Canadian Eh? Pre and post withdrawal support

[[To...]]

Hello

 

I am trying to find a new Doctor in Toronto and found someone else that has already started a post for that and that led me here .

 

I am new to this site .. so not sure how to post  .. Hope this works .    Nice Ice storm here in Toronto  .. the trees are looking like they did back in Dec 2013  Christmas time Ice storm .. I lost the power in my house for 5 days , wow it was cold..        Warmer temps are on there way soon .

 

I have a question .      I have been on Clonazepam for 15 years and have not  been across the border to the U.S. since 2005  .  I went via car in 2005 and had no problem taking my bottle of Clonazepam with me . 

 

Since then ,  sometime in last couple of years ... it is now considered a controlled substance .    Has anyone driven over the border into the U.S.    at Niargara Falls in the past year or so ?  and if so if you were still on a benzo  ,  did they allow you to take your pill bottle with you ?   

 

I have read that a Doctors note might be required ?  Anyone know if this true

 

  I am having huge problems with my Doctor and do not even know if I can go back to her as she told me to " get over it "  when i was very distraught over a home invasion and I wanted some counselling or help .. anyway  ,  not to get too far off subject ..   

I  think this might be the year I might be able to go on a small vacation via car to the States  and I want to know if I will have any problem taking my bottle of Clonazepam over the border without a Doctor's note ,  as she will not give me one . 

 

She would not even sign in ink an electronic prescription for Clonazepam .. 2 years ago when she got the new electronic signature and no pharmacy would accept the script, as it looked like it was just printed off a computer and I phoned her office and was told to go to another pharmacy and after going to several more  that refused it , unless she signed it in ink ... Finally, she agreed to see me ..  but was very angry with me and told me she would never again sign anything in ink for me .   

I am desperately trying to get a new Doctor here in T.O. ,but until then, if she does not cut me off cold turkey from the Clonazepam  .. which she might .. will know in May and she never bothered to tell me she is retiring in one year .. So I have to find a new Doctor anyway , but wow she is kind of nasty and it's hard to see here for anything as she fluffs me off and gets mad at me .. ... arhhh  so frustrating !

 

So that has led me here to ask ....  anyone know if I can drive over the border for a 2 week vacation with my Clonazepam  , without a  doctor letter as to why I am on it ?   

[[Na...]]

Welcome to the Canadian eh thread.

 

I can see totally why your on the hunt for a new Dr if what your saying is the case........wow! she sounds like a REAL "piece of work"

 

Unfortunately, I think your in tough if you don't have a note to accompany your script. At minimum I would call ahead..........here's a link to some info if nobody responds with first hand info

 

http://travel.gc.ca/travelling/health-safety/medication

[[To...]]

Thank you so much for the link ..    I remember viewing that about  a year ago ..  Yeah that will be a bit of problem getting a note from her . 

 

Hope you do not mind me asking another question .. being new to this site .. I am not receiving notices in my email if someone responds to my post .. So I have to go back to the support group that i wrote in and check to see if anyone left a reply for me  .     

 

Is there anyway of setting it up so I can receive a notification when I get a reply , as i left a few other posts and now I do not know where they are .   

 

any help would be appreciated .    and thanks again . 

[[Ki...]]

Hi TorontoGal.....welcome  I'm just north of the city. Last night was something with all that ice, eh? I was out of power for 23 hours. Brrrr!

 

In answer to your question at the top of each page where it says 'hello Toronto Gal" in bold there is a link just underneath that says show new replies to your posts. Click on that and every thread you've ever replied too will show up there 

[[To...]]

Hi Kiddo1977    thanks for the welcome      Yeah all the ice .. it really reminds me of the  Ice Storm just before Christmas in 2013.  I had no power for 5 days and spent Christmas in the dark and freezing cold of my house lol.        I have to admit it was very pretty to look at the icy trees today with the sun sparkling on them and even nicer to know it will warm up and melt quickly , unlike in 2013.    Sorry to hear you had no power , glad you got it back!

 

Okay so I did what you said and saw the link  under Hello Toronto Gal  and clicked on it ,  but nothing was showing .    Oh boy ,  I am not great with technology .. I do not even own a smartphone  .    Thanks and will keep trying what you told me .. and hopefully at somepoint something will show up .    Just having a bit of hard time navigating my way around here .     

