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Is anyone else getting there Benzo scrips taken away or cut down a lot recently?
#1
At least six people I know who have been on Xanax for years have gotten their scrips cut in half or more over the last month. Anyone else experiencing this?
“When they said, repent, I wonder what they meant.” - Leonard Cohen RIP
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#2
It's so hard to get rx''s for benzos these days..a lot of us are forced to iops because of this. Cutting in half can make you go mad. That doctor should know you have to taper slowly, very slowly off benzos. 

Sorry that has happened to you. Its so wrong...speak up about it to your doctor. Otherwise there are good YouTube videos on tapering, I believe.

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#3
Already did, explained to her that not slowly tapering from tranquilizers can be fatal, especially after a decade. She could care less, told me not to pursue the subject or I may be flagged for aberrant drug seeking behavior. The scary thing is that in my country I am hearing the same story over and over, people go to get their refills and when they try to get them filled they find out they have had there doses cut right down the middle. And a lot of these are already sick senior citizens who have been on them for years and are not going to be around much longer. And it all started in Jan, but got worse the last month. At least 6 of the senior citizens in my mothers retirement home got reduced by a large amount immediately, no taper. I guess that's what you get when politicians and insurance companies create your drug policies. They do know best.... Gawd bless 'merica
“When they said, repent, I wonder what they meant.” - Leonard Cohen RIP
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#4
I recommend seeing a different doctor, but a psychiatrist would be the most solid route. Psych's prescribes benzos much more often than general practitioners, as expected, so they're not as "scared" of writing them, not to mention that's their area of expertise; they'll know a broader spectrum of medications and in further detail. BUT! My insurance's co-pay for psych's is double the cost for a GP.

These people who're getting their scripts cut, are they all in the same state? (I think states only control controlled substance monitoring, and everything else is left to Feds.) The same doctor maybe? Try looking for a pattern between you guys.

A general practitioner that my parents and I recently dropped started refusing to fill any opiate medications and forced patients to pick either an anti-depressant or benzo; they could no longer have both. (I know, very ill-reasoning there, hence why I don't see him now) This doc had been under scrutiny in previous years, as one of his nurses was writing illegitimate scripts for herself to abuse, and ended up dying of an OD. Fast forward a few years, and this is when he started the cuts I mentioned above. Googling his private practice yields multiple negative reviews of his business, one of which accuses him of turning young men onto dangerous substances too easily. Colleagues of mine report no unusual behavior from their GP's.

Doctors are put under ever increasing pressure as being the first line of defense when it comes to combating prescription medication abuse. I think this sometimes will lead to nervous or defensive behavior, (especially if there's suspicious activity surrounding the doc. or their practice) such as being selective and conservative about what scripts are written while avoiding "hot" meds like opiates and benzos.

Lastly, alprazolam is probably the most widely known of the benzos, and arguably the most abusable. So I'm not surprised that you're being cut back.
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#5
Yup, I concur with your thesis

I had a doc that scripted me Diazepam for my TMJ. I don't even take it that often. It's just stress manifests in my Jaw and I clench and sometimes it gets so bad, my jaw pops. My old doc said Diazepam is really the gold standard of muscle relaxers. Yea, he was old school. Unfortunately, he retired and the new doc just wants to give me anti inflammatory meds and those don't relieve the clench. I asked the new doc for some Diaz and he looked at me like I had horns coming out of my head and he checked my records and all. But still, he gave me enough to titrate. That wasn't necessary as I wasn't physically addicted.

LAME Sad
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#6
Thanks for the reply, it is all in the same state and country. It seems to me that the timing corresponds to the FDA's latest recommendations about benzodiazepine and opiate abuse. All different doctors. It just seemed to happen to so many different people, even some on end of life care, most who have been on and would have been on it the rest of their lives. And it seems to be targeting benzos, primarily Xanax, but others too. I am just curious whether this is an isolated trend or if others are experiencing it. Thank you for all of your responses.
“When they said, repent, I wonder what they meant.” - Leonard Cohen RIP
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#7
Its been like that for a while in the UK. VERY hard to get prescribed benzos.
On the other hand VERY easy to get codeine (OTC even), I dont really use PK's though.
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#8
When my Aunt was put into a hospice-like nursing home (don't even get me started, she should've been at home with her family), they essentially stopped giving her water, as she had some trouble swallowing. 
I didn't know that at the moment, but my Aunt was obviously dying , aware, and her body was thrashing , hitting the bar of the bed with her legs, which she couldn't control. When I came in, they told me she was having a "bad day". She was suffering from Alzeimers. 
I called the nurse in to show her, asked for medication to make her more comfortable, and extra pillows for the bed, so she didn't keep hitting herself. I was told (rightly so), that they were out of pillows!!! and she was not scheduled for more medication for another 4 hours. As I went to buy pillows, I called my cousin to let him know what was going on with his mother, and she was finally given relief 2 hours later. 
What I saw her suffer through the next three days, I won't describe, but I will tell you we are more humane to our animals. I think even in hospice care, people are denied the right to pain and anxiety relief. 
This country doesn't have its priorities straight.

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#9
I should add, that was about 8 months ago, to give perspective to the post.

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#10
(04-10-2016, 05:32 PM)Revolution Wrote: I should add, that was about 8 months ago, to give perspective to the post.

So sorry to hear that about your aunt REV  I've not seen institutional hospice, only in-home care, which means mainly they deliver palliative drugs and the family provides the care.  In the case I was involved in it was my older brother's live-in gal, dying from lung cancer.  That was over a year ago and they provide her with all the meds she could use.  I just assumed it would be the same in an in-house hospice.  That sounds like a irresponsible full care facility.  Good for you for getting some pillows and trying to help. 


Spanky
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