Anxiety medications

Goooossss-frah-bah

No. Seriously. What about herbals like Valerian root or whatever is out there?

Only one I know of is the one for the FAA. If it is close to what the USCG uses for standards. Case by case in most situations.

Pass the dutchie from the left hand sideā€¦

Iā€™m looking at the drug screening form for my company. Iā€™m surprised to see that they are screening for prescription anxiety and pain meds. Iā€™ve taken and passed a lot of drug tests before, and never really looked at the paperwork. I never worry about passing these because I never use medicine or street drugs except for vaccines and antibiotics when needed. I was surprised because I always assumed that these tests were for street drugs. I hope that peopleā€™s prescribers warn them that if they take these they will fail their employment and lisencing screenings. If I went to the doc, and she said: these pills are going to help you, my first instinct would be to follow her advice. Googling around on these $20 words on this screening form has me scratching my head: with all these bad bad side effects, how can these drugs be so widely prescribed? Surely the number of people who are so ill that these side effects make taking these drugs worthwhile must be very small.

ā€œPain Medsā€ are opiates, Opiates = heroine. Or even just prescription opiate abuse which is pretty common too. If itā€™s a regular DOT 5 panel drug screening, as long as you have a valid prescription you should be good. If you pop because you are on a valid medication the company will call you to get the prescriptions info. At least thatā€™s what Iā€™ve been told. Of course another misconception people have is that just because you have a valid prescription doesnā€™t mean youā€™re allowed to operate a vessel. Thatā€™s still illegal. If thereā€™s an incident the first thing theyā€™ll do is test you and youā€™ll be in a world of trouble.

[QUOTE=LI_Domer;191909]ā€œPain Medsā€ are opiates, Opiates = heroine. Or even just prescription opiate abuse which is pretty common too. If itā€™s a regular DOT 5 panel drug screening, as long as you have a valid prescription you should be good. If you pop because you are on a valid medication the company will call you to get the prescriptions info. At least thatā€™s what Iā€™ve been told. Of course another misconception people have is that just because you have a valid prescription doesnā€™t mean youā€™re allowed to operate a vessel. Thatā€™s still illegal. If thereā€™s an incident the first thing theyā€™ll do is test you and youā€™ll be in a world of trouble.[/QUOTE]

Itā€™s an 8 panel screen, +alchohol, and probably not ā€œDOTā€ as it is not an American company.

In this city, and everywhere, we have worse opiates/opioids than heroine. Big pharmaā€™s going to put Afghanistan and North Korea right outa business. Double profits because they sell the antidote, too. Fentanyl and elephant tranquilizer are so deadly that if they didnā€™t put out the antidote theyā€™d kill all their customers. Such a racket. Drug makers are drug pushers on steroids (excuse the irony). Bastards killed Prince. Thatā€™s not forgivable.

[QUOTE=Emrobu;191908]with all these bad bad side effects, how can these drugs be so widely prescribed? Surely the number of people who are so ill that these side effects make taking these drugs worthwhile must be very small.[/QUOTE]

They have to list all ā€œside effectsā€ but:

  1. Some arenā€™t caused by the drug. Anything that happens to a person participating in the drug trial is listed as a side effect.
  2. Most are so rare theyā€™re statistically insignificant.

(Thereā€™s at least one vaccine that officially lists broken bones as a side effect because someone reported breaking a bone a week or so after receiving the vaccine.)

[QUOTE=Capt. Phoenix;191925]They have to list all ā€œside effectsā€ but:

  1. Some arenā€™t caused by the drug. Anything that happens to a person participating in the drug trial is listed as a side effect.
  2. Most are so rare theyā€™re statistically insignificant.

(Thereā€™s at least one vaccine that officially lists broken bones as a side effect because someone reported breaking a bone a week or so after receiving the vaccine.)[/QUOTE]

Right. So opiates, barbiturates, amphetamines, and benzodiazepines are perfectly safe when perscribed by a doctor and have no common dangerous side-effects. Thatā€™s what I thought. Why did they take cocaine off the list? That used to be a common prescription, too. Oh man, are you still selling that bridge in Brooklyn? Iā€™m very interested.

Thereā€™s a sheriff in West Virginia thatā€™s going to sue prescription drug-makers. Iā€™m thinking about sending him flowers.

All this talk about drugs and medications is making me anxious.

