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Anxiety Community
This patient support community is for discussions relating to generalized anxiety, anxiety and eating, anxiety and sleeping, mood swings, and phobias.
Need anxiety meds but meds cause anxiety!
by BethanySublime, Apr 26, 2007 12:00AM
OK so anyone who's read my previous posts in this forum would probably agree, it's time for me to get some anxiety meds. I'm having a panic attack almost every night and constantly worrying about them (and of course I always feel like I'm dying).
The problem is, any sort of drug -prescription, OTC, or street- is the main cause of my anxiety! I have ALWAYS felt like I am going to have a strange horrible (and usually deadly) reaction to medicine, even if I've taken it before. But then it ACTUALLY happened. I had seizures from my birth control patch, which has never happened to anyone else (and there are a lot of claims against the patch). So now I'm afraid to take anything. It only recently got so bad that I get panic attacks every time I do.
Can therapy alone help anxiety? And is it expensive?
The problem is, any sort of drug -prescription, OTC, or street- is the main cause of my anxiety! I have ALWAYS felt like I am going to have a strange horrible (and usually deadly) reaction to medicine, even if I've taken it before. But then it ACTUALLY happened. I had seizures from my birth control patch, which has never happened to anyone else (and there are a lot of claims against the patch). So now I'm afraid to take anything. It only recently got so bad that I get panic attacks every time I do.
Can therapy alone help anxiety? And is it expensive?
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I however, opted for the meds...I tried it first without, but it got to the point where I couldn't do it any more. Everyone is different and you have to do what is right for you!
I too have had major issues with nightly anxiety attacks. Allow me to make a few recommendations:
1) Schedule an appointment with both a Psychiatrist (medical doctor) AND a Psychologist (therapist). They will usually be in the same location. The doctor will diagnos you and treat you with medication, while the psychologist will begin your therapy. Keep in mind that THOUSANDS of people go to therapy, so you are not alone! I am an EMT and my wife is an RN and we both actively see therapists for our anxiety.
2) Ask for an anti-depressant medication. This will help you with 3 things: Anxiety, depression, and your seizures. Anxiety is a depression-related disorder, which can be treated with standard anti-depressant medications. Plus, you mentioned earlier that you have had seizures, and anti-depressant medicaiton will actually help out with that. I DO NOT recommend Prozac, Zoloft, or Paxil. These medications may work for you, but they certainly didn't work for me. They just made me feel even more anxious. If I were you, I would look into something like Well-Butrin (Buproprion).
3) Ask for an anxiety-relief medication. The most common anxiety medications are Ativan (lorazepam), Kolonopin (clonazepam) and Xanax. All 3 are habit forming, but work very well when taken DURING an anxiety attack. Ativan works in about 5 minutes and lasts for about 30-60 minutes. Kolonopin works in about 15 minutes, but lasts for anywhere between 30 minutes to a few hours, and Xanax (the most powerful medication) work very quickly in probably under 5 minutes, but only lasts about 10-15 minutes.
I hope this helps!
Jason