I can see why some people hate meds

[Fino]

I'm trying to find something that helps anxiety and every attempt is like some sort of chemical torture, and I'm told it will improve so I keep taking it for weeks, never getting better.

So far I've been tortured with:

Lexapro
Mirtazapine
Buspirone

Some more that have not worked:

Gabapentin
Risperdal
Abilify
Wellbutrin
Propranolol
Trazodone

Does anybody have any suggestions for something that is not likely to be torture yet still reduces anxiety at least a little bit?

 

[Tom]

Yes, but it's too late for me to get the bottles out, etc. I will post some tommorrow.

 

[Thinx]

Talking therapy? Looking at a suitable approach to help change some of your thinking patterns? Even if you've done that before, you're older and wiser now, and with the trainings and work you've done, maybe you could get some improvements that way? And at least there's little in the way of side effects, indeed the work can be useful and supportive.

 

[Luca]

All of those medications either made me feel very sick, or made me gain a lot of weight.

 

[Au Naturel]

I'm trying to find something that helps anxiety and every attempt is like some sort of chemical torture, and I'm told it will improve so I keep taking it for weeks, never getting better.

So far I've been tortured with:

Lexapro
Mirtazapine
Buspirone

Some more that have not worked:

Gabapentin
Risperdal
Abilify
Wellbutrin
Propranolol
Trazodone

Does anybody have any suggestions for something that is not likely to be torture yet still reduces anxiety at least a little bit?

I see a lot of antidepressants on that list. Anxiety is not depression. Not a doctor and don't know the rationale behind any of them, but it looks like they're just trying everything and hoping something works. Others are for schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. Gabapentin is for nerve pain and convulsions but also can leave you sleepy.

There are drugs specific for anxiety. The problem with dedicated anxiolytics is that they make you feel good. Any drug that makes you feel good has a very high abuse potential. Probably why they don't prescribe any of them for you.

What Are Anxiolytics?

I am fortunate that I've only ever had a couple of anxiety attacks. They still tore a hole in my stomach. Treat the physical symptoms first. Antacids, Prilosec, and such.

The first round of defense is therapy but that isn't often an option. It makes a difference whether you're feeling anxious over something you have no control over, anxious because you are reacting to an unresolved trauma, or just feeling general anxiety independent of anything going on. Is it excessive worry? Irrational fear? A panic attack? They call for different treatment programs, and different therapeutic approaches.

I have found that forcing myself not to think about what's bothering me helps. If that means chain binging every anime in the top one hundred list at MAL or 8 hours of continual music, that's what I do. Trying to "work thru it" is a waste of time because most anxiety is not amenable to rational thought. Your amygdala is telling your body to prepare for fight or flight and pumping adrenaline into your system without a good reason. And do that for days and even weeks until that hyperactive amygdala calms down.

Alcohol is a bad choice as a general treatment, but I found a glass of wine and 5 (or 10)mg of melatonin helped me get to sleep. Marijuana can help, but some people get anxious when they smoke pot. So not a sure thing either.

 

[SusanLR]

I take propranolol for BP and heart arrythmia.
It does nothing for anxiety or panic attacks.
Thankfully it gives me no side affects since I need it for the heart.
Some say it helps with migraines or anxiety from being around people.

Endogenous, (not caused by external circumstances), anxiety has been with me since age 13.
By age 30 I had to be hospitalized due to severe panic attacks.
Antidepressants of all types were tried and had no affect on the anxiety. Only made it worse.
A course of therapy, CBT, guided imagery, massage and low, steady anxiolytics finally started helping.

I still take time for meditation and soundscape music everyday and the need for anxiety meds
have been greatly reduced.
Not anxiety free, but, it all helped and the need for therapy and meds are like PRN now.
Finding the right combo is key and it can take time to do so.

 

[Leo Zed]

There are two things that have worked for me, thus far:

1. Benzodiazepines (Klonopin, Xanax, Ativan, Valium, etc.). All of the drugs in this family pretty do the same thing. I take Klonopin. I tried every other med and psychotherapy, but to no avail. I am reluctant to suggest benzos because of their addictive nature. If your doctor decides to try benzos, be sure to take as directed. There is the temptation to take an extra pill when you feel overwhelmed with anxiety. You can’t do that.
2. I had extremely high blood pressure and I was told to exercise daily. I find that 40 minutes of vigorous exercise every day helps me quite a bit with anxiety as well. It helps me keep my dose of Klonopin low. I can’t recommend daily exercise enough. I couldn’t do 40 minutes when I first started. I started at a few minutes per day and gradually worked my way up.

