Anxiety Forum

[Beachgirl]

This thread should be a sticky imo

[suziewong]

I suffered from panic attacks which caused me to lose control of my bodily functions, which in turn made me agoraphobic and the only way I can cope is to stay on my meds. I have tried going off them but it starts all over again, so I stay on them. It's been 8 years but I feel "normal".
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"You can come out of the fog. Just look for the lighthouse to guide your way"

[Dixxie]

[Beachgirl]

Dixxie, I thought you made a lot of good points in your note

[trackstar]

This is really good info. I just finished a cbt group and it only took 16-weeks to get me feeling better than i have ever felt before. meds always made me feel not all there and now I feel alive again. We used the tea forms and have been encouraged to stick with them now that the group is over. Try and avoid meds if you can.

[squirt]

Beachgirl great idea about making this thread a sticky. How do they decide on which ones become sticky threads?

[Beachgirl]

Thanks for agreeing with my idea squirt, but I have no idea how to go about making this thread a sticky? I was hoping by suggesting it here someone would like the idea and add it to the sticky list? Anyone else know more about the process?

[Beachgirl]

Good for you trackstar
Keep working on your TEA forms and they will help you even more

[squirt]

[Beachgirl]

Will do? Maybe Robbed knows and can give us advice if he see's this.

[trackstar]

At risk of sounding dumb.... What is a sticky?

[Robbed]

[punkgod94]

Hi Jess, I just saw your post now. Here's my take on medicine and whether or not it's a band-aid. I'm going to tackle your main points/questions/concerns that you brought up, so sorry if this seems a little jumbled at points.

Sometimes taking medicine for a bit IS what you need to get by and live a normal life. Some people need medication for their entire lives, others need it only as a crutch to get them through very horrible times (deaths for example). Sometimes people are prescribed medications such as anti-depressants because there is a chemical imbalance in the brain. By taking the medication for a certain length of time, sometimes your brain will be "jumpstarted" into being able to produce the proper amounts of neurotransmitters on its own again...WITHOUT the use of medication. But you can live a "normal life" again with, or without medication. Like your doctor said, anxiety is NOT always a life long thing. It can cripple some people for their entire life, but it can also be gone within weeks, months, or years. I've found the best approach to dealing with anxiety is an initial combination of medication and therapy as well. But I find it important to eventually get yourself off of medication because it can lead to dependence, and even can cause depression if you feel as though it isn't working...nothing's worked....feeling like you'll need to rely on a pill for the rest of your life to be happy. Therapy and behavior modifications are your best bet to help you "cure" your anxiety. But medication is a god-send for some people who actually DO need to remain on it for their entire lives (people with schizophrenia, as well as a number of other mental and non-mental related disorders)

I agree with your doctor - take the medicine for now until your anxiety becomes MORE manageable. If you're anxious enough that you had to visit your doctor before seeing your therapist next month then I'd at least give the medication a chance to balance you out enough so that you can think a little more clearly and think of ways you can properly help yourself overcome anxiety in the future without the medication (changing lifestyle, diet, exercise, outlook on life, coping with things better, etc.) I'm far from a doctor, but I have to tell you that these message boards are GREAT!!! People here understand what you're going through because we all suffer from the same essential problem - some have it worse, some not as worse. But we can all help each other recover by sharing our experiences and what has worked (or not worked).

The reason doctors are "so easy to give you meds before trying to do it a natural way" is because doctors are trained in medicine. That is their job. They don't know natural ways. If you go to them with a problem, they will give you the medical treatment for it. It's not their fault, and they're not trying to be narrow-minded. That's just their job - medicine. Your doctor COULD have said "can't you just deal with your problems naturally until you see your therapist in a month"...but if you could handle those problems, you probably wouldn't have gone to see your doctor in the meantime. Not to mention that rude behavior like that most likely means you won't have very many clients haha. Also the fact that if the doctor DID say something to that effect and their patient hurt or killed themself, they could be held liable. Your doctor is just trying to help you. Like I said, some people genuinely need the medication for life, some find ways to cope that require weeks, months or years, and they may STILL need medication. Or they may never need medication again. Your doctors trying to give you a bridge to tie you over until the therapist can help you look at ways to "naturally" overcome this. If you're anxious all the time then medication to help you for awhile is probably a good idea. I don't know what kind of medication you're prescribed, but when you have an attack, take a benzodiazepene if you're prescribed it (Xanax, Valium, Ativan, Klonopin are the most common...there are generics for these as well). Even if you don't feel it having an immediate effect, having it in your blood system by taking it every day (or 2-3 times a day as prescribed) will keep your overall anxiety levels down and help prevent you from having a panic "outbreak".

