Looking to start on medication Any advice on anxiety meds (antidepressants) ?

So sorry you are feeling this way:( Like you, I have a hard time going out an having people over. It's very frustrating, and I would like it fixed immediately. But I know it's not going to happen quite like that. I take buspar and Xanax for my anxiety and panic. I've been on this regiment for almost 5 months now. It is finally getting better, SLOWLY. Buspar is an anti anxiety medication that's not in the ssri category. I've had great success with it in the past, but it does not seem to be working as good for me this time. From what I've read about buspar is that it's a pretty mild drug, so it works for some and not for others. I do have a bottle of lexapro, but I am unsure if I want to get involved with an antidepressant. My mind changes every other week, haha.
This forum is extremely helpful for me, too. Knowing that there are people out there, just like me, is a relief in itself.

Your story sounds exactly like mine. I also have two children 4 and 6. And I worry about all the same things. Xanax is what has been getting me by but I know I can't take it all the time. I get nervous at the store and esp at dr offices. I can't go out of town anymore. I started my lexapro last night and it wasn't horrible but I did have some insomnia and a weird warm tingle in my arms. But no panic attacks. I'll keep you posted.

Hi

This is a tough question as others have mentioned we are all different when it comes to AD and what works well for one person may not work for an other so the best person to answer your question would be a psychiatrist as they are the specialists when it comes to medications.

I have tried many of the ssri's and snri's and have found some to be better than others I am currently taking 90mg Cymbalta (Duloxetine) + 30mg Remeron (Mirtazapine) & 2mg Haldol (Haloperidol) which seems to be working quite well for me at the moment.

Medication will only help treat some of your symptoms they won't cure you so I always recommend doing some type of talking therapy alongside medications such as CBT or Mindfulness which both really help you to deal with anxiety by teaching you coping techniques. I have done posts on both these types of therapy and you should be able to find them by using the search engine top right, You could also have a look at www.moodgym.com which is a free CBT programme.

Keep posting here and let us know how you are getting on we are here to listen and support you through this rough period.

Hibee

buspar works well for me and is not addicting. try it first.

Rn,
I take buspar and the dizziness was bad in the beginning. It would start about 15 minutes after taking it in the morning and last for about 45 minutes. The dizziness only bothered me with my morning dose (I think because I had no food in my stomach). I remedied this by only taking half the dose in the morning (after eating) and the other half at lunch.

The room was not spinning. It was more of an overtired, want to sit down dizziness. It actually made my anxiety worse until I got used to it. But like I said, I have eliminated that by eating and then taking a smaller dose and taking the rest in the afternoon. I am on 30 mgs and I take 5 in the morning 10 in the afternoon and 15 at night. But one thing to warn you about with buspar is it takes a long time to work. The half life on this medication is only 3-4 hours, so it takes quite a long time to build up in your system. But the trade off is very few side effects and no discontinuation symptoms.