My doctor won't upgrade me

Hello all, this might sound like a stupid question to ask a bunch of people in a forum but...

I have been prescribed klonopin for over three years now (for "social anxiety") and these things have really helped me out. They help me build my confidence, made me more sociable, and just smoother with my words in general. I finally found the medicine that was perfect for my anti-social lifestyle.

I went to a depression clinic back in early 2008 when my GF broke up with me and I said some stupid shit to my mom afterwords. I was then given a psychiatrist who attempted to put me on all kinds of SSRIs (antidepressants). I always told him I did not like how they made me feel. They decreased my sexual libido and gave me dizzy spells, etc. In 2009 I moved into an apartment with some new roommates that I could not seem to "connect" with. I told my psychiatrist and he recommended I try Klonopin. Of course I have done kpins and xanax before just to get fucked up on it but I never thought of it as something that would help me out with my social awkwardness.

Right away it helped me out and I was connecting way better and WAY more confident around EVERYBODY. Ever since I got upgraded from .05 mgs to 1 mgs (about 1 year in). Now I am so tolerant to the 1 mgs I have been taking 2 mgs out of my prescription and have been running out super early in the month. I have been to my doctor twice now telling him the same thing, but he refuses to give me a higher dose or a more powerful benzo (xanax, valium). He basically is telling me that I should be taking an SSRI with the Klonopin to help with my tolerance. He just gave me Paxil and once again, I hated it. I am going back in sometime this month to talk to him about it once more. I just don't know what to say to him anymore though, last time he specifically told me that I could not go any higher on the klonopin.

This is very stressful and upsetting to me especially since I am in my fifth and final year of college and it seems as though taking the klonopin for this long is making my anxiety even worse when I dont have them. I was wondering if any of you had any experience or advice with this?? I am considering asking him to recommend me a doctor that will give me a higher dose or more powerful benzo but I dont know if that will set off any red flags or if there is another doctor that will do this for me. Thanks for taking the time to read.

 

You're not using in responsibly, you have a tolerance, no, he won't raise you and neither would I.

When you say it's stressful..... well that sounds like reason enough you should not have more. It's stressful that he's not giving you MORE drugs?

Of course that will set off red flags, and of course he won't help you circumvent his own medication choices.

You want to go through life dependent on shit like that? A high tolerance to benzos is dangerous, and withdrawl can kill you.

It basically cures anxiety the same way alcohol does.... you don't sound any better than an alcoholic who's really stressed out because he drinks a month worth of beer right away and then nobody will give him more.

Sorry to be a downer.

 

I was using responsibly and I have been telling him the honest truth as soon as i started taking more. he put me on this medication and now I'm hooked on it and he refuses to raise my dose. You talk about the withdrawals like you know what they are like and your looking down on me from being stressed by them? Thanks, I understand my situation. Anyone else have any useful advice?

 

If you just take them for social anxiety, get off of em..
Theres some advice

 

I know how bad social anxiety can be. Don't quit the medication but try taking days off here and there to lower your tolerance. I don't know what else you can do at this point. That option is better than trying to buy illegally off the street.

 

Anti anxiety medication is meant to be a short term solution. If your social anxiety is really that debilitating you should either be in therapy or at least figuring out on your own how to overcome it without meds eventually.

 

Benzos are not ment to be used long term. What do you think is gonna happen if he raises your dose?? Your gonna start taking 3 a day, than what? Ask for another dose increase? Do you see where this is going?? your doctor dose.
I would be WAY more worried about getting off of them and seeking some sort of long term fix. I can tell you benzos will not cure you. Only you can. Its all about changing the way you think.
if you think life sucks now just wait until you get cut off and have to deal with the wds.
Good luck.

 

No dude, he gave you meds you had the option of using to deal with social situations. There was NO mandate that you take it all the time, most people who actually NEED their benzo scripts don't (ime, anyways). You chose to abuse it and raise your dose.

Knowing this, he made EXACTLY the right call, by refusing to raise your dose.

As it is, it won't kill you or anything, unless you're taking the whole thing in like 3 days. He is not going to help you get REALLY hooked and ACTUALLY be to blame.

You're bitching because he's making the responsible choice to avoid doing what you're saying he already did. So I have to side with him one hundred percent.

You're being a drama queen. You don't need a serious dependency, and you couldn't handle the script you have. I expect that the reason that he didn't just cut you off is because if he did, you could get the same thing from another doc, while if you tried that right now they'd catch up to you and you'd be in a spot of trouble. Maybe he'll lower your whiny ass:2thumbsup:

 

There's always gotta be some self-righteous douchebag so far up his own ass in EVERY forum to the point where he feels he needs to preach his (21 year old) knowledge about the world to everyone in a condescending way, and this time its you (thanks doc). Nah, I am actually considering asking him to go ahead and taper me off of them. I told you I understand my situation with going higher than this and its not as easy as simply not taking them and going "1,2,3 POOF, All fixed in my head, why didn't I do that earlier??" But thank you for your condescending advice, and yes maybe I'm being a drama queen because I am stresssed out by the added anxiety that they have been causing me (and yes it is because I have been abusing them and running out 10 days early, I understand this.) and you are being a complete asshole about this to me while we are in a fucking forum with people posting topics about what the nyquil buzz feels like. Go preach to them. But I'd like to thank the rest of you for the advice with tapering off of them without looking like a complete douchebag while doing it. An old saying, but "you get a lot more bees with honey than you do with vinegar." I'm going to look into slowly tapering off of these.