You're absolutely correct...people like us are VERY in tune with everything that has to do with us, our bodys, minds, and surroundings. But the anxiety can be crippling as well and prevent us from dealing with these things that we're in tune with. Most people who have anxious fears, realize that the fears are completely irrational, but they're unable to cope with them nonetheless.

It is possible that you take medication for two months and then you're mind may no longer need them. That is for you and your cognitive therapist to discuss however...be sure to keep your doctor in the loop as well. I try to stay away from words like "gone forever" because that implies that you can predict the future, and NOBODY knows for sure what will happen in the future since we can't control it. You may have a major life shattering experience in the future that puts you back to having an unmanageable anxiety problem again. It's for this reason that I like to keep a few benzodiazepenes on hand just in case something major happens and my anxiety becomes unmanageable again! That way I'll have something to hold me over until I can see a doctor if it's the weekend or they're unavailable for a couple days. Any more than a couple days and I'd tell the receptionist it's an emergency visit, and hopefully they'll find a way to squeeze an appointment in for you. Other times they may recommend you go to the emergency room, but it's worth a shot.

Again, medication isn't always bad. It MAY in fact be the thing that makes you better in the first place, but by continuing cognitive therapy you are taking matters into your own hands, ensuring that you don't "relapse" so to speak. You learn coping skills, and sometimes you can realize that your fears ARE irrational and you can deal with regular stress better than you could before. Remember, stress is 100% normal to experience. DISTRESS is not normal. It's when our body's don't respond properly to natural stressors and this is when medication can be very helpful.

I've struggled with medication for several years, and I've been on lots of different kinds, so I won't get get too detailed here since this post is already enormous, but you're not alone, and others HAVE struggled with your questioning of medication.

Feel free to email me (since I rarely check my "private messages") and I can share some more personal experiences with you, if you wish. I think medication is GREAT....but it's a double edged sword. It CAN do you more harm than good. It can also save your life. It all depends on a lot of personal factors, what medications you're on, and a whole slew of other variables.

It is none of my business, but I must suggest to you that before you consider having a baby, try to get your anxiety under FULL control with your doctors and therapists first. You don't want to end up having a baby and being so stressed out that you can't handle life anymore, and you don't want to accidentally fall into post-partum depression. Depression and anxiety are two mental disorders that OFTEN times occur at the same time in a person. Sometimes one starts first and the other follows, sometimes they both start at the same time, etc. When you are truly ready to get pregnant and your anxiety is under control, talk with your doctors again (by this time you hopefully won't need medication for your anxiety anymore, and that won't be an issue for you). However, let me offer you some advice. You can NOT predict the future at ALL. So do not worry about it. You also can't change the past, so do not let your mind obsess over it. By staying in the present you can better prepare for the unknown future...not control it, but prepare for it. By talking openly and HONESTLY (very important, but overlooked) with your doctor who prescribes you medicine, you can make sure that you do not become reliant on your medication. If you doubt your doctor is giving you the level of care that you NEED, then I highly urge you to switch to a different doctor that suits your needs. I'm 24 and have had 3 family doctors, and slightly over half a dozen social workers, counselors, therapists, , psychologists, and psychiatrists. Sometimes it takes some time and digging, but it's worth the time to find the right people for you!!

Also, you mentioned worries about becoming unexpectedly pregnant. I don't know your religion beliefs, but my best advice is either to abstain or to use SEVERAL forms of birth control to help prevent any accidents. If you're on the pill, make sure you use it properly...take it on time, the same time, every day, etc. But there is NOTHING stopping you from still using condoms in addition. And if you don't want to use condoms, then you can use spemicidal lubricant in addition to the pill. You probably won't need it, but you can use it as part of foreplay and still have the peace of mind knowing that it is ultimately going to help prevent you from getting pregnant.

Sorry for the long post...I think I actually just wrote a mini-book, but like I said, feel free to email me with any quetions you may have or anything that I said that may need to e cleared up.

punkgod94@hotmail.com

[Beachgirl]

thx for getting back to us about how to make this a sticky... Maybe the admins will see it and give it sticky status
I hope you are well

[helpmarcproject]

Rx medicine is a mask of the real problem. It is not going to allow you to get to the root of what is causing your anxiety and how to deal with. So, you will have to be on medicine for the rest of your life, or face the anxiety head on. Some medicine like SSRI's are not meant to be a long term fix. I go into great detail on this on my blog. Please visit it! Click on the link provided in the signature block.
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HelpMarcProject
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