I’ve stubbornly fought to control my issues with anxiety on my own for decades now. Today is the first day that I’ve broken that stubborn down and asked my doctor for help. I was (and am still) fighting back tears as I admit I’m just not managing it anymore.
I have a lot of apprehension about how these new medications will affect me, but it’s got to be better than the way I’ve been living up til now. I’m at the pharmacy awaiting my new scripts now. Wish me luck...
It's very brave to ask for help! I hope you have great success with your meds. That's what they are for... we don't fight off infection without antibiotics, so why not benefit from these as well? Good luck.
like I just shared with another here....it was the smartest thing I ever did was reach out for help... sometimes we can get in our own way and have to just realize that there can be a better way if we allow ourselves to just go for it. Your SSRI's will hopefully help, but it's not going to happen for a few days and maybe even a few weeks to fully kick in. And you may have to go through a dosage or med adjustment period. Just be patient and try to also find support groups like this one so you can bounce off any concerns with others who have been down this road. Best wishes....and glad your sharing....
Citalopram (Celexa) daily and propranolol (beta blocker) as needed for episodic performance anxiety
I just saw the post about Celexa and propranolol. I've been on both. The latter is great for headaches. Wish i was still on it. Do you have hypertension? If not, u might wanna watch your bp at home if u have a monitor. Otherwise, you'll do fine.
Thanks for the concern, Jbold! I discussed the BP risk with my doctor during my appointment. My BP is usually within the normal range for my baseline, but at today’s visit both systolic and diastolic were 20 points elevated just from having to talk about it. I have an automatic cuff at home and am in a medical field and can have peers take my BP prior to administering it.
I’m just being anxious about being anxious, lol. Medication is a new step for me, but I believe a good one. I guess I also thought sharing what’s going on with me might help anyone else reading that is trying to come to terms with medicating. It feels emotionally a bit like giving up/failure to manage on my own, but I am rationally aware that this is a good thing.
You're a kind soul. Yes, anxiety is a wicked thing in that it elevates the pulse and the bp. I also found out that by taking a few hits off of my inhaler before walking the distance to my doc's office was giving me a pulse in the 150s. He kept wanting to increase my metoprolol, but i said N O! I finally realized it was the inhaler, and I've been between 70 & 80 ever since.
Be careful only taking the propranolol as needed. When i first started it, i asked my doc if i could just take it when my bp was high. She said no, that i had to keep taking it once I'd started. Plus, i got awful headaches when i didn't take it. You might want to ask your doc again about taking it as needed or do some research or get a second opinion or all of the above. There are other meds you can take for anxiety that aren't narcotics and won't mess with your heart. A beta blocker is no joke.
Oh, btw, medicating isn't giving up. Trust me. Ik a LOT about this. I am a recovering drug addict and have been clean and sober since October 2011. I am in methadone, though, and have been weaning down from 80 mg for a few years and am at 31 mg. I got down to 29 mg and realized i had to go back up. I hated myself for it. I mean, i haven't used an opiate in over seven years! There's no reason for me to still be on this crap! I HATE that my body needs it. My aunt is an addiction counselor @ a methadone clinic in another state. I called her to ask for advice. She said that some people just need it for the rest of their life, especially if they've been on it for as long as i have, since '09. It's part of me now. It's altered my brain chemistry in the same way that the heroin did. Who knows, my decease in methadone could've been responsible for my Grave's disease, Idk. I'll never know. I just know that my current antidepressant, Celexa, has done something to me that i haven't felt in a long time. Granted, in still lonely...if u can't tell, lol, but that's only cuz I'm still in this house for now. I've become a bit agoraphobic with my Grave's disease. I am doing more, with my dog. We go to the library and Wendy's and the park, and i smile.
Thanks for the kind words of support, everyone. I’m overflowing with all kinds of feelings right now. It warms my heart to know you care and understand.
My follow-up is in 3 weeks to see how I’m adjusting.
we all know the drill honey.... and are going through the same, have gone through it, and will go through it....your not alone with this.
Yes, first (prescribed, legal) mood altering medications of any kind. I will absolutely check in and let you know how it goes.
I have a somewhat emotionally-stunted husband who tries his best to be supportive. He’s not always great at it, but his heart is in the right place and that is a lot. He has his own history with anxiety, depression, and substance abuse so his ability to cope with my stress is sometimes tested by his own challenges in life.
The citalopram is 20mg, half a tab for the first 6 days, then a full tab daily. The propranolol is 10mg, 1-2 tabs as needed 30-60 minutes before performance activity.
I am new to medication as well and I’ve been prescribed 60mg of propranolol. It did take a while to get the full effects, maybe two weeks but afterward I’ve felt pretty good as far as a racing Heart is concerned but propranolol did make me unusually tired in the beginning but no need to worry, everyone needs rest
Are you asking if a beta blocker and an antidepressant will interact? I suppose it depends on which ones. Your pharmacy will let you know if you're cool...as long as you get all your scripts there. I found out I had afib and hyperthyroidism, which i then found out is friggin' Grave's disease, and am on warfarin, metoprolol, and lisinopril for the heart stuff. I just switched from Effexor to Celexa (thank God!) and am still on Topamax. You'll do okay. What were you on before? If you didn't do well on it, I hope you're trying something else. It has taken me decades to find that I'm an angel on Celexa. Who knew I could smile again? I certainly didn't.
Prob 20 or 25 for Celexa (i can't remember) and 60 for propranolol. Those are standard i think.
Welcome to the site, I'm suffering from some post trauma anxiety/panic I was prescribed zoloft about a month ago today, All though I don't feel it working very much this site has helped me a lot.. Glad you reached out for help, just one more comment I'll leave for yah, they aren't going to work right away, give it some time. I still don't feel the zoloft kicking in, I get random anxiety driving, in super busy stores, or out of the blue for no reason.
SSRIs How They Have Worked For You.
Day 1 of 100mg Zoloft 
1 month and 19 days 
Day 1 on vacation!
Tomorrow’s the big day!
