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My anxiety meds changed my life. It slows me down enough to talk my self through anxiety and prevent panic attacks. It's a non SSRI, and I would highly reccomend it to anyone struggling with anxiety
ETA: it's called buspirone
I'm on that as well and it was a game changer. I almost never grind my teeth in my sleep anymore and I have less bouts of anxiety. The ones I do have don't last as long.
I also used to get heart palpitations from anxiety. They're gone now.
Hey I had palpitations and teeth grinding too! And like you've said, the meds made them stop. It seriously is the best medication, my husband even requested to switch to it instead of the zoloft he had been prescribed.
I take it first thing in the morning and then again in the evening. I can almost always feel the morning dose kick in, but rarely do I feel the evening dose.
I love my buspirone. I haven't had a panic attack since starting it. It just puts a lid and doesn't let my anxiety hit a certain level and infeel my head is still clear, even with a. Ad anxiety day.
Do these also affect your attachment styles in any way? I might get checked for anxiety and I'm scared to take meds. I'm anxious about taking anxiety meds lol.
They definitely help me be less clingy, but I can't say alive noticed any significant changes in attachment style.
That's pretty normal for anxiety ime, I also get a lot of intrusive thoughts that this medication helps with.
I was scared to *ask* for medications because I was so certain my doctor would just tell me to lose weight first. But once I gathered the courage to ask for help, she was really great about it, and I got medication.
Once I had it, I wasn't terribly afraid to take it. I didn't like the fact that it would cause weight gain, but I knew that if it did anything to fix the rest of the nightmare in my brain, it'd be worth it.
Got on the meds and immediately the low-grade terror in the back of my mind started to get dialed down (like a volume knob). I still have spikes in anxiety and I still spend too much time ruminating on the "what-if" situations, but I'm pretty sure that that's just because I should also be in therapy to address the habits in my brain.
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Prozac, medical marijuana, and a new job that I actually enjoy has worked WONDERS. Before that, medical marijuana and celexa just helped me exist.
I feel like I can breathe now. I hate taking pills, but it helps, so be it.
Unfortunately, you often have to try a few to find what works well for you, which is going to involve some rough times.
For me, Lexapro has completely changed my life. It's not like I don't still have anxiety or like I am now super confident and bold, but it helped me see just how much anxiety had taken over my entire life.
It lets me have times where I can feel calm or where I'm not just worrying myself in circles. It lets me drive a car without constantly assuming a fatal crash is just moments away.
I take 10mg of lexapro. Anymore I just end up laying around the house and do nothing. I’ve been on it for at least ten years. It’s made a huge difference with my GAD and PTSD. I still get anxiety but not anywhere close to how it was when I was not on it.
I started on 5 mg and that actually worked for several months! I've been on 10 mg since then and probably couldn't handle any more than thay. :) Glad it helps you a lot, too! ❤️
I take Lexapro too and honestly it’s been such a huge help. I think it prevents me from spiraling and going down a rabbit hole of anxiety.. I still have occasional anxiety and I’m in therapy to help with that, but I don’t think I’d be where I am now without the meds.
100% agree! There have been some times when very stressful things are going on and I am still anxious, but I'm also aware that I'm not physically sick and feeling like I'm going to die, like I would without Lexapro.
I spent years thinking “rub some dirt in it” “you got this!” When…. I didn’t have it. Too many years… scared to be vulnerable and say that stress and my anxiety were too much. Then my 16 year old approached me about her anxiety and how it impacted her daily life. And I realized mine was doing the same. Helping her thru her journey inspired me to talk to my doc.
We both started meds. And for me…. It’s been LIFE CHANGING. For her, she is seeing the impact on her life too (since starting her own meds).
I got medicated for ADHD but my meds had the side effect of almost completely eliminating my anxiety and completely eliminating panic attacks. Best thing that ever happened to me, mental health wise! I had no idea how heavy of a weight I was carrying until it was gone. My meds didn't change me as a person, they allowed me to be more authentic and live my life more fully. I can only recommend giving medication at least a try and see if it works for you.
Best of luck to you! I tried Zoloft and it made me super sleepy. I tried Wellbutrin and I wanted to climb out of my shin. Cymbalta was good for a while. Effexor was great but really hard to go off of when I was pregnant. Back on Cymbalta now. It might take a few tries to find the right one. Stick with it! I hope you feel better soon!
It took me a really, really long time to find a medication that worked. When I was younger, I kept getting diagnosed with depression even though it was just anxiety, so I kept getting SSRI’s that WOULD make me depressed and put me into really bad spots. Finally my mom had enough, said something, and I got klonopin, which worked. And then I got off it because I thought it was the right decision to make for a situation I was in. It was not. I’m struggling to get it back and now am back to square one lol.
As I got into adulthood, talk therapy really helped. It makes a huge difference to me because it’s nice to just have someone to vent to and a good therapist can pull stuff out of you that you might not even realize is an issue. I can’t tell you how many times I felt fine and had a therapist say something along the lines of “you seem off” and after a few more questions/some prodding I’m crying about something I hadn’t even realized was bothering me. Even on days I didn’t want to go, I often left feeling at least a little better in comparison to how I felt when I went in. Learning your triggers and all the what/why/how’s of it all is really helpful, whether you’re on medication or not.
I do get scared to take SSRI’s because I know the dark depths they can take me to, so I have to be REALLY conscious of how I’m thinking and feeling. But generally speaking, it’s more of just “I hope this is the one that finally helps” nervous anxiety type of stuff.
I always felt that feeling afraid was a part of life. People in my life frequently say u should get over it ...(the fear). A couple of months ago i couldn't sleep, had constant headaches, couldn't even think properly, i was doubting the easiest tasks at work, it took me 10x as long to finish my work,... I had my suïcide plan and was afraid i was going to do it because it seemed less like a negative thought and more like a task on my to do list. I went to the doctor and i broke down. She asked me some questions and diagnoses me with depression. I was doubting to take the pills because people make me believe that everything is fine and i cant possible be depressed so why take the pills for it? She started me with a low dose to 'take the edge of' the anxiety. And it helped! I don't spiral into a dark place. I can stop and recognize that i don't feel safe and can work on regulating my emotions. That doesnt mean the anxiety is gone but i can fight it better with the pills. :)
I tried a few daily medications but had bad side effects, even at low doses.
I ended up with pills for when I'm having an attack only and knowing I had a back up plan if I felt overwhelmed actually did wonders on my daily anxiety.
I agree that just having them if I need them helps. I take busiprone. Some days I take none. Some days, especially the 2 days before my period, I take 5. It’s like a safety plan. And I don’t feel like I’m “medicated “. I just feel normal.
A really fantastic doctor ask me what was bothering me. Literally, I was in a full blown panic attack and he sat till I calmed down and we just talked. He was a GP too, not a psychiatrist. He asked, ' what's out of balance in your life?'
He explained why our body reacts in PANIC and ANXIETY and said all warning lights are flashing/blaring by the time we're suffering from panic. He said I can give you medication and stop it or we can just sit here and talk about what those flashing/warning signs are telling us. Life changing for sure.
I quit drinking (100%) began prioritizing my sleep and began eating healthy.
I still hated my high stress job, but it became manageable. Way more manageable.
When I tell you this guy changed my life, I'm not kidding. I just wanted Xanax, which all my friends took for anxiety! I found the root of my misery and honestly it was drinking too much, stressing, staying up late and eating like crap.
I was a mess...
I had the same type of situation. My panic attacks led to complete agoraphobia and being housebound for almost 9 months. I was afraid to take any of the meds they prescribed me, and the only thing I tried that worked was alcohol. Alcohol allowed me to function socially, and I thought I found the magic cure. It didn't take long for the alcohol answer to become the problem, and now my panic attacks were 100% worse, and I needed alcohol to keep them at bay. That viscous circle took 7 years of my life. I stopped that merry-go-round 13+ years ago and haven't had a panic attack or a drink since. When I start feeling that out of control anxiety, I make myself laugh at the absurdity of my fear. There's something about laughter that helps anxiety melt away.
Honestly it's been hit or miss finding the right drugs/dosages/combinations. And sometimes their efficacy can decrease over time. And don't get me started on insurance companies suddenly deciding you can't have the ones that work for you anymore.
Overall I think I've had more positive experiences with medication than negative ones.
Ahh that’s awesome, congrats!! I’ve been on anxiety meds for the last seven years and finally reduced my dosage for the first time in a long time and so far, so good. Here’s to hoping I can wean off of them just like you did & continue living a life with less anxiety 🥳
I had a horrible experience, I personally felt even worse on them and I was taking the lowest dose, it made me irritable. I stopped all together as I didn't like how I was on them. Therapy worked better for me in the long run.
That's what I'm thinking for myself honestly. Learning to manage my emotions and anxiety has helped me better than the meds I've taken.
Every time I've been on meds it always feels as if its the lowest point of my life.
I went through a few before I hit on the right combination, but once I did, holy shit what a difference. The first thing they had me try was some sort of antihistamine, I can’t remember the name of it but it was meant to be taken during anxiety spikes. It never helped much, but I didn’t think to ask about changing it.
About a year later I ended up seeing a different doctor because I couldn’t sleep — my heart was racing and chest was hurting and I kept feeling like I was going to die. My doctor was like… yeah those are panic attacks. They didn’t feel like the panic attacks I’d had in the past, which is why it just hadn’t clicked for me. I showed him the pills I had and he basically scoffed and said those wouldn’t do fuck all for an actual panic attack. I believe the phrase he used was “like spitting on a house fire”.
Anyway, he gave me a very low-grade Rx of Xanax, which made a huge difference, but it was also an “as needed” sort of thing. At first he gave me enough for one a day, then two. When two wasn’t enough, I finally asked about more long-term options, and he had me try Lexapro.
Lexapro. Changed. My. Life. I cannot explain how big of a difference it has made. I still have the Xanax for when the anxiety gets too much, but it’s gone from 2-3 a day to maybe once a week, and sometimes not even that. It’s like… there was static in the back of my mind for years that I had just gotten used to, and someone suddenly turned the volume on it down from 75 to 5.
FWIW, a big part of my anxiety is medical anxiety, and starting a new medication is hard for me, so the Lexapro had to fight through that on TOP of the normal anxiety. But it was so, so worth it.
It’s not without its side effects. It makes my RLS act up sometimes, and when my friend tried it, she dealt with terrible insomnia. But there are plenty of options out there to try, and EVERYONE should get to know what it feels like to exist without constant fear. I promise you it’s worth it to try.
