"Potentially addicted" per my doctor

[couzin]

I will try to make this short. I have been on a low dose (.5mg) of Clonazepam (Klonopin) for ten years because I have REM sleep disturbances (sleepwalking, trying to escape, fighting, etc). It was originally prescribed by my neurologist but he left and the prescribing was taken over by my primary care person, a very good nurse practioner. Last year at my annual physical she noted in my record (I read later online) that I was potentially addicted to the drug (a schedule 4 drug). I objected and asked it be removed. She refused and said it was not her decision it was a Baylor Scott and White policy. Also, it was sent to my record at Blue Cross Blue Shield FEP. Recently, for my visit with the same doctor, I was presented with a "contract" from BSW that noted my potential addiction AND, contained a clause whereby I would have to submit to drug testing on 24 hours notice and that my home and property could be searched if BSW 'suspect' drug abuse may be occurring. I flat refused to sign the document and she agreed that it may be an overstep. If this kind of data is being collected, could it catch me the next time I sign a 4473 and say "no, I am not addicted nor never abused drugs"? I have stopped taking the Clonazepam because I don't want this hanging over me and I don't want to find another doctor because then I am opening up to charges of 'doc shopping'. I am, of course, back to running into walls and batting imaginary demons.

[Chemist45]

Sorry to hear this. Sounds like you got caught in a manufactured crime.
bull&W definitely overstepped.

As to the sleeping - Have you tried Melatonin?
3mg lets me sleep without struggling. At first, the dreams are a little vivid but that goes away after a week or two and wasn't all that distressing anyway.

[couzin]

I did try melatonin. Kept me awake for most of the night, then, as you noted, some really wild nightmare dreams. Way worse than my normal REM disturbances. Maybe I should try again. Sucks!

[philip964]

I’m very sorry.

We have become a society where they would rather have you sick and in pain to avoid having to properly medicate you.

If you go to an ER in terrible pain with a kidney stone, the best you will get is aspirin. Vomiting in triage from pain doesn’t help.

If you develop the wrong kind of cancer, your doctor will decline to treat you to avoid investigation by the DEA.

[chasfm11]

If it is any consolation, you are not alone.

Several of the mental health related drugs have been classified as addictive and many of the mental health professionals will no longer prescribe them. We have all hear the stories about people who were diagnosed with mental disorders from severe depression to bi-polar who were "off their meds" when bad things happened. There are some difficult to live with side effects from some of those drugs but properly administered, they can help those with problems live in society.

One of the biggest problems in mentally ill people is the inability to sleep. Their minds race and cannot be quieted, leaving them like zombies after several days without restful steep. The supposedly addictive drugs can at least mitigate that problem. Rather than have them be addicted to those drugs, the patients become non-functional. That doesn't seem like a good trade-off to me. I know someone who cannot hold a job because she cannot sleep and was doing fine when she was taking the "addictive" meds.

My opinion is that this is the result of too much Federal government involvement in medicine and too much consolidation of medical practice into organizations like BSW.. The "efficiency" comes at the price.

[RoyGBiv]

What a total load of horse manure...

Addiction... Definition from NIDA .... National Institute on Drug Abuse...
https://nida.nih.gov/publications/drugs ... -addiction

What is drug addiction?
Addiction is defined as a chronic, relapsing disorder characterized by compulsive drug seeking and use despite adverse consequences.

I have been taking blood pressure meds for 10 years... am I "addicted"? Well, I'm addicted to life and good health, so, I keep taking them.

Unless you are compulsively seeking and over-using a drug to adverse effects... overusing... then you are not "addicted"..

I would be looking not only for another doctor, I would be looking for an attorney that specializes in healthcare law to make sure my good name is cleared and my 2A rights remain unaffected.

As for "Doc Shopping" fears... I think you would need to get to several doctors prescribing the same medication at the same time (multiple concurrent prescriptions) before you might qualify as "Doc Shopping"... If you have only 1 prescription (even from a new doctor) and are taking the medication as directed, you are not "Doc Shopping".. I would be looking for a new primary care doctor immediately...

