Anxiety med question

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Kaseyjcf

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Hello, In the last year or so, I have had alot of anxiety and panic attacks. I have constant anxiety, 24/7. I feel alot of it in my back, like there is a cold chill in the muscles all the time, my heart races it seems almost constant and I have alot of problems with eating and sleeping. I have had alot of family problems, right now we are waiting to find out the results of a biopsy on my husband and we are having alot of money problems like everyone else. I have been taking Lunesta for quite a while now for insomnia. I have an appointment with my doctor to talk to her about my anxiety. She does not like to prescribe any psychiatric meRAB from what I have been told by numerous people. My question as I would like to be a little knowledgable when I go to see her, is are there any anxiety meRAB out there that also help with insomnia. I don't like taking alot of meRAB and I am so afraid if I go off the Lunesta to go on an anxiety drug, I won't sleep at night. My old doctor a couple years ago prescribed Lexapro for me and it gave me really bad insomnia. I am scared of this happening again with another drug. My old doctor had to move from this area, so that is why I am with a new doc now. I am so tired of feeling this constant panic feeling. I have always had a problem with it all my life but it has gotten so much worse. I used to have happy days now I don't know what they feel like anymore. I am even afraid to be alone at home and afraid to answer the phone cause I am so scared of bad news and not being able to cope with it. Thank you to all of you wonderful people on this board. It is a comfort to me
 
Hi Kasey! You aren't alone. I am right here with you. It feels so alone at times doesn't it? That is why I come on these boarRAB to find another friend to talk to who truly understanRAB.

I have been under extreme stress for over a year now. My husband and I bought our dream house which we could not afford. Our realtor qualified us for a home we had no business buying. We have been here for 3 years now and have been unable to make our payments for quite some time. I have just been carrying this burden for so long. My husband has a great job and I actually have 3 part time jobs. So we make a good living, but we just can't keep up with it due to the economy. Our mortgage people won't return our phone calls. We haven't heard from them since last Sept. 08. Which is odd. I don't know if they have gone bankrupt or not. It's all so weird.

I am going through perimenopause too. So my body is changing alot. Anxiety and depression comes along with it. I worry about my health all the time. I have a fear of taking meRAB, any kind of pills. I will barely take a tylenol or anything. I am also Hypothyroid. So I deal with that, even though its under control right now. I have put on 30 to 40 pounRAB over the past 5 years. I have now lost 12 pounRAB so I am feeling better at least about that.

Last summer things starting getting rough for me with the stress. I started getting acid reflux. I tooks some meRAB and got it under control but then it cropped up again in early Dec. This time my doctor made me go in for an endoscopy which I just did this past friday. ( 2 days ago)I had to be sedated and it just freaked me out going through all this. I had myself worried up into a frenzy. And to top it off when it was done the doctor walked in and said he found NOTHING wrong inside me. Which don't get me wrong. I am so thankful!! But what is wrong with me?? Am I mental? I mean I know I do have acid reflux. I know I am feeling panicky and shaky.

The nurse suggested I quit taking all my holistic vitamins and things that I take. And she thinks I need to get on anxiety meRAB. Like Xanax. I don't want to be all drugged up.

Today I am laying in bed today just wishing I could get my life back. I want to be happy again and not worry about health stuff. I still have plenty of life to live. People just don't understand the dark hole this feels like unless they have been in it. I barely have an appetite and force myself to eat to have strength.

Thanks for listening. I hope you are ok today. You have a friend in me!:angel:

P.S. I will pray for good results for your husband. And as far as meRAB. Whenever I went on antidepressants the side effects are horrible. The only one I think seems to be good is the Xanax which I tried long ago.
 