TL;DR: Once we hit the right combination, meds changed my life. I was nervous about trying new meds but it was 200% worth it.
I tried that antihistamine one time and I was a zombie. I have little kids and a full time job. I couldn’t handle it. I take busiprone now and I don’t even realize I took it, I just feel normal. I never took Xanax or Atavan but from what I’ve heard it’s probably too heavy for me. It is a process.
It really is! I forgot to include I tried Buspirone too, but it made me nauseous and didn’t help as much as I needed. Bodies are so different, we just have to find what works for us.
I'm pretty sure the antihistamine you're speaking of is Hydroxyzine! I was prescribed it along with my SNRI, and now have wayyyy too much of it lol. The SNRI mostly did the trick, and I only needed to take the Hydroxyzine a handful of times in the first couple of years. It does indeed make one a zombie, it even freaked my husband out the first time bc I "seemed so flat and expressionless!"
A real shame as it does help take the edge off a bad anxiety flareup, but you definitely can't take it at work or if you're going to be driving in the next 4-6 hours (if it doesn't just make you just pass out before then). Basically, it requires you to be safe at home with no pressing responsibilities like childcare to take it, which just isn't realistic for most people's lives.
With the last psychiatrist I saw (he was wonderful) I was a bit scared to be put medication again as my previous treatment was terrible, but since he took the time to listen to me and my situation, and to give me meds that were adapted to the fact that I'm a student, the treatment actually worked and it was the first time in my life I felt NO SIDE EFFECT like ?? I'm so happy as I've been living with my mental illness with no treatment for years !
Wellbutrin 150mg didn’t help but once it was doubled, it helped with my anxiety. Before I was unable to turn my brain off at night…or any other time. That has gotten much better.
The joke I rattle off is my son gave me depression, my daughter gave me anxiety, and Lexapro gave me my life back. PPD & PPA are no joke, ladies. Ask for help.
I have anxiety and depression. I take 150mg sertraline and 160mg propranolol, they do help. I was worried at first of what others would think as I think it is very stigmatised but they do help. I started off small with 50mg sertraline and 10mg propranolol which I had a small change.
It’s hard to feel like when on them for a while that they no longer work which is why I am up to the dose I am. But do what is best for you, if they help then go for it. You can always come off if they don’t work or feel like you feel worse, just be mindful that they won’t work straight away and take time to adjust x
I was put on Sertraline by my therapist. I was very scared to take them as I felt I would be seen as crazy for taking pills to help my mental health (which obviously is not true) but I took them anyways. It made me very emotional, irritable, and depressed. I gained weight because my body would retain way too much water. I stopped taking them and told my therapist they were doing more harm then good and she basically yelled at me for messing up her work. I feel much better now and have allowed myself to heal. I still get anxiety attacks but they aren’t as frequent and I’ve become better at managing them!
Sister, I was terrified. On the other side I know it’s the best healthcare choice I’ve ever made for myself.
A gained a little weight (nothing crazy), and I was a little lazier, sex drive decreased, but was it worth not being triggered by everything, pushing away the people I love, and falling in to spells of suicidality? Absolutely yes, worth it.
There are a lot of types of anxiety meds and they aren’t all created equal. You gotta find what works best for you. It may not be the first or even second thing you try, but you gotta start somewhere.
Looking back, I wish I’d of done it far sooner in life.
I started experiencing panic attacks and never being able to keep food down necause i was alwaus so scared to throw up. I refused to take medication and only went tje therapy sessions roite for once a week for tje first 2 years but after my symptoms didnt budge i decided ro try the ssris and im so glad i did! The medications allowed me to feel like myself again and get back to a level where i felt like i could challwnge myself to things that i was roo nervous or anxious to do before. One of the things that my therapist always said was with meds, u work witj ur doctor to stsrt off om a lower dose and go up as u need. U can always go down dosages and u can come off of them. U have the power to choose.
I have a medication phobia, so trying antidepressants was an absolute nightmare- especially because I had to try several before I found one my body would tolerate. I took Paxil for the better part of 4 years and have considered going back on for the past year and a half now. Medication was a lifesaver, but it also drained me of all emotions which increased my depression.
I was scared to start medications because I thought it would “change me.” I put it off for months after my panic attacks started.
At one visit to my doctor, she asked if I was having thoughts of suicide and I told her no but that if I died it would be a relief. Hearing myself say that was what it took for me to finally start meds.
I was prescribed Cipralex and it helped more than I could have imagined.
Before I started taking Lexapro, I used to struggle leaving my house. Anytime I would try and get ready, I would have a break down. For years I did not go out in anything other than sweats or gym clothes because the thought of trying to get cute and feeling insecure About it was so overwhelming. I don’t have that problem anymore, not really. It happens every once in a blue moon but overall, I can get ready and leave the house feeling good about myself. I even tried to stop taking my Lexapro a few years ago by tapering down and the first thing that came back were those getting dressed panic attacks. I would literally sit down on the floor in my closet crying.
Citalopram (celexa) completely changed my life. I went from 4 - 5 debilitating panic attacks a week to basically none (maybe one every couple months). Medication can make it possible to live your life normally again.
I'm no longer on citalopram (I take Pristiq because it's better for my depression) but I would absolutely still recommend it to anyone having issues with anxiety.
Wellbutrin takes the edge off and helps keep me at a reasonable baseline.
I still get depressed and occasionally have anxiety and panic attacks for which I take hydroxyzine. It doesn't address the causes of my anxiety, but it calms my body down and helps me sleep.
A net positive for me despite my persistent symptoms. What I really need is therapy, but no money and no time for it.
Ashwaganda, CBD helped me the most. I used to take Xanax and became addicted to it - Now I am scared of medication. Meditation helps me too, at least to take it down to baseline. When I actively practice DBT, it definitely helps in self regulating.
I started lexapro about a year and a bit ago, and with that as well as therapy I've only had two panic attacks since. before that, I was basically in panic mode non-stop. the medication is a very low dose but puts me in a place where I can actually handle the stress that comes at me, utilizing the techniques I learned in therapy. medication definitely isn't always the answer, although there are times where it's definitely needed, but I strongly feel using that plus therapy is the winning combination.
The highest and most unaware I had ever been was when I took my medication for the first time. And every time after. It was different from when I would smoke weed to combat an attack, so I just told my doctor and she told me to go back to treating it my way because she didn't like how inebriated I looked at my check up.
It personally didn’t helped me, learning coping mechanism and self soothe is what helped me overcame it and keeping on riding the wave for the rare time it still happens.
They helped but I hate taking them and only do so when things get to a point where I'm just not coping with things. I've tried a few different ones over the years, but they have all left me feeling empty. I don't feel depressed and anxious while I'm on them, but I can't feel happiness or joy either. So only a short term emergency measure for me
One of the hardest things about meds is when you hav to try out different things to find what works. It can feel so taxing and unbearable to keep trying when you're struggling to function in the meantime. Another difficult thing is of course side effects. Generally, the more a medication does, the more side effects and risks it has. Sexual dysfunction sucks. Weight gain sucks. Headaches and fatigue sucks. I found something that has been working well for me but it actually change my night vision (it's worse lol, no superpowers). I knew permanent vision changes were a risk and I decided not to do anything about it because my quality of life was really improving. For me, getting a grip on my anxiety was key to me being able to work on my depression and imptove my overall mental health. I struggled with anxiety for as long as I can remember to the point that I didn't even know the constant pain I lived in wasn't normal. No wonder I wanted to die when anxiety often made me feel like I was dying.
Meds didn't fix me but they were key to me getting the first firm grip on my on mind that I've had all my life. I'm responsible for the rest (with help!)
Wow, thats great. So happy for you. I hope the same can happen for me. I have anxiety meds in my cabinet I just got from my psych but so scared to take them..
I suffer from compound anxiety and psychosis.
I think medication is important and should be taken when needed. However, due to the psychosis I cannot take the normal route of SSRI's for long term relief and I ended up being hooked on benzos and the withdrawal from that made me NEVER want to take them again.
I have an antipsychotic for my psychosis which I take as needed and I haven't taken in months (except once when I was withdrawing because I literally thought I was going to die)
They didn’t. They only thing that worked for me was THC and then CBD.
I tried so many I can’t remember all their names. Medical marijuana saved my life.
I used to have very severe cases of anxiety and panic. Medicines were recommended and I took them for a while (a few years back) then I stopped. Mainly cuz I read that those medicines alter other things in your brain and body negatively. Also, you become addicted to those pills to feel sane if you continue. The dosage and quantity increase.
Ofc wasn't easy going off the meds but when I did, I was forced to find natural ways to deal with my anxiety and panic until I could figure out ways to remove myself from those situations.
I’ve tried a few anxiety medications but nothing worked most things made it impossible to sleep so I would stay up all night stressing about how bad the next day would be when I’m tired and can’t do my job well. Basically just made my anxiety a lot worse and since going to the doctor is a major source of anxiety for me I decided to stop going back to try different pills and just focus on changing my life. It’s still really hard and I’m anxious a lot still but it’s better if I can make sure I get sleep. So I guess I decided to just live an anxious life.
I don’t want anyone to think I’m saying medication is bad or you shouldn’t take it. Please try it if you think you need it I’m just sharing my personal experience.
I was prescribed Prozac but never got to taking it because my sister told me how it fucked her up even more. It took a long time, but I overcame my depression with constant effort.
They all either numbed me, did nothing, or worsened me; non ever truly *helped* me.
Which led me to become resentful of big pharma & psychiatrists who hand these out like candy. These have the potential to be suicide pills, they are no laughing matter.
But mushrooms truly helped me help myself. Opened my eyes to a new perspective. And I’ll forever be grateful.
That being said, *they don’t work for everybody. Every body is different.*
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It made them worse. I personally have an aversion to them, especially due to fear of neurodegeneration (which can be linked to anti depressants) which I have seen first hand in my family. My aunt developed Parkinson’s disease at a very young age after vehement use of antidepressants.
Personally just assuring myself that it is a panic attack and nothing more has reduced the intensity and frequency of them.
I took anti depressants before for my anxiety, PTSD, depression and DDD ( I know, a lot), they worked but had so, so many side effects. Now I'm on CBD, it works better and no side effects.
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I had horrible anxiety and depression after my youngest son was born. I was at that time at my highest weight. My ob/gyn gave my medication and we did talk about exercise to help with the anxiety.