I still suffer from anxiety. Unfortunately (at least for me), there is no magic cure. Exercise and Klonopin help me with a debilitating case of anxiety. At least now I can function. I must add that psychotherapy is always the best option - it just didn’t work for me (yet). I am still in therapy for other things, and maybe it will help me with anxiety in the future. I am still working on it.

 

[Alaric593]

I'm trying to find something that helps anxiety and every attempt is like some sort of chemical torture, and I'm told it will improve so I keep taking it for weeks, never getting better.

So far I've been tortured with:

Lexapro
Mirtazapine
Buspirone

Some more that have not worked:

Gabapentin
Risperdal
Abilify
Wellbutrin
Propranolol
Trazodone

Does anybody have any suggestions for something that is not likely to be torture yet still reduces anxiety at least a little bit?

For me the only thing that's worked is exercising until complete exhaustion a few days a week, running and road marching with ruck other days. Granted I've only tried a couple but that was all I needed to know whatever those things do, they weren't going to do it in me.

 

[tree]

@Fino

You could try drinking tea made of
St. John's Wort and Lemon Balm.

Not pills. Loose dried plant material
steeped in hot water.

 

[Streetwise]

I've taken citalopram hydrobromide( originally 60 mg but that amount is banned now in the uk, so i take 40mg) for nearly 18 years, it stopped working as well after 3-4 years ,the idea in the uk is you should have talk therapy as well cbt worked the best (tried counselling not for me)but you only get 6 mandatory sessions

 

[Tom]

Effexor/Venlafaxine - Been on this many years for anxiety and nerve pain. Works fairly well for Anxiety. Once I get used to it do not really notice any side effects. Main drawback I see now is that it is not a med to suddenly stop. Needs to be slowly eased off of.

Hydroxyzine - something new I have been given just for extra anxious episodes. Jury still out on this one as far as how well it works. I thought it did at first but now think it just makes me a little supressed like a tranquilizer and doesn't really remove the anxiety.

 

[Leo Zed]

@Fino

You could try drinking tea made of
St. John's Wort and Lemon Balm.

Not pills. Loose dried plant material
steeped in hot water.

I’m glad you mentioned that. When I was a child, my Mom used to always make chamomile tea for me when I had trouble falling asleep. It is an old Sicilian remedy. I remember my Mom used to keep a jar of dried chamomile flowers on hand.

Out of curiosity I did a little research and found the following article:

Long-Term Chamomile Therapy of Generalized Anxiety Disorder: A Study Protocol for a Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo- Controlled Trial

If you can read through the jargon, you will find some useful information. What caught my attention was that the article mentions in the discussion section:

“Apigenin (a constituent of chamomile) has been shown to bind to benzodiazepine receptors and reduced GABA-activated activity in cultured nerve cells.”

Before having read this article, I thought that chamomile tea worked by its soothing aroma and taste (especially when mixed with a little honey as my Mom did). Anyway, it appears that there is evidence that chamomile tea is a source of natural anxiolytics.

 

[Knower of nothing]

I decided sorta early on that it's easier on my mental well-being to just be anxious than deal with pills. This forces you to look in the direction of lifestyle changes and support groups instead.

 

[Leo Zed]

I think a lot of whether or not you should take medication has to do with the degree of anxiety that you are experiencing and how well you are responding to therapy or other treatments.

I suppose that I can only speak for myself. In my case, I was having unprovoked anxiety attacks to the point where I couldn’t go to work and my blood pressure would sky-rocket to dangerous levels. And as for side effects, they suck. These meds affect my short-term memory and sometimes I feel numb among other things. It’s a trade off unfortunately. I am still in therapy, and, hopefully, I may be weaned off these meds some day. But for now, I am grateful that these meds are available.

 

[Sunny1]

I'm a huge fan of therapy, but you have to realize that it is going to take time, so you should plan on that.

 

[Bolletje]

I see a lot of antidepressants on that list. Anxiety is not depression. Not a doctor and don't know the rationale behind any of them, but it looks like they're just trying everything and hoping something works.

SSRI’s and tricyclic antidepressants are actually the main medications for treating anxiety disorder. Anxiolytics can help with symptoms, but they don’t treat the disorder. And like you said, they’re not suitable for long term treatment. I’m not saying meds are a cure-all, but this is not a strange treatment plan at all.

