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I have been in Clonazepam 0.5mg TID for 18 years
My psychiatrist retired and I was left to find a replacement. It seems there are a majority of nurse practitioners these days taking patients as providers, many do not take insurance. I found a nurse practitioner with a very good educational background. I saw her in person and she renewed the medications I was in for 6 months. Next month we had a zoom meeting and she told me she wanted me off the Ambien and Clonazepam because I would get dementia or Alzheimer’s with long term use. She insisted I start tapering against my will. I had school phobia in grade school, began having depression symptoms in my 20’s, and in my late 20’s had two major panic attacks. I have been depressed with anxiety most of my adult life. I have been hospitalized twice because of this. I have never asked for an increase in dosage of Ambien or Clonazepam fur 18 years after I found a wonderful psychiatrist who was so good at medication management.
Now, tapering Ambien and Clonazepam I have started self mutilating by picking my fingers raw until they bleed. I can’t sleep at night, I have become socially phobic. I have become isolative and often think of suicide with no plan. I am 73 years old and I think it is so cruel to put me through this when all I want is to have quality of life, not quantity. I live with my husband in adult senior living which I have not adjusted to. Taking these meds away has decreased my desire to exercise and my endurance is decreasing. My new provider told me if I didn’t want to taper my medication that I should find a new one provider. I did manage to taper the Ambien but I am down to half of the Clonazepam and feel like I can’t go on. Please help me. I am on Paxil and Wellbutrin for depression but it is anxiety and insomnia making my life miserable. I am not the same person I was a year ago.
I feel miserable, she has destroyed any quality of life I had. I really don’t want to live anymore.
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Nice to find out I am not alone.
Good luck to you.
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2 ReactionsThese people coming into medicine today...
That was Not safe or right!
And at 73, plus a history of depression/anxiety who is she to cut you off?
That is very dangerous and inhumane. My heart hurts that you went through this. I'm glad you're better but this shouldn't happen. You know you can report her but that can be a hassle in itself.
The clonazepam dosage you were on is minimal.
Ugh, some of these people just don't have common sense.
I really hope you're feeling much better!!
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3 ReactionsMy feelings exactly. Thank you. The government has placed restrictions on on narcotics and benzodiazepines because #1 They were overprescribed in the 70’s through the 90’s. The physician’s and the pharmacists did not monitor refills and just kept prescribing. I was part of that group of people and became dependent on these drugs.
#2 Street drugs ,illegal, became the thing to do. Now I have never done street drugs. Some people experiment, some are already addicted, and some can’t get the therapeutic medications they were formerly on. So they go to illicit ways of obtaining drugs that are dangerous thinking they are getting fentanyl or heroin but they are combined together and are lethal and people overdose and die.
The extremes the drug companies, the providers, and pharmacies go to are over kill.
Recently I had a flare up of S1 joint pain, so severe I rated it on a scale of 10/10. I b]called the Dr’s office and left a message with a REAL person. I waited for a return call and never got one. My PCP was on vacation! My mobility was affected, my pain level did drop down to a 5/10. Three weeks to the day I was see by a physician I’d never seen before but he was congenial, understood my frustration and symptoms. He prescribed PT and I am gradually improving. I asked for Tramadol to help me cope with the pain for 4 days until I started PT 4 days later. “Take Tylenol and or Advil.” I have stage two kidney disease and was told by my nephrologist not to take NSAIDs. TYLENOL does absolutely nothing for my pain control.
So is this going to be another problem arising in the future? Dr’s telling a patient to take a medication that could permanently damage my kidneys, or just let me suffer.
I was only asking for 4 days of Tramadol. This practice is paranoid about prescribing scheduled drugs. I really believe the are afraid the FDA WILL LOCK THEM UP OR CLOSE THEIR PRACTICE.
There are days I would like to stop all meds and throw my body into seizures, severe anxiety, and death. I am so tired of fighting the system.
I agree with you. Alcohol is essentially a drug. Why isn’t it more regulated? Insurance most often doesn’t pay for rehab.
When I watch television and see all of the drug commercials with happy faces and dancing in the street, then listen to the side effects that can be lethal, I really get Angry. These commercials are very expensive and that cost is passed on to us. Then most of the time insurance doesn’t cover it!
My doc wants me off ativan 0.5mg because he said I'll "fall". Makes no sense. It works for me the last 12 yrs. only a minimum dose.