Long Term Treatment Of Anxiety
 

Dear Anxiety family,

I'm currently treating my Anxiety/Panic Attacks with different types of Benzodiazepines, & I know that I can't keep doing this forever........

Benzos are not only addictive but cause the patient to build up an immunity to the effects of these meds over a long period of time........

Somewhere down the track I will have to take higher dosages in order to gain an equivalent effect to the small doses which I am taking at present....

Unfortunately, I only seem to respond to Benzos, as I was taking Zoloft for over 5yrs & this drug made my Anxiety & mental state worse & I have become more sound in my mind after cessation of this medication......

I have been off Zoloft & all types of Anti-Depressants for about a month now & I feel my quality of life has improved, but I still get Anxiety/Panic Attacks in the evenings if I don't take my Benzos....
I find evenings on the weekends & public holidays especially difficult for me.......

I was diagnosed with Paranoid Psychosis, many years ago & I am still taking 400 mg of Solian every evening to treat this condition, as well & I will never stop taking this medication, as I know what has happened to me in the past when I have tried to lower my dosage, or stop taking my Anti-Psychotic meds.........

Before I began taking Anti-Psychotic medication I used to Obsess & Fixate on a negative subject, to the point of Insanity & get extremely Delusional & Paranoid.....
I used to have a Messianic-Type Complex & have Supernatural Paranoia, mixed in with other types of fear, before I started on these Meds.......
A good personal example of what I experienced before I began taking Anti-Psychotic Meds was that I was absolutely terrified by the strong belief that I was constantly being abducted by Extra Terrestrials & that I was 'Chosen' by them........
I also believed that these Aliens were doing sadistic medical experiments on my body while I was asleep....

I'm not interested in treating my Anxiety with Anti-Depressants that were specifically designed for people with various types of Depression, as I hate the side-effects, more than the illness....

Can anyone suggest a long-term medical treatment for Anxiety, that is really good & doesn't decrease the libido, cause insomnia & weight-gain?

God Bless....

Hey Simon, benzos for me have been fine, really. I haven't needed to increase my dose in 9 years, my libido is fine (well, maybe I should check that one with my husband) and I've actually lost 60 lbs.

Again, though, they are not for everyone and I'm not suggesting you should take them. They just work well for me. Gosh, I really hope you find the relief you are searching for.

Dear ccgirl,

Thanks for reply to my post...but in regards to my weight-gain, loss of libido & Insomnia, I said that Anti-Depressants cause all these side-effects, not Benzodiazepines.....

I've been losing weight, after over a month of cessation of all Anti-Depressants & my libido is returning along with a regular sleeping pattern, but Benzodiazepines aren't a long-term solution to my problems with Anxiety/Panic Atttacks & I'm searching for a non-addictive, medicinal treatment for my Anxiety that won't come with the usual horrific side-effects of most Anti-Depressants.......

God Bless you, ccgirl & everyone here on Sober & Recovery......

I've been on benzos for 4? years now I think. Same dosage pretty much the whole time (excepting when I first started taking them and we were working out the dosing).

I don't feel any kind of euphoria or anything else which would make me want to take more of them, so I never take more than what I'm supposed to take.

They've been a godsend to me. I was not able to tolerate tricyclics or SSRIs at all, trials of both nearly landed me in the hospital each time with physical symptoms ranging from massive vomitting with concommitant dehydration to uncontrollable muscle clenching, high fever and inability to distinguish reality from non-reality. So I'll continue with my benzos, and don't care that I am dependent on them. I feel "normal" when I'm on them, I don't feel high or euphoric, and they seem to work really well for me.

It is possible for benzos to be a long-term solution, but that is a call each of us must make based on what we know of ourselves and of our own decision on how we want to exist in this world. I'll take the tradeoff of dependency for feeling normal, other people might not want to make that trade off.

Dear GingerM,

Thankyou, thankyou so much Ginger, for replying to my post.......

You have put my mind at ease in regards to treating my afternoon/evening
Anxiety/Panic Attacks with Benzodiazepines.....

I'm willing to make that 'trade-off', you refer to, by taking Benzos..............
Although I am willing to make one exception to the rule, by stating that if someone can supply me with the name of an Anti-Depressant that is free from serious side-effects & can include reliable information regarding this wonder drug, I will give the name of this medicine to my Psychiatrist & ask him if it would be a suitable drug to prescribe for my condition....

Sounds like you had far more serious allergic reactions to Anti-Depressants than me, but nonetheless, I, personally, wasn't willing to put up with the side-effects I experienced from Zoloft & I don't think I responded at all to it, throughout the entire 5 years I was being prescribed this medication....

But as I have said earlier, what works for some, doesn't always work for another, as we are all unique in our biological make-up......

For some people, Anti-Depressants are a Godsend & I thank my Lord that he gave the World gifted medical scientists who are able to invent new drugs to treat serious illnesses & that he gave intelligent minds & caring hearts to scientists, doctors & other health professionals to prescribe these meds & diagnose every illness, with which Mankind, as a whole, suffers from....

God Bless you, Ginger & everyone here at Sober & Recovery....

What about Paxil. From what I understand it's the strongest, but everyone reacts differently. I'm on 10mg a day (Was on 20mg long ago) and have had no side-effects except for feeling sleepy at first, but then I just take it at night. My doctor prescribed stomach meds, but I didn't need them. He had a list of meds that he would prescribe to help with side-effects that may occure with Paxil, but I didn't have any. You could give it a shot. I don't think you will know if there are any side-effects with these types of drugs until you actually try it.

Dear DaVinci2,

Thanks, DaVinci2...By the way, how have you been feeling lately?

I will run the med Paxil by my Psychiatrist & ask him what he thinks....

Thanks, once again, my friend, for your feedback, DaVinci2......

God Bless You....

Hi Simon! I don't think there is any drug on the market, for any ailment, that doesn't have the risk of some type of side effect, but most side effects resolve within the first few weeks and most are tolerable for a short period of time. It must have been awful to have side effects for five years. There are many meds on the market for the treatment of depression and anxiety (which often go hand-in-hand) and your doctor will know which are the right ones for you to try. Your doctor could start you on the very lowest dose to avoid side effects as much as possible, and as your body adjusts the dose can be increased under your doctor's supervision. There are also approaches to dealing with anxiety other than medication, including relaxation techniques, yoga, meditation, cognitive behavioural therapy, acupuncture, etc, etc, etc. Sometimes one or more of these approaches in addition to a medication can be very helpful. :)

Hey Cat. lol, as Margo said.... the person who discovers THAT pill will be a rich person!!

Either Lexapro or Celexa. lol (I'm on Celexa and gosh, the darned stuff is wonderful for me.) In all seriousness though--all three of the drugs including Paxil will do a number on your libido (negatively).

The rule of thumb is not even doctors know which ADs you will tolerate well and which you won't. You simply have to try them. For example the Celexa which works so well for me may be terrible for you. We just can't know.

Best to you,

Ten