 

Thanks for replying !

[[Fi...]]

Hi fellow Canadians! Happy Easter weekend! I hope everyone's doing well. I just wanted to come by and let everyone know that if you're looking for a benzo wise counsellor, I know someone. She has been there with me every step of the way and she absolutely saved me! She lives in Canada and she does sessions over Skype. Her rates are really affordable too. If you would like me to connect you with her, just send me a pm.

[[Na...]]

Hi Kiddo1977    thanks for the welcome      Yeah all the ice .. it really reminds me of the  Ice Storm just before Christmas in 2013.  I had no power for 5 days and spent Christmas in the dark and freezing cold of my house lol.        I have to admit it was very pretty to look at the icy trees today with the sun sparkling on them and even nicer to know it will warm up and melt quickly , unlike in 2013.    Sorry to hear you had no power , glad you got it back!

 

Okay so I did what you said and saw the link  under Hello Toronto Gal  and clicked on it ,  but nothing was showing .    Oh boy ,  I am not great with technology .. I do not even own a smartphone  .    Thanks and will keep trying what you told me .. and hopefully at somepoint something will show up .    Just having a bit of hard time navigating my way around here . 

 

Click on the 2nd clink below your user name at the top of the page.   

 

Thanks for replying !

[Guest [ch...]]

I doubt US customs will search your bags, but just in case, you could put the Klonopin in a prescription bottle for some non-controlled drug, like one of your Zoloft prescription bottles. I wouldn't worry about getting a few pills across the border for personal use. I've never had a problem going back and forth between US and Canada, and I've never carried doctors notes.

 

Hey, come visit me in the US if you come... I'm lonely

 

Chessplayer (originally Canadian but live in the US now)

[[od...]]

Nice to see all the action on here-without Bab having to try to whip us into a conversational frenzy, eh?!Hope everyone is having a good Easter weekend-oh, and Carol/Geddeca, I'm in Saskatchewan, so not part of the Ontario Benzo Mafia (except for being related to 'the Bab' )!!

[[ba...]]

Uh oh, plunging down to the bottom of the page once again (after all that inspiring interaction above!). I left my pom poms at, uh, high school hahaha for the weekend, so I'll just have enough "rah rah sis boom bah" in me to say hey/hi  , and I hope all Canucks-y types (and any welcome! visitors) are doing as well as possible...considering we ARE on a benzo help board , sigh!

 

Spring in Southern Ontario has been a bit fickle these days; 15 degrees C and sunny, then 0ish degrees and possible snow/sleet/rain . Perhaps everyone is a bit discombobulated by the total lack of consistency (which most of us crave at the moment), and that has resulted in the quietude that has once again befallen our lil' corner of Mapleland??

 

I was hoping we'd all be so jazzed up on maple syrup, robin and crocus spotting etc., that we'd be rushing poste haste to our keyboards and typing like Glen Gould (well, he'd be on a piano, 'natch)! Maybe some Canajuns will find their voices/computers, and report in on what signs of spring they may have come across so far?

 

In my case, Good Friday heralded the birth of a friend's mini[ature horse] foal-'Bunny'! Due to the weather, her first day out of her and momma Jill's stall was Wednesday; what a big wide world for a tiny foal . Jill was so thrilled to be rid of her bulging tummy, and free of being confined to wandering the barn under supervision for a while each day (to circumvent any chance of slipping on ice/in mud) that she put on a big ol' rodeo.

 

As horses are shedding this time of year, she also rolled ecstatically in the dirt about a million times in between galloping about and bucking in a safe mini-proof enclosure; Bunny was getting a little impatient re: nursing, as until this outing, momma had been close at hand for 24/7 snacking. Jill proved somewhat hard to coax back indoors after all that cavorting, but mare and filly foal returned to their heat lamp equipped stall eventually.

 

I wish I could post a pic on here, 'cuz mini horse foals are sooo cute!! Most mini adults are about the approximate!! size of a St. Bernard (sorta!), and the foals are maybe 25ish lbs. when born i.e. about the size of a small Labrador?! Google them if you want to see-"awww"! So, I guess that's my sign of spring , aside from my IV maple syrup drip, that is .

