Where to start? And who to go to?

[mimi2161]

my boyfriend has had really bad anxiety for the past 2 months.. he gets really bad chest pains and his heart rate is really high he tells me that sometime his face and hands get numb. he wakes me up in the middle of the night because he's scared hes gonna have a heart-attack (thats the only way he can explain it) i told him to go to the doctors and he went to and they prescribed him an anti depressant and it doesn't work. . . where should he go to get help? can you point me in a direction because im completely lost.

[erin626]

There's benzodiazepines. They are anti anxiety meds aka xanax, klonopin, valium. Klonopin is best for managing chronic anxiety because it stays in the system longer than xanax. Xanax is generally used for people who get panic attacks but not consistently enough to use it regularly. I'm on xanax as needed for panic attacks and I generally take 4-5 pills a month. Benzos are pretty addicting though so if he can get by without them..as in still work, go out etc he should probably stick to the anti depressants.

A therapist is who you should go to. Someone he can talk to and that can help him control his anxiety.

[mimi2161]

Thank you! And they prescribed him a medication called Paxil. Is there any medications that just deal with anxiety?

[mammo]

His GP should have ruled out all other causes for his symptoms before just throwing medication at him.  For anxiety he needs to see a psychiatrist as they are more knowledgable when it comes to all of this.  It can take 4-6 weeks for us to feel the full effects of an anti-depressant.  So, if he is in the first few weeks of taking the AD, he needs to give it more time.  If it's been long enough, he should either see a psych doc or let his GP know it's not working.  It is often trial and error as to which medication will work best for us, but once we find it.......it's well worth it!  He should also look into therapy, often our anxiety has a root cause which is normally something traumatic from our past that we never truly dealt with.  A therapist can help him learn what that may be and help him work thru it, thus easing his anxiety.  Often an anxiety medication is needed along with the AD, so this is an option as well. Since he will be able to talk to his GP faster than seeing a psychiatrist, he may want to contact him regarding the medication not working, so he can get some relief and then schedule an appt. with a psychiatrist. Let him know he's not alone, and the less he freaks out with this....the better.  I hope this helps, and I wish you both all the best.