Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Can we discuss these anti-anxiety/anti-panic meds here?
I have had panic disorder/anxiety disorder for years and years and it has been pretty much disabling, keeping me from traveling, from going places alone or with strangers. Before I retired it affected my work life, what jobs I could take, what jobs I could succeed at, etc. Nowadays it is bad I don't like to go anywhere or do anything, even with other people, because I don't have any "safe" people with whom I feel comfortable.
My doctor prescribed Lorazepam but only on an as-needed basis, for one situation, to help with anxiety so my BP would not get too high. He then prescribed Lexapro but I have been afraid to try it because of the bad side effects. Now at my request he has prescribed Buspar (buspirone) but I'm scared of it too.
Is it better to risk the side effects of meds, or to just deal with the anxiety and panic attacks (which mean I don't have a life, but at least when I stay home I don't get too anxious, except when it's stressful living here).
It depends on your tolerance for side effects, and the benefits of whatever treatment you are receiving. Only you can evaluate that and decide if the trade off is worth it. I'll tell you my story as maybe some of it can help you decide what path to take.
I suffered pretty bad anxiety after some serious ongoing stressful years. I also needed to finish college as I had completely dropped out and even quit an internship job at a very large company due to panic attacks.
A family doctor gave me Xanax. That helped the panic attacks, but I was useless while taking it. Then I learned it was addictive. So I start over. I went to a free clinic. Got prescribed an anti depressant. That helped enough so I could finish school. Got hired at a big company with full benefits. Got counseling, went off the medicine, and held down that job for 10 years. There were side effects for the anti depressant (hard to sleep sometimes, felt a bit 'wired'). But the trade off was I could hold down a job and even go and chase girls again I still deal with it sometimes, but nowhere near what it was if I had never started with the medicine and the counseling. For me, the trade offs for the side effects were worth it as I was able to get on with my life to a large degree.
I definitely understand being too anxious about a medications side effects to take it even though it is prescribed for anxiety. I think the side effects we always hear about on the TV commercials contributes to that.
You had to see me when I had to take an antibiotic a few months back. I left it on the counter after I picked it up from the pharmacy. Looked at it, read the side effects, put it down, went back, put one in my mouth, spit it out, took a lorazepam and then took the antibiotic.
In a pinch benzos can help to get us over a tough spot, then it's time to search out alternatives for CALMING. Once I read this info, I stopped the 1/2mg I took now and then.
At one point I was on a mood stabilizer, lamictal, an AD, wellbrutain, and something for sleep. The something for sleep was needed since it kept me so 'high' I couldn't.
I don't remember much about that time, and when I'd try to write couldn't get past the first paragraph. And I still had massive mood slips. The only suggestion was take more....
I decided I wanted ME back, good, bad or shifting. I cut out the sleep stuff first, then the ad, and very very slowly, the lamactal. I looked up the risks on all of them. Even zoned on drugs I'm very meticulas and careful. But what was extraordinary was as I dropped the meds, my own inner skills took over. I learned my limits to stress and when to boogy. I learned how to use quiet time, taking apart the problem and making it small things. And without all the drugs I actually slept.
I have non perscription AD's, good quality (which is very important) St.John's Wort. And I've learned how to watch moods and work on the trigger. Are things perfect? No. But I sleep well, have recovered my ability to be very creative, especially with writing, and can feel a lot deeper. I may be on the outside, less "fixed', but inside I was just numb. If you can't feel, then your not being fixed, your just are being shoved along on a padded wagon by life.
I think some people who get over perscribed, or seek the in a bubble feeling are afraid to try because there is nobody out there willing to sit and be with them if they need someone to deal with the baggage in that bubble. Instead of more drugs, stronger doses, mechanized visits, where there is time to sign the new perscription but no time in your fifteen minutes to talk about what's wrong, there should be MORE counceling, and groups -referals to the dbsa (depression and bipolar support association) done as part of treatment. And just plain *listening*.
Some of us will NEVER be 'normal'. But then, in the past, it wasn't always a requirement. Those who were a bit quirky were either exiled or praised. Today we have this vision of a proper image, and there must be something wrong with you if its not you.
Those who don't know much about it are disturbed by the numbers of people who 'go off meds' but those who have had to deal with the 'system' understand why. Maybe if someone listened and cared, then both the meds would be done far more carefully and much less.
You need to be telling your psychiatrist who is prescribing these medications exactly what it is happening.
I'd suggest asking him about Cognitive Behavior Therapy. I've used it to help with my own anxiety and other diagnosis and I use it professionally now as well.
Quote:
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is the most widely-used therapy for anxiety disorders. Research has shown it to be effective in the treatment of panic disorder, phobias, social anxiety disorder, and generalized anxiety disorder, among many other conditions.
Kinda reminds me of the 10 yrs on A/D's and even seeing a psychiatrist (sp) who worked for county so I could get these high cost drugs for less with medicare..once I got the "right stuff" got thyroid fixed, I went in and told her the story and she say there kinda shocked and wrote down all I was saying. I never saw her again. Thyroid is so missed in all this depression stuff.
Then there is the Vit D issue..low Vit D low moods..
Kinda reminds me of the 10 yrs on A/D's and even seeing a psychiatrist (sp) who worked for county so I could get these high cost drugs for less with medicare..once I got the "right stuff" got thyroid fixed, I went in and told her the story and she say there kinda shocked and wrote down all I was saying. I never saw her again. Thyroid is so missed in all this depression stuff.
Then there is the Vit D issue..low Vit D low moods..
When I'd almost gotten to the point where I was taking no meds, I got an appointment with a pdoc they gave me early, and he wasn't so rushed. I was moving and needed some to keep weaning myself off completely. I was honest with him. I wish he'd been my doctor from the start since he was very agreeable, instead of the here's your new script, anything? good see you in two months. How can you possibly be *properly* overseen when you get a good fifteen minutes if you stall and refuse to leave before they answer your question?????
One of the pdocs said he'd never see me again when I wished to talk about the clear BAD side effects on my other medical problem which outranked the 'value' of the meds. When he was the only one available he just wrote it out and gave it to me and I left.
A friend of mine lived in Los Angeles. At the time they had you see a doctor only once every six months. If you needed someone you had to call and make an appointment and then wait until they had an opening which could be more months.
How can people be given such powerful drugs when nobody is really in charge?
Thanks for the tips about the different kinds of magnesium. I will look for different kinds and ask my pharmacist.
I tried Buspar for the first time yesterday, with lunch. One hour after taking it (.25 mg), my windpipe felt like it was closing up (like asthma), my heart started racing, and my face got burning hot. It wasn't anxiety, it was real side effects from the med.
Never again! Not being able to breathe well is scary! Besides, $20 for 30 pills is ridiculous.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I still deal with it sometimes, but nowhere near what it was if I had never started with the medicine and the counseling. For me, the trade offs for the side effects were worth it as I was able to get on with my life to a large degree.
