Generalized anxiety and Social anxiety...considering medication Nortriptyline

Just to provide some info on the intensity of my anxiety - I have had social anxiety since I was a young girl (now I'm 26) and I've always felt this pressure and awkwardness even though I've been told by many that it's not noticeable. I can just feel it all the time. This anxiety has caused me to put off attending college for many years. I did online education and then finally this year I pushed myself into going to actually going to a university. I thought that it would be refreshing and exhilarating and that I would face my fears and feel triumph but it is just the opposite. I feel stressed and I feel like everyone is looking at me and thinking I am awkward, alone and weird. I feel like people scrutinize the way I talk, the way my hair looks and the way I dress, everything. I am sane enough to know that my feelings are completely ridiculous as a I am always told I dress nice, I'm very open, friendly and relate able but I cannot control the FEELINGS especially when I am in a crowd. I try so hard to push them down. Now I feel like I am putting on a fascad. No one can see that I am plagued by this anxiety because I am faking being okay. That's fine but it gets completely exhausting to the point where I have to run to a bathroom and cry. I feel so lonely because I cannot handle the pressure of trying to maintain a friendship. I have been seeing a therapist for 2 months now and it feels good to release my frustrations but the feelings aren't going away. Ever since I started the university I have been having extreme stomach pains and noises. I've had all the tests, bloodwork, upper endoscopy, colonoscopy, catscan, the works. Nothing has been found. My doctor asked me about my anxiety level and I told him that I have indeed been diagnosed with social anxiety and generalized anxiety disorders. The look on his face said "Wow, it all makes sense" Then he told me about how the stomach is called the "Second Brain" and is tied to our brains and what we're feeling. Makes perfect sense to me. My therapist has suggested that I consider medication and now my doctor is suggesting it as well. He prescribed Nortriptyline (which has been sitting at my pharmacy for a week now) because it caters to stomach pain as well as anxiety. I am terribly afraid to take it and I have really been the type that would choose every alternative route over medication. I'm very afraid of the side effects especially the suicidal thoughts. I've never been suicidal so just the thought of having suicide on my mind terrifies me. I also worked so hard to lose weight. It took me almost a year to shed 15 pounds. I don't know why but weight does not come off of me easily and I am a very healthy eater (vegan, organic, I love my vegetables, no sodas, sugars, etc) I guess I am here seeking advice or any info on this medication. Are suicidal thoughts more common than not? I'm having a hard time trying to decide if I want to take this medication. I'm afraid of the side effects but I am also tired of living my life in so much pain due to this anxiety. Does anyone have any suggestions about ridding anxiety or any info on this medication? Thanks!