Posted by Betsy on December 15, 1998, at 19:32:27
In reply to Re: ask my doc for benzos?, posted by Toby on December 14, 1998, at 11:06:38
> I would disagree with Betsy on only two points: one, don't start out a relationship with your physician by "not mentioning" that you got Valium without a prescription before college. If you don't have a big drug history otherwise, the doc shouldn't hold it against you in the big scheme of things. Doctors know that teenagers do things like that. And you'll look even more like a drug seeker if you don't mention it and somewhere down the line end up having to admit that "Valium worked once, so why not again?"
In an ideal world, I'd agree with this. I think it depends on the doctor in question, but a person who has a drug history has an extremely good chance of being labelled as a drug seeker, regardless of whether there is any justification for this label. Yeah, the doctor _shouldn't_ hold it against you - but many doctors will anyway.
> Two, in some people, Zyprexa in tiny doses like 2.5 mg has helped certain anxiety disorders. It wouldn't be a general first or second line medication for most people, but for some, yes. The mechanism appears to be along the same lines as how Mellaril in tiny doses has been given since the 60's to people with depressive anxiety and to geriatric patients with certain anxious emotional problems.
I'm not saying it doesn't help, just that it's a poor first (or second) choice and probably falls well below benzos on most doctors' lists of things to try for mild depression/anxiety. Even low doses of Zyprexa can cause quite a few side effects for a lot of people. (Sedation, weight gain, and feeling "drugged" are very common.) It seems especially silly to try something like Zyprexa before trying a benzo (a class of drugs that have been effective before and are well-established antianxiety drugs) again. Remeron, Serzone, or BuSpar might be the next thing to try if a benzo doesn't help this time.
poster:Betsy
thread:1502
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/19981201/msgs/1594.html