Anxiety Support Group

Anxiety is a physical condition marked by intense and persistent feelings of distress, fear, angst or dread. General anxiety caused by routine day-to-day stresses usually passes quickly and is experienced by almost everyone at one time or another. However, such feelings that linger over time and are very difficult to cope with, and which lack a clear cause, may indicate...

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Anyone NOT take ADs with Benzos?

deleted_user
deleted_user
I had taken Xanax for about 12 years 3x a day then was just recently switched over to klonopin because my body developed a tolerance to the xanax after so long. It was only lasting me around 3 hours at a time and that was no good. The problem I have with Antidepressants is they ALL seem to give me a fast heart rate. I was on Effexor for about 3 years along with Xanax and it gave me Tachycardia so they took me off it. For about a month and a half I took no ADs and I had not felt better in 10 years. I even took a trip about 3 hours away for the first time in 10 years. Then I just started getting massive withdrawals after the Xanax would wear off in a few hours. My heart rate dropped from around 95-100 while on effexor to around mid 70s low 80s. They started me on Celexa only 10mg to start then upped it to 20mg. After about a week on 20mg my heart rate started rising again. Now for someone with anxiety this is completely counterproductive to me as it makes me MORE anxious. I dropped back down to 10mg myself and it seem to help it a bit.

Does anyone just take Benzos daily? I don't mean as needed I mean 3x a day or more.
deleted_user
deleted_user
When I try to tell people that I lost 3 years of my life *trying to find the right medication* they don't seem to understand what I mean... I was a zombie with a racing heart and my anxiety was through the roof while I was on different medications. Though I believe that a small percentage of anxiety suffers may actually NEED medication because of an imbalance, I strongly believe that MOST are just wasting their time hoping a pill will "cure" them. Two weeks after I stopped all pills I felt SO much better... I still got attacks but way less frequently and when they were over I felt ... well... normal and good. Instead of searching for a miracle drug I changed my diet and focused on what I was thinking and I got out of the house and tried to force myself to do the things I wanted to do even though it would scare me... I am 90% better for it. The ONLY thing that I take ONCE IN A BLUE MOON is a lorazapam in extreme stress situations but I will never try a daily drug again.
deleted_user
deleted_user
I also don't want to offend anyone who takes medication and believes it is helping them... my point is just that if you don't work out your fears and anxiety with a counsillor or do some cognitive therapy and face your fears, I do not believe that anyone can fully recover because a pill can not change what you are afraid of or fit anything else in your life that might need adjusting. Facing your fears is truly not the easy route but I believe if you don't do this you will always be dependant on your pills which might actually be contributing to how you are feeling. I have had anxiety for 12 years but am NO WHERE near as bad as when I was trying to find a super pill for me.
deleted_user
deleted_user
I was taking xanax 3x a day too, but it was not lasting long enough at night and I would wake up every morning between 4-6am, so i was switched to klonopins. I was prescribed zoloft, but i refuse to take a med like that unless i feel it is absolutely necessary. I feel fine with just my klonopins, therapy, exercise, and stress b-complex vitamins. I don't want to interfere with anything in my brain when I don't absolutely need to. Just my opinion.
deleted_user
deleted_user
i only take Xanax 3mgs cr a day, and antivan wehn i feel a panic attack coming on... or need an extra bit of ease.
I severly depressed though. I have taken every ssr, mood stablizer under the sun. I hate them all... i know my depression is going unchecked, but i can't handle the side effects from all the other meds.
(evil med's)
I hope this was of some help...
are you a Tool fan?
deleted_user
deleted_user
Yes I am a tool fan.

My main problem with the SSRI are that they ALL seem to give me a fast heart rate. Their solution is the take Beta Blockers to slow my heart rate down. I don't want to take a medication just to counter a side effect of another I think it is fairly stupid. The ADs do their job, I get all hyped up like they are supposed to make you but having anxiety that is counter productive to me. I don't want the feeling of being all wound up and having a fast heart rate. I like being calm. I function just fine. My depression seems to be mainly under control it is my anxiety that is the main issue and has been for awhile not my depression.
deleted_user
deleted_user
I tried one antidepressant (lexapro) for my anxiety and it made my anxiety much worse. The side effects were so bad that I was afraid to try any other antidepressant. I use xanax as needed and it works great for those severe anxiety attacks that you can't get under control. Thankfully I haven't had to use the xanax for over 3 weeks. I agree with lilpeep in that there is no magic pill that will cure anxiety. There are a number of ways to treat anxiety and I feel the best way to treat it centers around therapy (changing the way we think, working on self-esteem issues, etc). Granted this can be a long process but I feel is the best hope for recovery. I'm not completely better but am significantly better since doing cognitive behavioral therapy along with natural remedies that are described in my profile. Don't get me wrong, the xanax helped me to calm down to where I could work on my anxiety and now I rarely use it.
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