Well a life long dream of mine finally came true today. My doctor gave me anti-anxiety medication. I have generalized social anxiety and unless there is a specific time and reason to take them psychiatrists don't like to prescribe them because you can easily become dependent on them and they have a high addiction potential. But I am entering into a stressful situation for the next few weeks and he agreed to give me a little just to take the edge off. Other than Klonopin, which didn't have much of an effect on me, I have never taken them before though. For anybody who has taken them what can I expect from them? Was it mostly physical or mental symptoms it acted on? Was it a noticeable change or a very mild one. Did it make things easier?
Anyone Ever Try Anti-Anxiety Meds?
- Thread starter The Boy Who Cried Worf
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My friend took them for a while but found that a combination of seroquel and fluxomine worked better for her symptoms (which are more varied than yours, from the sound of it--more related to OCD, trauma/abuse, guilt, etc.). The medications helped calm her down more consistently, and she can still take an extra dose of seroquel as needed. Anti-anxiety medications can be helpful for in-the-moment symptoms, but they might not be the most helpful for long-term improvement of mood.
Edit: Anti-anxiety medications are a bit like doses of alcohol. They might help. They might not. It depends upon the person and the severity of the anxiety.
Edit: Anti-anxiety medications are a bit like doses of alcohol. They might help. They might not. It depends upon the person and the severity of the anxiety.
I used to take Klonopin regularly but I don't require them anymore. I didn't have any bad effects while on it but getting off them sucked.
I was on welbutrin for 3 yrs, but I think that's an anti-depressant.
My self-confidence problem was traced to an imbalance, but the self-confidence problem caused a lot of anxiety. Fortunately, my shrink treated the cause, the imbalance, rather than the secondary sympton, the anxiety.
Hubby is a pharmacist. If you have questions, you can pm me and I can show it to Hubby. He can give suggestions regarding what you could ask your doctor about. His favorite part of being a pharmacist is the "actually helping people" part.
My self-confidence problem was traced to an imbalance, but the self-confidence problem caused a lot of anxiety. Fortunately, my shrink treated the cause, the imbalance, rather than the secondary sympton, the anxiety.
Hubby is a pharmacist. If you have questions, you can pm me and I can show it to Hubby. He can give suggestions regarding what you could ask your doctor about. His favorite part of being a pharmacist is the "actually helping people" part.
I tried Lexapro a while back. After an initial general evening-out of emotion (scary in retrospect since it made me lose my creativity), I actually ended up getting more paranoid. Probably just wasn't the right drug, but now my bestest-ever doctor retired and I'll never find someone as willing to hand out samples as he was.
The best thing for anxiety or depression or even indigestion/upset stomach is marijuana. The only thing that works every time and takes effect in mere seconds. You can even render it to powder and mix with baby oil for a topical pain reliever.
Hi Everyone. Thanks for the offer propita. Ironically the stressful situation coming up is I am going to be working in a pharmacy.
I just finished my pharmacy technician schooling and now I have to work in an actual pharmacy for a few weeks. I started yesterday. Nothing bad happened, but it was a bit of a jolt to me and later in the night i began to have kind of panicky flashbacks to the social situations.
The drug I am taking is Ativan and I can report after taking it 27 minutes ago that so far so good. I am mainly testing to see if it will make me overly drowsy if I were to take it before work. To test how it is effecting me mentally I am trying to imagine certain normally terrifying actions and seeing how I would feel doing it now. Somebody give me their phone number and if you get a phone call from me 10 minutes later you know it's working. Just kidding.
I take Celexa and Wellbutrin, but unfortunately neither of them have a great effect on my anxiety or my depression. The Celexa helps control a kind of physical hypersensitivity I have and the Wellbutrin takes the worst edge off the depression. I know the Ativan won't make a dramatic change. Normally in social situations I feel intense anxiety, endure it and go through it anyway, and at the end of it I usually do a much better job of things than I feared I would. Just this once though I wanted a little boost. Let's see how it goes.
I just finished my pharmacy technician schooling and now I have to work in an actual pharmacy for a few weeks. I started yesterday. Nothing bad happened, but it was a bit of a jolt to me and later in the night i began to have kind of panicky flashbacks to the social situations. The drug I am taking is Ativan and I can report after taking it 27 minutes ago that so far so good. I am mainly testing to see if it will make me overly drowsy if I were to take it before work. To test how it is effecting me mentally I am trying to imagine certain normally terrifying actions and seeing how I would feel doing it now. Somebody give me their phone number and if you get a phone call from me 10 minutes later you know it's working. Just kidding.
I take Celexa and Wellbutrin, but unfortunately neither of them have a great effect on my anxiety or my depression. The Celexa helps control a kind of physical hypersensitivity I have and the Wellbutrin takes the worst edge off the depression. I know the Ativan won't make a dramatic change. Normally in social situations I feel intense anxiety, endure it and go through it anyway, and at the end of it I usually do a much better job of things than I feared I would. Just this once though I wanted a little boost. Let's see how it goes.
