Greetings from the east coast. I am looking for a place that will write a script for anxiety meds like xanax or klonopin. I took it back in the states for anxiety and need it here as my bottle is now empty and no longer have insurance in the US >>>>>>>>>>> any help???
Have you tried going to a doctor and asking for it?
I’ll leave this thread separate for now since you’re in Yilan and not Taipei, but there’s some good advice in this thread:
viewtopic.php?f=54&t=91477
I would just go and see a doctor - on the whole, doctors here are quite relaxed when it come to prescribing anti-anxiety medication. I’m not sure where to go in Ilan, but with most doctors you shouldn’t have a problem. I actually have to talk my doctor out of prescribing me benzodiazepines sometimes! Many doctors are also very quick to prescribe pretty heavy psychiatric drugs for anxiety or insomnia (Seroquel, for example). The benzodiazepines (Valium, Xanax, Halcion, etc.) are controlled drugs now, so pharmacies are not allowed to sell them without a prescription. Up until about 10-15 years ago they were quite easy to buy over the counter.
Outside of the States (including Taiwan), the most well-known brand name of clonazepam (Klonopin) is Rivotril. It’s made be the same company, Roche. Alprazolam is available as Xanax as well as a lot of other brands.
It doesn’t really answer you question, but you might want to look for a doctor who can help treat your anxiety rather than dose you up with chemical shit. You don’t mention what you’re taking this drug for, but Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (in general) and Cognitive Processing Therapy can be extremely effective for phobias, panic, PTSD, and similar. Also bear in mind that Xanax is an addictive drug and may be exacerbating your condition. It causes very unpleasant withdrawal symptoms if you stop taking it.
You don’t want to spend the rest of your life wondering where your next dose of pills is coming from, surely? That’s going to make you anxious if nothing else does …
Benzodiazepines are usually only indicated for short-term use (a few weeks or so), but sometimes they are used on a long-term basis if the condition is more severe. It’s true that they can be fiercely addictive (especially the shorter acting ones like alprazolam) and they do cause physical dependence if taken regularly (which basically just means the body has grown used to them and a withdrawal syndrome will result if they are stopped too quickly), but many doctors in Taiwan don’t seem aware of this.
I’ve asked doctors (family doctors, neurologists, psychologists, etc.) about this and most of them just smiled and said “it’s not a problem” before writing another prescription. Occasionally you find a doctor who is aware of the potential pitfalls and is more careful about prescribing them. I’ve found that doctors here seldom warn you about the potential problems that come with taking a medication, whether it’s the possibility of dependence and tolerance, or interactions with other drugs, side effects, and so on. It really pays to research any drugs you are prescribed over here.
[quote=“finley”]It doesn’t really answer you question, but you might want to look for a doctor who can help treat your anxiety rather than dose you up with chemical shit. You don’t mention what you’re taking this drug for, but Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (in general) and Cognitive Processing Therapy can be extremely effective for phobias, panic, PTSD, and similar. Also bear in mind that Xanax is an addictive drug and may be exacerbating your condition. It causes very unpleasant withdrawal symptoms if you stop taking it.
You don’t want to spend the rest of your life wondering where your next dose of pills is coming from, surely? That’s going to make you anxious if nothing else does …[/quote]
I have to agree with this- I had some serious anxiety/depression issues when I was around 15, and all the docs kept shoving drugs in my direction. At age 17 I read some stuff that convinced me that I might be able to control my thoughts and calm myself without drugs. I’ve been drug free (errrrr, doctor prescribed drug free) ever since and never been happier :discodance: Anyways, good luck!
There you go, tylan … and that must surely be an immensely difficult way to do it (I’d guess it’s easier with a competent psychologist). Loads of people have been there and done that - it’s definitely one of the more fixable things. Give it a try … even if you don’t find yourself ‘cured’, you’ll definitely feel a lot better.
I would hate to be dependent on some thing for my happiness or wellbeing. It’s one of my big fears. It’s why I’ve never tried ‘non-prescribed’ drugs … I have a really addictive personality, and I’m pretty sure I’d enjoy it 
Besides, drug companies already rule the world - don’t give them one more chance to peddle their useless, exploitative shit. Xanax and the like is really no different to the stuff they sell on street corners in ziplocs. I’ve heard they do sell Xanax on street corners.
The drugs in and of themselves are not ‘bad’ or ‘evil’ - on the contrary, some very useful drugs are given a bad name simply because they are abused by people who don’t actually need them in the first place. Anxiolytics, antidepressants, neuroleptics and other drugs have been a lifesaver for countless people with serious conditions, just as antihypertensives, anti-gout medication, epilepsy medication, insulin and many other types of drugs are essential for a variety of medical disorders.
The medicines themselves are neutral: it’s whether they are needed in the first place, and then whether they are prescribed and taken in a responsible way that matters. They are no more dangerous than any other drugs used for a genuine disorder when used correctly. If you can manage without any medications, that’s great (I honestly wish I could!). Unfortunately, it’s not a realistic prospect for a lot of people who depend on them to live a normal life.
[quote=“Walis”]The drugs in and of themselves are not ‘bad’ or ‘evil’ - on the contrary, some very useful drugs are given a bad name simply because they are abused by people who don’t actually need them in the first place. Anxiolytics, antidepressants, neuroleptics and other drugs have been a lifesaver for countless people with serious conditions, just as antihypertensives, anti-gout medication, epilepsy medication, insulin and many other types of drugs are essential for a variety of medical disorders.