My experience with a different medical condition for both an original issue and an upgrade was that documentation (about the underlying condition, effectiveness of treatment and your tolerance) will be very helpful in the medical review. He or she has presumably actually examined you and talked to you. Anything to head-off the dreaded ā€œawaiting further informationā€ and keep the process going ā€¦

Well then you should just give Dr. Feelgood a call! Heā€™ll get you sorted straight away with a scrip from one of those fine, upstanding mega-pharmaceutical corporate-personhood entities. Or something.

[QUOTE=Emrobu;191987]Thereā€™s a sheriff in West Virginia thatā€™s going to sue prescription drug-makers. Iā€™m thinking about sending him flowers.

https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/side-effects/201610/america-s-opioid-epidemic[/QUOTE]

The pharma types probably arenā€™t too worried, thereā€™s also a senator in West Virginia whose daughter is the one that jacked up the price of the epi-pen, because they can.

why are all Americans on drugs, I thought that was the job of the French?

[QUOTE=powerabout;192024]why are all Americans on drugs, I thought that was the job of the French?[/QUOTE]

because their drug makers are allowed to bribe and pressure their doctors into putting them on drugs.

When I flew into Singapore, and the steward handed out the notices informing us that the law is death to drug traffickers, I was shocked. I in no way support vigilante killing of addicts that Duerte asks for. At the same time, I feel like thereā€™s not enough recognician and outrage: drug dealers and pharma that spends more money on advertisinsing and being pushy with doctors than they do on research are killing our neighbors. And its a pretty ugly death, too. How can we tolerate this?

[QUOTE=Emrobu;191959]Right. So opiates, barbiturates, amphetamines, and benzodiazepines are perfectly safe when perscribed by a doctor and have no common dangerous side-effects. Thatā€™s what I thought. Why did they take cocaine off the list? That used to be a common prescription, too. Oh man, are you still selling that bridge in Brooklyn? Iā€™m very interested.[/QUOTE]

Sorry, I misread the post and thought you were talking about prescription drugs in general, not just those. My bad.

So, page 5 of the CG-719K is where you are supposed to disclose anything identified in NVIC 04-08 as being of concern.

There are 88 items you can check off. If you check one of them off, the medical professional conducting the evaluation is supposed to elaborate by " providing comments on 1) the identified condition, 2) list any limitations caused by the condition, 3) is the condition controlled, 4) approximate date of diagnosis, 5) prognosis, and 6) any additional information about the condition."

I have had counselling for mild depression, did not need medicine, diagnosed to be SADD (Winter in the great white north sucks!!!)

I disclosed this by checking off item #83, ā€œOther psychiatric disease or counselingā€.
My GP confirmed he had interviewed me about depression, that I did suffer from SADD, and that I was doing well.

Has not been questioned by the medical review board at the NMC.

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Once again I am going to drop a little helpful hint,

Honesty is the best policy. Just know that some medications are going to raise a red flag with the Coast Guard. If the meds you are on are certain psychiatric medications, like sedatives or anti-depressants or anti-psychotics, the CG may or may not give you the green light to work. I am not a physician, so if this is a question for you, your best bet is to sit down with your own physician and review the CG-719k together and if you arenā€™t clear then contact Coast Guard medical.

Donā€™t fuck around with this. If you need to, the NMC has a phone number and a chat window where you can contact them anonymously to ask questions.

Years ago I was on such a medication, but I was taken off of it long (at least 120 days) before I made my first application for a credential, well within CG criteria for that time period. Thatā€™s because I didnā€™t need to be on it. If you are currently taking something you think may be a problem, then ask first, before you spend money- only to be rejected later on. Review that 719k for what they require of you.

There are real safety concerns with some of these meds. Read up on some of the bad accidents of late like the SEASTREAK WALL STREET (NY ferry) allision and the COSCO BUSAN allision in SF Bay. Prescription meds played a big part in both. Whether you realize it or not, some prescription meds will interfere with your cognitive abilities just enough to put you in a questionable category, so that is why everyone who is on such meds needs to review with their doctor before making application to the Coast Guard. This is for everyoneā€™s sake- yours, ours and the general public.

If you need the med(s) and do well on them, but the Coast Guard wonā€™t let you sail on them, donā€™t put the job before your health.

Not everyone who wants to sail, should be sailing. Itā€™s a hard truth, but itā€™s not one I care to back down from.