Anxiety Meds - Experience

farmers_daughter

Because this is the chit chat board...

I'm already in as much therapy as I can afford, which has helped in the past but I get to the point where my mind won't shut the *kitten* up. - No not schitz type (nothing against that, but not what I'm trying to describe)

Thoughts, I can't stop thinking about everything, I mean everything all the time nonstop, like a ferris wheel that speeds up and won't shut off. people go flying and it's not fun anymore..... then it turns physical, into crying, dry heaves, etc etc... I'm done, I'm sick of it...the bad thing is I have to explain ALL of this to a new medical doctor because mine has left the office after almost 5 years with her. FML!:grumble:

Is there anyone that is willing to share their anxiety experience and solutoins with me. I'm ready to stop talking about it with my therapist and do something.

Otherwise my life is pretty danged normal.

quirkytizzy

Is it like (I'm paraphrasing a blog entry I found on the subject once) "standing between 2 bullet trains going at 200 mph in opposite directions"??? I am bi-polar and at the end of a mania - especially a dysphoric mania - that is what it is like. Impossible to slow down, to stop, to breathe, I'm thinking the same 17 thoughts over and over (to quote Marya Hornbacher.)

Or is it more of an anxiety couple with fear? Worry about the future? Depending on the kind of anxiety - and what your life is like and what other treatments you are able to try - your medication suggestions will vary.

Prettymisssparkles

Gunna bump this for you. I suffer from pretty bad anxiety myself. The thoughts that run wild are never fun. I don't have any great advice other than, running really helped calm me down. Hopefully more people will chime in with better advice.

_EndGame_

Food is medicine.

KKWilson

I also suffter from anxiety. I would dwell on things that "might" happen, things that may be 10 years down the road, worse case scenarios, basically anything that I couldn't control. I take a very low dose of zoloft each day (25 mcg) and it helps to shut down what I call my "mental mill". I also focus on my mantra of "living in this moment right now", which I have to repeat frequently each day. Now I'd be lying if I say I still don't worry some, but it no longer consumes my life. I am much more relaxed and better able to roll with whatever comes up. Therapy is also a great thing. Been there, done it, felt it was completely worth it. Exercise is also wonderful for taking some steam out of constantly running things to death in my head.

IronMikeFox

Hey there. I have severe OCD and chronic depression as well as a host of other generalized anxiety disorders. I have to see a shrink for my meds, but other than that, she doesn't do anything. My therapist is WAY more helpful. When my meds aren't cutting it, I am big on meditation - assuming I can find the time to do it. Exercise also helps me quite a bit except when my OCD manifests in some way related to that. But probably the best source of help is spending time with my kids.

ashandloggiesmom

I have tried xanex and clonopin, the clonopin really helps. Xanex just made me super tired. I am the same way, my mind obsess and just won't stop. Plus I work up little things in my head into these huge impending doom type of situations. What seems to be helping is that when my mind starts racing, I just yell (in my head) STOP and picture blackness. I've done some research and it seems that doing that will help replace the repetitive thoughts, in other words give my mind a new habit. I hope it helps, it is like living in hell.

Libertysfate

The best way to deal with is to talk to your doctor. If you're taking medication, from my experience, it takes a lot of communication between you and your physician to diagnose and come up with a solution that will work.

A few years ago my doctor but me on medication for general anxiety because I got to the point where nothing I did "naturally" was helping anymore. I was in this constant "fight or flight" mode and my job didn't help (I work for a newspaper). The first medication I was on worked well...at first, now I'm on Prozac.

Also, I find that since I started exercising regularly I'm not as anxious as I use to be.

lithezebra

I have similar issues and you are welcome to message me. Daily exercise helps me a lot, and so does 8 hours of sleep. The trick is how to stay (mostly) asleep for 8 hours.

_crafty_

Been there. Done that.

I have anxiety and OCD. Bad combo.

I go through spells where no matter what I do, no matter how much I talk to someone, no matter how much I run/lift/exercise, no matter how much I try to focus on activities that bring me back down to earth (baking, sewing, reading, gardening) I just can't control it on my own. My doctor puts me on Lexapro during those times. It take a couple weeks to kick in and calm me down but then I have my brain back enough to focus on the other things that help me cope. I don't like medicating myself and Lexapro does have side effects so once I feel like I'm back in control of myself my doctor will back off the dosage until I'm off it completely.

The physical feelings you are having (crying, heaving) are signs of an anxiety attack. When I have them my throat closes up and I literally feel like I can't breathe and crying (or screaming) seems to be the only outlet.

