Anxiety and fear of Meds

Hi, and welcome! I am sorry that you had a negative experience with your medication. I am sure that it was a coincedence, or at least an unfortunate first time try w/ the meds. Sometimes it takes a few tries to get the right medication for the individual. Did your doctor give you a referral for therapy? I believe that medication is valuable, but for treating anxiety in the long term sense, you can't beat therapy/counseling. If you can, get an appointment with a therapist and talk about your concerns re: medication, along with working on the root of the anxiety itself, that would be really helpful. You may find that you can do without meds, or you can at least go back to your doctor and keep working on the right prescription for you. I too was afraid of medication, so opted for a therapy only approach. I think that maybe my treatment took a longer time this way, so this is not for everyone-It is a personal choice that every person must make for themselves. You are just starting to treat this, so give it some time and patience. There is not a quick and easy fix so to speak, but like with everyting else in life the good things are worth working and waiting for. Please talk to your doctor and/or a therapist soon. The last thing that you need is more anxiety re: the treatment for your anxiety!
Take care and let us know how it is going,
Scaredy Cat

I know how you feel, Im terrified of taking meds too especially new ones. sometimes I hate taking things as simple as ibuprofin. I just dont like the whole idea of side effects and having to be weaned off when its time to stop. Im just determined to conqure this all through faith and therapy. Maybe one day I will find the courage to start some meds.

Good Morning,

A fear of medication is not unusual, particularly among people with anxiety disorders.  Therapy is a good thing and a great place to talk about your anxiety over taking medicaiton.  I am wondering how it went with your first dose last night?

Hope your day is off to a good start.

Kindly,

Kitt

 

I could not take the pill I guess my fear was bigger and I was calm enough to just go to sleep. I don't know what to do now my husband is just telling me that I do not want to help myself because I refuse to take pills...I am felling depressed today.

What exactly are you afraid the meds will do to you? I read your original post again, and it looks like you're supposed to be taking lorazepam and Effexor. I'm sorry about mentioning my experience with Effexor...that wasn't the right thing to do.

Nonetheless, for the first few weeks you're on it you may experience some side effects with Effexor. You may not, but you may. The most common one among anxiety sufferers is increased anxiety and stomach problems, and from my experience the stomach problems were a direct result of the increased anxiety. But the thing is the doctor gave you lorazepam to take while your body adjusts to the Effexor. Lorazepam has a very low side effect profile and it should be strong enough to negate the increased anxiety from the Effexor.

What you may try is taking the lorazepam tomorrow night without the Effexor. You'll notice how it calms you down and I'm almost positive you won't have any side effects. Maybe a little bit of drowsiness or something minor like that. Then, after you're comfortable with it, the next night you can add the Effexor in. I have a very low tolerance for meds like those, but I think if I'd had a benzo when I tried Effexor I would have tolerated it.

Anyway, I wouldn't think you'd have to worry about an addiction to lorazepam if you're only taking as-needed to get through the beginning of Effexor therapy. I bet your doctor's plan is to take you off lorazepam once the Effexor side effects have gone away and it has kicked in.

And don't be afraid to talk to your doctor some more about it if you continue having trouble taking your meds. In fact, I think you should do that. Perhaps he'll let you take the pills in his office and if you start feeling bad, well, your doctor is right there.

I think you should have a talk with your doctor. Obviously I'm not a doctor, but I think it's unlikely that these two medications would give you side effects so severe that it would be dangerous to be alone. Effexor did a number on me, but it's not like it nearly killed me or anything. I just threw up a few times, and looking back I'm pretty sure that was almost all psychological. Lorazepam is some powerful stuff, and I think it would prevent you from being bothered by most side effects. You should speak to your doctor about how much and how often you'd have to take it to become addicted...I'm thinking it's probably a lot more than you're thinking. I really wouldn't worry about that. It's definitely possible to use lorazepam without becoming addicted, though. A friend of mine took it for about three months during a divorce and then she just quit. I don't know how often she took it but I do know she was able to stop without a problem. Again, I strongly suggest you speak to your doctor and get specific information on your prescriptions.