Suffering from extreme anxiety, can't help myself

[Chi1504]

Please I'm not feeling good can't bring myself to take medication

[Starrlight]

Are you having trouble with taking your prescribed medication? Or you don’t have any medication and are not wanting to try any right now?

[Chi1504 in reply to Starrlight]

Thank you for replying it's taking them, side effects awful

[Starrlight in reply to Chi1504]

Do you think you’d want to ask your doctor how you should get off of them , either stop taking them at once if you’re not on a large dose or gradually according to what doc says and drink lots of water to help get it out of your system?

[Chi1504 in reply to Starrlight]

Sorry I didn't explain very well. I am off meds now, felt horrific on them, the side effects were so bad but having said that I feel horrific now. So it's unbearable off and even worse on them hence why I don't know what to do.I feel so bad, I hate this

Hope this makes sense

[Marysblue in reply to Chi1504]

Do some online research about natural supplements that treat depression anxiety. There's also a lot of stress teas you can buy in the grocery store or the health food store

[Chi1504 in reply to Marysblue]

Do they actually work, im in severe anxiety every second of the day, it extremely hard, upsetting. Thank you for your help

[Starrlight in reply to Chi1504]

do you take magnesium? I find vitamins to be helpful.

[Starrlight in reply to Chi1504]

there are also cbd oils and hemp oils out there, maybe you can research those.

[Marysblue in reply to Starrlight]

I wish that it worked for me I've tried it three different times.

[Chi1504 in reply to Marysblue]

What have you tried 3 times, sorry to be dumb

[Marysblue in reply to Chi1504]

Cbd

[Marysblue in reply to Chi1504]

Yes they do work..

[blueslite in reply to Chi1504]

I've taken herbal supplements that work for me for severe panic attacks. As long as I take them every 8-10 hours I've never had a panic attack since I started. And, for me, no side effects or problems. But you need to research them thoroughly. The ones I've taken are Rhodiola, Damiana, Ashwagandha, Maca Root and Schisandra. A good site to research them on is draxe.com or earthclinic.com/cures/anxie... Hope this helps and good luck.

[Chi1504 in reply to blueslite]

Thank you

[Starrlight in reply to Chi1504]

I’m soooooo sorry 😞 that you suffer so. (((((((((Hugs))))))))

[Chi1504 in reply to Starrlight]

Thank you for caring, I appreciate it more than you know

[Starrlight in reply to Chi1504]

❤️ Keep writing when it helps to, keep trying different things… keep hope… it will be ok.

[Chi1504 in reply to Chi1504]

My life is ruin, can I ask if you are managing on just magnesium etc

[Starrlight in reply to Chi1504]

I’m also on four psychiatric medications

[Chi1504 in reply to Starrlight]

Escitalopram

[Shnookie]

so sorry U feel this way. When U take your meds do you feel better?

[Chi1504 in reply to Shnookie]

No I didn't. I feel shocking now but meds even worse. That's why I'm so scared to afraid to take more but can't stay like this

[Shnookie in reply to Chi1504]

try to talk to your doctor. Maybe there R other meds or other dosages you can try. These things R tricky and can take time until your body adjusts to them.

[Chi1504 in reply to Shnookie]

That's the thing I have more but I'm too afraid to take them and go through all the horrible side effects again. I don't think me or my body can take anymore, I've had enough. Thank you for trying to help me. Have you been through this? You don't have to say of course

[Shnookie in reply to Chi1504]

I once went off all of my meds because I didn’t have the money to pay for them. I had a melt down and had to take temporary disability from work. I was extremely ill. Fortunately, my shrink at the time, who was a specialist in psychotropic meds helped me get back on my meds. I felt much better and was able to go back to work.

[Moodymiss]

have you tried meditating? I use the Calm App and try and do a 10mins guided meditation every day. This time last year I was really suffering with poor health and terrible anxiety. Citalopram has helped but meditation is wonderful. It doesn’t work straight away but persevere everyday and it clicks. I find it really helps me cope with life!

Good luck. I hope you figure out something and start improving soon.

[Chi1504 in reply to Moodymiss]

Are you female, has citalapram given emotional numbing side effects please

[Moodymiss in reply to Chi1504]

I don’t think so? I was previously on Sertraline which definitely did - I was unable to cry for 5 years!! Then I tried Mirtazapine (awful) which made me more anxious, I think. Then I tried Citalopram (about 10 months ago) and felt calmer almost straight away.

I do still feel anxious sometimes but feel better able to deal with it and a quick meditation stops it developing into something much worse.

