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Started my medications today ...

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Posted 12/23/2008 9:52 PM (GMT 0)
Holly, I think many people with anxiety fear meds, I've met a few people here on the forums who feel the same way as me. I want to see if I can tackle this on my own before I start any medications. I simply hate them. I know it's helps and works and has been proven but I just can't. Yesterday I forced myself to take them. I will talk to my doc next week, see what's up I might restart it and I might just try something new. I've thought of trying the Lucinda Basset cd's see how they work...
Posted 12/23/2008 10:34 PM (GMT 0)

Shia, the name of your thread is Started my medications today ... 

I have followed your thread and adviced you as many did but you have decided not to take the medication and that is your right to take it or not.

On your last post on this thread you wrote "Hollygirl my first try on lexapro got me to the ER cause of major anxiety
My second which was yesterday got me chills and nausea..." 

When was your first try?  I posted to you ways to try to get through the anxiety as did other members.

I know you have anxiety, so do I and so does everyone in this forum but if you want to get better you have to work at it.

I am not trying to be mean and I am not judging you but I am sharing with you from my own experience, only you can fight the anxiety.  If it takes meds to help you get better please kick the stinkin thinkin to the curb and talk with your physician about how to get on the med.

Perhaps you are a candidate for  an alternative remedy. You may want to check that out.

I am sorry this did not work out for you.

Hope your holiday is peaceful.

Kitt


 

Posted 12/23/2008 10:34 PM (GMT 0)
Shia,
Just wanted to share my experience with a-d medications with you. Maybe yours will be different, but none of my doctors would switch me to a different medication unless I had been on the previous one for at least 4-6 weeks. Even the one I got very sick from the docs wouldn't let me try a new one for almost 9 weeks later. Just wanted you to know that in case you hadn't checked into it yet.

Also, I have to echo Maz about that it would take some time for you to feel more depressed from being on the medication if it was from the medication itself. Psychiatric effects are the result of chemical changes in the brain & those take time to happen. I can't say for sure that the other chills & such weren't from the medication (though I really doubt it), but the extra depression would not have been a side effect after only one dose.

I DO feel for you. I really do. Anxiety can wreak havoc on our bodies. As an example, yesterday I was so terrified about the surgery I was supposed to have today under gen. anesthesia. I made myself so sick. I couldn't keep anything down, even water. I got cold sweats. I was so miserable. As the day went on, I got so anxious that I caused my blood sugar to drop to the point that I couldn't walk, talk or anything. I just collapsed on the floor. A friend was with me & got me help & I did get better after a lot of sugar water, but I don't normally have any problems at all with blood sugar. Our bodies really can cause us horrible problems due to stress/worrying - often worse than what even the medications can do. I ended up canceling my surgery & then I felt just fine, but that is no way to live: paralyzed by anxiety.

I can't tell you whether or not you could benefit from meds. All I can do is encourage you. I am trying again with the surgery in 2 weeks. It was a devastating delay for me -- due to changes in my insurance with the new year instead of my surgery being free, it will cost me thousands of dollars, plus my boss has said she will probably have to let me go b/c of the extra time off I will need due to surgery being delayed. When we are in the moment of stress, we don't always think about how choices to avoid rather than face our fears will affect our lives. I think you need to carefully weigh the benefits & risks of getting vs. not getting treatment and then choose to move forward. Maybe for you it would be better to keep living your life the way you have been rather than getting help, but I kinda suspect you don't believe that or you wouldn't have worked up the courage to try the a-d med yesterday. If you're interested, there are live CBT groups that meet daily in a lot of areas. Maybe you could check with some therapists in your area to see whether there is one near you. They really do help with a lot of things -- you might still have some anxieties, but I know for me & for a lot of other people they make a huge difference.

best wishes,
frances
Posted 12/24/2008 2:42 AM (GMT 0)
Before I was diagnosed with anxiety, I was sick and was getting depressed because, well, being sick will tend to do that to you. I went to my PCP and was prescribed some sort of SSRI...one of the newer ones. Taking that pill is what CAUSED me to have a fear of medications. Before that I didn't like taking them, but it didn't make me nervous, and this was before my surgery so I had no idea that I was developing an anxiety disorder, either.

Well, what happened was I took my first dose. Everything was okay. I'd been on SSRI in college and they never bothered me. However, that night a few hours after my second dose I began to get violently ill. I never took another one and a long time after that when I went back to the same PCP for treatment with A/P, he wouldn't consider giving me an SSRI. I thought I'd have to fight with him about it (he had all the pens and notepads and stuff in his office).

A lot of people won't like reading this, but there are more than a few doctors who are skeptical about the use of SSRIs as front-line treatment for anxiety and panic disorders. I think it's against the forum rules to give out the name to that forum, but it's a little known corner of a very popular medical site in which doctors can talk to one another.

I don't know. I had a bad experience. That's anecdotal. I've read other peoples' bad experiences. Also anecdotal. Since I made up my mind never to take an SSRI as long as I still had a pulse, I haven't read very much about them. I don't want to scare anybody...I've also read peoples' posts who said they had no problems with SSRIs for A/P disorders.

Long story short, I'm glad you gave it a shot. None of us know how you truly felt so we can't say if it was the right thing for you to quit or not. Likely the side effects would have gone away in a week or two, but those might've been a couple of really long weeks, you know?

There are other medications you can try, so don't give up all hope on pharmacology. This is largely a psychological condition but all signs say there's a physical part of it, too. Some may need medicine to get better. If you are one of those people, you may have to give in one day and take some kind of medicine whether you like it or not. Remember, A/P is a progressive disorder. If gone untreated it is almost certain to get worse, not better. So definitely do SOMETHING and if you have to, explore other kinds of meds with your doctor.

Good Luck,
D
Posted 12/24/2008 3:13 PM (GMT 0)
Shia I really think you need to read over Frances_2008 post again and again. I think what they said was right on.
Posted 12/25/2008 8:25 PM (GMT 0)
Hey guys


Since Monday it seems like my anxiety transfered into depression. I have been so depressed and scared of death. Like sometimes i'll get this extremely depressed feeling. It took me such a long time to read through these posts because I felt like I had to reopen the pain. My mother is coming in today and I might just start it again. The advice was helpful :) Has anyone felt this way? Extreme depression? I think so my self what if I get so depressed ... I know I don't want to hurt myself. I talked to my therapist but I seemed to be very spacey when I was talking to her. I'll let you guys know if I do start it again...

Love Shia
Happy Holidays

Edit: Shia I took out a pharase in your post due to our rules re posting.

Sorry about that.

Try to make today a happy day and stay in the moment, quit with the stinkin thinkin....................please get into therapy ASAP.

Kitt

 

Post Edited By Moderator (stkitt) : 12/25/2008 1:59:29 PM (GMT-7)

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