is the medication,anxiety really addictive?

[nrodarte]

I'm 17, my doctor recommended to begin to take medication for anxiety.  I have constant a heart beat increase, difficulty breathing & maintain nervous.  My mom doesn't agree with the doctor I should begin taking medication. She claims it's afficrive.. is it really?

[lovetyso]

and only other tablet I will suggest which is realexant is valium I take 1mg when.I feel enexity or when my muscle starts to hurt me it better then all other drugs out there

[lovetyso]

my sister is on kalma which is enexity tablet and she hate it she tried get off it and she said she felt like she was dieing all these medicines all addictive I'm suffering from depression enexity and I refuse to take calmers or enexity tablets or anti drepresAnts best way is counseling yoga natural medicines  

[specialmom]

Hi, often antidepressants are used for anxiety and these are not addictive.  The FDA gives designations to drugs that have addictive properties and the are 'scheduled'.  Things like Xanax and Ativan as mentioned above are scheduled medications.  They have addictive properties.  SSRI's such as zoloft, paxil, prozac, celexa and SNRI's such as effexor and other medications used for anxiety are not addictive.  

I personally feel like treating anxiety is essential and that often includes medication.  It should be several things added into the mix to give you the best chance to overcome it.  I would not, if my 17 year old child suffered anxiety, give them the medication if a general practitioner prescribed it but I would then go to a specialist as in a psychiatrist.  

Lots of luck to you

[Paxiled]

Agree with the above -- these drugs aren't really approved for anyone under 18, though it is legal to prescribe them off-label once they're approved.  As for whether they're addictive, you don't say which med -- benzos are addictive, but anti-depressants can also be difficult to quit.  They're not habit-forming, which is different, benzos are addictive, while ssris are probably neither habit forming or technically addictive but are, as I said, hard to stop taking as is any drug that affects the brain.  As your brain is still young, I'd try therapy and relaxation techniques and whatever else is out there before trying medication.  As I often say, the medication isn't going anywhere, it'll always still be there if nothing else works.  Good luck.

[mbsc1981]

Anti-anxiety meds are serious business. Personally, from my experience, I would look into a second opinion on it. You don't want to treat them lightly. Now, by that, I don't mean you're going to die or have major problems, I mean that, the way the meds work is by changing the way your brain works with pleasure sensors, and they can be hard to come off of, should you decide to.

So, at 17, I'd maybe see another Dr and see what they think. It's a major decision.

Also, I'd consider other factors. How is your overall health? If you've got a few extra pounds (as I did), losing weight could help immensely. I've been working out daily. My resting heartrate has dropped 10BPM and my workout heartrate has dropped between 20-30BPM. I breathe better now and feel better about myself.

This is also worth bringing up to your physician, whether practical changes in your life could help alleviate your symptoms.

Otherwise, you may genuinely need AD meds. But, I'd exhaust my options, first.

[AO111]

Depends on what it is. If it's Xanax, Ativan, or Valium then yes it can be habit forming (addictive). Like Lisea said in that case it would be best to take as little as possible only if you feel you desperately have to. If the medication is an antidepressant that doubles as anti-anxiety such as Lexapro then no, it will not be addictive. Good luck.

[Lilseamonkey]

It can be if you misuse it, the dr will probably give you the lowest dose (0.25 mg) and tell you to use it as needed. If you truly need it, it wont give you any sort of high. It might make you a little sleepy though. The people that get addicted are the ones that take full 2 or 3mg just for fun. If the risks outweighed the benefits your dr. wouldnt have even suggested it, with you being so young. Hope I helped :)