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Anyone stop meds and deal with returning anxiety several months later?

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Posted 8/10/2009 9:47 PM (GMT 0)
Just wondering if anyone here has stopped taking their medication only to have anxiety/depression/etc. problems return shortly after. If so, did the anxiety eventually go away again for you? Or did you find yourself back on medication soon? And if the latter, did it go away again?

I stopped Zoloft about 3 months ago and i've been having some back anxiety and a little depression for the last few weeks. I stopped taking the Zoloft after many many years because I really think it stopped working about 3 years ago. But I waited to get off it because I was afraid i'd be even worse without it. And I was afraid of withdrawal. Amazingly, after 10+ years on the highest dose I really had very little withdrawal. And I am happy to report I have lost a lot of weight and returned to being a nice, caring person which I had stopped being for the last couple years. But again, I am now having anxiety problems again.

I felt this way even while on the Zoloft a couple years ago but it got a bit better after I upped the dose. But I really don't want to jump right back on meds because of how angry and emotionless I feel I had become. And I don't want to put all the weight on again.

Anyone get off meds and have a return of symptoms that you were able to eventually beat without meds?

Thanks!
Posted 8/10/2009 11:31 PM (GMT 0)
smittythepig

Hey Smitty, hello. I am on meds for my anxiety and going off them is not something I want to do even thow I take low doses.  I did stop my AD for about 4 months now but have started to feel the depression sneaking back in so I just started Welbutrin XL at the lowest dose today.

I have had depression and anxiety for 27 years and I have accepted that a combo of meds and therapy are something I will most likely need in my life in order to be able to function in the real world.

I believe that each person is different and if you can control your anxiety without meds that is great..........for me meds are a part of my life.

Take care,

Kitt

Posted 8/10/2009 11:58 PM (GMT 0)
Hi,
i have spent the last few years on this rollercoaster of ups and downs, i take my anxiety meds, feel good, start to feel numb and then go off them. i feel great when i first stop them, its weird , almost feels euphoric.... and then little by little the anxiety creeps back in. I keep hearing/reading people say that they are just able to push the bad thoughts out of their head and prevent panic attacks that way, but what do you do when your anxiety creates very real symptoms? i have really extreme health anxiety and without fail, everytime i withdraw from my anxiety meds, i develop some new symptom and head off to the dr for a test, x ray, or scan.
sorry to hog up your thread here, i guess my point is that for me i have not been able to successfully stop my meds. and my anxiety seems to intensify during the latter stage of each withdrawal period.
i really do wish you luck with however you do decide to get through your anxiety.
Posted 8/11/2009 12:20 PM (GMT 0)
thanks guys. i'm not really sure how this is going to play out. i guess none of us do. i'll probably try CBT and working closely with a therapist to see if I can manage without any medication. but i've got a number of issues in addition to anxiety and seem to have a real confidence problem that makes it tough to succeed in the work world. i've never been fired from a job but i never seem to do as good as i should. i am out of work now and my confidence is lower than ever probably because in this economy i haven't managed to find work in 9 months and there seems to be little hope in sight. so i may have to resort to something that will give me the edge i need. i have a wife and daughter and have to provide for them (though i am extremely lucky and my wife has found a job and supports and understands me and the struggles i am going through now, for the most part :-).

anxietychick - i know what you mean. it's one thing to be able to understand how you're supposed to be able to handle the anxiety but it's totally another thing to actually be able to do it. i understand very well how anxiety and depression supposedly work and how to combat them. but there seems to be a disconnect between that and actually doing it. maybe a therapist can help me make it work. thanks for sharing your story with me.

good luck to everyone.
Posted 8/11/2009 2:50 PM (GMT 0)

Smitty,

I am sorry you are out of work and I certainly understand your feelings of low self esteem.  I went through that a lot back a few years ago when I had a melt down and took early retirement.  I felt like the world's biggest loser and was very hard on myself.

I still want to know the answer to "Why Me?"  I had a wonderful therapist I asked this question of and he responded with "Why not you?"  Well I guess that was my answer.

So I continue to work at keeping  the anxiety under control but like everyone else I have some really bad times and the pain of having Anxiety and Depression is not always easy to bear so I come here and talk with all of you.

I am so glad you have joined us.

Gentle Hugs

Kitt

Posted 4/19/2011 10:31 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Smity I have been trying to get a hold of you. I am in the same boat as you. I have DP/DR since stopping a medication I started in 1998. I have vision issues too that came out 2 years ago and I don't know why. My drug use was years ago, like well over 10. I smoked  maybe a handful of times in that span of 10 years and no where near the time of my first onset of DP which was in 2006. I had been off of my medication for a year and thats when it hit me. Then I went back on and off after a couple of years because I was going to get pregnant. That is when the vision stuff started. Now I have that crap and DP/DR with a child. Would love to talk more. I am so scared to go back on the medicine, but know how much relief it gave me before.

Talk to you soon,
Candi

Post Edited By Moderator (Scaredy Cat) : 4/19/2011 10:38:14 PM (GMT-6)

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