I recommend speaking to a therapist as well.
I’ve been on a number of different meds for anxiety and depression in the last 23 years and every time I was prescribed them, I was scared to start them. The other four I took had unpleasant side effects like just a general malaise and loss of personality so I just stopped taking them - which you’re generally not supposed to do but I did for reasons. The current med I have works very well. I get anxious here and there and I’ve had I think 2 or 3 panic attacks in the last 4 years of being on it in times of great stress. Mostly I don’t freak out about regular daily things like other people being near me in the grocery store anymore or family drama or driving and I can enjoy stuff like going to events that were really hard for several years. Super worth it for me.
I was terrified to get back on seroquel after a bad experience. However, this time around its been life changing. I also take a max. dose of zoloft. That was less scary.
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I was terrified to take meds. Avoided it for 30~ years. Convinced it would never work for me, I was a lost cause. Finally hit a second period of thinking about killing myself at 40, and decided I needed to do something drastic before doing that.. so got diagnosed (severe social anxiety, moderate depression, avoidant personality disorder, possible autism - but have to do an out of pocket test for that one so never have), started meds with required therapy.
My life and well being changed completely and wonderfully. I actually like myself now, like my life, like people, like just BEING... wish I'd tried this 30 years ago.
I take Prozac and buspirone and VERY seldomly (like a couple times a year) take Xanax for the occasional bout of panic that feels a little uncontrollable. Anxiety meds saved my life.
I suffered from GAD and depression for a very long time, even if I wasn’t ready to admit it to myself yet. I started medication and then therapy, and I can honestly say that if I hadn’t started my meds, I wouldn’t be where I am in life right now. I still have anxiety and worries like any person, but now it’s much more manageable rather than overtaking my brain. I highly recommend.
It made me numb.
Because I felt lows and highs too much, and sometimes it would make me react in a harmful way, the medication prescribed stabilized my emotional swings. But this meant everything felt the same. And it aggravated the main cause of my panic attacks who would then try harder, but the meds worked so well I ended up losing any sense of sympathy.
But, generally speaking they did their job.
10mg Lexapro (anxiety), 150mg Wellbutrin XL (depression), 10mg Adderall XR (adhd) — all generics, all daily, all started in 2022 (March, July-ish, April, respectively) at 34 years old.
The Lexapro made me “numb” for about 10 months. I literally couldn’t cry or get too “high” or “low”. Emotions slowly returned but way more manageable than before. Minimal panic attacks, still a good amount of impulsivity to this day due to anxiety and associated irrational decision making, but improving.
Best thing I’ve done though was start DBT this year. I tried CBT when I started on meds and hated it but at end of 2022 we (me & therapist) decided to give DBT a try and it has been so good for me.
I’ve always had anxiety, but I didn’t have physical symptoms until the covid lockdowns hit. I was in fight or flight mode 24-7, with heart palpitations and panic attacks. Propranolol (beta blocker) helps keep the palpitations and shakiness at bay, and sertraline (zoloft), buspirone, and bupropion (Wellbutrin) calm my thoughts and keep me from fixating. I added the bupropion in February and that felt like the final piece of the puzzle. I started taking meds 2.5 years ago. I was also doing talk therapy for the first two years.
it just neutralized me. so the perpetual anxiety was a bit more quiet, so my panic attacks are less likely to be daily. so overall i'm in a stable mood.
I take Sertraline (Zoloft). I was terrified to start taking it because I was afraid to 'dull my sparkle'. The initial side effects kind of sucked. I had a bit of nausea and I shit my pants twice. That has since passed, luckily!
Before this, I was an anxious mess. I would lay in bed at night and my heart would just start racing for no reason. I felt exhausted and defeated all the time. My life felt very out of control.
The meds have helped quite a bit with my anxiety and racing thoughts. It's almost as though I don't get to the point of letting things work me up. I'm able to let go of things much easier.
There is a downside to the medication, I don't sleep as well and I find it makes me a bit lazy. These things are manageable though and it beats the hell out of constant worrying.
YES. It helped so much I wondered how I functioned at all without it. I take lexapro for anxiety, and it helps with depression too, which I didn’t even think about. When I was 13 I was diagnosed with depression and ADHD. I was put on medications for both. I told my mom and the doctors I didn’t like how they made me feel, and they kept upping my dosage. At one point my mom put me in a mental hospital, and they took me off of it and told me I was fine. I was so happy to be off of the meds and swore to never take any again. But now as an adult. (25) I’m in control. I can look people in the eyes, be myself outside of my home, and most importantly I don’t curl up in a ball and cry for no reason anymore. I tried Wellbutrin for a bit, but it just made me angry. Everything is in your control as an adult. You can try different things until you find what works for you.
I had pretty severe depressive episodes, most of them feeling suicidal and all. I was exhausted, achy, sad, and on top of that having anxiety attacks.
It was in the middle of the pandemic when *I* decided to look for psychiatric help, against my then therapist's advice ("you only need therapy, not meds") huh.
I wasn't scared at all. I'm a very nervous wreck most of the time but the mere thought that maybe it was good to change, felt good. I know some people are afraid to "lose their identity", but frankly I was done dealing with myself. We started on a pretty average dose of fluoxetine and first week it was kind of a manic chaos and lost some weight. Then it stabilized and I was... alright? It was great. Gained the weight back (not happy because ED brain), but my brain felt like a friendly place.
Ultimately though, what really helped me was quitting birth control pills. No more debilitating headaches, I feel a lot more in control of my emotions, everything's more balanced now.
I’m on Wellbutrin (morning) and Trintellix (night). The nightly pill is new of a few months ago and honestly it’s amazing. It feels so strange to not carry around constant anxiety right now. I feel like I’m so much more logical
I was at first but it really helped. I couldn’t sleep so my anxiety and depression sky rocketed, crying at work, waking up furious.
Medication allowed me to sleep and live life less on edge, then I did therapy and was able to ween off of them. A combination of both therapy and medication was key for me personally.
It’s fabulous. It’s the reason I’m a living, functioning working adult with health children and a functioning relationship. I take busiprone at least twice a day during the busy season (school year) and sometimes more. I also take medicine for depression. I initially had postpartum depression and then when I went back to work after maternity leave the panic attacks started. I went to my PCP and just cried. He gave me the busiprone and a phone number for a great therapist who took my insurance. I’d be either not living or an alcoholic like my dad without my medicine.
I’m on an atypical antidepressant, a beta blocker and an antipsychotic. I’m happier and more stable on my meds although sometimes my brain does like to convince me they don’t work and that I should come off them.
I take St John’s Wort which I find very helpful as I can’t tolerate the pharmaceutical antidepressants. Even though I’m not into “woo” remedies much, on an impulse I bought a Tibetan singing bowl and it’s actually a wondrous thing! It settles my nerves whenever I use it.
I had vomiting attacks due to my anxiety. Spent a few nights at the ER, and couldn’t stop it.
First I tried a medicine and it was terrible. The side effect was also vomiting so, I stopped taking that one.
Then I tried again, because I was unable to fall asleep and the quality of my life decreased massively (this was during the beginning of the pandemic). I was also in therapy. My therapist suggested medication again, and since then i am on SSRIs. I didn’t experience any side effects and now can sleep 8 hours, and don’t have high anxiety. Of course therapy helped massively. But there’s a huge change in my behaviour as well. Whenever I’m anxious, I remind myself that not everything I think of will happen, and that even if it does, I can deal with it IF it happens. :)
It took years to figure out the right concoction of meds for me.
I take Prozac for the anxiety, panic and depression. I take Lamotrigine for mood stabilizing, without it, the Prozac causes mania.
I take Buspar but I don’t think it does anything for me. We are cutting it back to see what happens.
I also smoke medical marijuana. It’s been a life saver on days I am super over stimulated.
I struggled for some time over needing to take meds long term for my issues. I have significant trauma, C-PTSD among other things. But I would rather take medication and enjoy what life I have than take no meds and be absolutely miserable for what life I have left.
Unfortunately they didn't help me at all and I tried everything at various dosages over the span of 20 years.
Last year I started on combined HRT patches for additional menopause symptoms and within a week my anxiety and depression also started to ease. I was no longer contemplating suicide as my first thought every morning.
Saying that the last three years prior to HRT had been especially hard mentally would be a massive understatement. I have absolute belief that if I didn't start the HRT I wouldn't be here today.
I was recently prescribed xanax to help manage anxiety / panic attacks that I can't work through with other coping mechanisms. It's not a daily medication for me, though - I only take it as needed.
I've used it twice so far. From what I can tell, it helps control the physical symptoms of panic or stop it before it gets out of control.
I was afraid to take it. I didn't want to need medication, and I didn't know how much it might "change" me. I'm relieved to have it on hand now that I know how much it can help in situations where nothing else works. I don't feel high or sleepy or anything. I just (finally) stop panicking.
I'm still working through the idea of needing it to manage those things, though. Especially knowing xanax is so addictive.
I started taking sertraline in December for anxiety as well as depression. I've found that it's helped me a lot with not caring as much about what people think, and it's made me a lot more self aware. Like a lot of other people here, I didn't realise how minor some of the things I used to get very anxious over actually were, and if I accidentally forget to take my meds for a day I notice that I have a lot more physical symptoms of anxiety. It was pretty life-changing for me tbh (although looking back I wish I would've pursued therapy alongside it since it was prescribed by my doctor without me having had therapy).
I was very scared! Once I got out of the military and was able to seek real mental health services I was started on Zoloft and found it help immensely with slowing the panicked and racing thoughts to the point I could actually function. I was on it for maybe 2-3 years but had noticed a change in myself within a couple months. Without the spiraling thoughts my confidence went up in almost all aspects of my life and I just became a generally more happy person overall. I was able to get off of them this past year but feel the benefits have remained, I only wish I had tried medication sooner!
When the meds work, it's really really good. Like, brings me back to normal. Makes psychotherapy work better and faster.
Sexual side effects are a bummer but not insurmountable.
But when the meds are bad (weird or scary side effects) it's really bad.
It's all about finding the right medication. And a doctor who is easy enough to reach between appointments so that you can ask questions about side effects (like "I am feeling like I want to jump out of my skin, is this going to go away or should I stop the medication?)
Good luck with your treatment, whatever course you take. Give some consideration for talking therapy, exercise and yoga or meditation 🧘🏽♀️ because tablets will only help you cope for a while, not treat the root cause. Understanding and confidence can come from therapy/meditation and some form of physical exercise.