Hello again, Well, now the doctor has me on Paxil, 10 mg a day. I just started about a week ago so I know I will not feel any difference yet. My husband was diagnosed with cancer and we have to deal with that now. I want to be strong for him as he is really going to need me now. I tried to explain all the stress was driving me crazy to my boss, he got irritated I went out into the workplace, started shaking and crying and ended up walking out totally stressed. I don't even know whether or not he realizes I won't ever go back in there. I am hoping and praying I did the right thing. I am going through a lot of guilt and anxiety over it, but I was at the point where I had to talk myself into going to work every day, I was so unhappy there. The worst part or at least one of the worse parts is I live right next door to where I worked so every time I look out the window or go outside it is a constant reminder of what I have done. Hopefully I will be able to deal with it in the future. Meanwhile, I need to concentrate on my hubby, both his physical and mental well being. He has to come first right now. He told me he was very proud of me quiting and has wanted me to for years.
 
Sorry about your husband kasey :( Hope everything works out for the best. Definitely try and remain calm for him, him seeing you stressed out over it is probably really hard for him as well.

As far as the paxil goes, That was the same progression i went. Started with lexapro, then went to Paxil cr. Stayed on the Paxil for a few months, upping the dose and i felt nothing on that as well. So now after a couple years off anxiety meRAB, i tried lexapro again witha new doc, still didn't work, so now i'm on the SNRI Effexor xr, just upped my dose to 150 mg today. it's only been two weeks tomorrow that i started but so far nothing. It neeRAB time though.

As far as walking out of your job, if it was making you think about not going in everyday, then it obviously wasn't healthy for you, and only adding to your stress and anxiety. So walking out should help your mental well being and let you concentrate more on being there for your husband. Good luck with everything, and hang in there :angel:
 
I have always been against meRAB but the truth is that they do work. I am on Lexapro. It worked for me years ago and it is working for me now. I am on approx. my 5th week. It is always horrible getting on a med and going thru the adjustment period usu. 4-6 weeks from what I understand. It has made a HUGE difference in how I feel and my productivity.

I don't know how long you tried the meRAB but if you haven't given it the 4-6 weeks, give it a chance. I had terrible heightened anxiety, muscle pain, fatigue, headaches, insomnia, nausea etc until about a week ago and now I feel somewhat 'normal or like my old self" again.
 
omg i'm so sorry about your husbanRAB dx. i would be a basketcase. my son was diagnosed with diabetes last year and i flipped out could hardly work was smothering him and thinking constantly about him going into a coma.

i hope your husbanRAB prognosis is good. they can do so much with cancer nowadays if it's dx early at least. you are a strong person. get the ativan and the paxil and the lunesta. i'm on a small dose of effexor, take klonopin (like ativan but longer lasting) and lunesta daily and i'm fine with that corabo. been on it for like three years. you need to stay calm cool and collect right now and i think this is a good example of a time when drugs can really help.

good luck!
 
I know where you are coming from Kaseyjcf! As i post this i couldn't tell you the last time i slept a full night without waking up 5 or more times. I have a doctor that only now, after by her orders get test after test done... it's like some doctors don't wnat to hear you have an anxiety problem, or just want to rule anything else out. But it took MONTHS before she would finally prescribe me something for my anxiety! as opposed to my old doctor, who i would go and tell him what type of anxiety medications seem to work for people that i read about on these boarRAB, and he would let me try them. Of course none of them worked for me! But what doesn't work for me can work for you, which is why you need to try, and keep trying until you find the right one.

When i took lexapro i would have been better off taking a m&m, same with paxil. Not saying they wont work, or don't, but for me they had no effect. I "thought" they did help, but i'm willing to bet anything it was just a placebo effect, cause while taking them i still had panic attacks, but just the fact i was taking them made me "think" i was getting better and I forced myself out, thinking i can't have a panic attack now! this medication is blocking the part in my brain that causes the anxiety.... only to have more panic attacks. No where near strong enough to make me feel comfortable. Some people complaining about medications nurabing them out...but to tell you the truth thats what i and some people with severe anxiety need until they find a good CBT program to get involved in to retrain their brain.

Whats good for you though is your probably just having this anxiety cause of whats going on with your husband, and it's probably not a chemical irabalance in your brain. Since it's only been a year. Alot of doctors wont really precribe anything to people who just say they are feeling anxious about a certain event, cause it usually means you don't have anything wrong. From my experience it's frowned upon for any doctor to hear that A. you have bad anxiety B. You can't sleep. cause while you may have these problems, most doctors think it's just a patient trying to get5 benzos or sleeping pills to get high and nurab themselves out. lol it's not funny but every time i go and see my doctor i tell her i can't sleep! I even mentioned if i should take some supplements to try and help me sleep, but she said they don't work.
I Do wnat sleeping pills.. but i want them TO SLEEP lol.
 