Believe it or not I don't think I have ever been high on marijuana. I tried it a lot, but I could never inhale. Yes it is true Bill Clinton was telling the truth. Alcohol always worked very well for me but it is kind of hard to hide the fact you've had eight shots of Tequilla at 11 in the morning.
Rii
Rear Admiral
Yeah. I'm on an SNRI, duloxetine, for both depression and anxiety and it's been effective at controlling both. It's not a panacea, but I'm certainly a happier, more sociable and productive person with the medication than without. Previously (I'm a long-term case, dating back to childhood) I've taken imipramine, amitriptyline and sertraline. I don't know if those others are also indicated for anxiety disorders or not.
One short-term side effect that I experienced for a week or so both after commencing the medication and increasing the dose was erectile dysfunction. Even in that first period, though - when I didn't know that my sexual function would, err, recover - there was no doubt in my mind that the trade-off was worth it. A long-term side effect has been sleep disruption, however that may also be a function - in whole or part, in combination or alone - of my caffeine intake which until recently was in the vicinity of 350mg/day. I'm currently in the process of weaning myself off caffeine, if there's no improvement below 75mg/day my psychiatrist is recommending quetiapine in addition to my current medication.
One short-term side effect that I experienced for a week or so both after commencing the medication and increasing the dose was erectile dysfunction. Even in that first period, though - when I didn't know that my sexual function would, err, recover - there was no doubt in my mind that the trade-off was worth it. A long-term side effect has been sleep disruption, however that may also be a function - in whole or part, in combination or alone - of my caffeine intake which until recently was in the vicinity of 350mg/day. I'm currently in the process of weaning myself off caffeine, if there's no improvement below 75mg/day my psychiatrist is recommending quetiapine in addition to my current medication.
Caffeine is a huge indicator in insomnia for me. I could handle it better when I was younger but now if I even have a can of Pepsi or Coke after 6 I know I am going to be up.
Everybody's response is different, but I was on Seroquel and a few similar drugs and I swore I would never take any of them them again. They caused me extreme sedation and a zombie like effect. Unless you are suffering from psychotic symptoms or are a real risk for violent outbursts I don't think they are worth the trade offs you have to make.
Rii
Rear Admiral
Yeah. I've already tried sodium valproate and that didn't go well. I think I've noticed a slight improvement in my sleep (I slept for, like, six straight hours last night
) since dialing back the caffeine from 350mg/day to 200mg/day so far, so I'm hopeful about being able to resolve the problem there. Even if I can't, though, I'm not sure I'll actually go for the quetiapine. In addition to the issues you raise, there's also the fact that - unlike duloxetine and so forth - being an 'off diagnosis' medication I'd actually have to pay for it. 
I've been this close to taking the prescription my doctor suggests for me (Xanax or Zoloft for GAD), but I have been worried about side effects.
My panic attacks have no discernable trigger, however, so I've been worried (yes, I know, part of the GAD) about taking the drugs, and having bad side effects, and then it doesn't work either!
Those ads are not helping...honestly, those meds' side effects are so numerous, sounds 100x worse than what they cure... And the voice that reads off the list of effects in a voice more rapid fire than an auctioneer, is not exactly a confidence builder. I admit I do not have problems requiring meds ... That being said, I don't get how people COULD take them if they cause all those side effects. 
I prefer vast quantities of coffee ... Could call that pro-anxiety I guess.
I prefer vast quantities of coffee ... Could call that pro-anxiety I guess.
FWIW, I haven't had any negative side effects really (apart from drowsiness, which just means I take mine in the evening). But it's different for everyone and I highly suggest trying other forms of therapy. For me, a combination of meds and therapy has worked the best, but I want to work my way off of the Xanax.
I can't even remember the names of most of the anti anxiety meds I tried over the years (four in total, IIRC) but none of them worked for me, and some of the side effects were just fucking brutal. From headaches to erection problems to odd dreams to being tired all the time to not being able to sleep, and perhaps worst of all not feeling like myself, if that makes sense.
For almost three years now I've been on something called Rivotril. It keeps me calm, I love it--it works for me!. Worst side effects are that I feel ten feet tall and bullet proof sometimes. Meaning I can't feel my heartbeat when I get excited or nervous (but I think that's how it is supposed to work, anyway). I could walk into a knife fight as calm as if I were reading a copy of The Sporting News on a Saturday morning.
For almost three years now I've been on something called Rivotril. It keeps me calm, I love it--it works for me!. Worst side effects are that I feel ten feet tall and bullet proof sometimes. Meaning I can't feel my heartbeat when I get excited or nervous (but I think that's how it is supposed to work, anyway). I could walk into a knife fight as calm as if I were reading a copy of The Sporting News on a Saturday morning.
Rageforthemachine: I'm a little late in coming into this thread, but good luck with the meds. Please keep us up to date on how you are doing with them.
Found out my mother had me on some kind of "suppressant" for years- only found out cuz I was able to move out for a while, and she sent some, telling me that I couldn't just "go off" them, so I'd better keep taking them. I've pretty much been throwing them out ever since...
I do take a mild sleeping aid now, which has been helping me more than anything ever.
I do take a mild sleeping aid now, which has been helping me more than anything ever.
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