Zoloft ?

[Greeneyes735]

I started getting panic attacks the year before last I only had two and then last year I had an episode where they kept happening. It's getting better now I see a therapist once a month but they still want to put me on medication and I'm scared to take it I had an adverse drug reaction but Celexa last June. My mom and dad finally talked me into trying that hydroxyzine which is basically Benadryl and it helps a little bit. I don't like taking it sometimes because it does make me tired every once in a while I usually take it in the morning and then before I go to bed. I saw the doctor last week and they want me to try Zoloft I don't like reading about all the side effects and hat makes you jittery I definitely do not want to be jittery! I'm finally getting a little better with panic attacks although I still have them sometimes when I wake up this is been going on for the last week or two. During the day I feel like I am the less nervous than what I have been I've been doing good for about a month now and I just don't want it to get worse. Any thoughts on Zoloft? I have had anxiety most my life, but seems like the older I get the worse it gets. At least the panic attacks are going away. I can actually talk myself out of them, and facing fears or situations that I was nervous in before, have gotten way better.

[Paxiled]

My advice is to stay far away from Paxil and only use it if your life depends on it and you've everything else.  Along with Effexor this is the most difficult drug out there, and very hard to stop taking.  It also seems to make it difficult if you do stop it for anything else to work.  Save Paxil for last.  But first, find a CBT or anxiety specialist -- the one you have is useless for what you've got.

[coh123]

I great relief with zoloft for many many years, but it pooped out on me 2 years ago. If you can give it a chance it was the wonder drug for me with my anxiety and panic attacks... But, everyone reacts to different drugs. I have always wondered about Paxil as it is one drug I have not tried. Please keep me informed on it.

[Greeneyes735]

Oh sorry guys I just seen your reply actually I see the therapist at the clinic it is somebody they referred to me it's my insurance will cover it I don't think she does CBT I feel like I'm just talking to a friend sometimes and it's hard to even get keep an appointment once a month because they cancel it Half of the time and I've only got to talk to her twice since October. I see a psychiatrist the end of this month but I'm thinking about taking 5 mg of Paxil because I had another terrible panic attack yesterday out of nowhere do you guys have experience with Paxil?

[Paxiled]

No, definitely read about the side effects.  Otherwise you'll have no idea what's going on if you get some of them since your doctor or psychiatrist is unlikely to tell you anything to be on the alert for.  When it comes to medication, ignorance isn't bliss.  This doesn't mean being overly frightened by them and know that the vast majority of them only happen to a very small number of people, but if you happen to be one of them just by reading up on it you'll know more than your doctor is likely to know.  Unfortunate, but true.  I'm wondering, though, why you're only seeing a therapist once a month.  The minimum would be once a week; when I started getting anxiety attacks I was seen twice a week.  And is your therapist a specialist in anxiety treatment, such as a practitioner of CBT, or just someone you talk to?  Because until you've tried to work on this and not just shoot the wind about it with a therapist, which is what most of them do, you haven't really worked on it yet to see if you really need medication or not.  But if you do, do your homework, but in a sober way -- not to scare yourself, but again, to know what to bring up with your doctor if it happens to you.

[lynnsee]

speaking from experience, DONT read the side effects. especially with anxiety, its just gonna scare you into thinking you have every single one when you really dont. i will say this tho, everyone reacts to meds differently. for me, zoloft works wonders. however at first i did get side effects that were bothersome, but the bennefits outweighed the negatives. i got terrible insomnia and the jitteryness and twitches. but me and zoloft are bffs now. ive been taling it for panic for almost 2 yrs now. im still a bit jittery at times and i even kinda twitch randomly but i can handle it. its not like obvious or anything. youre already ahead of my game, the therapy helps alot too. and zoloft is a very safe drug. im not gonna lie, the first couple weeks felt like hell for me but thats pretty much how anxiety is for everyone. but it really was worth taking the zoloft. things will get better. best of luck to you c: