To be anxious to take anti anxiety medication?!

[AnxiousAbi]

Hi everyone,

Posting here for traffic, sorry.

I am just looking for some company this morning as I am so anxious and scared.

Seems to trivial when I type this out on here - my mum died earlier this year and it’s really triggered my health anxiety. I spoke to my GP earlier this week and she felt it would help for me to try some anti anxiety medication.

I’ve always resisted this, trying instead self care, CBT etc But this time I have just felt so anxious and overwhelmed by my grief all at the same time.

She prescribed me 5mg of Escitalopram.

I’ve taken my first tablet this morning and I am left feeling so anxious and scared.

My biggest fear is they will make me worse. I am functioning, I am able to do things with the kids etc. I’m scared they will stop me from doing that 😔

Is anyone around to talk to me?

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

@Yankee63

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

Being busy definitely takes my mind off them. But they’ve not been bad to keep me at home either which is good - and a sign that they’ve not been too bad like you say.

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.

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.

@Slothkin

That’s a great way to explain it.

Yes, you’re spot on, @Slothkin.

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!

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 ❤️‍🩹

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

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.

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 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.

Hi everyone - so sorry, I didn’t realise there were more posts!!

I’ve had a very difficult few days. My anxiety has been worse and I had a couple of days where I just couldn’t be bothered - even to talk. I felt very flat and that worried me as I haven’t really experienced depression or low mood before.

Physically I’ve lost my appetite and just don’t think about food at all which is unlike me. As a health anxiety sufferer this made me more anxious. However I’ve noticed that some days my appetite is better and some nights I have been hungry late on.

I’ve had a very dry mouth, and have had some days where I couldn’t stop yawning. I joined a Facebook support group and all of these are common side effects.

So I will keep going for now!

@OnTheNatureOfDaylight

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.

Yes I’ve felt jittery too - also a common side effects, as is being shaky too apparently. I’ve not had insomnia so far. I’ve taken it at 9.30am every day so far but have considered changing to the evening as it has made me very tired during the day.

Your DD could try taking it in the morning if restless legs / insomnia is an issue for her. Everyone seems to be different from what I am reading.

If you are on Facebook there is a support group which I’ve found helpful as you can see what others have experienced, which is always a good comparison. Though as I said, everyone is different.

@neonorchid

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.

Yes sounds very similar. I guess just coping stopped being enough for me. I have always been someone who was extremely high functioning and I could fake it even on anxious days. I have had lots of anxiety free periods with blips that make me very anxious.

This time I agreed that I needed some extra help, so I’ve been willing to give the tablets a go.

I figured I could stop them if they weren’t helping. I’m glad I’m on a low dose. I’m not sure I will agree to going up to 10mg for a while. One step at a time!

@Noodella18

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

Yes I too can rationalise everything - but like you say I can’t stop the constant intrusive thoughts about health worries etc.

Oh yes, I'd completely forgotten about the dry mouth. I had this when I restarted Escitalopram over the summer, it's not nice. It does go away, though, I think it took 2-3 weeks.

I know I said this before, but taking my tablet just before bed seems to suit me best. I don't know if this is the recommended time, but it works for me - presumably my body "gets used" to it overnight and feel fine in the morning. Keep persevering, OP, I'd give it at least a one month, perhaps two, to really decide whether they're right for you. I restarted mine in July (after a 10--month break) and feel so much better now. .

@Cameleongirl

Oh yes, I'd completely forgotten about the dry mouth. I had this when I restarted Escitalopram over the summer, it's not nice. It does go away, though, I think it took 2-3 weeks.

I know I said this before, but taking my tablet just before bed seems to suit me best. I don't know if this is the recommended time, but it works for me - presumably my body "gets used" to it overnight and feel fine in the morning. Keep persevering, OP, I'd give it at least a one month, perhaps two, to really decide whether they're right for you. I restarted mine in July (after a 10--month break) and feel so much better now. .

Thanks so much

I hate taking new meds at night (even antibiotics etc) so I started in the morning, but I wonder if that was the wrong decision. Will see how the next few days go and if I’m too tired I will switch.

The advice is to take whenever suits but to take it at the same time every day. So I’m not sure how I would make the switch. Not sure if it would have an adverse impact if I was to take it at 9.30am one day and 8pm the next.

Now that I have done 9 days I will definitely persevere for at least 1-2 months.

The dry mouth is my most manageable symptom - it’s just a bit annoying and not great when you feel nauseous too!

I thought that they turned you into a zombie and was very reluctant to go on them . Best thing I ever did, helped e coped, stopped me being a emotional wreck and made me feel stronger in myself.
As I was feeling better, walking and singing helped a lot .
I dread to think where I would of been without them.
When you want to come off them, do it very gradually and with yo doctor s advice.
I wish you well again, believe me ,the medication works. Depression and anxiety don’t go away by themselves.

Antidepressants have come a long way! I am on them and sometimes I have felt like I can come off them because my life is just so normal and fine and I’ll be fine without them… it isn’t until I have that I’ve seen how much they help me. They don’t make you manic nor a zombie. They literally just calm your anxiety. Once you get over the nausea! What I will say though is if one doesn’t work for you don’t be afraid to try a different one. One does not fit all. I didn’t get on with Citalopram. Sertraline does it for me. I’m on it long term now. It’s fine. I know someone whose life is an absolute mess just now and you can clearly see it is due to a mental break but they won’t take anything due to stigma and old fashioned outlook. Their life is going down the toilet. Just take what you need to have a better life.

My DD’s appetite has vanished. She doesn’t fancy any thing.
Strong flavours turn her stomach at the mo.
She is 3 days in and taking them at night but is waking quite wired in the middle of the night.
I’m so proud of her. This isn’t easy and definitely not the easy option.

@AnxiousAbi
Could you pm me the Facebook group. I think that my help her.

@AnxiousAbi regarding feeling depressed, that is quite common when the anxiety starts to reduce. Think of them as being part of the same condition caused by low serotonin. The anxiety is the manic part which keeps you forging on, driven by cortisol and adrenaline. Once those hormones start to reduce you're left with the less manic part of the chemical imbalance, so you have low serotonin but no anxiety hormones to make up that shortfall, so you feel depressed. The SSRIs aren't making you feel depressed, they have just taken away the anxiety hormones which were covering up the 'low' part of the serotonin imbalance. In some ways this is great news as it means the drugs are starting to kick in, and will also start to work to bring the total level of serotonin up too which will make you not feel low as well. If you're still feeling low in a couple of weeks I would definitely consider upping your dose, because you might just need a little bit more serotonin to bring you totally into balance. Hope that makes sense!

This is useful to know Noodella
Thanks