NEw to the boards

[senglish]

Hi everyone. I am new to this board & am trying to see how others deal with anxiety. I just went through a divorce after being married for 16 years. My husband took my boys & fleed state with them & then won custody of them. He is well known in his town & has lots of money! I took my a whole year to just get divorced.

I went to the doctor because I have been on Xanax for almost 2 years. I was prescribed .5 & I split them in half & take as needed. For the last 2 months I have taken the .25 in the morning & the other .25 in the evening just to make me feel a little better. I went to a new doctor because I had moved out of state & the doctor put me on Citalapram 20mg..generic of Celexa. I take that once a day & then today she prescibed me buspirone-15 mg to take 1/2 in the morning & 1/2 at night. She is really wanting me OFF the Xanax.

I have been having really bad headaches, dizzy feeling, feeling as I can not swallow, like things get stuck in my throat. I have also had my fingers tingling & some of my fingers even get really stiff. If I take the Xanax, in about 30-45 minutes I fell a little better. The headaches lighten up after I started on the Citalopram over 2 weeks ago.

My main thing I am worried about is the throat. I feel like I am always choking no matter what I eat. So since right after Thansgiving I have only been able to eat soup or if I do eat like some nuggets or something I have to wash them down with Dr. Pepper. Do you think this also has to do with stress?

I have through about going to see a phychatrist(sp) just to deal with this, because my doctor gave me the prescription of buspirone & just said call us & let us know how you feel...you really don;t need to come back.

I want to feel like I did years ago. Like a normal person. I don't care if I have to take 10 pills a day, just as long as I can enjoy life again. I quite doing alot with friends, because I always feel like ****! It really stinks.

I guess I just want some feedback from some of you & see if you think going to a phychatrist is even worth it or not! I have never been before & I am sure they are not cheap!

Thanks for all your help!
Sandy

[megsmom007]

I went to a pshyciatrist ... and I personally felt like it was a waste of time and money, as my anxiety is not induced by situations that were traumatic or anything of that nature. They simply come on for no apparent reason, or they are a result of certain immediate situations that cause me stress ... EG. deadlines at work, germs, things out of place etc.

I made a post on this forum about getting suggestions on how to deal with panic attacks without meds. Thats not say that I wont need meds, as I have in the past, but I would like to have some personal control over my disorder. I have OCD. I have had some traumatic events in my life, which I believe led to my OCD in the first place, but I feel that I managing fairly well. And I felt like the shrink just listened and told me things I already knew. Thats not to say that it wouldnt be helpful for you ... just wasnt overly helpful for me.

Essentially I guess what will determine whether or not you need a phsychiatrist, is what reasons you are having the anxiety. The situation that you have had with your husband and children could definately be the culprit ... and if you have not had any couselling for that, maybe that could be a step. That must have been terrible. I would imagine that ANY person would react with anxiety. I know my response is a little all over the place ... but every case is so different, and every case needs individualized treatment. Maybe just joining a support group would be enough.

I hope that you find the solution that you are looking for, and that you get back to your old self ASAP.

Tammy

[jakegorzen]

They didnt just cut you from Xanax did they? Because there not suppose to do that with benzodiazapines.
but if you feel like you need to take a benzo for longer, Id suggest Klonopin. It is much better for you then Xanax, and has less up and downs, keeps you pretty even keeled.