of Lorazepam 3X a day for 3 months.. The first 6 weeks or so it was great, no panic attacks at all.. Ended up getting my refill 2 weeks later than scheduled.. Thought everything was sorted out.. I felt like a normal person again. However over the next 6 weeks, I guess due to my body building a tolerance, I began to need more & more.. I would wake up feeling the anxiety & tightness in my chest, have to take 1mg first thing.. within 4 hours I was back to feeling the same way.. By now you get the picture.. When I started calling my doc asking for refills early, explaining the situation to him, he insisted I come in.

He explained to me that no benzo could be used for long term treatment of anxiety due to addiction/tolerance issues. Tried to refer me to a psych.. He told me the psych was going to put me on anti depressants to treat the anxiety long term. Now I was all kinds of confused. I tried to explain to him that I wasn't depressed, I was just going through a stressful period of my life & it was fueling my anxiety. He talked me into trying 50 mg a day Zoloft, & told me I could keep taking my Lorazepam until I felt I didn't need it anymore because the Zoloft had taken over.

I lasted 3 days on Zoloft before giving it up.. It was increasing my anxiety to a point where I couldn't handle it. I was running through my Lorazepam like crazy just to stop from losing it completely. The second & third days on Zoloft I couldn't even get out of bed.. Had no motivation to do anything & just felt terrible in general.. Even after quitting it took me 3-4 days to get back to feeling normal.. But then I had taken 40 of my 90 lorazepams in a week. By the third week, they were all gone.. I still had another week to go until my appointment & my doc refused to refill early. I ended up buying Xanax to fill the void, they did the job but I wasn't too fond of the disorientation that came along with them..

So all this time I've been looking at all the info I can find on the subject on the web.. from what I've read (alot from this board) klonopin seems to be almost a time release benzo.. Doesn't hit you as hard/fast as Xanax, Ativan or Valium, but keeps your anxiety under control for a longer period. So I went in to see the doc today, at first he told me he wasn't going to prescribe anymore Ativan & that my choices were either try the different Anti Depressants he wanted to give me, or deal with it. That kind of pissed me off, so I went on a rant about everything I've learned from researching the subject.. He finally caved & said "fine, if klonopin is what you want, I'll write it for you. But I'm not doing any refills.. You'll try this new antidepressant (Pristiq) & if that doesn't work out, we'll try another anti depressant until we find the one that works."

Not only am I terrified to go through another week like Zoloft brought me, but I also have 2 children to take care of & a business to run.. Needless to say I'm not touching the anti depressants.. I've just now taken half of 1 of the 1mg Klonopins he prescribed, no ill effects so far.. I feel normal.

So my questions to the knowledgeable people here are:

Do I need to goto a psych to get a benzo prescribed for long term treatment?

Would Klonopin be the one you recommend? Obviously I'll know a bit more about how it effects me after taking it for a while, but I'd like to see what you folks think.

Any and all input is appreciated.. thanks

[ativan]

Hi there,
I have been on 4mgs of lorazepam, (ativan) for over 30years and I know I will never get of it, but beleave me if I had known about the drug I would never had taken it, you were really takeing to much of the stuff but I do understand why, it is a drug that is highly additive if you can cope without it I would advice you to do so. but I can honestly say I have never taken more than the 4mgs a day but beleave me I feel like doing some days, but I want you to remember 1mg of ativan is the same as 10mgs of valium so I in fact take 40mgs of valium in the 4mgs of ativan I take daily, I hope you understand what im trying to get across? I also was on 15mgs of tranzene at night which in england they withdrew that of the market so they gave me valium to replace it, so I am now stuck on 4mgs of ativan, 5mgs of valium in the morning and 75mgs of trazadone at night, that is far to much but thats how it is for me, I dont think you will get a doc to give you a benzo long term, but good luck in trying to find the right drug for you.
please keep me posted on how you get on.
janis

[MrGreen]

Let me start by saying that an anti-depressant made my condition a lot worse too. I was an anxiety sufferer. Not a depressive. As anxiety sufferers we are already up there as high as can be with anxiety and we need medication to help bring us back down. With an anti-depressant it is to bring you up because you are meant to be feeling down. We don't need to be brought up any higher. It really makes us more anxious. Though some forms of anti-depressants are used to treat anxiety.

Benzo wise? Longest lasting benzo is Klonopin. Have read of people using it for well over a decade. Your doctor could give you that. He could also throw in valium as need be tablet. Just a small bit to be taken if you are having a panic attack. Medication works in different ways for different people though. What works well for me might not work well for you. it is to be discussed with your doctor. One of which I am not.

Hang on in there. You have beaten this before. Felt good. You can get back to feeling good once more. Once we begin to feel good we think we can take on the world. Then we might stumble backwards again. Take nothing for granted. No miracle cures. You must work hard too at making yourself better. Thinking wise. Medication is only part of the sollution.