What type of medication are you put on for an anxiety disorder?

Question

I've been suffering for years & am pretty scared to try any medications like that but I've got an appt. next week with a psychiatrist. Does anyone know?

Answer 1

All I have to say is, be careful! I was given Paxil for my anxiety during a legal scuffle that I was dealing with and had planned on taking it for the duration of the legal battle only.

The Dr. said this would be ok. She also gave me Xanax for immediate results and said I could use them on top of the Paxil for a situational basis (I never needed the Xanax once I built up to 20mg of Paxil and had been on this dose for about a week).

Now, aside from the 15 pounds I gained in just 4 months... Ugh! I have to admit that the Paxil seemed like a good thing, provided I took it at the same time every morning. If I was late taking the stuff I could tell and it could take me a couple days to level off again. I was told that this means the drug has a lousy "half life".

So, the legal battle was eventually over (We won, by the way)and I began following the instructions to slowly wean myself off of Paxil, and then ALL HELL BROKE LOSE.

I began getting incredibly dizzy and nauseated. If I turned my head for anything, the world would just keep on going. I was tired and yawning all the time. I wanted to cry over everything. Happy or sad, I had a constant lump in my throat, ready to shed tears at the drop of a hat for anyone. I was the most empathetic creature on the planet.

Everything was magnified. My senses were hyperactive. Noises made me jump and smells made me want to puke. I eventually cracked myself in the head with the car door while trying to have a conversation and get in at the same time, giving myself a concussion that kept me from being able to drive or do my job (I'm a nail technician).

Once I had a head injury, I chickened out and cranked up the dose again. I couldn't handle the withdrawl symptoms I was having. I just needed to get back on the stuff and try again later.

Now, trying to get off the stuff again, I am three weeks into my withdrawls and have had the same symptoms as before, but was ready for them this time. Instead of weaning myself 10mg at a time per week. I have been weaning myself 5mg at a time for a week. It is a slow and delicate process. Plus I can now add really bad stomach cramps.diarrhea and acid indigestion to the list of withdrawl symptoms. Nice!

I noticed today that the dizzy feeling was subsiding, and the nausea wasn't near as bad. Food is sounding a little more appealing again (Though my husband cooked fish tonight---bleh!)

In any case, what ever you take.... DO YOUR RESEARCH and ask for personal testimonies as you have done here.

It could be that with the extreme withdrawl symptoms that I am experiencing, the Paxil was never a good choice for me in the first place. In fact the hot flashes and racing heart along with pools of sweat pouring down my face (I'm young and not over weight) while I was taking the stuff was actually a sign that I should have tried a different drug all together.

The problem with mood altering drugs is that they "alter your mood" and in this case I ended up with a rather complacent attitude regarding my side effects and just kept telling myself that the side effects I was having weren't *that* big a deal.

I know now that they were. This drug was dangerous for me and I am pretty lucky, it seems that I only planned on using it for a short period.

Point being, plan on telling your Dr. about EVERY, I mean EVERY little change that takes place while you introduce a drug into your system.

Don't think you can manage MOOD ALTERING DRUGS ON YOUR OWN. You never know if the mood you have been altered to is one of complacency or even neglect for your own personal health.

Have someone hold your hand through this and not just your Dr. Have someone close to you keep an eye on you and share their perspective on things as your perspective may be based on chemical "enhancers" (f you know what I mean) and your perspective may not always be the best.

Since you might need to really rely on someone elses judgment for a while, then make sure the person you share with is someone you can really trust, someone that you would, in spite of yourself, do as they say if they are really firm with their suggestion.

If my husband wasn't around to tell me that I shouldn't be driving, I would have driven, in fact I did when I had my concussion. I was so tired that I decided I would just "Go get a coffee while I was driving around and then everything would be ok."

The scary thing is that I was complacent enough to ignore a concussion and drive with an ice pack in one hand and a coffee in the other... WHO WAS HOLDING THE WHEEL? ---See what I mean?

