After a lot of persuasion and persistance from psychiatrist and hubby, I am now taking anti anxiety meds - but!

[Suzanne]

But, my health anxiety is popping its ugly head up.

Suddenly experiencing a wretched bitterness in mouth.

Lol I have been "passed" from one psychiastrist to another, all because I insist on not taking medicine and finally, have a lovely Romanian lady psychiastrist, who seems to actually listen to me.

Taking two types of anti anxiety tabs. Escitalopram and lorazipam. Only taking half a tablet and yet, whoa, causing such severe drowsiness! I do admit though, that my anxieties are not as bad as they were before and an event is coming up soon, this month, which usually causes mass anxiety and overthinking, but my mind is not as anxiety and quite clear headed, so I guess something is working!

 

[TBRS1]

My experience with anti anxiety meds is:

They take a while before they work.
They cause drowsiness, but that is reduced (never to 0) over time.
They work best when the user also uses Jedi mind tricks (like meditation)
They can give the user a clear mental space to learn Jedi mind tricks.
They are very hard to quit, when one is ready to quit them.

All in all - very useful, but not just them alone. Need the Jedi thing, too.

 

[Judge]

But, my health anxiety is popping its ugly head up.

Suddenly experiencing a wretched bitterness in mouth.

Lol I have been "passed" from one psychiatrist to another, all because I insist on not taking medicine and finally, have a lovely Romanian lady psychiatrist, who seems to actually listen to me.

Taking two types of anti anxiety tabs. Escitalopram and lorazipam. Only taking half a tablet and yet, whoa, causing such severe drowsiness! I do admit though, that my anxieties are not as bad as they were before and an event is coming up soon, this month, which usually causes mass anxiety and overthinking, but my mind is not as anxiety and quite clear headed, so I guess something is working!

Don't settle for the first medication your physician recommends. Quite often "drug therapy" demands that a patient cycle through a number of medications before finding one that both works, and has the fewest number of significant side effects.

 

[Suzanne]

Don't settle for the first medication your physician recommends. Quite often "drug therapy" demands that a patient cycle through a number of medications before finding one that both works, and has the fewest number of significant side effects.

Lol I have been given prescriptions for a lot of different types of medicine, but have refused to take them. When I go back in March, if I am still suffering from extreme tiredness and bitterness in mouth etc, I will mention it.

 

[Neonatal RRT]

But, my health anxiety is popping its ugly head up.

Suddenly experiencing a wretched bitterness in mouth.

Lol I have been "passed" from one psychiastrist to another, all because I insist on not taking medicine and finally, have a lovely Romanian lady psychiastrist, who seems to actually listen to me.

Taking two types of anti anxiety tabs. Escitalopram and lorazipam. Only taking half a tablet and yet, whoa, causing such severe drowsiness! I do admit though, that my anxieties are not as bad as they were before and an event is coming up soon, this month, which usually causes mass anxiety and overthinking, but my mind is not as anxiety and quite clear headed, so I guess something is working!

Something else to consider. Psilocybin is showing some potential to reverse depression and anxiety in people who are not responsive to other medications. Do your research (key words, psilocybin, anxiety, depression, autism). Johns Hopkins Center for Psychedelic and Consciousness Research.

 

[Judge]

Lol I have been given prescriptions for a lot of different types of medicine, but have refused to take them. When I go back in March, if I am still suffering from extreme tiredness and bitterness in mouth etc, I will mention it.

Too bad. My mother was exactly like that for years. Made for a vicious cycle for her, always going back and getting more meds that she would usually not take, often the result of her reading the Physician's Desk Reference" a book that outlines all the side effects of so many medications. Made her a classic hypochondriac.

LOL, yep...not willing to take meds in general is a much bigger problem than worrying about which ones hurt or help you. Think of it as another "leap of faith".

 

[Aspychata]

Good luck with this, maybe start drinking tea or coffee, they even sell caffeine pills that would give you a boost of energy. I have caffeine in my protein powder, l am very thankful for this otherwise l can't run at gym. Just not motivated without a kick of it.

 

[WhitewaterWoman]

Escitalopram is primarily an anti-depressant with some anti-anxiety effects. Lorazepam is an anti-anxiety medication in the same class as Valium.

I took escitalopram for many years. It did help in getting through a rough patch in controlling chronic pain. It was easy to quit when I decided it wasn’t needed.

I still have lorazepam on hand for anxiety emergencies. I have never taken it regularly. The sleepiness tends to go away as your body gets used to the medication. I have no problem stopping taking it. When I don’t need it, my body does not want it. But many people find it addictive,

In an almost 3 decade battle with chronic pain, I lost most of my fear of trying new medications. Some have helped and some haven’t.

The relief of high anxiety that lorazepam provides is a blessing. It was extremely helpful this fall when my husband walked out on me.