Wellness

[natesgrandma]

Thank you so much to everyone.  This really helps me.  I am just going to wait it out for 2 more weeks (Im pretty miserable) but I have already put this much time into it.  I really appreciate all the advice. 

[Tantallum]

If you are having this level of side effects, you should most certainly insist that your doctor try a different medication.  The goal of medicine is to improve quality of life and the list you described does not sound like it is doing that.  ESPECIALLY since there are many other drugs that treat the same condition and chances are, you will find one that does not cause this level of side effects.  best of luck. 

[LilacTree]

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@Moonchilde wrote:

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@catwhisperer wrote:

I don't handle stress well, and I'm always stressed about something. The thought of taking meds with all their side effects scares me to death, so I would rather just continue living with my stress anxiety.  I'm sorry to hear that so many of you have had so many problems with the meds. Not very encouraging.

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The sad thing is, the benzodiazepines don't have a long list of side effects and they are short-acting, i.e for 1-4 hrs, so they would be much better for many than the anti-depressants with many more side effects.

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OMG this is so true!!!!  You know the reason of course . . . benzos are not expensive, anti-depressants are moneymakers!! 

I went to a therapist last week and she started talking anti-depressants before I was even done talking about my issues.  I said no, I would not take them.  Then she said that was a big mistake, she noticed I took Xanax and called me an "addict."  I told her I only took it when needed (panic attacks) and have never had ANY side effects from it, nor have I ever increased the dose or abused it.

She spent more time complimenting me on how good I looked for my age and saying how beautiful I must have been when I was young . . . to the point of creepiness!!  Then she said she couldn't help me (without the med, I guess).  I did make another appointment, but I am going to cancel it and try another doc (my PCP had given me three referrals). 

I agree with you so completely about the difference in these meds!! 

[LilacTree]

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@catwhisperer wrote:

I don't handle stress well, and I'm always stressed about something. The thought of taking meds with all their side effects scares me to death, so I would rather just continue living with my stress anxiety.  I'm sorry to hear that so many of you have had so many problems with the meds. Not very encouraging.

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@catwhisperer

I usually do not give advice to anyone here, but if you have stress anxiety, not depression, you are on the wrong med IN MY OPINION ONLY.  Anti-depressants have many side effects. 

You can read my other comments here if you want to (and not only mine). 

[LilacTree]

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@Moonchilde wrote:

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@Reba055 wrote:

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@Moonchilde wrote:

I was prescribed both Zoloft and Buspar at different times for (hopefully) more or less short-term situational depression, not clinical depression. I know they are also prescribed for anxiety, but IMO I wish doctors would stop almost automatically prescribing anti-depressants for anxiety reactions, just because they're considered "safe" in the non-addictive sense.  They often times just don't work, or are inappropriate over-treatment, for anxiety NOT necessarily caused by depression - which I have also had.

I stopped both medications after 2-3 weeks due to side effects - GI, sleep disturbance/nightmares, and just an overall "weird" feeling, as someone said, and not a good feeling. 

I was working in a busy, high pressure job and had to be on my toes at all times, so could not handle feeling "not in control" of myself.

Zoloft also gave me dysarthria - when I opened my mouth to speak, although I knew what I wanted to say, gibberish came out. I took it for three week and it took *two months* for that to go away.

I decided I'd rather be depressed, or anxious, or both, than have those side effects. And neither drug, BTW, made me feel better emotionally.

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@Moonchilde Antidepressants don't have that great a success rate honestly, though they are lifesavers for some. I agree, they need to quit throwing an antidepressant at everything. 

The best med for anxiety is a benzo. It just is. Works, works fast, and has few side effects in low doses. But we know how that goes....

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Exactly, @Reba055! Try to get a Rx for Valium any more, from anyone. Some users, and the AMA and FDA, ruined the use of a perfectly good drug because of its *potential* for misuse. So now that there is the *potential* to misuse codeine, people who just honestly need pain medication for valid reasons will start being denied it.

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@Moonchilde wrote:

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@Reba055 wrote:

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@Moonchilde wrote:

I was prescribed both Zoloft and Buspar at different times for (hopefully) more or less short-term situational depression, not clinical depression. I know they are also prescribed for anxiety, but IMO I wish doctors would stop almost automatically prescribing anti-depressants for anxiety reactions, just because they're considered "safe" in the non-addictive sense.  They often times just don't work, or are inappropriate over-treatment, for anxiety NOT necessarily caused by depression - which I have also had.

I stopped both medications after 2-3 weeks due to side effects - GI, sleep disturbance/nightmares, and just an overall "weird" feeling, as someone said, and not a good feeling. 

I was working in a busy, high pressure job and had to be on my toes at all times, so could not handle feeling "not in control" of myself.