 

[Bolletje]

@Fino I hope you find something that works for you, and soon. I’ve previously had cognitive behavioral therapy to help with my anxiety disorder. It did help me a lot with avoidant behavior, but it doesn’t stop anxiety attacks from happening. I’m currently in talks with my psychiatrist to possibly start medication again, because I’m dealing with pretty intense attacks these days and they seem to be getting worse. Anyway, the package deal I would be getting is citalopram + Abilify. Not a combo I was too happy with before, but it’s the best out of a bad batch for me because most other medications have way worse side effects for me.

 

[NB79]

There are two things that have worked for me, thus far:

1. Benzodiazepines (Klonopin, Xanax, Ativan, Valium, etc.). All of the drugs in this family pretty do the same thing. I take Klonopin. I tried every other med and psychotherapy, but to no avail. I am reluctant to suggest benzos because of their addictive nature. If your doctor decides to try benzos, be sure to take as directed. There is the temptation to take an extra pill when you feel overwhelmed with anxiety. You can’t do that.
2. I had extremely high blood pressure and I was told to exercise daily. I find that 40 minutes of vigorous exercise every day helps me quite a bit with anxiety as well. It helps me keep my dose of Klonopin low. I can’t recommend daily exercise enough. I couldn’t do 40 minutes when I first started. I started at a few minutes per day and gradually worked my way up.

I still suffer from anxiety. Unfortunately (at least for me), there is no magic cure. Exercise and Klonopin help me with a debilitating case of anxiety. At least now I can function. I must add that psychotherapy is always the best option - it just didn’t work for me (yet). I am still in therapy for other things, and maybe it will help me with anxiety in the future. I am still working on it.

Beware klonopin is highly addictive and can over time be worse the remedy than the pain.
Can be hell getting out of klonopin after years, and you will need to take them out someday, because it degenerates your cognition over the years. Some may say i'm exagerating, but this is what happened to me and caused a lot of pain.

 

[Leo Zed]

Beware klonopin is highly addictive and can over time be worse the remedy than the pain.
Can be hell getting out of klonopin after years, and you will need to take them out someday, because it degenerates your cognition over the years. Some may say i'm exagerating, but this is what happened to me and caused a lot of pain.

What you said is exactly what my nurse practitioner told me. It will take a long time to get weaned off Klonopin and it won’t be easy. Also, I am noticing trouble with my memory. I no longer have the photographic memory like I did when I was younger. And now there’s evidence of getting dementia after long term use of benzos.

I am taking so many meds now that it’s depressing. I take 6 different psych meds, and that’s down from 9 that I was taking a year ago. It was a b%#£h coming off 3 meds and it took a year of suffering. The thing is my psychiatrist keeps pushing the meds. I am kind of stuck between a rock and a hard place.

I hope my new therapist and the therapy that l started will help. She believes that some day my meds can be reduced to a minimum or to none whatsoever. It seems hard to believe. However, I am going to give this therapy my all.

 

[Rodafina]

What you said is exactly what my nurse practitioner told me. It will take a long time to get weaned off Klonopin and it won’t be easy. Also, I am noticing trouble with my memory. I no longer have the photographic memory like I did when I was younger. And now there’s evidence of getting dementia after long term use of benzos.

I am taking so many meds now that it’s depressing. I take 6 different psych meds, and that’s down from 9 that I was taking a year ago. It was a b%#£h coming off 3 meds and it took a year of suffering. The thing is my psychiatrist keeps pushing the meds. I am kind of stuck between a rock and a hard place.

I hope my new therapist and the therapy that l started will help. She believes that some day my meds can be reduced to a minimum or to none whatsoever. It seems hard to believe. However, I am going to give this therapy my all.

@Leo Zed, I just wanted to offer understanding for the position that you are in - it is a tricky spot to be in when a highly addictive medication has allowed you to function again. Obviously, there are powerful benefits to the anxiolytics, sometimes the only thing that will stand up to the panic - so in sharing my opinion here, I just wanted to emphasize no shade or shame on anybody who takes these medications. My experience is unique, and I definitely have the brain of an addict, nevertheless I would share that in my life, they have been a pernicious fiend, creeping into the very cracks of my foundation, threatening complete collapse. My biased opinion is frustration with prescribers who do not emphasize the dangers inherent in this addictive medicine.