Answer 2

Hello, I was diagnosed with General Anxiety Disorder last year and it was bad...I was scared of everything, of things that would never happen and worried all the time. I went to counseling and was also VERY scared to take medicine. I did everything natural that I could, but none of it was strong enough. I have aunt who is a natuarlist and she finally convinced me it's okay to take medicine if you have to. My Dr. also was the same way she was wonderful and didn't try to shove anything down my throat. I finally was at a point where I just really thought I was going to "lose it" and started taking medicine, the first night I was so paranoid about the meds that I didn't sleep at all, but the next night was better and then the next night was even better and so on! I am taking Lexapro, a very low dosage (10mg) I started out with five, but it was just not enough. I love it, I only had a headache at the end of the day for about the first 3 to 5 days, but no other side effects. It has changed my life. I still have times where I get anxiety a little, but everyone says it's normal. I am more afraid of feeling the way I used to feel that sometimes I get anxiety about that. I really do like the lexapro though it's great.

Answer 3

I began having anxiety and depression a few months back. The doctors have tried prescribing me antidepressants but I became even more anxious when taking them (tried Zoloft, Remeron, and Welbutrin). I got through 10 days on Welbutrin but then became a manic-mess. I think if you have anxiety about taking medicines at all you can have these reactions - it's not neccessarily the medicine that is causing the increased anxiety - it is the anxiousness that the problem to begin with.

One thing to suggest - see if the doc can prescribe you Xanax to take with the antidepressant during the first 2 or 3 weeks just to get you through the possible unpleasant anxiousness that might occur during that time.

Xanax works GREAT in general within 10 minutes of feeling anxiety, but it is prone to being abused. As long as you only take it when you NEED it you will not get addicted. If however, you take Xanax because you want to feel the high of it, then you can get addicted.

Answer 4

There are quite a few options for anxiety. Some of those meds have been around long enough for your doctor to feel comfortable prescibing them. Just try and note down all of your symptoms, when you get them, morning, night, all the time, how it feels, if you go a few days without them, etc... Give the meds a shot, alternative medicine is too slow and uncertain. And anxiety is horrible and crippling. Your doc will decide whether to give you a daily pill or one that you just take when you have an attack, maybe both.

Answer 5

First off. Be proud of your courage to seek and be open to new ways to a better life. None of this means anything is "wrong" with you. Many medications are available for both depression and anxiety. What works best for you is for you and your doc to discover. Communications is key. Inexplicably, some medications simply work better for one person than the next. You need to discover what works for you and your body.
I have been on so many I can't recall them all. lol Paxil was the starting point... I felt cloudy and in a fog... and I gained tons of puffy water weight and real weight. Not good. I told my doc "Thanks for the help doc! I was depressed... now I'm fat and depressed!" ROFL. Your individual body will also dictate some of the choices... such as effexor, which worked very well for a friend of mine, but was not recommended for me as I have elevated blood pressure and Effexor can tend to elevate it more.
Good luck to you, for some it becomes a whole new world being on meds... others like myself only gain slight benefit from the meds, but it helps. Thems my Happy Pills. :)

Answer 6

Personally, I was on welbutrin. I wnted to quit smoking and not feel the anxiousness of wanting to smoke. I was on the timed release tablets. I was told to take 2 a day for 2 weeks, then go down to 1. I was insane, I really thought I would kill someone. My mother-in-law was on the purple "one a day" one and she does fine. A few years ago I was put on celexa, it was great, I didn't feel like I needed it all the time, so my doc said I wasn't taking it properly because I didn't get the refill in the correct time frame, so she said she wasn't going to prescribe it to me again. Bottom line: Celexa really worked, it didn't make me tired or anything, it just calmed my situations and I didn't over react to things.

Answer 7

Depends on what type of anxiety disorder you have. the usual treatment for anxiety disorders is an antidepressant and a benzodiazipine as needed.

Answer 8

xanax is good for anxiety disorder......it is called an anxiolitycal drug
you don`t have to be affraid. go there and talk to the doc` about everything that is on your mind and you will feel better


take care

Answer 9

I was put on lexapro for anxiety & depression it is good if you have weight problems

Answer 10

It's hard to say what'll work. Something called oxazepam is pretty calming.