 

 

[[Lo...]]

Here is a list of Canadian (benzo wise) doctors I came across today. Two are familiar with the Ashton Protocol which I found promising.

 

 

Dr. Martin Judson (addiction and substance abuse specialist)

240 Wharncliffe Road

London, Ontario

Dr. Stevien M. Melemis,

208 Bloor St. West, Suite 702

Toronto, Ontario

Phone: 416-920-2982

Email: contact@addictionsandrecovery.org.

Web site: addictionsandrecovery.org

 

Contributor comment: "This doctor will help people with a slow taper off benzodiazepines and believes in Ashton. He is an addiction doctor and may approach the problem from that perspective."

 

Dr. Senthelol... Psychiatrist

Kitchener, Ontario

Phone: 519-749-4300 ext.3829

 

Contributor Comment: "When I went in for consultation she diagnosed me with Benzodiazepine withdrawal syndrome, she based this on the heather Ashton manual."

 

Dr. David Slyfield

H.R Professional Building

2115 Finch Av. West, Suite 311

Toronto, Ontario, M3N 2V6

Phone: 416 746-3035

Dr. Pierre Steyn

423 Bronson Ave.

Ottawa, Ont, K1R 6J5

Phone: 613-235-9472

 

Dr Jim Wright

Vancouver Hospital

University of British Columbia

 

While I have no personal experience with the above mentioned doctors, I did have a good experience with a pharmapsychologist in Rexdale/Toronto who, 100% believed, and diagnosed me with benzo withdrawal syndrome. She was incredibly knowledgeable on how benzos work and how severely the impact of withdrawal can be felt. She felt slow withdrawal was necessary in all cases, and was an advocate for Valium crossover, although she respected my decision to taper directly from Ativan. When I saw her I was at 1.35mg and am now down to .23mg - I met with her 4x and have not seen her since about .90mg

 

Here is her information:

 

Dr. Anvita Joglekar

Sheppard Associates

649 Sheppard Avenue West

Toronto

Ontario

M3H 2S4

Phone: (416) 630-0610

Fax: (416) 398-5712

 

Hope everyone is enjoying the thaw!!! Finally 

 

I've just started to read this thread but wanted to followup on the pharmacist and other help. I am in Etobicoke (Toronto) and certainly Rexdale is not far from me.

 

I did call Dr. Melemis' office a couple of years ago and he was not seeing anyone "just" coming off Zopiclone. Understandable when there are so many with greater problems - not to minimize the problems that Z drugs produce.

 

I have not had a good chat with my GP yet but think he may be very supportive on this as he has been on other problems. I have an appointment in early May. He is an Integrative doctor out in East end of Scarborough. He was not the one who put me on Z drugs - I came to him 6 years ago when my husband was very seriously ill with cancer and other problems. My husband passed away almost 2 years ago and I am getting now trying to get my life "together".

 

I will continue now to read the posts in this thread. Nice to meet you all!

 

[[Ki...]]

Nice to meet you, LovesLife 

[[ba...]]

Nice to 'meet' you too, Loveslife; thanks for sharing your info. I'm glad to hear you've found some compassionate and benzo savvy help , and congrats on your progress. Please do return here to Canuckville, and feel free to contribute anything/anytime! You've seen what I blab on about; you can't possibly get less relevant than me  !

 

p.s. thanks for stepping in with a welcome!, Kiddo. Hope you're doing well-I'm just taking a brief vacay from BB during a 'transition' , but had to take a quick peek here after close to a week in seclusion !!

[[al...]]

Yoicks, it's been toooo  long since I've stopped in here to give Bab and ALL canucksters a hand in keeping our lil' corner of BB going. But fun to read some new posts and info, and to get current with the 'irregular regs.' I'm glad and grateful that Canadian Eh? is still trundling along...slow and steady, like a good taper, maybe ?!

 

I'd like to comment and give some specifics 'shout outs' (or maybe 'whispers,' what with many of us being on the less than robust/sensitive side re: benzos), but I'm kinda pressed for time. I was AWOL for a while due to spending the winter in Florida...but wait, not lounging on a beach-I wish !! I was down there working for a TB racehorse trainer friend, so early mornings and more dirt than sand.

