Aa
Anxiety over anxiety medication!
I am a 28 year old female whom lives a mostly healthy lifestyle. I eat well and occasionally exercise. I'm very active with my children. However, I have been battling with Anxiety disorder and panic attacks for about the past 10 years. I take 1.5 mgs of Xanax everyday. I suffered bad postpartum depression with both my children which led with depression along with my anxiety. I started the Xanax about a year after my last child was born and the panic attacks started to become more of a regular occurrence. I feel like I am a Slave to this medication. I am in constant fear of the next panic attack. I'm constantly feeling light headed, dizzy, heart pounding, mind racing, etc. I have been on many anti depressants in the past. I was recently prescribed Lexapro 10mg to take with my Xanax to try to keep things at bay. I am anxious about taking anxiety medication! I can't take it. I made the mistake of reading about other people's horrible experiences and now I'm terrified to try it. My ultimate goal would be to controls anxiety and be able to live a happy life and no longer have to take Xanax. At this point I realize my body is also addicted to it. I don't know how I can ween off of it because I still have panic/anxiety! It's a double edge sword. I'm feeling pretty hopeless at this point. Like I will be a Slave to this pill for the rest of my life to just have the feeling like I'm not going to have a heart attack. (Although I know it's only anxiety.) I am terrified to take the lexapro based on things I've read but I also am scared to live with anxiety this bad and depending on Xanax the rest of my life. I'm getting to the point where I hate being alone, I won't drive on the highway, and exercising gives me anxiety because it increases my heart rate.
Any advice would be appreciated!
Any advice would be appreciated!
Update: Increasing your Zoloft dosage (like I mentioned) to overcome a panic attack is a horrendous idea. Please do not attempt! It turns out that a dose increase in Zoloft also increases your anxiety level. I thought I was helping myself heal faster, but in reality I was increasing the very panic I was trying to stop. Live and learn.
True that Cat.
Zoloft is a pretty good drug that a lot of doctors prefer. It took my at least 6 months before I felt almost normal on it. My anxiety and panic attacks slowly dwindled to less and less and less each month. Think of a wave pattern slowly evening itself out to a flat line.
I agree and so will many others I believe; Xanax or any other benzo is just an emergency drug. I took my Ativan just a few times to allow me to sleep and get me through the first couple weeks on Zoloft. Man was I scared I had heart failure or a heart attack, the benzo helped SO much. But after a couple weeks, I came off of it. I still had panic attacks for the next few weeks, but they weren't nearly as bad because Zoloft was starting to kick in.
Antianxiety, see a psychiatrist or an addictionologist about coming off the benzo's. Coming off and becoming clean of a benzo is considered worse than breaking free of heroin. You will need to find someone that can help: http://www.abam.net/find-a-doctor/
Please, find a doctor and take the step in taking control of your anxiety.
Zoloft is a pretty good drug that a lot of doctors prefer. It took my at least 6 months before I felt almost normal on it. My anxiety and panic attacks slowly dwindled to less and less and less each month. Think of a wave pattern slowly evening itself out to a flat line.
I agree and so will many others I believe; Xanax or any other benzo is just an emergency drug. I took my Ativan just a few times to allow me to sleep and get me through the first couple weeks on Zoloft. Man was I scared I had heart failure or a heart attack, the benzo helped SO much. But after a couple weeks, I came off of it. I still had panic attacks for the next few weeks, but they weren't nearly as bad because Zoloft was starting to kick in.
Antianxiety, see a psychiatrist or an addictionologist about coming off the benzo's. Coming off and becoming clean of a benzo is considered worse than breaking free of heroin. You will need to find someone that can help: http://www.abam.net/find-a-doctor/
Please, find a doctor and take the step in taking control of your anxiety.
My experience on Lexapro was a good one. It worked well for my anxiety/panic disorder for a long time. It did eventually stop working and now I'm trying Zoloft. Zoloft isn't working yet but it has only been 3 weeks so I can't give it a fair assessment. If you really need meds to control your disorder, think about giving the Lexapro a try. Xanax isn't meant to be a maintenance med. I hope you get to feeling better soon.
Hi, I'm sorry you are having such a hard time. One of the challenges of having a panic disorder is that your brain amplifies even small worries, and you end up completely stressed and overwhelmed by everything. I would tell you not to worry, but if someone gave me that advice, I would probably spit on them. :)
Just to give you some history on me... I developed a panic disorder about 15 years ago, and it was REALLY bad for a long time. I had panic attacks 24/7 and developed a deep depression from it. I felt like a slave to all of the drugs, and I never believed anyone who told me I would get better. Side note: I did get better. :)
I am not a doctor but I have been through what you're dealing with and I have some suggestions.
1) Anti-depressant -- I have not taken Lexapro but I can tell you that I am on Zoloft and that works wonders for me. Zoloft is prescribed for people with OCD so it really helps me control my irrational "bad thoughts" (as I call them). I don't know about you, but my mind wanders until it finds a thought that terrifies me, and then I can't stop thinking/panicking about it. The Zoloft is an anti-depressant too, so it helps restore the serotonin that gets depleted from a panic attack.
