Nervous about psychiatrist

[beth0277]

I have been working with my gp for my anxiety and will be going to see a psychiatrist next month. My gp has me on 20 mgs lexapro and it is working great. She is handing things over to the psychiatrist to handle and I am scared he will not keep me on the lexapro. I have only been on it for a few months but I am nervous he won't think I need 20 mgs or want to try something else. Not only do I think it works great for me but I get very bad withdrawal symptoms if I even miss a day. In your experiences, would you think my psychiatrist will leave me on the 20 Mgs lexapro since it is working so well for me. I don't think my gp will continue to prescribe it once I see the new doctor. Any advice?

[beth0277]

I am on lexapro for my anxiety. It has worked wonders for me. I am not 100 percent ( i've been on it for a little over a month) but I am SO much better than I was. Klonopin is a faster acting drug  as lexapro takes a little while to build up in your system. It is also a different class of drug and meant to be on for more long term. I would highly recommend it for anxiety! Best of luck- let me know If you have any more questions!

[Northcoast]

It sounds like you will be in good hands.  You're lucky to have the gp that seems on top of things.  Question:  you mentioned that you're on lexapro.  Are you on it for depression or anxiety...or both.  My sister is on it too. And my social worker has mentioned that she would love for me to try a antidepessant to help with both my depression and anxiety. Though I'm on klonopin for anxiety, she thinks an antidepressant would help with anxiety too.  So I'm curious about lexapro, especially since it seems to work for my sister.  Good luck to you!  You're on the right path!

[Paxiled]

Only thing I'd add is most psychiatrist don't do talk therapy, and when they do it's quite a bit more expensive than psychologists, so if it's just therapy you want I'd see a psychologist.  But the main thing with psychiatrists as well as any other doc you see, they can't force you to do anything.  If you like what you're on, the psychiatrist will see you for five minutes, give you a refill, and recommend some therapists.  Decisions are always up to you.  The important thing is make sure the psychiatrist understands withdrawal in case you ever do decide to quit your med; many of them are quite moronic about the topic.  If you don't like the answers you get, get another shrink.

[MMahon]

Sounds like you have a very good GP...you are quite lucky.
Hopefully you will find the psych very helpful too and find the relief you seek.
Let us know how you make out.

[beth0277]

My gp is handing me over to a psychiatrist because I have severe anxiety and while the lexapro helps immensely, I also need talk therapy to overcome what I am going through. I also have very obsessive tendencies and it is to the point that it is affecting my life. It is over my gp's level of expertise, although she has helped a lot. She is not trained to deal with more than the everyday stress people deal with. Mine is much more than that.

[MMahon]

I would be very surprised if the psych takes you off your meds.  Why would he if they are working so well for you?   Why did your GP hand you over to a psych now?  
Keep in mind that the psych is there to help you and if any changes are recommended it will only be to make your situation better.

[AJ39]

I had the exact same worry. Your psychiatrist will not fix what isn't broken. if the lexapro is working then tell him/her and they will give advice or just get a history of your meds and how you reacted to them. I have a surgeon friend who told me that family practice doctors are only trained for about 3-4 months with psych meds and prefer to encourage their patients to see a "specialists" (psychiatrist) who only deal with medication effecting our emotions/anxiety/depression. My psychiatrist gave me wonderful insights on how some generic anti-depressants do NOT work. he actually took me off a generic brand of zoloft for a "better" generic that he said had wonderful affects on his pt's and it has helped. Remember this is a specialists all they do is research on the meds that help us. once you become comfortable with him you will learn to trust him like you did with your general dr. PS. I had a panic attack the day of seeing my psychiatrist, He said that is verrrrryyy common with new pts, so don't cancel like I almost did.  You will learn a lot from him.