I'm rather shocked your doctor has not prescribed an anxiety medication for you. You really should discuss treatments with him/her. Talking to a therapist can be helpful but it sounds like you are beyond the point where that alone is going to help you.

silvergurl518

like many posters have said, i too have anxiety and OCD. my OCD manifests itself in crazy thoughts i *know* are crazy (the beauty of OCD is that we realize our thoughts and actions/compulsions are illogical, yet our brains are on "LOCK" and we can't seem to find the key) yet can't stop repeating over and over like a broken record. those are my compulsions, really. i still tend to check locks or stare at lights or sometimes even stare at people (*hides*). anxiety used to be all-out panic attack fests until i started taking anti-anxiety meds and WORKING WITH MY THERAPIST. that man is a godsend.

so yeah, how i deal with anxiety is through the meds, working actively with my therapist weekly, and exercising. this gives me such great relief i can't even begin to describe. i've formed a wonderful, non-judgmental community of friends here on MFP as well, and they've proved to be invaluable to me. find your nook here too.

farmers_daughter

Food is medicine.

Food is what has made my butt so big. :flowerforyou:

Ok I'm hoping you were being sarcastic, that's why my answer was. :bigsmile:

PJ_73

I am diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder and suffer with varying levels of anxiety pretty much all of the time. Ranging from worrying about absolutely everything in my life, regardless of whether I can change it or not - to being unable to leave the house or engage with others because my levels of anxiety are so high.

I used to self medicate with wine and drugs, which used to make me feel great whilst I was high but not so great when I was coming down or sobering up!

I have tried various medications, Sertraline, Citalopram, Venlafaxine and Paroxetine which all worked for the short term but tended to have various side effects, with weight gain being the longer lasting! They have helped, however, to bring things under control when things have been particularly bad - and although I do believe they are a short term solution to a longer term problem, I think speaking to your GP about prescribing something is a good place to start.

A healthy lifestyle really does help and tends to lead to increased sleep, which is great for decreasing the anxieties.

Talking to people that care is a winner for me, especially as I spent many years pushing people away and coping alone. Having friends or family members listening and showing that they care can be a real help in itself.

I think remembering that life can be messy too is a good way to go! It's never going to be perfect and there will always be stresses and setbacks but that it doesn't mean our lives will be over, just that it may get tough for awhile.

I still frequently get a little too anxious, open a little can of crazy on folks closest to me, or convince myself that I am having heart attack - but I am still here and still battling on and I accept my foibles and even manage to have a little laugh at myself now and again!!

Good luck with it all, lovely x

onecatleadstoanother

I hear you. The only thing that has helped me (I can worry through a medication haze) is to write my worries down. I get so tired of writing down the same things over and over that I just stop, or at least slow down. I made lists of good things that are likely to happen in the next few years, and of the good things going on in my life right now that I don't pay attention to, because I'm too busy what-if'ing my life away. You're welcome to add me if you want to talk some more.

SloRunner25

Therapy did absolutely nothing for me. I had a horrible experience with bad withdrawals from Paxil and was very nervous to go back on meds again. I'm on lexapro now and I love it. Talk with your doc about it and see what he/she says and if it is right for you. It helped stop the racing thoughts and worrying about EVERYTHING.

Hope you find something that works for you! Good luck and I hope you feel better soon. :flowerforyou:

nomorebamboozles

Journaling every night and just sorting through your own thoughts in an environment where you can just let go of everything in a safe and secure place might help as well. It helps keeps things in perspective, especially when you go back to a previous journal entry and realize how badly things were blown out of proportion at the time. It's a bit therapeutic, might help you

_EndGame_

Food is medicine.

Food is what has made my butt so big. :flowerforyou:

Ok I'm hoping you were being sarcastic, that's why my answer was. :bigsmile:

I wasn't trying to be sarcastic!

For example, things like garlic, honey and tumeric have all been linked to helping with depression.

If you eat healthy, well sourced food, it has positive effects on the body. If you eat unhealthy, processed crap, it has negative effects on the body.

nomeejerome

Food is medicine.

Food is what has made my butt so big. :flowerforyou:

Ok I'm hoping you were being sarcastic, that's why my answer was. :bigsmile:

I wasn't trying to be sarcastic!

For example, things like garlic, honey and tumeric have all been linked to helping with depression.

If you eat healthy, well sourced food, it has positive effects on the body. If you eat unhealthy, processed crap, it has negative effects on the body.

A well-balanced diet can help some symptoms, however food is not the answer when symptoms are severe. In addition, a person eating "processed crap" can still have a well-balanced diet. At some point, meds and a tailored approach to therapy (unique to individual needs) is what is needed to see an improvement in symptoms. (Garlic, honey, and tumeric have nothing to do with the outcome.)

farmers_daughter

Is it like (I'm paraphrasing a blog entry I found on the subject once) "standing between 2 bullet trains going at 200 mph in opposite directions"??? I am bi-polar and at the end of a mania - especially a dysphoric mania - that is what it is like. Impossible to slow down, to stop, to breathe, I'm thinking the same 17 thoughts over and over (to quote Marya Hornbacher.)

