New here ( At my eand with all of this)

[hairdid]

Hello to all and I hope today is a good day for you.

So here I am, My name is Samantha I am 25, i am a wife and a mother.

All my life I have had anxiety. When I was younger it would just be a belly ache when I was not comfortable with something but as im getting older it has gotten a lot worse.

I have come to the conclusion that I have GAD ( generalized axiety disorder) I have attacks for no reason at all. It's not the people I am with or the situation I am in. It just happens and IDK what to do.

When i have an attack I feel really sick to my stomach and have to go to the bathroom. Yes sometimes I can talk myself out of it and be fine but I just want it gone in general. I HATE THIS!!!

My husband has had anxiety for a while now also and I am so scared that my daughter who is still young will see us have our freak outs and she too will have it.

i was on   clonazepam 5mg but that doctor would only give me one refill and tell me to come back. I only took it as needed but I dont feel like I should have to see him everytime I need a refill. He would only give 30 pills and said if I needed more then that then I should talk to someone.

so I am with a new doctor and she wont gove me that so she gave me Metoprolol Tartrate50mg. I had an attack saturday and I took that maybe an hour before it happened so there for it didnt work. I really dont know what to do at this point. I hate not doing things bc im scared I will have an attack and its getting worse everyday it seems.

Sorry to be all over the place, Im just freaking out a little...


Anyone else have GAD?

[BluCrystal]

Yes, I have that, and so do many more on here!  I'm glad you came.  We can offer you help and support. :-)  I have other mental problems as well, and I am very familiar with your type of fear.  It's terrifying, and you should not have to 'just deal with it'.  I have a journal entry on my page that you can read called 'my psych ward story'.  It's long, but worth your time if you can glean some light from it.  Let me know what you think.  And feel free to message me anytime... we are sisters in this. :-)  Blessings - Blu

[lorigirl76]

I've not been here long enough to offer any real advice, but just know that lots of people here do understand what you are going through.  I have anxiety and panic attacks and they are horrible and scary and I just started zoloft about a month ago for them.  I hope you find some answers and get some relief soon.  Take care.

[Crystal413]

Some people do take Anti-Deppresants while others take meds such as Klonipin (which you were taking) Most importantly, did Klonipin help? If it did, I would stick with it.  Klonipin is the least addicting for this class of drugs. The most, most important thing to do is when you feel that you no longer need it, that you ween yourself of very slowly to lessen the withdraws. You may not even have any if you go slow enough. The dr can advise you how to do this.
In my experience, the psyc dr's I have had did not make me continually come back for more. There was a plan as to how much I could take each day if needed and for a while it was everyday. Then they would calculate the number of pills. If you are going to a regular dr, not a psyc, that is the reason for the low amount of pills and the frequency of visits. I think they are being cautious with you for your safety. There speciality is not mental illness.  Psyc dr prescribe this type of med more and monitor the patient. They specialize in anxiety, panic attacks and the list goes on. They are the person yo see with this kind of problem. Have you tried Therapy or CBT Therapy? How about yoga, mediation CD's and mindfulness. Try one at a time, see what works, which ones you like. Any or all of these can really help.

[Crystal413]

Forgot to mention. The psyc dr can officially diagnosis you with GAD. He/she may have a different strategy for you once the dx is complete.  Still, if the Klonipin works for you, he may just have you stay on that. Go prepared with your questions, ask lots of questions and take a notepad. It's hard to soak everything in at once. Let us know how it goes.

[MYoungAtHeart]

As you can see from the replies, you are not alone in your anxiety.
Many of us have found different ways to deal with our anxiety
and everyone who replied to you has excellent advice for you...

I do wish you the best of luck with finding a solution for your anxiety..


M

[Paxiled]

As to the above statement that klonopin is the least addictive, all benzos are equally addictive.  If you take them as needed, addiction can be avoided; if you take them regularly, klonopin is quite addictive.  Klonopin is also probably the least effective taken as needed, as it takes a while to work and stays in the system longer, so it's usually taken regularly while quicker acting benzos would be used as needed, but again, they're all addictive when taken regularly.  That doesn't mean one should never take them, I take klonopin, but just wanted to clear that up.  You also don't need a psychiatrist to diagnose you, a psychologist can also do that but can't prescribe meds, but psychologists actually study more psychology than psychiatrists do, as the latter spend most of their education studying general medicine (and their careers forgetting that they're doctors!)  Primary care physicians usually know little about drugs generally, except which ones match which diagnosis, though some have done their residencies in psychiatry most have not.  If you want to try non-medication remedies, one of the above posts gave very good advice on things to try.  For medication, you should see a psychiatrist, and you should also make sure whatever doc you see seems to know their meds and how to dose them, start them slowly, end them slowly, and be reliable support, which your current doc doesn't seem to put at the top of the list.  The doc is, however, trying to prevent you from becoming addicted to the med, which is why the limited prescriptions --- these are much abused drugs.  My own oft stated opinion is that everything should be tried before using medication unless your life is non-functional, but everyone must take their own path.  

[Crystal413]

I wanted to clear up a few things. As for having a diagnosis, yes you can get one from a pcsychologist or a Pcsychiatrist. If you feel you need a med to help control your sx and or your current med is working then it makes more since to go to a Pcsychiatrist who diagnoses and prescribes meds. I personally see no point in paying for two dr if I suspect or know I need a med. Since you are on meds this to me sounds like a logical decision.

As for Klonipin. My Pcsychiatrist told me out of all the Benzos, Klonipin is the least addicting. This is where my info is based.It also lasts longer in your system. I take it PRN and it works fine for me (0.5mg). There was a period of time I took that dose 2xday. When the time was right my dr and I slowly tapered off, no problems. You will get more info from your dr. As I stated before he may have another treatment plan for you altogether. There is no question that Benzos, long term (long term is diff for diff people)  are addicting and some build up a tolerance and some don't. Meaning you could possibly need more to get the same benefit. There is a lot of info out there on Benzos and your dr should be knowledgable to help you figure out your best course. Just for the record, there are also many mental Illness drugs that have bad side effects/withdraws. Benzos are not the only ones. That is way it is so necessary to taper off slowly under the care of your dr. And that is also why they monitor your intake of meds. They don't want you to have more problems than you came in with. Sincerely, Crystal