Ativan is an excellent drug for minor anxiety. It is effective and has a short half-life, so it does not usually make a person drowsy. It is a very good drug. The generic is lorazepam.

Xanax (alprazolam) or Klonopin are also two excellent drugs for anxiety. The old standby, Valium (diazepam) has a very long half-life (the time it takes half of the drug to be excreted by the body), so the potential for abuse is higher than many drugs of this nature. Valium is not used much anymore.

Buspar is another drug which is effective for dealing with anxiety.

Most of the people who have problems with SSRIs have problems weaning themselves off the drug. An abrupt withdrawal, while not life threatening, can cause some unpleasant side effects. To combat this, the drug should be slowly withdrawn while very slowly cutting down the dosage a little bit at a time. For some people, it may take as long as three to six months to successfully get completely off the SSRI. But if it does work, why bother getting off?

If the drug itself caused problems, it is imperative to keep trying other SSRIs until you find one that works for you. But keep in mind, that SSRIs are more effective for depression than anxiety.

If you have had such a bad reaction and experience with SSRIs, you can try a drug for depression which is NOT an SSRI. Some of these are Cymbalta or Wellbutrin (buproprion).

In a lot of these situations, you have to experiment and try different drugs and dosages to find the one that best fits your body chemistry.

There is a drug out there that will help you. You and your physician just have to do the trial and error method until you find the right drug.

rewdiazepam

Hi Angela,
Ativan will make you pretty sleepy but like you said sleep would not be a bad thing right now. I have to tell you though just because you had a bad experience with one SSRI doesn't mean you will with a different one. I remember when my doctor recommended Prozac to me I was totally against it and suffered for another 6 months before I finally tried it, my doctor told me you will know almost right away how it will make you feel and if you don't like it just stop. I did try it and it worked really well for about 10 years then my dad passed away and I went into a really bad depressive state and we decided to try another drug, I have tried several over the years but am back on Prozac along with colonopin and they have helped me so much. I'm not trying to change your mind I just wanted to tell you my experience. When you go to the doctor I'm sure he or she will be able to give you more information.
You know you can count on us for help when you have questions or just want to vent, remember breathe and take it slow.
Hugs,
Pat

To play it safe, you can always start out on one of the anti-anxiety meds at a low dose and work from there. That is what I would do.

Ativan, Xanax, and Klonopin are all available in a 0.5mg tablet. Start out low and see if you think it helps. If you can see it is working, but think you might benefit from a higher does, talk it over with your physician.

A 0.5mg dosage of any of these meds is not going to cause a bad reaction or knock you out of this world, so it is safe.

rewdiazepam

I understand the feeling of Crippling anxiety, I had that for over a year. I had a low dose of Xanex and it knocked me out every time.
It took several mess before we found one that worked.

I am on the lowest doses on my antidepressant as well. I know myself and that I don't need a lot to help me. I'm no longer on the anti-anxiety meds, but still on my anti-depressant.

I'm taking Buspar in addition to Wellbutrin for dysthymia and anxiety.

What is dysthimia?

If you are looking are a natural source go to your grocery store and look for Chamomile Tea. It has been used for centuries in China. I find it very relaxing and no worries of reactions. Also imagery helps. Breathe, relax, imagine that you are in a oasis or whatever you like, a garden, in a pool of warm water. Another healing natural remedy is aromatherapy. Lavender is known for it's soothing nature. I hope this has helpful; I can identify with you; I had an anxiety attack today. I was able to put my mind at ease and breathe through it.

like vckmag, I use lavender oil in my bath, and on my pillow. it is calming. I do a lot of aromatherapy. I use energizing scents during the day, and relaxing scents at night. I do a lot of meditation-deep breathing, visualization....just being conscious of the energy moving through me....and keeping it flowing. Lately with it being so cold, I've been having trouble getting myself balanced...because I'm not able to go outside and really feel at peace, but I do what I can.