 

After not riding, or at least exercising! TB's on the track for quite a while (kinda want my brain/body to last for a while after accidents in my 20's!), trainer pal assured me she had some steady Eddie's and a few easy going youngsters to leg up, so I crossed my fingers and decided to trust her after much thought!

 

Thankfully, things went well , and I even managed to get just under 10 mg valium over the winter, despite early mornings and some anxiety issues. Little steps for me...while galloping big horse strides . As some people find, with bearable benzo sxs, often distraction is key.

 

And when you're totally exhausted physically, going to bed at 8-9 p.m. followed by fresh air and exertion from 5-6 a.m-2ish p.m., who has time to worry ...well, apparently I still do...but not nearly as much. Plus too tired to spend money, so a great way to save some...bonus !

 

I took some time off in March to visit some relatives in Sarasota (and catch up on beaucoup de sleep, frankly), so did see a bit of beach, although I'm so fair/pallid! even after the track I had to be caked in sunscreen; who comes back from Florida looking like a ghost ...uh, that would be me, foo!

 

Coming back to Ontario in the midst of 'winter revisited' was NOT  a fun experience, but the past week or so has rekindled my faith in the Canajun spring, whew. Now that my schedule has slowed down for a while, I'm not sleeping like a zombie (minus consumption of human brains etc.), so may have to see what trainer friend has going.

 

Nice to have a bit o' cash and time to mull things over, and enjoy catching up with all things Canadian...don't get me started on what I missed; unlike so many, for some reason I'm not really hooked on any U.S. products unavailable up here !! Hey, but at least I got back in time for the tail end of the running of the syrup...almost as good as the 'running of the roses' i.e. Kentucky Derby !!!!

 

Hope everyone with a Maple Leaf pressed in a book, and m. syrup in their veins is doing okay with their benzo 'projects'...even we ain't done, we're works in progress-often not fun, but at least we're headed in the right directions, so go Canucks  ...

 

 

[[sa...]]

I need a new doctor.  My GP keeps changing his mind about what meds I should take.  Last week he told me to taper off olanzapine.  This week he told me to double the dose.  Last month he tried to get me quit 3 medications and start 2 new ones at the same time.  When I asked him how I would know which cause what side effect.  He said leave that to him to figure out.  Then he got a bit worked up at my non-compliance.  His office staff are awful, too.  They almost never answer the phone, and always forget to send documents.  In person they're stony faced and silent. 

 

Sorry about the vent.  I just had to get that off.  Public health care can be pretty awful sometimes. 

[[Ke...]]

Anybody from Calgary?

The oil prices have hit our city pretty hard and lots of jobs lost.

I know that's one of the reasons I started on Valium. My nerves are shot.

Hope everybody is surviving week today.

K

[[ba...]]

S'Moon, sorry to hear of your doctor complications and related stress. Most of us, if we're lucky, end up with a doc who will just give us the meds we figure out we need (from BB help/research, etc.). Finding someone who really knows the challenges of benzo w/d is very rare; a doc who at least is civil and won't get in your way is a bonus in this world, sigh. I do hope you can get your doc to not be all over the map!

 

Maybe print off some of the more medically supported info online (the Wiki page, with it's many! very credible med references to studies has been suggested to me, or "What is happening in your brain" from here), and show them to your doctor in as calm and rational fashion as you can-or start shopping for a doc/office who will be more organized and supportive. Sometimes pharmacists will know a bit about tapering and be able to suggest a doc.

 

If you post on here your general location/city/province, someone on here may be able to respond with some helpful info; that's one big reason this thread exists (even though much of it is my babbling on, just trying to keep things going when things get a bit slow!). Whatever the case, best of luck with your difficulties right now. It's hard to advocate for yourself when you're not feeling well, and wish your doc knew more, but try to keep on plugging and getting the right kind of assistance !

 

And Keeka, Carol/Gaddeca from Calgary posts on here sometimes; she's off benzos, but still dealing with some 'after sxs,' I think. Perhaps PM her? I know she wishes there were more people from the prairies on our Canuck thread, since many of us are from S. Ontario.  As a former Albertan, I know the boom/bust cycle is very stressful; I just hope not too many hop on the benzo bandwagon, as that is sooo not a good solution, unless you're talking a tiny amount for under 2 weeks.