Zoloft also gave me dysarthria - when I opened my mouth to speak, although I knew what I wanted to say, gibberish came out. I took it for three week and it took *two months* for that to go away.

I decided I'd rather be depressed, or anxious, or both, than have those side effects. And neither drug, BTW, made me feel better emotionally.

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@Moonchilde Antidepressants don't have that great a success rate honestly, though they are lifesavers for some. I agree, they need to quit throwing an antidepressant at everything. 

The best med for anxiety is a benzo. It just is. Works, works fast, and has few side effects in low doses. But we know how that goes....

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Exactly, @Reba055! Try to get a Rx for Valium any more, from anyone. Some users, and the AMA and FDA, ruined the use of a perfectly good drug because of its *potential* for misuse. So now that there is the *potential* to misuse codeine, people who just honestly need pain medication for valid reasons will start being denied it.

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SO TRUE, SO TRUE!!!  @Reba055 and I agree on this!!

[catwhisperer]

@LilacTree...I think you have me confused with another poster. I do not take any medications.

[LilacTree]

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@catwhisperer wrote:

@LilacTree...I think you have me confused with another poster. I do not take any medications.

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Yes, I did @catwhisperer.  I apologize.

My response was meant for @Reba055.  I have a hard time trying to follow long posts.

[catwhisperer]

@LilacTree....I have trouble following long posts and quoted posts as well. No worries.

[Moonchilde]

@LilacTree, I don't get the whole 'if you're anxious you must be depressed' thing that doctors have decided is true over the past 15-20 years. Not necessarily. I've never been depressed chronically, only short-term due to death, loss, etc. but I've had anxiety reactions since my very early 20s that cause me *physical*, not emotional, problems - hyperventilating, racing heart, high blood pressure, IBS and the like. The very slow-acting anti-depressants would do ZIP for that.

Valium was a miracle drug for me. Solved the physical problems within 15-20 min. - felt fine, let me go on about my day and wore off in 2-3 hrs. No side effects for me.

Over time I learned the early warning signs and symptoms of an attack/event and 75% of the time I can just deal with it until it passes off. The other 25% of the time I need to take something that is quick-acting. Almost NO doctor will even consider prescribing Valium any more as it's a red flag for that doctor with the FDA. Getting Ativan, they make you feel like an addict as well, but I persevered. My old doctors office made me grovel for it! I rarely take it, but when you need something, you need it.

[LilacTree]

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@Moonchilde wrote:

@LilacTree, I don't get the whole 'if you're anxious you must be depressed' thing that doctors have decided is true over the past 15-20 years. Not necessarily. I've never been depressed chronically, only short-term due to death, loss, etc. but I've had anxiety reactions since my very early 20s that cause me *physical*, not emotional, problems - hyperventilating, racing heart, high blood pressure, IBS and the like. The very slow-acting anti-depressants would do ZIP for that.

Valium was a miracle drug for me. Solved the physical problems within 15-20 min. - felt fine, let me go on about my day and wore off in 2-3 hrs. No side effects for me.

Over time I learned the early warning signs and symptoms of an attack/event and 75% of the time I can just deal with it until it passes off. The other 25% of the time I need to take something that is quick-acting. Almost NO doctor will even consider prescribing Valium any more as it's a red flag for that doctor with the FDA. Getting Ativan, they make you feel like an addict as well, but I persevered. My old doctors office made me grovel for it! I rarely take it, but when you need something, you need it.

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@Moonchilde

My panic attacks started with puberty at age 14.  I also got very ill at that time with rheumatic fever/scarlet fever and mono all at the same time.  I was hospitalized for weeks in a TB hospital and had to repeat the school year.  My beloved sister told me only a year or two before she died that my parents thought I was going to die.  Obviously I did not.  However, I think my autoimmune issues started then, only they didn't diagnose it as such at that time.

I was reasonably healthy after that but suffered from severe panic attacks which they didn't do anything about in those days. I would wake up and night gasping for air and feeling as though I was going to swallow my tongue. 

Later, after four babies in four and a half years, my health improved (I think it had something to do with hormones) and I felt quite well both physically and mentally all through my child raising and working years.

At menopause, panic attacks came roaring back and my doc at the time put me on Xanax, which stopped them completely.  I could always feel one coming on and once I took the pill it stopped almost immediately.  As you experienced with Valium, I considered it a miracle.  I've never had a full blown panic attack again and I don't wake up at night being unable to breathe.  So if some therapist wants to call me an "addict," she can feel free.

I don't have a problem getting prescriptions for the generic (alprazolam) probably because of my age and how long I've been taking it.  As you said, if they think "depression" is the same as "anxiety," then why are there completely different meds for it?  Xanax is also short-acting with no side effects.  Anti-depressants . . . as we've discussed I completely agree with you on that med.  It can be a killer.