I hope you get the idiots at Baylor straightened out @couzin and get your good sleep back ASAP

[Paladin]

Sorry to hear about your situation. Unfortunately we live in an age where some pharmaceutical companies want their users to become addicted: Purdue Pharma Is Dissolved and Sacklers Pay $4.5 Billion to Settle Opioid Claims

If you haven't read it, Change Your Brain, Change Your Life is a good start to understanding your brain.

Despite what the official sources say HTP-5 is actually really good as a sleep aid.

[RPBrown]

What a total load of horse manure...

Addiction... Definition from NIDA .... National Institute on Drug Abuse...
https://nida.nih.gov/publications/drugs ... -addiction

What is drug addiction?
Addiction is defined as a chronic, relapsing disorder characterized by compulsive drug seeking and use despite adverse consequences.

I have been taking blood pressure meds for 10 years... am I "addicted"? Well, I'm addicted to life and good health, so, I keep taking them.

Unless you are compulsively seeking and over-using a drug to adverse effects... overusing... then you are not "addicted"..

I would be looking not only for another doctor, I would be looking for an attorney that specializes in healthcare law to make sure my good name is cleared and my 2A rights remain unaffected.

As for "Doc Shopping" fears... I think you would need to get to several doctors prescribing the same medication at the same time (multiple concurrent prescriptions) before you might qualify as "Doc Shopping"... If you have only 1 prescription (even from a new doctor) and are taking the medication as directed, you are not "Doc Shopping".. I would be looking for a new primary care doctor immediately...

I hope you get the idiots at Baylor straightened out @couzin and get your good sleep back ASAP

[powerboatr]

your doctor is hmmm well you know
my VA doc prescribed an alpha stim machine that clears out the crap in the head and lets you sleep
i have been off sleep enhancing drugs for 3 years now
the machine is not cheap but lots less money than pills, zero addiction and zero class 4
https://alpha-stim.com/

i am surprised at the way they came up with these forms
my wife is on class 4 meds for a brain disease been on them since 2001. only gets 90 days at a time
i wont get detailed but it also involves sleep and all that creative brain time

she has never had her brain doctor ever come up with this crap you got.

i agree get an attorney your doctor is full of crap
unless your seeking them out and taking more than prescribed, you are not an issue

[couzin]

my VA doc prescribed an alpha stim machine that clears out the crap in the head and lets you sleep...
https://alpha-stim.com/

The machine sounds interesting and I will research it for sure. Like most folks I would take something like that over these stupid pills every time.
Yes, the contract/form threw me and I didn't expect it. I immediately felt like they were treating me like I was a parolee or being treated for an addiction. Insulting!

[powerboatr]

my VA doc prescribed an alpha stim machine that clears out the crap in the head and lets you sleep...
https://alpha-stim.com/

The machine sounds interesting and I will research it for sure. Like most folks I would take something like that over these stupid pills every time.
Yes, the contract/form threw me and I didn't expect it. I immediately felt like they were treating me like I was a parolee or being treated for an addiction. Insulting!

in a few words its a GAME changer
old tech from the 80s and of course pill pushers would rather spend billions vice 2k on a tool that actually fixes issues with no drugs
it also has a 2nd use for pain management unlike a tens unit it does not use microwaves to twitch muscles . it uses alpha waves
it takes about 2 weeks of use to get the WOW WHOLLY COW i feel better effect

[howdy]

I ran many years as a 911 Paramedic. We carried Morphine, Fentanyl, Valium, and a couple of other milder drugs. It got to be a paperwork nightmare to give one of these, especially morphine and Fentanyl. Some of our Paramedics got where they just would not give them.

[LabRat]

I did try melatonin. Kept me awake for most of the night, then, as you noted, some really wild nightmare dreams. Way worse than my normal REM disturbances. Maybe I should try again. Sucks!

I think the key may be "sustained release melatonin". At least that's the suggestion I've seen some recommendations for.
Something that eases it into your system over several hours versus a quick load-up on another type of release.

Here is a reference I saw.
https://www.drugs.com/tips/melatonin-ti ... 0jet%20lag.

The scary part of it is, you might have changes to your ovulation. Use with caution.