Anxiety

[macdadd30]

I lost my job a few months back and as you could imagine it was pretty stressful. I made really good money. In the past I would maybe suffer from a panic attack once or twice a year. I had a panic attack while driving home about 4 months ago... I was stuck in rush hour traffic, so it made it ten times worse and since then I've been intimidated of driving fearing that I'll get stuck in traffic and when I do get stuck I start to have one. Then I had one while at a bar with my wife and another one simply taking my dog for a walk. Now I live in fear of having the next one and become a recluse in my house. I don't want to get hooked on strong anxiety meds and was wondering if there is something I could do that doesn't involve me popping pills for the rest of my life! Also are there pills out there that aren't as addictive that could help... something that won't get in the way everyday activities such as working out. I usually drink at least one day a week usually on the weekend and I know that combining alcohol and anxiety meds can be dangerous, so I guess I was also wondering if there is a prescription that works for anxiety that you could also drink while on them?

[raven_nikki]

The best thing to do is ask your doctor, but I have a bit of experience with anxiety medsw and can tell you what has happened with me. I started suffering with anxiety after my kids were born and an antidepressant like Zoloft, Paxil, etc. Can help alleviate anxiety and does not cause addiction or inflict problems on your social drinking or working out. That would be best if you are avoiding being on a adrug that causes you to feel impaired or become addicted to and if you are having daily anxiety.However benzodizepines are what are used for immediate relief , however they can cause you to feel imparied at first and its not smart to be drinking with them at all. They can also become habit forming and pyhsically addictive, theres not one that is weak, they all have the ability to be a potential problem. But if theres one I would for sure stay away from it woul dbe Xanax, its the most potent and most addictive. It ends alot of people in rehab and can be very hard to detox from. I take Klonopin everyday at night and have been for about a year. It is a benzo and works very well for anxiety. I have not abused it or increased my dose since I started and have had no problems with it. It works well for me, however when I decide to come off I will probably have to titrate down, but that doesn't concern. ALso I can have a drink once a week if I choose to. But not more than that. Keep in mind all Benzos ( which really are the only drugs that works for anxiety besides antidepressants) can be habit forming and while some are less potent than others, they all cause impairment at first and you have to get used to them before you are able to drive on them , etc. Talk to your GP.and Good Luck!

[kath1971]

I had to give up driving It started when I was at high speeds all of a sudden and got so bad I could not even drive down the road!  I was given prozac for about a year but still too scared to drive.  I now have just started with remeron 15mg at night Do not know about the alcohol now as I gave up when I started prozac as I became really ill.  Years before this I was on Effexor capsules which I took every morning for years I was driving ok and only gave them up because I fell pregnant. I used to go out and drink and have no problems at all.  Im not condoning this because everyone reacts different but these were the only tablets that I could take. The only down side to these tablets is you cannot miss a day because you will not feel good and also the withdrawal symptoms can be quite nasty but as I said before everybody is different but Im sure any doctor will tell you not to drink with any medication Good luck :)