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...
Hi All,
I'm having a little crisis about my medications. I started to struggle with anxiety and OCD symptoms around 3 months ago. Prior to this stint, I was doing well on 20 mg of Lexapro. However, it doesn't seem to work anymore for me. My doctor started me on Mirtazipine which has been terrific for sleep and appetite but hasn't helped much for anxiety. I started on 15 mg in early July and for the past week I've been on 45 mg. I tried weaning off of the Lexapro but it made my symptoms worse. As a teacher and a parent of 3, things have gotten more stressful over the past 3 weeks. I've been taking 1mg of Klonopin to help 3-4 days out of the week. When I take it, I feel much better but I'm so worried about becoming dependent on it. When I go off of it, my anxiety symptoms seem to flare up. Could I already be having withdrawl? I'm not sure what to do. Do I take it to get through this tough time at the risk of dependency or do I just try to tough it out and feel bad for a while, hoping that the mirtazipine increase will eventually help with my obsessive thoughts and anxious symptoms?
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I did the dumbest thing today. I charged my earbuds, unplugged the block and put the block in my little bag instead of the earbuds. I wasn't happy about that when I got to the gym. What a dummy!
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Does anyone follow her? She's really got some good tips.
Anxiety is natural. Anxiety is a helper.
Medication is temporary to help you find calm.
Distract your usual thought pattern to help you heal.
Are you still on the 20 mgs of Lexapro? As stated in your other post, you were going to stay on that dose for now, what with school starting, etc.
Klonopin is a benzo medication, like Valium, Xanax, Ativan. It works when you take it, and when you don't take it, you will feel - different. More anxious probably. You may need to take a small amount of Klonopin every day, but you would have to ask your psychiatrist about what you should do regarding your medications.
If they thing it is okay, then it is perfectly fine to have to take a medication every day. If it helps you function, then I wouldn't worry about dependency at this point. You can deal with that later on, if you need to. Like @Tired said above, medication could be for life. If it helps you, then I wouldn't worry about dependency. I have been taking my anxiety medications, every single day, for almost 25 years now.
Call and leave them a message. You don't have to wait until your next scheduled appointment. Good luck, best wishes.
I wake up weepy every day so I knew I had to do something. I just took .25mg at 6am (it is 8am now) I guess it took some of that feeling away. I will take another .25 around noon.
I also have xanax but it doesnt last ( but is very useful for a situation that may come up and hit you like a ton of bricks)
in general I hate taking meds. That is one reason I got off the lexapro.
I also speak with a therapist, but I am finding she pretty much just listens and does not have a lot of things I can try to help myself. I think I need something more intense with the therapy