 

So many of us got trapped, not realizing the awful power on these wee pills; maybe you can be an 'anti benzo advocate' and save some other folks from getting stuck in our predicament?? At least it looks like you didn't get to a larger dose, and are already tapering off . Best of luck to you, at any rate, and feel free to drop in anytime!

[[sa...]]

Bablatrice, thank you!  I do feel a bit better now.  Just saw my GP again (curiously his office asked me to see him, and when I got there nobody seemed to know why they booked the appointment.).  He admitted his hands are tied and had to follow the suggestions from psychatrist, who obviously was just pushing AD as usual.  He said he'll refer me back to see the pdoc. 

 

I live in Greater Vancouver now.  I used to live in Calgary, too.  I had my young carefree years there.  Once upon a time I was independent and fearless, and thought there was nothing I wanted if a genie were to grant me wishes.  Time change, I grew older and responsibilities and worries just piled on.  Now I'm in a horrible situation that feels like there is no future and no happiness in the future.  I've got to get out of this rut and find happiness for myself.  All these meds are crutches, and I'm sick of using them, they don't even work consistently.  I really just need reliable sleep at night, and get up in the morning.  That would completely change my life and give me new hopes.

[[sa...]]

Argh my GP's office messed up again.  They sent my referral to Vancouver, not the local pdoc I've seen already.  Of course Vancouver said they don't take patients from outside the city.  Now they said they'll talk to my GP and have him write another referral to the local clinic.  If I never called to find out I could be waiting for weeks for things to happen.  It seems I need to follow them on every step to make sure they're doing their jobs right.

[[Na...]]

That's our quality healthcare system hard at work, and always looking in the patients best interest.

[[ba...]]

Ain't that the sad truth, Navita! I'm glad Canada has socialized medicine (waiting for dentistry on the same basis!), but it sure has it's pitfalls, grr.

 

And S'Moon, frustrating, but good for you for following things up; it's tough to do when you're feeling crummy, but if we don't have someone else to advocate for us, just got to keep on top of things as best we can (squeaky wheel gets the grease-an expression for Navita-the-Car-Guy!).

 

Hope things go better now that you've got your files/address sorted out, S'Moon.  Keep plugging away, and let us know how it goes .

[[Ch...]]

My thoughts and prayers go out to the people of Fort McMurray, Alberta.

 

Chinook  :'(

[[Ki...]]

My thoughts and prayers go out to the people of Fort McMurray, Alberta.

 

Chinook  :'(

 

Indeed. What an awful ordeal 

[[ba...]]

Kind of you to remember those in Ft. McMurray, Chinook and Kiddo. I read an article yesterday on an American horse website detailing how horses were being trailer, ridden, and if necessary being set loose to outrun the fire; they made it sound like all the danger was over, but unfortunately that's not the case.

 

Not trying to make light of things, but that old question about "what would you grab if you had limited time to escape a fire?"; guess all us still on benzos would be making sure we took our meds, along with family pics (family!!), and pets .

 

Here's hoping the situation improves greatly, and that those who have lost homes with get some help, and that there are no casualties (last I heard, none, fingers crossed). I have a cousin who flies fire crews for Natural Resources in Ontario; I haven't heard if he's been sent to Alta yet.

 

Will post if I get any news from the air/ground from the 'Fly Guy.' For now, guess we can just send positive thoughts, et al.

[[Ch...]]

Hello Babs & Kiddo,

 

They're saying this is the worst natural disaster in Canadian history.

 

1110 firefighters, 145 helicoptersrs, 138 pieces of heavy equipment and 22 air tankers.

 

Almost 100,000 people find themselves without homes. I too worry about the animals Babs. I think the Calgary Humane Society is sending some help.

 

About 3 years ago Mr. Chin and I lost our home in a fire, so I know a little what it's like but not to the magnitude of Fort Mac.

 

It was upsetting to say the least watching as our home went up in flames and when the firefighters got it under control and took us inside to gather a few personal items all I cared about was retrieving the little wooden box that holds my beloved cat's ashes. That's really all that mattered to me.

 

Well Alberta has been very good to a lot of people and I guess it's heartening to see the support coming from other provinces.