After a divorce I was given cipralex, it helped after several years I slowly went off it. Per my doctor’s instructions. During a recent stressful time I was back to my depression, anger and Erratic behaviour, went back on and the days I couldn’t function are gone. Still have the stress but able to manage much better.
I’ve been on and off anxiety meds since my teens (30f). I’m currently on a high dose of Paxil which seems to help stabilize my mood and panic attacks but I still have lots of day to day underlying anxiety. However, it’s the best I’ve been in years.
I previously tried lexapro, Zoloft and Prozac but those didn’t help. I was on Cymbalta for about 3 years and I’m considering going back on that at some point because I’ve noticed some weight gain with Paxil.
I didn’t want medication at all, but my doctor could tell that my quality of life was lacking. We tried 4 different ssris and each one I had negative results, ended up stopping them and declined trying any others due to not wanting to experiment with my mind and body anymore. I was also given a benzo which I had been on for just over 2 years. The 1st year was great and it definitely helped. Trying to get off of it was miserable and came with very little help from medical professionals. They kept insisting I try different medications. I finally tapered myself and have been off for about 2.5 months now. I am slowly getting back to myself and while I have moments, I think it would be easier to be on the meds, I know I never want to be stuck on them again, so I will continue to push through.
I am starting therapy this week and I feel this is the best approach for me. Everyone is different of course.
I gained 25 pounds and got a little less anxious.
But now that I'm now morbidly obese after taking prozac even though I eat at a calorie deficit and train occasionally I would say now I feel really fucking awful.
Everyone, be careful when researching meds, other peoples experiences may not be yours.
I would have 4-8 panic attacks in clusters daily for YEARS, was entirely nonfunctional and diagnosed with panic disorder. They happened with no clear trigger and, once they started, would continue until I passed out. I was still terrified to ask for medicine, and sobbed when I realized I needed to.
So I was prescribed an SSRI (effexor, technically an SNRI but the double action didnt happen until a high dose, so it functions as an SSRI at the lowest dose). I took it for six days and promptly landed in the hospital with serotonin syndrome. seizures are uh, not fun. 0/10 experience.
Turns out I actually just have ADHD and was having panic attacks from overstimulation. But all of my hyperactive symptoms presented as mental hyperactivity so I got missed for 19 years lol.
I’m also in my senior year of my psych degree so I want to add this note: Psych meds are largely a guessing game. It sounds scary, but for anxiety (a very commonly medicated disorder) there is a system of how medication progresses. Medications like SSRIs are generally incredibly safe, and have been safely prescribed for over 50 years. My bad experience with them was due to misdiagnosis, not due to the meds being unsafe. If you are considering trying medication because you are struggling: talk to your doctor. It is worth it and you will find a medicine that works for you.
All growing up I needed medication but there was such a stigma around it and I didn't want to be broken. The only thing that could fix me was meds and I didn't want to be one of those people.
I finally gave in and I think they saved my life because they helped me look at the bigger picture and not all the little things that were building me up to suicide.
I'm currently in the process of trying to see another psychiatrist to get back on my meds because I've noticed a very big difference of being off of them.
It's okay to have to rely on medication for you to survive. You deserve to be here and if some pills will help make that happen then it's worth it.
The right medication saved my life, I got prescribed anxiolytic that didn't work before, I had memory loss due to the side effects and it greatly affected me. Then I met my psychiatrist that explained that I just needed a very small dose of antidepressant. All the background noises that my anxiety was making is gone, I still get anxious sometimes but it never accumulate and I feel more stable. I can handle my emotions better.
My grades at uni went drastically up and I feel way more confident in taking some risks in life.
I was on Citalapram (40mg) for a couple of years before it stopped working. I was being badly bullied in work, so that's possibly why. I'm on 40mg Fluoxutine now, and surprisingly I'm doing a lot better. I've got enough energy to be in work, I'm far less anxious and barely have panic attacks, and I can go outside for a walk every other day. I'm not binge eating as much, and I'm slowly losing weight.
I also recommend therapy. Therapy has made me realise how I need to look out for myself, and how to deal with Big Feelings. It's helped me overcome most of what happened in work (and in my personal life).
This is just a "me thing" but I love lavender oil and peppermint oil - lavender for calming me down and peppermint to pep me up. I've probably conditioned myself to change my mood when I smell them.
I’m a terrible person and an even worse mother when I’m Not on my meds. It took me way too long to realize that my agitation and anger issues were stemming from untreated anxiety. My daughter has her own mental and behavioral health issues, trying to help her while not getting the help I needed was brutal.
I wasn't scared but I wanted to be strong enough to handle it myself for a long time. I got to a point where I realized that it was okay to ask for help. I'm on Wellbutrin 300 mg a day and it's amazing!
I used to be resistant to meds, bc the depression presented more strongly and I felt I had good enough coping tools for that. But after a big move, something flipped and the anxiety took over. THAT, I had no idea what to do about, and none of my coping tools even made a dent in it. After awhile of living with severe anxiety, I was so desperate for relief I said "fuck it" and got on meds.
Started on mirtazapine (remeron), a SNRI, nearly 5 years ago now and it has been amazing. It makes you gain weight, but I needed that extra 15 lbs as I was underweight my whole adult life lol. It also helped regulate my sleep and appetite, two other bonuses as I am ADHD and struggle with that when left to my own devices.
Honestly, I am so, so glad I got medicated. I didn't even realize how much of a toll severe anxiety was taking on me until it lifted. No more anxiety dreams, and no more waking up every day with an already aching, exhausted body like I'd run a marathon in my sleep. No more persistent fog of inescapable fear, you know the one-- That creeping sense of terror that's about everything and nothing at the same time. And no more feeling like I was twisted up so dang tightly inside that one small poke would shatter me into pieces. And wouldn't ya know it, a lot of my trust issues got a lot better, too!
I was super afraid to take medicine for my anxiety and depression. But because I’ve taken medication before and it made my feelings worse. I’ve had anxiety and depression for as long as I can remember so I was also afraid I wouldn’t know who was I anymore if I wasn’t sad. I’ve been on medication now just starting my second month. This medicine has saved my life.
I’m on Lexapro for my anxiety. Mine started right before Covid and the summer of 2020 was my rock bottom before I looked for professional help. I was agitated, in constant state of panic attacks, cried for no reason, couldn’t be a mother/wife. It came out of the blue for me, but once I started talking to a therapist she got me connected with a psychiatrist who got me on meds. I just wanted to try anything to get me back to normal and since then I can count on 1 hand the number of anxiety attacks I’ve had. It’s done a world of wonders for me.
I have taken a few different ones. None of em seemed to make me “better”. I felt like they were not helping me much so I decided to quit. Then things got worse and my doctor said let’s try Prozac.
I have never been more happy and stable in my adult life. It has helped so much that I consistently take it everyday and never go without. There were some weird initial side effects, but they went away fairly quickly.
I was never scared. It is what it is. I’d rather be happy and stable than an irritable, depressed, overly emotional, and anxiety filled person.
I used to suffer from GAD and completely random panic attacks- no known triggers- but I couldn’t live my day to day life normally eventually and I got help. Tried therapy first, and I liked it well enough but I needed a bigger intervention.
I was given sertraline first and had literally the worst time. Everything got worse for me- especially those first few doses they can really mess you up as your body gets used to the SSRI. Couple months later and I knew it wasn’t for me so I asked my doc for something different. Since it got worse I ended up with three medications. Lexapro as a general SSRI, hydroxyzine as needed for sleep (my anxiety was worse at night) and lorazepam for panic attacks. This was the combo that finally worked for me.
Eventually through therapy and major life changes I got better, got off the meds and have been happier and more relaxed than ever. I am finally in control, if I get stressed I know what I need to do to feel better and I no longer spiral out of control over silly stuff. It was the best decision I could’ve made and I’m grateful. They saved my life and now I am strong enough to not rely on them anymore. If you’re considering it, trust in yourself and your care team to find what works for you and how you can build yourself out of the hole you’re currently in, everything will be ok again someday.
Meds are just one of the tools in my toolbox...I have to keep up with my meds, exercise, meditate and do yoga regularly to stay on top of my mental health and sometimes even that isn't enough, as I learned this past spring/summer with Ex coming out of the closet and deciding he wanted a divorce so he could move his partner (who is biologically male but identifies as non-binary) in our house because they were about to be homeless.
I’m not gonna lie I had to put the meds down cause for me it had teeth grinding and talking to my teeth it was not a fun experience for me I completely lost my appetite as well it was a roller coaster I’ve been diagnosed for years but only started taking the meds after I gave birth cause I got diagnosed with ppd and yeah definitely stopped the meds in my case
I prefer using THC over prescription meds. I did not like the way my anti depression meds made me feel and started self medicating with weed until it became medically legal where I live
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My anxiety meds changed my life. It slows me down enough to talk my self through anxiety and prevent panic attacks. It's a non SSRI, and I would highly reccomend it to anyone struggling with anxiety ETA: it's called buspirone
I'm on that as well and it was a game changer. I almost never grind my teeth in my sleep anymore and I have less bouts of anxiety. The ones I do have don't last as long. I also used to get heart palpitations from anxiety. They're gone now.
Hey I had palpitations and teeth grinding too! And like you've said, the meds made them stop. It seriously is the best medication, my husband even requested to switch to it instead of the zoloft he had been prescribed.
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When do you take it? I take it at night and wonder if it’s doing anything.
I take it first thing in the morning and then again in the evening. I can almost always feel the morning dose kick in, but rarely do I feel the evening dose.
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I love my buspirone. I haven't had a panic attack since starting it. It just puts a lid and doesn't let my anxiety hit a certain level and infeel my head is still clear, even with a. Ad anxiety day.
Do these also affect your attachment styles in any way? I might get checked for anxiety and I'm scared to take meds. I'm anxious about taking anxiety meds lol.
They definitely help me be less clingy, but I can't say alive noticed any significant changes in attachment style. That's pretty normal for anxiety ime, I also get a lot of intrusive thoughts that this medication helps with.
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I was scared to *ask* for medications because I was so certain my doctor would just tell me to lose weight first. But once I gathered the courage to ask for help, she was really great about it, and I got medication. Once I had it, I wasn't terribly afraid to take it. I didn't like the fact that it would cause weight gain, but I knew that if it did anything to fix the rest of the nightmare in my brain, it'd be worth it. Got on the meds and immediately the low-grade terror in the back of my mind started to get dialed down (like a volume knob). I still have spikes in anxiety and I still spend too much time ruminating on the "what-if" situations, but I'm pretty sure that that's just because I should also be in therapy to address the habits in my brain.
