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Thread: Anti-anxiety meds

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    Featured Member kandie_kitten's Avatar
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    Default Anti-anxiety meds

    Does anyone take regular anti-anxiety medications for a specific worry or phobia?

    I don't mean once in a while, when you feel panicky. I mean something you take daily.

    As I've posted in previous threads, I suddenly developed death anxiety about 2 years ago. Death is all I think about, and it's really ruining my life. No matter how I try to distract myself, it's still all consuming. I keep myself busy all day so I can't dwell on it (though I do still think about it, and it definitely limits what I can accomplish), but at night I think about it and have full blown panic attacks and I cry like a screaming toddler.

    I have met with a few doctors, but talk-therapy did no good for me.

    I'm getting absolutely desperate. Is there some kind of anti-anxiety med I could take for the long-term? I'm not asking for specific brands or anything, and I will go to a psychiatrist, but I've never heard of anyone taking a medication for anxiety as a long-term solution.

    Any experiences?

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    Veteran Member Lexi_Girl's Avatar
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    Default Re: Anti-anxiety meds

    There are definitely long term medications for anxiety, though there are side effects.

    Some of them that people I know have suffered from is a general 'dulling' of all emotions, including happiness and sadness (which can lead to trouble when something sad happens and you don't feel anything.) Other than that, weight gain, lethargy, lowered sex drive.

    Also keep in mind that not every brand and dose will work for everyone. You'll likely have to try multiple brands in multiple doses until you find the one that works best for you.

    In my personal opinion, taking the drugs is great to keep you balanced while you try to work on getting the skills to treat your anxiety on your own (such as breathing techniques, redefining your happiness and life, etc.)

    Best of luck to you

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    Veteran Member jadelady's Avatar
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    Default Re: Anti-anxiety meds

    I think the mind-body connection and therapy could be more helpful for you.. I used to struggle with specific anxiety also and talking about my thoughts and feelings in a comfortable environment (there are different types of therapy) and learning how I can control my body's reactions to those thoughts and feelings has healed me more than popping a pill would. Just my 2 cents Good luck!

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    Veteran Member Arizona_Angel's Avatar
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    Default Re: Anti-anxiety meds

    There are a few different meds out there that help with anxiety - Prozac (which is one med I take), Lexapro, Zoloft, etc. There are more as well. It takes a while you to feel the full effects of them, sometimes up to six weeks. However alot of people have had success. And yes there are side effects of course but you just need to weigh the pros and cons.

    Talk to your doc to see if there is a right one for you. You may have to try a couple types/dosages until you find one that works for you.

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    Veteran Member pipermonroe's Avatar
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    Default Re: Anti-anxiety meds

    I have been taking zoloft at 100mg for over a year now and it has changed my life. I used to drink myself into a stupor everyday to as a method of self-medicating, but I got finally got sober and the anxiety of course was still there. Zoloft can treat anxiety alone, and as I don't suffer from depression, this was ideal for me. Zoloft has given me a life where I don't worry incessantly over the smallest things that could often become debilititating. I'm sure you are familiar with what I am talking about. People talk about side effects such as lowered libido and I will tell you that my libido did not go down but it does make it more difficult to orgasm. Zoloft is also recommended for those who are concerned with some of the other medications out there that cause weight gain, as this medication has a bit of a appetite suppresant as a side effect.

    If you have any questions, please PM me.


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    Veteran Member Flaka's Avatar
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    Default Re: Anti-anxiety meds

    I used to take Abilify and it helped ME a lot. I was also taking Klonopin. I've tried a few different anti-dep. with no luck. Cognitive behavior therapy helped me the most but it took a few years and now it's coming back. I was pregnant and then nursed before, that's why I got off the medication. I'm trying to prevent my anxiety from fully coming back without meds but it's been a struggle.

    Good luck with everything!

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    Veteran Member circe221's Avatar
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    Default Re: Anti-anxiety meds

    I used to take Ativan and Lexapro for general anxiety - probably took them for @3 years.
    I weaned off of them about a year ago, maybe a little less. The combination worked well for me. Weaning off was hell though. I also started doing yoga, and that helped a lot.
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    Default Re: Anti-anxiety meds

    I am currently taking 50mg of luvox as sort of a maintainance dose. I have taken up to 200 mg a day but I found that made my anxiety worse and I had lots of panic attacks.

    You focusing on a specific type of worry like that u might have OCD (I do). Do u feel compelled to do any repetitive behaviours to try to ward off the anxiety? I tend to count things. It's really annoying.
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    Default Re: Anti-anxiety meds

    I get anxiety, and it usually comes out as insomnia, sometimes with violent nightmares (I was attacked once, and that's when it got much worse).

    Ativan works, but after two/three days on it, memory loss is too irritating to want to take it any longer (never mind the habit-forming aspects). Sleeping pills (Imovane) make most of the symptoms go away by forcing me to sleep when it gets bad and doesn't seem to be too habit-forming, though I've avoided using it for much longer than a week. Antihistamines work also, on occasion. It comes and goes, and with time I've found that I can juggle all of these into avoiding the worst. What I do is, if I can't sleep after 1/2 hour in bed, I pop a sleeping pill, if it's the second night (I tolerate one sleep-deprived night fairly well). If it goes on for more than a few days, I either put up with another sleepless night, or try Ativan for a break from the sleeping pills. That hardly happens any more. Sometimes, it's very bad, and I need to pop those things to sleep almost every night, and then it can go away, and I can be fine for several weeks or months.

    Perhaps that would work for you as well to the extent that it's nighttime-related?

    I have the feeling that manifested anxiety is not often about what we think it's about. I'm pretty sure that mine are fear-based, though they can be triggered by work and other stresses.

    Jazaine: curiously, I also have the counting habit, although I never saw it as connected to anxiety. Annoying as anything: it had gotten to the point where I'd count words on a line as I was reading a book, before I forced myself to start kicking the habit.

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