Mildly embarrassing question: who to see for prescription?

dillichaat

Nick, have you ever spent a night in a sleep-lab (with electrodes attached to your skull, the works)? There might be an organic reason for what you experience. Strange stuff happens, ten years ago and without apparent reason I experienced a 3-week stretch where I barely slept at all. I would go to bed at my usual time (around 1 am) and by 2:30 I was wide awake and rested. Didn't feel tired at all, also not the following day, work etc was all normal. I tried some herbal stuff, nothing else but it didn't do any good...I slet like a baby for 1.5 hours then was awake. Luckily for me it passed spontaneously but while it lasted it was hell, no fun being awake while the world sleeps. If you want to try melatonin, send me a pm, I've got about 30 3mg-capsules lying around and don't use it anymore, could send you this.

To the OP: you shouldn't feel embarrassed about getting a prescription for alprazolam. Or, as others said, you can buy it like that at most pharmacists I guess. This shouldn't be so but ok.... If you take low doses during short periods (couple of days with at least 2 weeks in between) you'll be ok. It's regular use that's very, very addictive. My personal opinion is that the sale of this type of drug should be seriously restricted with the ability to prescribe more than a single week's course taken away from GP's.

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Lindsay

Oops, sorry -- I have no idea why only part of my message got submitted! That's really odd, in fact -- on page reload last night, I could swear the whole thing was showing.

Anyway, what I meant to say was: I have no idea why anyone would take it so regularly. It's not "fun", just makes you calm. (For "fun," I turn to Old Monk. )

RebeccaCam, thanks for your suggestion. You're right, Benadryl works wonders when I can't sleep. I've never taken alprazolam for sleep problems.

Lindsay

Double post, didn't realize the above one showed up! Sorry folks, I think the electrical outages here are causing my post submissions to go funky.

Nick-H

Goodness, what a miscellany this thread has become!

Lindsay, the last time I tried Benadryl as a cough medicine it affected my state of mind so badly I swore never to touch it again. Negativity and depression, not fun!

dillichaat, interesting points and thanks for the offer. One of my "problems" is that, unlike you, I do like being awake when the rest of the world (well, at least the local timezone ) is asleep.

Haylo, in my sailing days, I only once actually vomited, but on quite a few occasions suffered the early stages of seasickness, which include feeling generally weird, physically weak, and disinclined to do stuff. Whilst the latter is part of my natural land-based state it can be very dangerous at sea, especially if one is in charge. Navigation must be done and decisions must be taken, and stuff like the chartwork one just has to be below decks, even if it doesn't appeal. I'm actually quite proud of myself for the bouncy-sea day I mopped up some smelly spilt milk and then did the chart work . Have you tried the wrist bands? Some people find them very good. I never tried them, even though I had an interest in accupressure/shiatsu at the time. I did apply pressure to the appropriate point on a fellow crew's wrist when she was feeling very ill --- she was immediately sick and felt fine for the rest of the day. Thus my extensive test results of one case indicate there is something in it

sagarneel

Laindsay, any GP can prescribe alprazolam. You need not go to a pychiatrist for that. Just go to a GP and talk of your problem, he will prescribe you alprazolam (as India is a generic dominated market, and Pfizer doesnot promote Xanax in India, you wont get Xanax here, but you have got host of good generic alprazolam brands available, few of them are - Trika(Unichem), Alprax(Torrent), Alzolam (Sun Pharma) among others).
Alprazolam, contrary to the common belief, is not a sedative or hypnotic. It falls under a class of drugs called 'anxiolytics', and as the name suggests, it reduces the body's anxiety by a complex mechanism. As the body is releived of tension, it calms down leading th=o the person feeling sleepy!Alprazolam would be an absolutely perfect choice for countering nervousness of long flights, and there is hardly any chance that you develop a dependance on alprazolam, provided you take it for a short period.
Regards,
Sagarneel.

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Lindsay

Thanks, Sagarneel! Good to know.

Yes, I've heard that it can have a crazy effect on some people! On a related note, one of my friends can't touch Nyquil -- it makes her giddier and gigglier and more unbalanced than four glasses of wine!

The variation in our bodily chemistries is actually quite interesting, I think.

sagarneel

Brands like Phensidyl contain codeine, which a very strong narcotic and a potent antitussive (antiallergic). Though cough syrups containing codeine (Corex is another example) were introduced with an aim of supressing cough, the fact that they caused sedation and often made people 'giddier and gigglier and more unbalanced than four glasses of wine!', caused a huge popularity within addicts and they found an economical alternative of liquour in these drugs. Unfortunately, the sales of off label OTC phensidyl/corex is way much more than than actual prescription sales.
Nyquil, on the other hand conatins two potent antihistamines, which are known to cause strong sedation! Hence, the giddy effect!
Did I just give a lecture???
Sagarneel.

sagarneel

And for people who cant afford that, you have codeine cough syrups!

Nick-H

sagarneel... isn't alprazoma a muscle relaxant? Or is that just another side effect?

My wife reacts very strongly to stronger pain killers, she quite regularly gets whatever are the worst of the listed side effects. Sometimes she just sleeps for a day. On one recent tablet she was drunk --- but she hates it; if it was me I'd be going "Weeeeeeee! Yeeeeaaaaah!". The pain killer I took for frozen shoulder came with addiction warnings: I spent a week with a big grin on my face, and was glad it wasn't prescribed for any longer. When I know there isn't much time left for me, I might take to opium and enjoy --- but it will be for the last few months of my life only, the side effects are just not worth it.

sagarneel

Yes, alprazolam is a muscle relaxant too! The muscle relaxation caused by alprazolam is an effect, not a side effect! The mechanism involved is a complex one, but the anxiolytic and muscle relaxation properties go hand in hand!

With the advent of new generation NSAIDs (Non steroidal antiinflammatory drugs), one need not use a pain killer until the pain is excruciating enough! For severely intense pain (eg post surgical pain), morphine or other narcotics are the drugs of choice! For an mild to moderate pain, NSAIDs work well enough!
Sagarneel.

traveller.1

Nick: the benadryl that Lindsay is speaking about may be the American Benadryl. In the US it is an antihistamine pill and is an allergy medication with drowsiness as a side effect. In India Benadryl is a cough syrup

Nick-H

Oh! Thanks for the clarification on that.

In UK it is a cough mixture, but an abused substance too.

Wait... am I thinking of Benalyn?

Nope... bottle in hand...

Diphenhydramine Hydrochloride, Ammonium chloride, sodium citrate, ethanol...

ethanol? isn't that rather, err, nasty?

sagarneel

Etahnol is only the solvent for the drugs you mentioned! The actual sedation is caused by diphenhydramine!
Personally speaking, I never consider ethanol nasty, its ecstacy!

Nick-H

Goodness... I didn't know that. I'm too young, psychedelics were my cup of tea --- nearly four decades ago.

(oh, there has been a more recent liking for kavalactones )

Lindsay

Oh yeah, I'm talking about American Benadryl - small tablet, the only active ingredient (according to the bottle I brought from home!) is Diphenhydramine HCl 25 mg. It's quite good for allergies, but also can make you sleepy.