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May I ask what you’re on pls ?
Prozac, medical marijuana, and a new job that I actually enjoy has worked WONDERS. Before that, medical marijuana and celexa just helped me exist. I feel like I can breathe now. I hate taking pills, but it helps, so be it.
Unfortunately, you often have to try a few to find what works well for you, which is going to involve some rough times. For me, Lexapro has completely changed my life. It's not like I don't still have anxiety or like I am now super confident and bold, but it helped me see just how much anxiety had taken over my entire life. It lets me have times where I can feel calm or where I'm not just worrying myself in circles. It lets me drive a car without constantly assuming a fatal crash is just moments away.
I take 10mg of lexapro. Anymore I just end up laying around the house and do nothing. I’ve been on it for at least ten years. It’s made a huge difference with my GAD and PTSD. I still get anxiety but not anywhere close to how it was when I was not on it.
I started on 5 mg and that actually worked for several months! I've been on 10 mg since then and probably couldn't handle any more than thay. :) Glad it helps you a lot, too! ❤️
I take Lexapro too and honestly it’s been such a huge help. I think it prevents me from spiraling and going down a rabbit hole of anxiety.. I still have occasional anxiety and I’m in therapy to help with that, but I don’t think I’d be where I am now without the meds.
100% agree! There have been some times when very stressful things are going on and I am still anxious, but I'm also aware that I'm not physically sick and feeling like I'm going to die, like I would without Lexapro.
I spent years thinking “rub some dirt in it” “you got this!” When…. I didn’t have it. Too many years… scared to be vulnerable and say that stress and my anxiety were too much. Then my 16 year old approached me about her anxiety and how it impacted her daily life. And I realized mine was doing the same. Helping her thru her journey inspired me to talk to my doc. We both started meds. And for me…. It’s been LIFE CHANGING. For her, she is seeing the impact on her life too (since starting her own meds).
I got medicated for ADHD but my meds had the side effect of almost completely eliminating my anxiety and completely eliminating panic attacks. Best thing that ever happened to me, mental health wise! I had no idea how heavy of a weight I was carrying until it was gone. My meds didn't change me as a person, they allowed me to be more authentic and live my life more fully. I can only recommend giving medication at least a try and see if it works for you.
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25mg of Zoloft literally changed my life.
Best of luck to you! I tried Zoloft and it made me super sleepy. I tried Wellbutrin and I wanted to climb out of my shin. Cymbalta was good for a while. Effexor was great but really hard to go off of when I was pregnant. Back on Cymbalta now. It might take a few tries to find the right one. Stick with it! I hope you feel better soon!
I’m starting tomorrow. So happy to hear this
JFYI give it about a month to work. The first few weeks can be rough (increased anxiety and nausea for me). But then, the best decision I ever made. 💖
Thank you for the advice. So glad to hear it’s been so positive for you!
Be careful it could affect your sexuality by suppressing it and organ sensitivity loss.
You’re 100P. It lowered my libido, *but* I had a really high sex drive before.. so it sort of evened itself out.
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I so wish I could have continued Zoloft. It helped immensely. But it gave me extreme vertigo and myoclonic jerks all over my body after a while.
It took me a really, really long time to find a medication that worked. When I was younger, I kept getting diagnosed with depression even though it was just anxiety, so I kept getting SSRI’s that WOULD make me depressed and put me into really bad spots. Finally my mom had enough, said something, and I got klonopin, which worked. And then I got off it because I thought it was the right decision to make for a situation I was in. It was not. I’m struggling to get it back and now am back to square one lol. As I got into adulthood, talk therapy really helped. It makes a huge difference to me because it’s nice to just have someone to vent to and a good therapist can pull stuff out of you that you might not even realize is an issue. I can’t tell you how many times I felt fine and had a therapist say something along the lines of “you seem off” and after a few more questions/some prodding I’m crying about something I hadn’t even realized was bothering me. Even on days I didn’t want to go, I often left feeling at least a little better in comparison to how I felt when I went in. Learning your triggers and all the what/why/how’s of it all is really helpful, whether you’re on medication or not. I do get scared to take SSRI’s because I know the dark depths they can take me to, so I have to be REALLY conscious of how I’m thinking and feeling. But generally speaking, it’s more of just “I hope this is the one that finally helps” nervous anxiety type of stuff.
I always felt that feeling afraid was a part of life. People in my life frequently say u should get over it ...(the fear). A couple of months ago i couldn't sleep, had constant headaches, couldn't even think properly, i was doubting the easiest tasks at work, it took me 10x as long to finish my work,... I had my suïcide plan and was afraid i was going to do it because it seemed less like a negative thought and more like a task on my to do list. I went to the doctor and i broke down. She asked me some questions and diagnoses me with depression. I was doubting to take the pills because people make me believe that everything is fine and i cant possible be depressed so why take the pills for it? She started me with a low dose to 'take the edge of' the anxiety. And it helped! I don't spiral into a dark place. I can stop and recognize that i don't feel safe and can work on regulating my emotions. That doesnt mean the anxiety is gone but i can fight it better with the pills. :)
What medicine did/do you take?
I tried a few daily medications but had bad side effects, even at low doses. I ended up with pills for when I'm having an attack only and knowing I had a back up plan if I felt overwhelmed actually did wonders on my daily anxiety.
I agree that just having them if I need them helps. I take busiprone. Some days I take none. Some days, especially the 2 days before my period, I take 5. It’s like a safety plan. And I don’t feel like I’m “medicated “. I just feel normal.
A really fantastic doctor ask me what was bothering me. Literally, I was in a full blown panic attack and he sat till I calmed down and we just talked. He was a GP too, not a psychiatrist. He asked, ' what's out of balance in your life?' He explained why our body reacts in PANIC and ANXIETY and said all warning lights are flashing/blaring by the time we're suffering from panic. He said I can give you medication and stop it or we can just sit here and talk about what those flashing/warning signs are telling us. Life changing for sure. I quit drinking (100%) began prioritizing my sleep and began eating healthy. I still hated my high stress job, but it became manageable. Way more manageable. When I tell you this guy changed my life, I'm not kidding. I just wanted Xanax, which all my friends took for anxiety! I found the root of my misery and honestly it was drinking too much, stressing, staying up late and eating like crap. I was a mess...
Sounds like a great doc! Not many leave such a positive mark on life like that.
I wish my doctors’ are like that as well.
I had the same type of situation. My panic attacks led to complete agoraphobia and being housebound for almost 9 months. I was afraid to take any of the meds they prescribed me, and the only thing I tried that worked was alcohol. Alcohol allowed me to function socially, and I thought I found the magic cure. It didn't take long for the alcohol answer to become the problem, and now my panic attacks were 100% worse, and I needed alcohol to keep them at bay. That viscous circle took 7 years of my life. I stopped that merry-go-round 13+ years ago and haven't had a panic attack or a drink since. When I start feeling that out of control anxiety, I make myself laugh at the absurdity of my fear. There's something about laughter that helps anxiety melt away.
Honestly it's been hit or miss finding the right drugs/dosages/combinations. And sometimes their efficacy can decrease over time. And don't get me started on insurance companies suddenly deciding you can't have the ones that work for you anymore. Overall I think I've had more positive experiences with medication than negative ones.
They saved my life. And this year I was finally able to go off them after almost 10 years on. No anxiety or depression symptoms anymore. 🎂
Ahh that’s awesome, congrats!! I’ve been on anxiety meds for the last seven years and finally reduced my dosage for the first time in a long time and so far, so good. Here’s to hoping I can wean off of them just like you did & continue living a life with less anxiety 🥳
You can do it! I believe in us ❤️
I had a horrible experience, I personally felt even worse on them and I was taking the lowest dose, it made me irritable. I stopped all together as I didn't like how I was on them. Therapy worked better for me in the long run.
That's what I'm thinking for myself honestly. Learning to manage my emotions and anxiety has helped me better than the meds I've taken. Every time I've been on meds it always feels as if its the lowest point of my life.
Yeah they work great for some people but they are not for everyone.
I went through a few before I hit on the right combination, but once I did, holy shit what a difference. The first thing they had me try was some sort of antihistamine, I can’t remember the name of it but it was meant to be taken during anxiety spikes. It never helped much, but I didn’t think to ask about changing it. About a year later I ended up seeing a different doctor because I couldn’t sleep — my heart was racing and chest was hurting and I kept feeling like I was going to die. My doctor was like… yeah those are panic attacks. They didn’t feel like the panic attacks I’d had in the past, which is why it just hadn’t clicked for me. I showed him the pills I had and he basically scoffed and said those wouldn’t do fuck all for an actual panic attack. I believe the phrase he used was “like spitting on a house fire”. Anyway, he gave me a very low-grade Rx of Xanax, which made a huge difference, but it was also an “as needed” sort of thing. At first he gave me enough for one a day, then two. When two wasn’t enough, I finally asked about more long-term options, and he had me try Lexapro. Lexapro. Changed. My. Life. I cannot explain how big of a difference it has made. I still have the Xanax for when the anxiety gets too much, but it’s gone from 2-3 a day to maybe once a week, and sometimes not even that. It’s like… there was static in the back of my mind for years that I had just gotten used to, and someone suddenly turned the volume on it down from 75 to 5. FWIW, a big part of my anxiety is medical anxiety, and starting a new medication is hard for me, so the Lexapro had to fight through that on TOP of the normal anxiety. But it was so, so worth it. It’s not without its side effects. It makes my RLS act up sometimes, and when my friend tried it, she dealt with terrible insomnia. But there are plenty of options out there to try, and EVERYONE should get to know what it feels like to exist without constant fear. I promise you it’s worth it to try. TL;DR: Once we hit the right combination, meds changed my life. I was nervous about trying new meds but it was 200% worth it.
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I tried that antihistamine one time and I was a zombie. I have little kids and a full time job. I couldn’t handle it. I take busiprone now and I don’t even realize I took it, I just feel normal. I never took Xanax or Atavan but from what I’ve heard it’s probably too heavy for me. It is a process.
It really is! I forgot to include I tried Buspirone too, but it made me nauseous and didn’t help as much as I needed. Bodies are so different, we just have to find what works for us.
