Medication

[Anxious2befree]

I have been researching meds and so far I have come up with that they don't work and it's big pharma making tons of money off mental health. So you take meds and then get side affects which only then trigger your anxiety so you then continue to take the meds for at least 12months or longer and live through all the hurdles along the way which will either stop the anxiety altogether or you will then get put on different medication and start all over again. It's a vicious cycle. The only way I see to be anxiety free is to keep yourself occupied and ignore the negative thoughts in your head which is hard to do but I guess with some persistence it will pay off. So I'm going to try this theory and focus on happy thoughts and what I need to do for the day/night and let the anxiety hit me with what ever it may be without feeding it as it will eventually have nothing and it will go away. Thoughts?

[Titan4757]

Hey there, A2BF....I applaud you by not going the meds route for now. I'm also doing the same. I do know, for some people the meds worked wonders and others it did not. My biggest concern was if I covered it up then the actual source wasn't being handled. It's been tough and I need to spend more time with cognitive exercises but I know I can do this and you can too. Stay strong!

[Jeff1943]

I strongly disagree with what you say. In fact to dismiss all anti-anxiety meds as useless and that they actually cause anxiety is an irresponsible and false statement.

Meds don't cure anxiety but they give effective relief to people with overwhelming anxiety disorder. They allow people to look after their children and allow them to hold onto their jobs during very difficult times in their lives.

The two meds that enabled me to do this during two different periods are diazepam and amitriptyline. They are both highly effective medications and a blessing to humanity.

Few people want to be on meds for life and people should use the period of effective respite that meds bring to explore other alternatives thst can bring recovery. I'm afraid I don't have much faith in your remedy of ignoring negative thoughts. How can you ignore the elephant in the room? Rhotorical question, the answer is you can't ignore it. But you can accept it and therein lies recovery.....

[Christory77]

I don’t think it’s beneficial to blanket all meds in that way. Many people find relief with medication. They’re able to get out and live their lives. If you had diabetes or something else would you not take your medication because it may have side effects? I don’t think you would. It’s also not fair to say you suffer for 12 months and then start on something else. As far as side effects go you will know pretty soon whether you have them. Dosage and medication changes will happen in weeks not months. It’s your choice whether or not you want to take medication but for the sake of someone suffering with something like this please try and be a bit more responsible with what you say. Many people browse these forums for help and something like this may not be very helpful.

[Hidden]

I agree with Jeff. The meds do take the edge of just enough to carry on working and coping with other major changes in yr life. I'm hoping to start coming off mine in the summer, but you have to be 6 months free before they will advise that. Unfortunately we've had a death in the family and its thrown me back a bit with the shock. I must admit winter and the thought of Christmas brings back my anxieties so l may have to have something else or lower dosage, but l still do all my deep breathing and meditation which does help too.

[autumnthebrat2]

When I was at my worst, I couldn't work, sleep or function at all. I had a small child and was the sole provider I went for a dozen tests on basically every biological system. I was caught up in an anxiety cycle that I could not break out of. if I changed my environment and was stress free, like a psyche ward or went away on some lengthy getaway, I may have been able to recover, but that was not possible. I was stuck in an apartment with a baby constantly crying and a wife that had post partum depression. I stumbled upon this miracle drug (for me) by a neurologist in Boston that I went to see that performed emg's and nerve conduction study cause I got so bad I started to twitch. The tests turned out fine. I began taking this medication because I thought it was prescribed by a neurologist and would help with my neck pain. I began to sleep the night. My child's crying wasn't so irritating and I finally got out of bed and went back to work. That drug was Elavil, or amytriptiline. The same drug that Jeff just mentioned. I stayed on it for a year and then weaned myself off of it. I think not only did it save my job, because I was about to be fired, but also saved my life. I think stress sensitizes our body to the point we get all these weird sensations that brings on anxiety and panic. My whole family is severely anxious, so I have a genetic tendency for anxiety. Once you get stuck in these neural patterns it's hard to break. I believed at one point I had esophageal cancer, could barely swallow, so I had an endoscopy done. Nothing there, perfectly fine. But I still had that feeling for a few weeks after the tests even though I was assured there was nothing there. I took awhile for my brain and my nervous system to desensitize that area in order for it to feel normal....All the horror you read on the forums about meds are the extreme cases because people are impassioned to post, but there are a lot of folks that just take the meds and go on to lead productive lives and so involved in their lives, don't bother to cruise these websites and post their positive eperiences.