To be anxious to take anti anxiety medication?!

I am in exactly the same boat as you. I have a pack of 5mg Escitalopram sat in my cupboard that I am to anxious to take. I have anxiety, some days are easier than others and I do cope without them but the thought of taking a tablet freaks me out.

So my dd 17 has been put on a starting dose of 10mg.
She had one last night and today feels awful. She doesn’t look very well. Said she was jittery all night and didn’t sleep very well. She couldn’t stop tending her legs. She hasn’t made it into college.

She wants to take 5mg tonight and go from this lower dose.

I did wonder if 10 was too much to start with.

I completely agree @Noodella18 - there was no amount of meditation, yoga, swimming, hot baths, talking therapy that would stop my brain hurting me! I have pure OCD behaviours - medication for me means the difference between existing and living.

Sounds like you're doing really well @Slothkin ❤ i personally believe that all the talking therapy in the world cannot fix 'wonky brain chemistry' as you eloquently put it 😁 For me it felt like trying to hold back the tide, I could rationalise everything perfectly, I just couldn't stop the surges of adrenaline and cortisol which made me feel so horrendous. Sertraline has just taken away that layer of crazy and left the well-functioning me which was underneath.

@AnxiousAbi you haven't checked in for a few days, hope you're doing OK xx

Sorry for lots of posts but I completely forgot to mention @AnxiousAbi - your situation doesn’t sound too different to my own with health anxiety I was just about managing until, well I realised that wasn’t a way to live. I have found talking therapy incredibly useful (I had a course of CBT which was fine but didn’t make a huge difference). I see a psychodynamic therapist so we might have a session all about coping techniques for a particular situation coming up I know will be stressful or a more free-form one about behaviour patterns. It really helped to have a safe space to offload in the early days!

And one last thing - three years ago I was juuuust about holding it together. My life now is richer and more wonderful than I could ever have thought possible. It really can get better ❤️‍🩹

I usually treat myself to a really strong cup of coffee with my meds first thing - I limit my caffeine intake but I love coffee so it sets me up for the day!

Yes, you’re spot on, @Slothkin.

@Slothkin

That’s a great way to explain it.

I take propanalol and sertraline and quite possibly will for the rest of my life - not my fault my brain chemistry is wonky! They have made a huge, huge difference to my quality of life. Just to reassure you my GP and I tweaked my doses for about three months before we hit the sweet spot, but the side effects were totally manageable and certainly far less bad than the panic attacks! Just felt a bit woozy or nauseous. I do yoga, swim, talking therapy too - I just see my meds as another form of self-care.

how are you today op?
My DD17 has been prescribed 10mg. day.
The doc said her anxiety is likely to get worse before it gets better.

If your busy then you don’t really noticed them, but if your sat still that’s when the mind works it’s overtime 🤦‍♀️
Unless there really bad s/e and your actually throwing up or can’t get off the toilet well that’s when anxiety sufferers suffer the most iyswim

Nobody can really say re the side effects - it's all down to the individual. I also do wonder whether these are true side effects or maybe just caused by your anxiety around the medication- I mean that in the nicest possible way though ❤ try not to focus too much on what you're feeling, easier said than done i know. It sounds like you've been eating well and keeping busy, which is great. Keep going! Hope you had a lovely time watching strictly last night xx

Good for you 😊 try not to think bad about the tabu about being on ad’s and being weak or anything else people say

I was exactly the same as you, I’m now 63 and a lot wiser and think off myself than if what others think if me. I’ve been on them most off my life since early 20’s . With me my anxiety come depression is life events . Deaths , children, divorce ,

I’d say if your feeling nauseous try talking tablet when your having breakfast.

Try it and if you don't like it you can go back to your doc and try something else- there are loads of things they can try. There's no harm in trying it. If you don't like it you can always stop, but try your best to follow what your doctor prescribes, for the course/in the way they want you to take them. Some things can be more uncomfortable or drowsiness-inducing for a couple of weeks, but then get easier and start to do the job. Best wishes xx

I bet the girls at work or even the school mums
Are on ad’s
It take just one person to say
“ oh I’ve started feeling anxious so gp is trying me on ad’s for it”
I bet someone will say “ oh I take ....”

There’s are people who understand and there are people that don’t 🤦‍♀️ Who say “ just do it”

5mg of escitalopram is the usual starting dose for treatment of anxiety If you start out on a higher dose it doesn't make you feel better quicker, but it can give you worse side effects. So the usual approach is to start on 5mg - you may find that your GP suggests increasing the dose at your 4 week review but this isn't a failure, this is just good practice! 5mg is still a therapeutic dose, and once you've been on 5mg for a few weeks you should be able to tolerate stepping up to 10mg, for example, more easily. You may find that you feel a bit worse in the first week or two but not for longer than that. Your GP is trying to minimise this initial period for you by starting you on 5mg

Have you had any CBT with a trained counsellor? I get what you mean about your mum's health anxiety rubbing off on you and you're not sure how to "resolve" that as the root of your anxiety, but CBT is all about changing the way you think about things (rather than making things actually be different) so it shouldn't matter that you can't change your mum or your upbringing etc. I had several months of CBT after experiencing a traumatic event and although it didn't change what happened it definitely changed how I felt.

I am shortly to join in with Strictly and chill Hope you are enjoying it.

I think your GP should’ve given you some more info on what sort of medication you’re taking. As an SSRI it would be counted as an anti depressant. They’re not addictive. I’d be concerned if he’d prescribed you a benzodiazepine.