Or is it more of an anxiety couple with fear? Worry about the future? Depending on the kind of anxiety - and what your life is like and what other treatments you are able to try - your medication suggestions will vary.

Like someone else said on here, they worry about the future, and things far off. Yes I'll absolutely admit that's all I used to worry about, but I'm getting much better about thinking in the "here and now". And to answer your question kind of. It's more like I'm thinking about me and what I have to do like mow the yard, what to fix for supper, how I'm going to pay my bills just everyday stuff. And then it's like someone creeps from behind and is like "WTF you gonna do about XYZ?" and they sit on my back and hound me that I don't have enough dollars to pay this? And what I have to fix for supper is Unhealthy and I'm gonna be fat and ahhhhhhhh......

My bf right now is causing me some major stress he's about to get the boot. His self esteem issues are driving me nuts.

I tend to think backwards, or in reverse, I wish I would ahve said, blah blah blah, or why didn't I think to say XYZ..... I literally have conversations with myself that I don't have enough time to have with someone. Becuase the "person" (aka thought) I'm conversing with won't shut up.

_EndGame_

Food is medicine.

Food is what has made my butt so big. :flowerforyou:

Ok I'm hoping you were being sarcastic, that's why my answer was. :bigsmile:

I wasn't trying to be sarcastic!

For example, things like garlic, honey and tumeric have all been linked to helping with depression.

If you eat healthy, well sourced food, it has positive effects on the body. If you eat unhealthy, processed crap, it has negative effects on the body.

A well-balanced diet can help some symptoms, however food is not the answer when symptoms are severe. In addition, a person eating "processed crap" can still have a well-balanced diet. At some point, meds and a tailored approach to therapy (unique to individual needs) is what is needed to see an improvement in symptoms. (Garlic, honey, and tumeric have nothing to do with the outcome.)

Well, I speak from personal experience, it's not just something I read and then regurgitated.

I used to be pretty much housebound at one point, paranoid about the way I looked, depressed and generally all round at an all time low. The meds I was prescribed did nothing but accelerate weight loss and leave me feeling like a zombie.

6 months of still feeling like crap, I looked to more natural remedies for depression and anxiety, and read an article on how food is medicine. (I didn't have severe weight issues then, was still overweight) and I started eating certain foods, which in turn lifted my mood, shifted my depression and made me feel all round healthier.

Perhaps it was a placebo effect? Perhaps just the idea of eating healthier made me think my anxiety/depression had lifted? Who knows. Either way, it worked for me, so I figured I would suggest certain foods. This was 6 years ago, since I put weight on, but that was through just being lazy and too comfortable with life.

nomeejerome

Food is medicine.

Food is what has made my butt so big. :flowerforyou:

Ok I'm hoping you were being sarcastic, that's why my answer was. :bigsmile:

I wasn't trying to be sarcastic!

For example, things like garlic, honey and tumeric have all been linked to helping with depression.

If you eat healthy, well sourced food, it has positive effects on the body. If you eat unhealthy, processed crap, it has negative effects on the body.

A well-balanced diet can help some symptoms, however food is not the answer when symptoms are severe. In addition, a person eating "processed crap" can still have a well-balanced diet. At some point, meds and a tailored approach to therapy (unique to individual needs) is what is needed to see an improvement in symptoms. (Garlic, honey, and tumeric have nothing to do with the outcome.)

Well, I speak from personal experience, it's not just something I read and then regurgitated.

I used to be pretty much housebound at one point, paranoid about the way I looked, depressed and generally all round at an all time low. The meds I was prescribed did nothing but accelerate weight loss and leave me feeling like a zombie.

6 months of still feeling like crap, I looked to more natural remedies for depression and anxiety, and read an article on how food is medicine. (I didn't have severe weight issues then, was still overweight) and I started eating certain foods, which in turn lifted my mood, shifted my depression and made me feel all round healthier.

Perhaps it was a placebo effect? Perhaps just the idea of eating healthier made me think my anxiety/depression had lifted? Who knows. Either way, it worked for me, so I figured I would suggest certain foods. This was 6 years ago, since I put weight on, but that was through just being lazy and too comfortable with life.

Well, I am glad you are feeling better, but it was not specific foods. Many times it takes multiple tries to get the correct "cocktail" of meds and it takes time to get in the system and begin to "work" for a person. (and a correct diagnosis helps too). In addition, sometimes meds are not needed, depending on the severity of symptoms. (and different therapeutic approaches are used) Again, I am glad that you are feeling better, but food is not medicine and one personal experience can not be generalized for the entire population.