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784382 tn?1376931040

anxiety meds?

My GP and therapist are thinking some anti anxiety meds and anto depression meds are a good thing for me.i dont really know,

would love to know if your taking meds? if so which ones and are they working? side effects? will i have to take them for the rest of my life?

i will see the therapist a few more times and he is going to do some hypnotherapy. he said i have some signs of a panic disorder

just wanna feel better since all of my health test have come back normal there is nothing else for me to test
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Avatar universal
My meds are making my life as normal as it gets "on meds".  I get a little more tired that I did without the Celexa.  The Klonopin really doesn't make me tired nor does it make me feel drugged.  For myself the SSRI's make me feel a little different than I did before panic attacks, but they definitely make me feel better than during panic attacks.  I would like to feel the way I did ten years ago.  I don't know if it's meds, menopause or old age but I'm slowing down!  I do like to go places and see my friends.  I enjoy work and still have a sense of humor so all in all YES they do make you feel able to do things again and sometimes you even enjoy yourself. LOL
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784382 tn?1376931040
how do they make you feel?.....like you want to do things again?

i just wanna feel like i can go out with my friends and feel normal and not have to worry about how i feel.... i have been a hermit for months and it blows!
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784382 tn?1376931040
im just scared to take meds for the rest of my life i guess but im willing to do anything tomake me feel normal again
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Avatar universal
The Klonopin works within a day or so to some extent.  It will start helping immediately but you will see increased improvement as you go along.  SSRI's  like Zoloft and Celexa etc. take weeks to help.  You have to be patient.  Often beginning an anti-depressant makes your anxiety a bit worse along with some other side-effects.  Stick it out and usually these side-effects go away.  Good luck and communicate with your doc.
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784382 tn?1376931040
how long till those meds start working?

im also going to do some hypnosis next wseek........anyone tried?
Helpful - 0
1699033 tn?1514113133
I too take medication.  However, I will say that I had my first bout about 17 years ago, spent about 3 years on Prozac with a combination of Klonopin in the beginning and then decided to go off of it.  While our wiring doesn't change, I think that there are periods in our lives where the stressors are much lower and we are able to manage with minimal anxiety interruption.  For me it never went away but I was able to "let things go" after I got anxious over them.  No big deal.  

Now fastforward 17 years and a financial stressor put me back into the dark world of OCD and anxiety.  But you know what, I knew I could get better.  I knew it was going to take some time but I WOULD be myself again because I had done it once before.  I think most of us on this site have.  

I started Wellbutrin 300 XR and Klonopin and now about 6 to 7 weeks later I am myself again.  I did have to go through some side affects and wondered if this was the right medication for me.  As a matter of fact, I wondered that question right here on this site!  But I like the fact that Wellbutrin has less sexual side effects.  Like Mammo said, they are all different.  I myself prefer Klonopin to Xanax because it is longer lasting.  

Will I be on these for the rest of my life?  I really do not know.  But I can tell you that I have no burning desire to go off of them at the present moment.  I see many anxious days ahead of me with my teenagers so I may choose to stay on the medication for some time.  

I once told my therapist that I do not have a quiet mind.  My mind goes and goes and goes but that is okay because the thoughts are not causing me anxiety.  When something particularly bothersome comes in, I just replace that thought with something positive.  I have learned alot from reading books about self-communication that were not available 17 years ago.  

As far as medications go, they will all probably work to some degree when given a chance.  It is the side affects that might make a drug unsuable for you.  I could not take Celexa while many people on this site take it.  It was not that it didn't work, but I had a side affect that apparently was not on the side affect list and I didn't want to deal with it so I switched to something else.  Also, for me, Klonopin is key to getting to the point where the medication has built up to full strength in your system.  You cannot use it willy-nilly though.  I tried very, very hard not to take it during the daytime.  If I did feel like I needed it, I only took 0.25 mg.  Just enough to take the edge off but not make me sleepy, loopy, etc.  I always, always tried self-communication first before taking Klonopin.  Most of the time I was successful.  

I hope that between your therapist and yourself, you can come up with a combination that will work for you and bring you back to your "regular" self again.  My best to you.  

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784382 tn?1376931040
how long did it take you to fins the right meds?
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Avatar universal
I also take meds and have for at least 5 years.  I take an SSRI (anti-depressant) and Klonopin (an anti-anxiety med).  Sometimes I have gone off of them, but I really do require them to be fully functional and able to live without the fear of panic attacks.
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Avatar universal
I take meds and have for many years.  How one reacts to a particular medication may be different than what another experiences.  The same with side effects....while some have many side effects, others have very few to none.  It's great that you ruled out all other causes first, we always advise this.  You cannot expect your experience to be the same as another's, and vice versa.  We really don't know how we will react and what will work best for us until we try it....this can be the frustrating part.  It's difficult to say if you will need them for the rest of your life, but I wouldn't worry about that right now....just get yourself feeling better!  Best wishes.
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