Hi!
I have suffered from anxiety & depression for 15+ years now, I am 31 and married with a 9mo DS.
I was on citalopram (varying doses) from ages 20-29 but came off as I was feeling much better and I'd gained a lot of weight whilst on anti depressants. I'd never been able to have an orgasm with my partner whilst on medication and coming off it was a revelation to me.
I suffer from anxiety a lot now, but its almost like I've learnt to live with it. It gets a lot worse then I'm stressed / overly busy or when I'm tired or run down (which is a lot with a 9 month old) I've also had a course of CBT which helped massively, and continues to help however the physical sides of anxiety really get me down - the gritted teeth, tense shoulders, tiredness.
I recently discovered that my anxiety is very minimal if I get a good, restful nights sleep, usually I toss and turn a lot and lay awake worrying at least a few times a night. I noticed that if I take night nurse I get an amazing nights sleep and the same with co-codamol. Both medicines mean an anxiety free day the next day for me. Obviously, neither are fit for everyday or regular use.
I desperately don't want to go back to SSRI's because of the weight gain and the sexual dysfunction. Has anyone found anything else that helped their anxiety?