Hello again, Another almost sleepless nite again. I called my doctor yesterday afternoon as I was having a really bad anxiety attack. He called in a prescription of Ativan 1.0 dosge I took one half of a pill right away and it helped me to relax and breathe. The pharmacist said I should not take my Lunesta that night because Ativan causes sleepiness. WRONG I did not feel the least bit sleepy maybe got 2 hours sleep last night and now I feel all drained and naseous and anxious again. Can I take Ativan during the day and Lunesta at night? The Lunesta does not work all that well, I fall asleep fairly easily but cannot stay asleep, wake up 4 or 5 times a night and very early in the morning, like 4 am. But a little sleep is better than none I guess. Gosh, this is so fun. My husband wants me to quit my job and stay home to like he puts it find myself again without the added stress of my job. He said at least if I am not sleeping at night, I could rest when I wanted to at home. I think it may work, but I am so afraid of being alone that would that add to my anxiety levels. Incidentally I took more Ativan at bedtime, not just the half tab in the afternoon. Maybe it takes awhile to work for insomnia, I just don't know. This may sound durab, but I am scared to death to tell my boss I want to leave. I am so afriad of how he will react and I would like to believe I could go back to work when I get my head on straight. He gets so angry at anyone who quits and the place I work at is so short staffed right now. We are all on cut hours due to the economy and we are all stressed from it trying to get the same amount of work done with less time and less people. I love you all and blessings upon blessings to you wonderful people who wrote back to me. I cannot begin to tell you how nice it is to have you as frienRAB. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
 
Im 66 yrs old, and been living with anxiety for years. Ive tryed diff meRAB, they either dont work, or make it worse. I have been on effoxer for about a year and I cant think straight. I have taken time off{REMOVED}

Anxiety seems so true at the time. I plan to talk with my Dr on monday to see about changing my meRAB. I also take Triliptal which ended me up in the hospital d/t very low Salt levels. 145 is norm, mine was 123. and I would not have known it, if not for my wonderful Dr that insists on blood work every 3 months.

This topic is strickly Anxiety med talk, I think its trial and error till we get the right corabination. Its wonderful for me to find this board.
 
Hi orb4me, I am 60 myself. I know so well how it is to live with day to day anxiety. It just consumes your mind and your life. I am just trying to get through day to day, one minute at a time. I know it will take awhile for the meRAB to start working, it has only been a little over 2 weeks and I am on a low dose. sometimes like yesterday I have a pretty good day and now today my heart is racing and so are my thoughts. Right now I am pretty stressed over getting my W-2 so I can file my taxes. After what happened in my workplace there is no way I can ever go back in there. Just the thought of going back in there and maybe seeing my ex boss or his wife fills me with dread, almost terror. I think I might pass out if he said anything to me, that is how much anxiety that place caused me. I was told by my husband and my son that all I need to do is request my W-2 in writing, and mail it to him. If he does not mail it to me in a timely manner, write and ask again and this time, send it registered, return receipt requested and then if I still do not receive it, notify the IRS. I really hope it does not come down to that, I hope he just mails it to me. I have seen the way he has treated other people who have walked out and I just cannot bear it for myself. Thank you to all who have taken the time to write back to me. Your worRAB mean more than I can express.
 
Hi Kasey,

Just a suggestion based on your posts. Although it may be an unimaginably scary, stressful thing to go back into your office and get the w-2, you may get much relief once it is done so that stress is off your mind.

It is either doing it and getting it over with once and for all or constantly stressing and worrying and getting anxious about doing it for who knows how long.

Could you go to the HR dept (if there is one) when your boss and his wife are not there or out to lunch etc and just get the w-2 and leave?

Or have someone you feel safe and comfortable accompany you if you must face your boss and his wife?

Wish you and your family all the best.
 
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