Have Recurrence Of Anxiety. Was On Zoloft. Refused To Refill. What Can Be Done?

Posted on Thu, 25 Jul 2013

Question: 11+ years on Zoloft/Xanax following very difficult divorce. 0.5mg Xanax, 3x per day. I am very disciplined and follow a strict routine in all aspects of my life. Psychiatrist retired and transferred meds to family doctor (a DO). After 3 years, family doctor no longer feels comfortable prescribing. I am a highly accomplished and high performing professional, executive with PhD. I have reduced dose to 0.25mg , 3x per day over the last 6mths. Doctor refused last refill, so now have none. Anxiety has immediately returned with vengeance! I do not like my regime disrupted.
Question 1: Are there long term health concerns with prolonged use? I have performed at an extremely high level, personally and professionally over the last 10yrs.
Question 2: Is family doctor no longer "allowed" to prescribe?

Answered by Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar (1 hour later)

Hello;

I will be happy to answer your questions.

Question 1: The only long term health concerns would be addiction. Xanax is in the same family as Valium. That said if you felt better on it and were functioning well on it then there would be no reason to stop it. Many D.O.'s try to take a more holistic approach to treatment. That may be part of the problem.

Question 2: All physicians as long as they have a DEA (Drug Enforcement Agency) certificate are able to prescribe this kind of med.

You may be better served by a new Psychiatrist.

I hope I answered your questions. Please let me know if I can help with anything else.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Raju A.T

Follow up: Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar (41 hours later)

Thanks for the follow up. I apparently hit "submit" twice as this was the second response I received.

Family doctor (DO) was very understanding and supportive once I had an office visit. He continued the script at 0.25mg, 3X per day and to call if symptoms don't dissipate.

He claimed there is growing evidence that these meds may contribute to early on-set of dementia so he wants to monitor. What are your thoughts on this?

I have to say I was very skeptical of this service, but the response has been timely and well received. Thank you.

Answered by Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar (29 minutes later)

I am not aware of any convincing evidence that these meds lead to early onset dementia. Everything in the medical literature needs to be reviewed in detail to make sure the conclusion is valid.

I am happy you were satisfied with the service and you received the care you needed from your family doc.

Let me know if there is anything else I can help you with.

Take care.

Note: For further follow up on related General & Family Physician Click here.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Vaishalee Punj