I get anxiety pretty badly and it makes my life very stressful. I stress out about many things in life but the thing I worry about most is school. I stress out about school so much that I literally get sick to my stomach (having IBS which is triggered by my stress doesn't help either).

Well, as a result of not being able to deal with the stress of school, upon other things, I began smoking pot everyday. I love pot. It gets rid of my anxiety, my stomach pain, and helps cope with stress.

Problem is, I got busted (last night I spent the night in jail actually) for possession and paraphernalia and have to go and do PreTrial Intervention (like rehab and community service) so that I can get the charges expunged. It's costing me $600 dollars for the PTI plus $1000 dollars in tickets. Not only that, I don't want to take a chance at getting busted again because I'll lose my federal financial aid and my state scholarships (which a requirement is not having drug charges) and will be unable to finish college.

My dilemma: do I keep smoking pot, the miracle drug I think has kept me in college (3.9GPA if you think I'm a dumb pothead college kid), and risk my college education.

OR

Is there somthing else I can do?

Then I remembered, I love Valium. I used to eat these as a self-medication when I was into pills and worked wonders. It helped me immensely and I think it is the right choice for what I want. Not only that, if I can get my doctor to prescribe it to me, I have my cake and can eat it too.

It's not as if I don't need it; I believe my anxiety is bad enough to warrant medication. I don't think I can deal with the stresses of life and not want to entertain the idea of blowing my brains out.

So, I've been doing some research into what symptoms get prescribed Valiums.

From http://www.mentalhealth.com/drug/p30-v01.html

"The short-term symptomatic management of mild to moderate degrees of anxiety in conditions dominated by tension, excitation, agitation, fear or aggressiveness, such as may occur in psychoneurosis, anxiety reactions due to stress conditions and anxiety states with somatic expression."

When I describe my own anxiety, it is similar to what I have seen in the indicators. It seems Valium is for short-term use; i.e. when someone is being overcome by anxiety, you pop one and feel better quick.

So I figure my description of my anxiety to my doctor will be something like:

I begin by worrying over some assignment or test and then begin to obsess over the work. When I get nervous like this my stomach flips, I start to get a nervous movement of my legs, and I can't study or work because I can't calm down. This stress begins to seep into other areas of my life and have generally led me into a downward spiral and I just cannot stop thinking about all the things I worry about. This makes me worry more, thus completing the vicious circle.

I think it's important to note that this doctor treated me for depression about 5 years ago with Zoloft. However if he begins to prescribe it, I will say that I didn't like how it made me feel (jittery).

So, I need any comments, tips, revisions of my plan. Personal experience also appreciated greatly.


TL;DR Version:

I need to get my doctor to prescribe me Valiums, what should I say?

Say;
I begin by worrying over some assignment or test and then begin to obsess over the work. When I get nervous like this my stomach flips, I start to get a nervous movement of my legs, and I can't study or work because I can't calm down. This stress begins to seep into other areas of my life and have generally led me into a downward spiral and I just cannot stop thinking about all the things I worry about. This makes me worry more, thus completing the vicious circle.

They will most likely start you on a few different SSRI's like lexapro, cymbalta, zoloft, etc. after you have tried a few and had them for a trial period of about a month at least(since they take awhile to start working), then they may consider trying benzodiazepines.

Just tell the doctor your symptoms and worries. I'm stressed about my uni work at the moment so I went to my doctor to explain the situation and to ask him to write a note in order to get me an extension on the deadline. He wrote the note and said if I'm still stressed in a couple of weeks he'll prescribe me valium, which I definately was not expecting. I guess it depends on the doctor, the one I had was a young guy who's just qualified, so I guess he can relate to exam and deadline pressures.

Yeah, I figured he would do something like that. I really don't want to take the SSRI's but will go through the motions of saying they don't work, etc.

I was prescribed Zoloft by this doctor years ago. I didn't like it, and will express this to the doctor if it seems he is prescribing something similar.

How exactly did you describe the stress and how it made it hard to do your work?

lorazepam is the #1 benzo for short term relief. thats what i get for panic attacks and generalized anxiety...but i wouldnt abuse it, thats gay

Order them off the net.

Hey if you're serious about having IBS, look into getting a supplement called Florastor from your local pharmacy. It's pricey but it'll reduce your symptoms dramatically. They are a life saver.

dude if pots working for you why change it? you never said anything about how you got busted, but never do what you did again. that being said if you got "drug education" classes as a result so what, show up and pass, its not like your on probation or anything yet...



you could bounce around to doctors. you're more apt to get klonopin these days than valium.

Is it for IBS-D or IBS-C?

Is it for IBS-D or IBS-C?

Works for both.

Move to California, Oregon, Ohio, or another state with more liberal medical marijuana laws?

Armed robbery of a pharmacy. It's practical and cheap.

Two ways to approach this:

Use Cid's idea and just buy them off the net... once you get your prescription of course O_o This might be a better idea financially which is honestly sad. A visit to the doc without insurance is just plain rape whereas the online pharms have a variance of prices and you are guaranteed what you want as long as you do the research.

Or

Stick with your plan about how your daily life is being affected. Make sure to mention your GPA (possibly how it is slipping) as I would think that would disassociate you from any of the "pill hunter" types.

Oh and PS I like Xandy Bars better :p

Well, I went and was given Lexapro; not exactly what I wanted.

I described what he saw as anxiety/panic attacks and when I asked him what we could do if the medicine didn't get rid of them. He told me that he would put me on some low dose benzo's; although he expressed reluctance to put someone my age(19) on an potentially addictive drug.

He told me to see him again in two weeks. I'll say that the Lexapro is giving me shit feelings like the Zoloft was, and that the anxiety attacks haven't stopped.

I am also going to see a shrink. I want to get rid of anxiety, I truly do, so the shrink is to help with that. I also know that they can prescribe medicine, so I'm going to push the anxiety attack issue a little bit more.