Note that everyone is different, so you may not benefit from Zoloft like I do, but there *is* an anti-depressant out there that will be great for you. My advice would be this: If you start on an anti-depressant and have no improvement within 2 months, move on. I wasted YEARS waiting for different meds to work (Paxil, Prozac, Welbutrin, Celexa, Buspar, etc.) when I should have just kept going. It can be very discouraging trying all of these different meds, but trust me, once you find the right one, it will be soooo worth it.
2) Take one day at a time. Remind yourself that you're sick right now, and whatever you are worrying about is probably not rational. You can even try telling yourself to store that worry away, and that you'll deal with it later once you're thinking more clearly.
3) Find something to look forward to. For me, taking a shower is relaxing, so I make sure to take one each night. If you can't think of anything, that's okay. Just remind yourself that one day soon, all of these bad days will just be a memory, and that life will be good again. You just need time to heal, and this is the time. You're not wasting it, you're strengthening yourself for the future.
4) Cut out caffeine if you haven't already. That stuff is a panic attack waiting to happen. I can't even drink decaf coffee without getting an attack!
5) Learn your triggers. Mine is lack of sleep or a messed up sleep cycle (i.e. not going to bed and getting up at a routine time). Also, my period makes me way more panicky. Adjust your meds accordingly.
6) Don't think about Xanax as something you will have to take forever. Think about it is a very necessary (temporary) tool to give your mind some peace while you're healing. Once you get an anti-depressant that works, you will feel much better and you will not have as many panic attacks. At some point, your outlook on the medicine will shift from "I'm a slave to it" to "It's something that keeps me balanced."
These days my panic only surfaces under extreme pressure situations, usually which I can avoid by minimizing my triggers. I take 0.5mg of Xanax at bedtime, but that is more of a security blanket than something I really need to do. I had weaned myself off it completely for awhile, but had a minor relapse and now I don't want to stop taking it. I am on a maintenance dose of 50mg Zoloft daily, but I ramp it up to 150mg when I have a panic episode, and usually am back to normal within two weeks.
I hope some of what I said was helpful, and I wish you the best!
-Cat
Just to give you some history on me... I developed a panic disorder about 15 years ago, and it was REALLY bad for a long time. I had panic attacks 24/7 and developed a deep depression from it. I felt like a slave to all of the drugs, and I never believed anyone who told me I would get better. Side note: I did get better. :)
I am not a doctor but I have been through what you're dealing with and I have some suggestions.
1) Anti-depressant -- I have not taken Lexapro but I can tell you that I am on Zoloft and that works wonders for me. Zoloft is prescribed for people with OCD so it really helps me control my irrational "bad thoughts" (as I call them). I don't know about you, but my mind wanders until it finds a thought that terrifies me, and then I can't stop thinking/panicking about it. The Zoloft is an anti-depressant too, so it helps restore the serotonin that gets depleted from a panic attack.
Note that everyone is different, so you may not benefit from Zoloft like I do, but there *is* an anti-depressant out there that will be great for you. My advice would be this: If you start on an anti-depressant and have no improvement within 2 months, move on. I wasted YEARS waiting for different meds to work (Paxil, Prozac, Welbutrin, Celexa, Buspar, etc.) when I should have just kept going. It can be very discouraging trying all of these different meds, but trust me, once you find the right one, it will be soooo worth it.
2) Take one day at a time. Remind yourself that you're sick right now, and whatever you are worrying about is probably not rational. You can even try telling yourself to store that worry away, and that you'll deal with it later once you're thinking more clearly.
3) Find something to look forward to. For me, taking a shower is relaxing, so I make sure to take one each night. If you can't think of anything, that's okay. Just remind yourself that one day soon, all of these bad days will just be a memory, and that life will be good again. You just need time to heal, and this is the time. You're not wasting it, you're strengthening yourself for the future.
4) Cut out caffeine if you haven't already. That stuff is a panic attack waiting to happen. I can't even drink decaf coffee without getting an attack!
5) Learn your triggers. Mine is lack of sleep or a messed up sleep cycle (i.e. not going to bed and getting up at a routine time). Also, my period makes me way more panicky. Adjust your meds accordingly.
6) Don't think about Xanax as something you will have to take forever. Think about it is a very necessary (temporary) tool to give your mind some peace while you're healing. Once you get an anti-depressant that works, you will feel much better and you will not have as many panic attacks. At some point, your outlook on the medicine will shift from "I'm a slave to it" to "It's something that keeps me balanced."
These days my panic only surfaces under extreme pressure situations, usually which I can avoid by minimizing my triggers. I take 0.5mg of Xanax at bedtime, but that is more of a security blanket than something I really need to do. I had weaned myself off it completely for awhile, but had a minor relapse and now I don't want to stop taking it. I am on a maintenance dose of 50mg Zoloft daily, but I ramp it up to 150mg when I have a panic episode, and usually am back to normal within two weeks.
I hope some of what I said was helpful, and I wish you the best!
-Cat
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