Dysthymia is a chronic, low grade depression that doesn't go away, even with treatment (good therapy and appropriate medications), and may last for years or the better (worse?) part of one's lifetime.

It's tricky because the symptoms of dysthymia aren't as evident as those of clinical depression, and the sufferer often feels like his or her life has always sucked and always will suck - kind of like an "Is this all the better it gets?" outlook with no expectations of a better life.

I've had intermittent dysthymia for all of my adult life.

I loved reading all of the suggestions! I prefer a more natural approach. I typically distrust conventional medicine and doctors. At a very low point in my life (when I thought my husband was going to die)I went to my doctor and got some meds. Forget what they were called. Took them for a week or so. I felt differently immediately like within days, even though my doctor said it would take a while. I noticed that I wasn't as sad and crying all the time. I also noticed that I basically felt nothing. No happy, mad, sad no emotion at all. I felt like a robot and decided that I would rather cry and be sad at times than feel no emotion. It is what makes life worth living for me. I did enjoy the short break, and I do think the experience put things in perspective for me. What I do these days is a combination of things. First, music! Make sure it is something that will lift you up mentally! Second, smells ate important. I have grapefruit scented body wash yum. Opens my eyes and can bring good thoughts. Also love coconut as it reminds me of the beach which brings me to visualization. This has also been mentioned, I always picture sitting on the beach looking out at the ocean. Exercise can also help I think it boosts endorphins? Geez, should have double checked but I'm tired Lol. So, put on upbeat music and dance, do some crazy disco moves to crack yourself up or something. :-) One last thing that sounds crazy unless you try it. No matter how sad you are, if you want to be happy... Force yourself to make a fake smile. I read that your body produces chemicals that makes you feel happy when you smile and can't tell the difference between a real or fake smile. I tried it and started giggling, but that could be because If felt so totally goofy doing it. Helpful to look in the mirror because it looks goofy too. Okay, hopefully some of these suggestions can help. Sorry if there are a bunch of typos as I am using my phone and the screen is tiny and keeps auto correcting me...

My therapist recommended guided imagery by Bellruth Naperarstek.
I bought a CD for depression and one for pain relief. They are both helpful to me. Here's a link if you would like to Check her out. You can also find a short video on YouTube.

http://www.belleruthnaparstek.com/about-health-journeys/belleruth-naparstek-lisw-bcd.html

I love all these ideas- I use natural remedies whenever I can. I meditate, and I use something called Bach's Rescue Remedy. It's a flower essence. A few drops under the tongue and it helps. I've had anxiety my whole life, and this situation has made it worse. I was seriously considering meds, but I have to wait for Medicaid to approve me. I have no health insurance, so I use natural remedies for everything. I do drink lots of herbsl teas, too. And I usually get outdoors a lot- I love hiking and gardening and being outside. But I haven't been outside in weeks for more than just a short walk. Today it's really, really cold but sunny, so I'll bundle up and get out there.
Thank you for all these ideas. It's so good to share all this with everyone.

I take Zoloft and Welbutrin for depression/anxiety. I was diagnosed with Dysthymia in college and I guess that's what I've always had. Not sure.

I should go back for a new diagnosis at some point but life's been hard for me since I was 4 years old. I've gotten used to the status quo with exceptions for episodes where I just couldn't get out of bed, cried, etc. (On and off growing up)

I know the title says "Anxiety Meds/Natural Remedies" but I tried natural and it didn't work for me. When going through this awfulness, I came close to not being.

After this nightmare happened I started on Zoloft and I thank Rew daily for saving my butt. I was losing it. I was an angry basket case.

I don't have anxiety but I picked up Welbutrin yesterday because I have no drive to do anything.

I'm grateful (thanks again to Rew) that I no longer cry all day but to be happy/fulfilled I need to contribute in someway.

I think people should try whatever they think may help them- anti-depressants, herbal remedies, meditation, therapy...if it helps you, then it's a good thing. :)