The medicines themselves are neutral: it’s whether they are needed in the first place, and then whether they are prescribed and taken in a responsible way that matters. They are no more dangerous than any other drugs used for a genuine disorder when used correctly. If you can manage without any medications, that’s great (I honestly wish I could!). Unfortunately, it’s not a realistic prospect for a lot of people who depend on them to live a normal life.[/quote]
That’s true, of course … up to a point. But “Anxiety” is not a disease. It’s a sign or symptom. Many medicines treat symptoms rather than diseases - and that’s just fine, sometimes (I’d rather take a paracetamol than wait for a headache to go away) but doctors can be careless about making the distinction and prescribing appropriately.
All medicines are not created equal. Insulin and anticonvulsants are lifesavers which have almost no potential for misuse. The comparison between anxiolytics and antihypertensives is a good illustration. In most cases, high blood pressure has a direct cause, i.e., treating your body as if it were a landfill rather than a temple. Medication prescribed late in life is simply shutting the stable door; prescribed earlier, it can be a useful adjunct the lifestyle modification. But it’s not a treatment. It’s a kludge.
Likewise with anxiety meds. Anxiety is a symptom of a wide range of conditions, many of which have a cause. PTSD sufferers, for example, experience anxiety with specific triggers. The success rate for therapy is about 80%. Sure, you can dose people up to make them insensible, but again, it’s a kludge, not a fix. I’ve no doubt that there are many people who genuinely need Xanax (they have no other options), but I suspect that number is in the same ballpark as those who need marijuana for medical reasons. I can’t comment on your personal experience, but I do wonder if your doctors have made any serious effort to help you live a normal life without drugs.
There are a few drugs which are, indisputably, evil money-making rackets. My uncle was prescribed statins for hypercholesterolemia - again a symptom, not a disease. With threats and cajoling from medics, he continued taking these pills until his kidneys failed. He is now on dialysis. Since circulating blood cholesterol is under closed-loop control, hypercholesterolemia is quite obviously caused by a homeostasis failure, and the only plausible fix is to get it working again (preferably before things get totally out of hand). Basic control systems theory says that artificially fiddling with circulating enzyme levels is guaranteed to make things worse by forcing the control loop to compensate for what it thinks is an abnormal condition. Pharmaceutical companies make a shitload of money out of statins even though the therapeutic benefits have been demonstrated marginal or nonexistent in many of the cases for which they are prescribed. Beta-blockers, while they have their uses, are also in my category of useless, dangerous drugs. Big Pharma has a vested interest in selling drugs which maintain a patient’s precarious condition but do not fix the underlying problem.
I suppose my point is - although I agree that drugs “used correctly” can be very beneficial, they quite often are neither used correctly nor beneficial. Doctors - the gatekeepers of pharmaceutical knowledge and good sense - need to improve their behaviour in that respect. We can’t expect big pharma to do anything except try to make more money; that’s only natural.
A lot of interesting stuff on this post. I am glad I stumbled upon it. If you have short term anxiety, then something like Ativan is relatively safe, but habit forming. In other words, you do not go into withdrawals when you run out. In fact, the longer you use it on a regular basis, the less it works. Furthermore, I have found that the meds available here are not the same as in the West. They just “feel” different. Regardless, I just recently came to the conclusion (after great introspection and a look back at my life), along with my therapist, that I suffer from Generalized Anxiety Disorder. This means that I am wired 24/7. I also discovered that people like myself are hard wired into this (brain chemicals) and create false fronts (save face) when around other people. But recently, I also found a cure in Buspirone. This is similar to an anti-depressant in that it takes time to come into effect and is long term. I now find that I still have stress, but no anxiety attacks. The best news yet is that I feel like I am back in control of my life and am not always suffering from the “fight or flight” syndrome. Anyway, if you are GAD like me and it is chemical, I highly recommend these meds. They are a little obscure, but I am getting them here in Taichung so they must be available at least by order. Hope this helps and hang in there. You are not alone!
Gwangong, sorry to hear you’ve been suffering in that way, and glad you found a solution. However, I never found the “it’s a chemical imbalance” theory very convincing and had several arguments with lecturers about it. Also, the diagnosis of GAD, to me, is a complete cop-out. It’s a bit like the way doctors use the term “idiopathic illness”; it’s just a smartass way of saying they acknowledge your symptoms, but they have no idea what you’ve got or why. No doubt there are some people whose brains do just pump out neurotransmitters in all the wrong places, for no apparent reason, just as one’s pancreas or thyroid can fail. But there’s a complex loop going on there: the wetware is inseparable from its emergent characteristics.
The “fight/flight/freeze” response is certainly hardwired into us, but it’s been shown fairly conclusively that your brain overlays its own interpretation on the immediate HPA response. It’s possible to modify it. Therapy for severe cases - such as you seem to experience - has developed a lot since I was at university. It now has a success (or partial success) rate of about 50%, I think. I’m not saying therapy is easy - it’s most definitely a lot more hard work than taking a pill - but possibly you just didn’t find the right therapist.
The reason I keep banging on about this is simple: corporations can decide to stop making their products, or governments can ban them (for whatever reason). In the worst case, companies can fail. Hell, entire civilisations can fail. Then what? You have only your own resources to fall back on, and you’d be surprised how powerful those resources are. Give it a shot, and good luck, whatever you decide.
I was on valium for a coupla years until the side effects! Very bad. Super scary. You feel detached from your body. I was shocked and thru the whole bottle away!
Sometimes still have flash backs.