I suffer with lots of medical issues - mainly v poor lung function and limited mobility. It’s tough to deal on a daily basis but try to battle on! I have to take a lot of meds which is why I embrace meditation ☯️

Hope this helps!😊

[Chi1504 in reply to Moodymiss]

Thank you

[Teaching]

So sorry about that. I had terrible experience too with medication. Try yoga and meditation and see if it'll work for you. It takes a longer time anyways. I pray you find something that works for you.

[Chi1504 in reply to Teaching]

Thank you so much

[Tealpillow]

Oh Chi, I’m so sorry you are feeling this bad. I’ve been there and it’s honestly torture. As soon as you can, see if you can contact your Dr to try a diff medication - I recently used Dr On Demand and within 30 mins they had me on a call with a psychiatrist. For many of us anxiety/depression is the result of a chemical imbalance in the brain - not a character defect. It can feel so scary but please know there are medications that will help. I was on a low dose of Zoloft (sertraline) and still felt awful so I stopped. That ended up being even worse so my doctor increased the sertraline dose. I’m now on 175 mg daily and I feel so much better. I was surprised that for me, all they needed to do was increase my dose. I thought all along I was unfixable and the medication didn’t work, but turns out that isnt true. I had some gnarly side effects for about two months but after that I started feeling relief.

I hope my experience can give you some hope - we have your back!

[bethelbee]

Hopefully your doctor can find the right medication for you. There are so many out there. I was on many different ones over the years, some worked, some didn't, some gave me intolerable side effects. They take time to work and it is frequently trial and error. Buspar helped me years ago and I don't recall any bad side effects. It is not a fast acting drug for anxiety, like a Benzo(Xanax, Serax, Ativan), but takes time to work. As for supplements and CBD, you need to be careful with those as well. Just because something is 'all natural' doesn't mean it too may not cause side effects or interact with other medications you are taking. Hope you are able to find something that helps you!!

[Nurse001]

HiI am unable to take antidepressants for anxiety which is what they always want to give you.

I've had the best luck with Buspar. It's a miracle for me. You may want to ask your MD if it's a right fit.

[punkster]

I totally understand what you are going through. I tried medications and they helped me, but had awful side effects. It was hell going off of them, but in retrospect I needed them for a period of time and they helped reduce extreme anxiety. I agree with other posters- maybe you need to try different medications to see which ones work. However, I understand your reluctance to take them. I believe that anxiety is related to your brain chemistry, and sometimes you need something to help restore the balance. Meditation, mindfulness, exercise and other things can help, but sometimes you need the extra boost from medication. I feel for you, and I hope you can find what helps you.

[scansnap]

I would suggest contacting a good psychotherapist. In addition, there are a number of traditional relaxation techniques such as meditation, mindfulness, deep breathing, exercise, and so forth. Also, get a good book on cognitive behavioral therapy and read that to teach yourself how to deal with the thoughts that are making you anxious.

[Lazy_dog_lover]

Why not?

I think of it this way… if I needed glasses to see I would wear them. They are a tool to use to help me.

Medication is the same way. It is a tool to help you.

[Chi1504 in reply to Lazy_dog_lover]

Yes I. Agree but you don't get horrific side effects from glasses. I'm not being difficult but im terrified. But thank you for replying

[Lazy_dog_lover in reply to Chi1504]

I was scared of not knowing who I was without my symptoms. I played victim for many years.

The effects of anxiety on my well-being was significantly worse than anything I had from any medication. I am able to function. I have been able to learn the non-medication strategies for mindfulness, philosophy, and self-reflection. When I was in the hospital after a surgery, the medication got me out of an anxiety attack.

They are a tool. Stop taking them if they don't work. My painkillers have more side-effects than my anxiety meds.

Best wishes.

[Chi1504 in reply to Lazy_dog_lover]

Thank you

[Anxyd]

Which type of medicine did you try? In my case, it was trial and error and finally l found the one which does not have side affects on me.

[Chi1504 in reply to Anxyd]

May I ask which one

[Anxyd]

l use Citalopram

[Beater]

I'm not sure what meds you were on or for how long but most anxiety meds are either benzos, z drugs, antidepressants, beta blockers or pregabalin. They all have had terrible side effects for me. Now I have to be through yet another life altering withdrawal thanks to the lack in knowledge of my Dr.s and pharmacists. I'm on my own here. CBD makes it sick. Are you certain that you have not having withdrawal symptoms? Be careful going back on if this is the case as it can make things worse.