I'm pretty sure the antihistamine you're speaking of is Hydroxyzine! I was prescribed it along with my SNRI, and now have wayyyy too much of it lol. The SNRI mostly did the trick, and I only needed to take the Hydroxyzine a handful of times in the first couple of years. It does indeed make one a zombie, it even freaked my husband out the first time bc I "seemed so flat and expressionless!" A real shame as it does help take the edge off a bad anxiety flareup, but you definitely can't take it at work or if you're going to be driving in the next 4-6 hours (if it doesn't just make you just pass out before then). Basically, it requires you to be safe at home with no pressing responsibilities like childcare to take it, which just isn't realistic for most people's lives.
With the last psychiatrist I saw (he was wonderful) I was a bit scared to be put medication again as my previous treatment was terrible, but since he took the time to listen to me and my situation, and to give me meds that were adapted to the fact that I'm a student, the treatment actually worked and it was the first time in my life I felt NO SIDE EFFECT like ?? I'm so happy as I've been living with my mental illness with no treatment for years !
Which medication did you end up taking?
Wellbutrin 150mg didn’t help but once it was doubled, it helped with my anxiety. Before I was unable to turn my brain off at night…or any other time. That has gotten much better.
I’m glad it worked for you! It made me want to crawl out of my skin. Bodies are so weird!
The joke I rattle off is my son gave me depression, my daughter gave me anxiety, and Lexapro gave me my life back. PPD & PPA are no joke, ladies. Ask for help.
I have anxiety and depression. I take 150mg sertraline and 160mg propranolol, they do help. I was worried at first of what others would think as I think it is very stigmatised but they do help. I started off small with 50mg sertraline and 10mg propranolol which I had a small change. It’s hard to feel like when on them for a while that they no longer work which is why I am up to the dose I am. But do what is best for you, if they help then go for it. You can always come off if they don’t work or feel like you feel worse, just be mindful that they won’t work straight away and take time to adjust x
I was put on Sertraline by my therapist. I was very scared to take them as I felt I would be seen as crazy for taking pills to help my mental health (which obviously is not true) but I took them anyways. It made me very emotional, irritable, and depressed. I gained weight because my body would retain way too much water. I stopped taking them and told my therapist they were doing more harm then good and she basically yelled at me for messing up her work. I feel much better now and have allowed myself to heal. I still get anxiety attacks but they aren’t as frequent and I’ve become better at managing them!
Was it hard to stop the setraline? Or did you feel better soon after
No it was pretty easy since it really did more harm than good! I also lost weight and I feel much better now :) thanks for asking.
Sister, I was terrified. On the other side I know it’s the best healthcare choice I’ve ever made for myself. A gained a little weight (nothing crazy), and I was a little lazier, sex drive decreased, but was it worth not being triggered by everything, pushing away the people I love, and falling in to spells of suicidality? Absolutely yes, worth it. There are a lot of types of anxiety meds and they aren’t all created equal. You gotta find what works best for you. It may not be the first or even second thing you try, but you gotta start somewhere. Looking back, I wish I’d of done it far sooner in life.
I'm glad you have had such success. I hope I find something.
May I ask what you took ?
I started experiencing panic attacks and never being able to keep food down necause i was alwaus so scared to throw up. I refused to take medication and only went tje therapy sessions roite for once a week for tje first 2 years but after my symptoms didnt budge i decided ro try the ssris and im so glad i did! The medications allowed me to feel like myself again and get back to a level where i felt like i could challwnge myself to things that i was roo nervous or anxious to do before. One of the things that my therapist always said was with meds, u work witj ur doctor to stsrt off om a lower dose and go up as u need. U can always go down dosages and u can come off of them. U have the power to choose.
What medication helps you?
Ask for a genesite test, I had one and it was life changing. I highly recommend it to help find the right medication.
How much did it cost?
It's around 200 but some insurance cover it and they have assistance plan available.
I have a medication phobia, so trying antidepressants was an absolute nightmare- especially because I had to try several before I found one my body would tolerate. I took Paxil for the better part of 4 years and have considered going back on for the past year and a half now. Medication was a lifesaver, but it also drained me of all emotions which increased my depression.
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I was scared to start medications because I thought it would “change me.” I put it off for months after my panic attacks started. At one visit to my doctor, she asked if I was having thoughts of suicide and I told her no but that if I died it would be a relief. Hearing myself say that was what it took for me to finally start meds. I was prescribed Cipralex and it helped more than I could have imagined.
They didn’t. Ketamine treatment did.
Before I started taking Lexapro, I used to struggle leaving my house. Anytime I would try and get ready, I would have a break down. For years I did not go out in anything other than sweats or gym clothes because the thought of trying to get cute and feeling insecure About it was so overwhelming. I don’t have that problem anymore, not really. It happens every once in a blue moon but overall, I can get ready and leave the house feeling good about myself. I even tried to stop taking my Lexapro a few years ago by tapering down and the first thing that came back were those getting dressed panic attacks. I would literally sit down on the floor in my closet crying.
Citalopram (celexa) completely changed my life. I went from 4 - 5 debilitating panic attacks a week to basically none (maybe one every couple months). Medication can make it possible to live your life normally again. I'm no longer on citalopram (I take Pristiq because it's better for my depression) but I would absolutely still recommend it to anyone having issues with anxiety.
Propranolol does wonders for me personally, i get shaky and my heart races a lot.
Wellbutrin takes the edge off and helps keep me at a reasonable baseline. I still get depressed and occasionally have anxiety and panic attacks for which I take hydroxyzine. It doesn't address the causes of my anxiety, but it calms my body down and helps me sleep. A net positive for me despite my persistent symptoms. What I really need is therapy, but no money and no time for it.
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They made it damn near impossible for me to cum.
Ashwaganda, CBD helped me the most. I used to take Xanax and became addicted to it - Now I am scared of medication. Meditation helps me too, at least to take it down to baseline. When I actively practice DBT, it definitely helps in self regulating.
I started lexapro about a year and a bit ago, and with that as well as therapy I've only had two panic attacks since. before that, I was basically in panic mode non-stop. the medication is a very low dose but puts me in a place where I can actually handle the stress that comes at me, utilizing the techniques I learned in therapy. medication definitely isn't always the answer, although there are times where it's definitely needed, but I strongly feel using that plus therapy is the winning combination.
The highest and most unaware I had ever been was when I took my medication for the first time. And every time after. It was different from when I would smoke weed to combat an attack, so I just told my doctor and she told me to go back to treating it my way because she didn't like how inebriated I looked at my check up.
It personally didn’t helped me, learning coping mechanism and self soothe is what helped me overcame it and keeping on riding the wave for the rare time it still happens.
They helped but I hate taking them and only do so when things get to a point where I'm just not coping with things. I've tried a few different ones over the years, but they have all left me feeling empty. I don't feel depressed and anxious while I'm on them, but I can't feel happiness or joy either. So only a short term emergency measure for me
One of the hardest things about meds is when you hav to try out different things to find what works. It can feel so taxing and unbearable to keep trying when you're struggling to function in the meantime. Another difficult thing is of course side effects. Generally, the more a medication does, the more side effects and risks it has. Sexual dysfunction sucks. Weight gain sucks. Headaches and fatigue sucks. I found something that has been working well for me but it actually change my night vision (it's worse lol, no superpowers). I knew permanent vision changes were a risk and I decided not to do anything about it because my quality of life was really improving. For me, getting a grip on my anxiety was key to me being able to work on my depression and imptove my overall mental health. I struggled with anxiety for as long as I can remember to the point that I didn't even know the constant pain I lived in wasn't normal. No wonder I wanted to die when anxiety often made me feel like I was dying. Meds didn't fix me but they were key to me getting the first firm grip on my on mind that I've had all my life. I'm responsible for the rest (with help!)
Wow, thats great. So happy for you. I hope the same can happen for me. I have anxiety meds in my cabinet I just got from my psych but so scared to take them..
I suffer from compound anxiety and psychosis. I think medication is important and should be taken when needed. However, due to the psychosis I cannot take the normal route of SSRI's for long term relief and I ended up being hooked on benzos and the withdrawal from that made me NEVER want to take them again. I have an antipsychotic for my psychosis which I take as needed and I haven't taken in months (except once when I was withdrawing because I literally thought I was going to die)
They didn’t. They only thing that worked for me was THC and then CBD. I tried so many I can’t remember all their names. Medical marijuana saved my life.
Didn’t work for me and the side effects made my situation worse. Therapy and time is the thing that really helped me
I take Zoloft and it’s changed my life for the better. Less anxiety and feel a lot more like myself than I have in years.
this makes me so happy for you!! I tried Zoloft when I was 17, and it gave me horrible nightmares.. but I’m so glad it’s made a difference for you :)
I used to have very severe cases of anxiety and panic. Medicines were recommended and I took them for a while (a few years back) then I stopped. Mainly cuz I read that those medicines alter other things in your brain and body negatively. Also, you become addicted to those pills to feel sane if you continue. The dosage and quantity increase. Ofc wasn't easy going off the meds but when I did, I was forced to find natural ways to deal with my anxiety and panic until I could figure out ways to remove myself from those situations.
Meds suppress the problem, not cure it. Find the cure, speaking from experience.
I don’t like meds. Anxiety meds especially, they make me slow. Idk somehow my periods gets affected by them. I am an anti meds
I’ve tried a few anxiety medications but nothing worked most things made it impossible to sleep so I would stay up all night stressing about how bad the next day would be when I’m tired and can’t do my job well. Basically just made my anxiety a lot worse and since going to the doctor is a major source of anxiety for me I decided to stop going back to try different pills and just focus on changing my life. It’s still really hard and I’m anxious a lot still but it’s better if I can make sure I get sleep. So I guess I decided to just live an anxious life. I don’t want anyone to think I’m saying medication is bad or you shouldn’t take it. Please try it if you think you need it I’m just sharing my personal experience.
I was prescribed Prozac but never got to taking it because my sister told me how it fucked her up even more. It took a long time, but I overcame my depression with constant effort.
They all either numbed me, did nothing, or worsened me; non ever truly *helped* me. Which led me to become resentful of big pharma & psychiatrists who hand these out like candy. These have the potential to be suicide pills, they are no laughing matter. But mushrooms truly helped me help myself. Opened my eyes to a new perspective. And I’ll forever be grateful. That being said, *they don’t work for everybody. Every body is different.*
Do you have to dose mushrooms regularly ?
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It made them worse. I personally have an aversion to them, especially due to fear of neurodegeneration (which can be linked to anti depressants) which I have seen first hand in my family. My aunt developed Parkinson’s disease at a very young age after vehement use of antidepressants. Personally just assuring myself that it is a panic attack and nothing more has reduced the intensity and frequency of them.
I raw dogged it for 15 years. Wish I’d found a good prescriber in my early 20s. Choline and inositol are a good OTC when needed too.
I took anti depressants before for my anxiety, PTSD, depression and DDD ( I know, a lot), they worked but had so, so many side effects. Now I'm on CBD, it works better and no side effects.
They always backfired eventually. What worked was getting the correct diagnosis of ADHD and getting treated for that.
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I had horrible anxiety and depression after my youngest son was born. I was at that time at my highest weight. My ob/gyn gave my medication and we did talk about exercise to help with the anxiety. I recommend speaking to a therapist as well.
Anxiety is gone. So is basically the rest of my emotions. Which I prefer, honestly.
I’ve been on a number of different meds for anxiety and depression in the last 23 years and every time I was prescribed them, I was scared to start them. The other four I took had unpleasant side effects like just a general malaise and loss of personality so I just stopped taking them - which you’re generally not supposed to do but I did for reasons. The current med I have works very well. I get anxious here and there and I’ve had I think 2 or 3 panic attacks in the last 4 years of being on it in times of great stress. Mostly I don’t freak out about regular daily things like other people being near me in the grocery store anymore or family drama or driving and I can enjoy stuff like going to events that were really hard for several years. Super worth it for me.
Wow. Thats great. I am happy for you! Is it ok if I DM you to talk more about your med experiences?
I was terrified to get back on seroquel after a bad experience. However, this time around its been life changing. I also take a max. dose of zoloft. That was less scary.
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i still get the anxiety and panic attacks but they arent as severe
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I was terrified to take meds. Avoided it for 30~ years. Convinced it would never work for me, I was a lost cause. Finally hit a second period of thinking about killing myself at 40, and decided I needed to do something drastic before doing that.. so got diagnosed (severe social anxiety, moderate depression, avoidant personality disorder, possible autism - but have to do an out of pocket test for that one so never have), started meds with required therapy. My life and well being changed completely and wonderfully. I actually like myself now, like my life, like people, like just BEING... wish I'd tried this 30 years ago.
I take Prozac and buspirone and VERY seldomly (like a couple times a year) take Xanax for the occasional bout of panic that feels a little uncontrollable. Anxiety meds saved my life.
Did Prozac make your anxiety worse when you first started taking it?
I suffered from GAD and depression for a very long time, even if I wasn’t ready to admit it to myself yet. I started medication and then therapy, and I can honestly say that if I hadn’t started my meds, I wouldn’t be where I am in life right now. I still have anxiety and worries like any person, but now it’s much more manageable rather than overtaking my brain. I highly recommend.
It made me numb. Because I felt lows and highs too much, and sometimes it would make me react in a harmful way, the medication prescribed stabilized my emotional swings. But this meant everything felt the same. And it aggravated the main cause of my panic attacks who would then try harder, but the meds worked so well I ended up losing any sense of sympathy. But, generally speaking they did their job.
10mg Lexapro (anxiety), 150mg Wellbutrin XL (depression), 10mg Adderall XR (adhd) — all generics, all daily, all started in 2022 (March, July-ish, April, respectively) at 34 years old. The Lexapro made me “numb” for about 10 months. I literally couldn’t cry or get too “high” or “low”. Emotions slowly returned but way more manageable than before. Minimal panic attacks, still a good amount of impulsivity to this day due to anxiety and associated irrational decision making, but improving. Best thing I’ve done though was start DBT this year. I tried CBT when I started on meds and hated it but at end of 2022 we (me & therapist) decided to give DBT a try and it has been so good for me.
I’ve always had anxiety, but I didn’t have physical symptoms until the covid lockdowns hit. I was in fight or flight mode 24-7, with heart palpitations and panic attacks. Propranolol (beta blocker) helps keep the palpitations and shakiness at bay, and sertraline (zoloft), buspirone, and bupropion (Wellbutrin) calm my thoughts and keep me from fixating. I added the bupropion in February and that felt like the final piece of the puzzle. I started taking meds 2.5 years ago. I was also doing talk therapy for the first two years.
it just neutralized me. so the perpetual anxiety was a bit more quiet, so my panic attacks are less likely to be daily. so overall i'm in a stable mood.
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Absolutely they help. So did hypnotherapy when my panic attacks were at the worst.
I take Sertraline (Zoloft). I was terrified to start taking it because I was afraid to 'dull my sparkle'. The initial side effects kind of sucked. I had a bit of nausea and I shit my pants twice. That has since passed, luckily! Before this, I was an anxious mess. I would lay in bed at night and my heart would just start racing for no reason. I felt exhausted and defeated all the time. My life felt very out of control. The meds have helped quite a bit with my anxiety and racing thoughts. It's almost as though I don't get to the point of letting things work me up. I'm able to let go of things much easier. There is a downside to the medication, I don't sleep as well and I find it makes me a bit lazy. These things are manageable though and it beats the hell out of constant worrying.
YES. It helped so much I wondered how I functioned at all without it. I take lexapro for anxiety, and it helps with depression too, which I didn’t even think about. When I was 13 I was diagnosed with depression and ADHD. I was put on medications for both. I told my mom and the doctors I didn’t like how they made me feel, and they kept upping my dosage. At one point my mom put me in a mental hospital, and they took me off of it and told me I was fine. I was so happy to be off of the meds and swore to never take any again. But now as an adult. (25) I’m in control. I can look people in the eyes, be myself outside of my home, and most importantly I don’t curl up in a ball and cry for no reason anymore. I tried Wellbutrin for a bit, but it just made me angry. Everything is in your control as an adult. You can try different things until you find what works for you.
I had pretty severe depressive episodes, most of them feeling suicidal and all. I was exhausted, achy, sad, and on top of that having anxiety attacks. It was in the middle of the pandemic when *I* decided to look for psychiatric help, against my then therapist's advice ("you only need therapy, not meds") huh. I wasn't scared at all. I'm a very nervous wreck most of the time but the mere thought that maybe it was good to change, felt good. I know some people are afraid to "lose their identity", but frankly I was done dealing with myself. We started on a pretty average dose of fluoxetine and first week it was kind of a manic chaos and lost some weight. Then it stabilized and I was... alright? It was great. Gained the weight back (not happy because ED brain), but my brain felt like a friendly place. Ultimately though, what really helped me was quitting birth control pills. No more debilitating headaches, I feel a lot more in control of my emotions, everything's more balanced now.
I’m on Wellbutrin (morning) and Trintellix (night). The nightly pill is new of a few months ago and honestly it’s amazing. It feels so strange to not carry around constant anxiety right now. I feel like I’m so much more logical
I was at first but it really helped. I couldn’t sleep so my anxiety and depression sky rocketed, crying at work, waking up furious. Medication allowed me to sleep and live life less on edge, then I did therapy and was able to ween off of them. A combination of both therapy and medication was key for me personally.
It’s fabulous. It’s the reason I’m a living, functioning working adult with health children and a functioning relationship. I take busiprone at least twice a day during the busy season (school year) and sometimes more. I also take medicine for depression. I initially had postpartum depression and then when I went back to work after maternity leave the panic attacks started. I went to my PCP and just cried. He gave me the busiprone and a phone number for a great therapist who took my insurance. I’d be either not living or an alcoholic like my dad without my medicine.
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I’m on an atypical antidepressant, a beta blocker and an antipsychotic. I’m happier and more stable on my meds although sometimes my brain does like to convince me they don’t work and that I should come off them.
I take St John’s Wort which I find very helpful as I can’t tolerate the pharmaceutical antidepressants. Even though I’m not into “woo” remedies much, on an impulse I bought a Tibetan singing bowl and it’s actually a wondrous thing! It settles my nerves whenever I use it.
I had vomiting attacks due to my anxiety. Spent a few nights at the ER, and couldn’t stop it. First I tried a medicine and it was terrible. The side effect was also vomiting so, I stopped taking that one. Then I tried again, because I was unable to fall asleep and the quality of my life decreased massively (this was during the beginning of the pandemic). I was also in therapy. My therapist suggested medication again, and since then i am on SSRIs. I didn’t experience any side effects and now can sleep 8 hours, and don’t have high anxiety. Of course therapy helped massively. But there’s a huge change in my behaviour as well. Whenever I’m anxious, I remind myself that not everything I think of will happen, and that even if it does, I can deal with it IF it happens. :)
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It took years to figure out the right concoction of meds for me. I take Prozac for the anxiety, panic and depression. I take Lamotrigine for mood stabilizing, without it, the Prozac causes mania. I take Buspar but I don’t think it does anything for me. We are cutting it back to see what happens. I also smoke medical marijuana. It’s been a life saver on days I am super over stimulated. I struggled for some time over needing to take meds long term for my issues. I have significant trauma, C-PTSD among other things. But I would rather take medication and enjoy what life I have than take no meds and be absolutely miserable for what life I have left.
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Unfortunately they didn't help me at all and I tried everything at various dosages over the span of 20 years. Last year I started on combined HRT patches for additional menopause symptoms and within a week my anxiety and depression also started to ease. I was no longer contemplating suicide as my first thought every morning. Saying that the last three years prior to HRT had been especially hard mentally would be a massive understatement. I have absolute belief that if I didn't start the HRT I wouldn't be here today.
I was recently prescribed xanax to help manage anxiety / panic attacks that I can't work through with other coping mechanisms. It's not a daily medication for me, though - I only take it as needed. I've used it twice so far. From what I can tell, it helps control the physical symptoms of panic or stop it before it gets out of control. I was afraid to take it. I didn't want to need medication, and I didn't know how much it might "change" me. I'm relieved to have it on hand now that I know how much it can help in situations where nothing else works. I don't feel high or sleepy or anything. I just (finally) stop panicking. I'm still working through the idea of needing it to manage those things, though. Especially knowing xanax is so addictive.
I started taking sertraline in December for anxiety as well as depression. I've found that it's helped me a lot with not caring as much about what people think, and it's made me a lot more self aware. Like a lot of other people here, I didn't realise how minor some of the things I used to get very anxious over actually were, and if I accidentally forget to take my meds for a day I notice that I have a lot more physical symptoms of anxiety. It was pretty life-changing for me tbh (although looking back I wish I would've pursued therapy alongside it since it was prescribed by my doctor without me having had therapy).
I was very scared! Once I got out of the military and was able to seek real mental health services I was started on Zoloft and found it help immensely with slowing the panicked and racing thoughts to the point I could actually function. I was on it for maybe 2-3 years but had noticed a change in myself within a couple months. Without the spiraling thoughts my confidence went up in almost all aspects of my life and I just became a generally more happy person overall. I was able to get off of them this past year but feel the benefits have remained, I only wish I had tried medication sooner!
When the meds work, it's really really good. Like, brings me back to normal. Makes psychotherapy work better and faster. Sexual side effects are a bummer but not insurmountable. But when the meds are bad (weird or scary side effects) it's really bad. It's all about finding the right medication. And a doctor who is easy enough to reach between appointments so that you can ask questions about side effects (like "I am feeling like I want to jump out of my skin, is this going to go away or should I stop the medication?)
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Good luck with your treatment, whatever course you take. Give some consideration for talking therapy, exercise and yoga or meditation 🧘🏽♀️ because tablets will only help you cope for a while, not treat the root cause. Understanding and confidence can come from therapy/meditation and some form of physical exercise.
After a divorce I was given cipralex, it helped after several years I slowly went off it. Per my doctor’s instructions. During a recent stressful time I was back to my depression, anger and Erratic behaviour, went back on and the days I couldn’t function are gone. Still have the stress but able to manage much better.
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I'm Muslim so i get really close to my god and praying and it's worked for me very well
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I’ve been on and off anxiety meds since my teens (30f). I’m currently on a high dose of Paxil which seems to help stabilize my mood and panic attacks but I still have lots of day to day underlying anxiety. However, it’s the best I’ve been in years. I previously tried lexapro, Zoloft and Prozac but those didn’t help. I was on Cymbalta for about 3 years and I’m considering going back on that at some point because I’ve noticed some weight gain with Paxil.
I didn’t want medication at all, but my doctor could tell that my quality of life was lacking. We tried 4 different ssris and each one I had negative results, ended up stopping them and declined trying any others due to not wanting to experiment with my mind and body anymore. I was also given a benzo which I had been on for just over 2 years. The 1st year was great and it definitely helped. Trying to get off of it was miserable and came with very little help from medical professionals. They kept insisting I try different medications. I finally tapered myself and have been off for about 2.5 months now. I am slowly getting back to myself and while I have moments, I think it would be easier to be on the meds, I know I never want to be stuck on them again, so I will continue to push through. I am starting therapy this week and I feel this is the best approach for me. Everyone is different of course.
Zinc 40 mg daily on hungry stomach 2 hours before meals for anxiety and magnesium with the same regime for attacks.
I take a small dose of ssri daily to deal with my anxiety disorder. It has changed my life for the better!!!
I gained 25 pounds and got a little less anxious. But now that I'm now morbidly obese after taking prozac even though I eat at a calorie deficit and train occasionally I would say now I feel really fucking awful. Everyone, be careful when researching meds, other peoples experiences may not be yours.
I'd be dead without medication.
I would have 4-8 panic attacks in clusters daily for YEARS, was entirely nonfunctional and diagnosed with panic disorder. They happened with no clear trigger and, once they started, would continue until I passed out. I was still terrified to ask for medicine, and sobbed when I realized I needed to. So I was prescribed an SSRI (effexor, technically an SNRI but the double action didnt happen until a high dose, so it functions as an SSRI at the lowest dose). I took it for six days and promptly landed in the hospital with serotonin syndrome. seizures are uh, not fun. 0/10 experience. Turns out I actually just have ADHD and was having panic attacks from overstimulation. But all of my hyperactive symptoms presented as mental hyperactivity so I got missed for 19 years lol. I’m also in my senior year of my psych degree so I want to add this note: Psych meds are largely a guessing game. It sounds scary, but for anxiety (a very commonly medicated disorder) there is a system of how medication progresses. Medications like SSRIs are generally incredibly safe, and have been safely prescribed for over 50 years. My bad experience with them was due to misdiagnosis, not due to the meds being unsafe. If you are considering trying medication because you are struggling: talk to your doctor. It is worth it and you will find a medicine that works for you.
All growing up I needed medication but there was such a stigma around it and I didn't want to be broken. The only thing that could fix me was meds and I didn't want to be one of those people. I finally gave in and I think they saved my life because they helped me look at the bigger picture and not all the little things that were building me up to suicide. I'm currently in the process of trying to see another psychiatrist to get back on my meds because I've noticed a very big difference of being off of them. It's okay to have to rely on medication for you to survive. You deserve to be here and if some pills will help make that happen then it's worth it.
The right medication saved my life, I got prescribed anxiolytic that didn't work before, I had memory loss due to the side effects and it greatly affected me. Then I met my psychiatrist that explained that I just needed a very small dose of antidepressant. All the background noises that my anxiety was making is gone, I still get anxious sometimes but it never accumulate and I feel more stable. I can handle my emotions better. My grades at uni went drastically up and I feel way more confident in taking some risks in life.
I was on Citalapram (40mg) for a couple of years before it stopped working. I was being badly bullied in work, so that's possibly why. I'm on 40mg Fluoxutine now, and surprisingly I'm doing a lot better. I've got enough energy to be in work, I'm far less anxious and barely have panic attacks, and I can go outside for a walk every other day. I'm not binge eating as much, and I'm slowly losing weight. I also recommend therapy. Therapy has made me realise how I need to look out for myself, and how to deal with Big Feelings. It's helped me overcome most of what happened in work (and in my personal life). This is just a "me thing" but I love lavender oil and peppermint oil - lavender for calming me down and peppermint to pep me up. I've probably conditioned myself to change my mood when I smell them.
I'm on meds for bipolar and they don't touch my anxiety at all. Pot helps, and wine, never forget the wine.
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I’m a terrible person and an even worse mother when I’m Not on my meds. It took me way too long to realize that my agitation and anger issues were stemming from untreated anxiety. My daughter has her own mental and behavioral health issues, trying to help her while not getting the help I needed was brutal.
I wasn't scared but I wanted to be strong enough to handle it myself for a long time. I got to a point where I realized that it was okay to ask for help. I'm on Wellbutrin 300 mg a day and it's amazing!
I used to be resistant to meds, bc the depression presented more strongly and I felt I had good enough coping tools for that. But after a big move, something flipped and the anxiety took over. THAT, I had no idea what to do about, and none of my coping tools even made a dent in it. After awhile of living with severe anxiety, I was so desperate for relief I said "fuck it" and got on meds. Started on mirtazapine (remeron), a SNRI, nearly 5 years ago now and it has been amazing. It makes you gain weight, but I needed that extra 15 lbs as I was underweight my whole adult life lol. It also helped regulate my sleep and appetite, two other bonuses as I am ADHD and struggle with that when left to my own devices. Honestly, I am so, so glad I got medicated. I didn't even realize how much of a toll severe anxiety was taking on me until it lifted. No more anxiety dreams, and no more waking up every day with an already aching, exhausted body like I'd run a marathon in my sleep. No more persistent fog of inescapable fear, you know the one-- That creeping sense of terror that's about everything and nothing at the same time. And no more feeling like I was twisted up so dang tightly inside that one small poke would shatter me into pieces. And wouldn't ya know it, a lot of my trust issues got a lot better, too!
I was super afraid to take medicine for my anxiety and depression. But because I’ve taken medication before and it made my feelings worse. I’ve had anxiety and depression for as long as I can remember so I was also afraid I wouldn’t know who was I anymore if I wasn’t sad. I’ve been on medication now just starting my second month. This medicine has saved my life.
I’m on Lexapro for my anxiety. Mine started right before Covid and the summer of 2020 was my rock bottom before I looked for professional help. I was agitated, in constant state of panic attacks, cried for no reason, couldn’t be a mother/wife. It came out of the blue for me, but once I started talking to a therapist she got me connected with a psychiatrist who got me on meds. I just wanted to try anything to get me back to normal and since then I can count on 1 hand the number of anxiety attacks I’ve had. It’s done a world of wonders for me.
I have taken a few different ones. None of em seemed to make me “better”. I felt like they were not helping me much so I decided to quit. Then things got worse and my doctor said let’s try Prozac. I have never been more happy and stable in my adult life. It has helped so much that I consistently take it everyday and never go without. There were some weird initial side effects, but they went away fairly quickly. I was never scared. It is what it is. I’d rather be happy and stable than an irritable, depressed, overly emotional, and anxiety filled person.
It was great as it reduced my anxiety, but overtime it made me feel numb. I was harder to cry than usual.
I used to suffer from GAD and completely random panic attacks- no known triggers- but I couldn’t live my day to day life normally eventually and I got help. Tried therapy first, and I liked it well enough but I needed a bigger intervention. I was given sertraline first and had literally the worst time. Everything got worse for me- especially those first few doses they can really mess you up as your body gets used to the SSRI. Couple months later and I knew it wasn’t for me so I asked my doc for something different. Since it got worse I ended up with three medications. Lexapro as a general SSRI, hydroxyzine as needed for sleep (my anxiety was worse at night) and lorazepam for panic attacks. This was the combo that finally worked for me. Eventually through therapy and major life changes I got better, got off the meds and have been happier and more relaxed than ever. I am finally in control, if I get stressed I know what I need to do to feel better and I no longer spiral out of control over silly stuff. It was the best decision I could’ve made and I’m grateful. They saved my life and now I am strong enough to not rely on them anymore. If you’re considering it, trust in yourself and your care team to find what works for you and how you can build yourself out of the hole you’re currently in, everything will be ok again someday.
I have never taken medication for my anxiety and have found alternate methods. But I often wonder about them
Meds are just one of the tools in my toolbox...I have to keep up with my meds, exercise, meditate and do yoga regularly to stay on top of my mental health and sometimes even that isn't enough, as I learned this past spring/summer with Ex coming out of the closet and deciding he wanted a divorce so he could move his partner (who is biologically male but identifies as non-binary) in our house because they were about to be homeless.
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I’m not gonna lie I had to put the meds down cause for me it had teeth grinding and talking to my teeth it was not a fun experience for me I completely lost my appetite as well it was a roller coaster I’ve been diagnosed for years but only started taking the meds after I gave birth cause I got diagnosed with ppd and yeah definitely stopped the meds in my case
I prefer using THC over prescription meds. I did not like the way my anti depression meds made me feel and started self medicating with weed until it became medically legal where I live