I can see why some people hate meds

[NB79]

Phsychiatrist give this like candy, i think its criminal even.

 

[Leo Zed]

@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.

Thank you for your concern. I really appreciate it. I’m not sure where to go with this. My intention was to go through psychotherapy and then have my doctor wean me off the Klonopin slowly. I admit to be a little “pro-medication” for a lack of a better word. As a chemist, I have dedicated my life to chemistry, so I have a tendency to look at my brain as a complex collection of interacting chemicals. When I suffer from debilitating anxiety attacks, my doctor’s reaction (and my reaction as well) is to take a chemical that will afford me instant relief.

I went through psychotherapy therapy in the past, and it didn’t work well for me. I should rephrase that and say my therapist didn’t work well for me. She did something rather “unethical” to put it politely, and I lost all trust in therapists. It was horrible!

But now that I am in this new program, called ACT (assertive community treatment), where psychotherapy is a mandatory part of the recovery process. My new therapist is nice, friendly, and caring, and I like her a lot. But it is going to take some time for me to trust a therapist again after what happened. I feel hopeful though that I will be able to establish a healthy patient-therapist relationship with my new therapist, but it is going to take time.

 

[Rodafina]

Thank you for your concern. I really appreciate it. I’m not sure where to go with this. My intention was to go through psychotherapy and then have my doctor wean me off the Klonopin slowly. I admit to be a little “pro-medication” for a lack of a better word. As a chemist, I have dedicated my life to chemistry, so I have a tendency to look at my brain as a complex collection of interacting chemicals. When I suffer from debilitating anxiety attacks, my doctor’s reaction (and my reaction as well) is to take a chemical that will afford me instant relief.

I went through psychotherapy therapy in the past, and it didn’t work well for me. I should rephrase that and say my therapist didn’t work well for me. She did something rather “unethical” to put it politely, and I lost all trust in therapists. It was horrible!

But now that I am in this new program, called ACT (assertive community treatment), where psychotherapy is a mandatory part of the recovery process. My new therapist is nice, friendly, and caring, and I like her a lot. But it is going to take some time for me to trust a therapist again after what happened. I feel hopeful though that I will be able to establish a healthy patient-therapist relationship with my new therapist, but it is going to take time.

I hope these new courses of treatment are helpful to you, regardless of what happens to the paths you have been on.

I would really like to emphasize that I completely understand the need and of course, I am not trying to tell you specifically what to do. It’s just that one of the things that has aided my recovery is being able to speak my truth of what my specific brain chemistry plus anxiolytics and other addictive medication can do. Honestly, @Leo Zed, although I have enjoyed a bit of back-and-forth with you, I think I am writing this out as a public response for those quiet addicts who are sitting at home, like I was, trying to convince themselves that it’s OK because psychiatrists prescribe it. I’m talking to any lurker addicts out there, we must look out for each other and be honest about how terrible it can get even when so innocently it began!

@Leo Zed, good luck as you tackle your challenges from every angle. I am not trying to forecast your future here and suggest that you will have problems like I did.

 

[Fino]

I've taken Xanax, Valium, and Klonopin but my current psychiatrist won't prescribe them.

 

[TiredMom]

Please be aware that SSRIs, typically given for depression but also sometimes for anxiety, are also addictive. I was on them for years. Then I met with a trusted psychiatrist who suggested getting off all the drugs I was on for a while, to see how I did. What I discovered was that I was physically addicted to whatever SSRI I was on at the time--spent six months having muscle cramps, chills, headaches, etc. It never got better, so I'm back on a different one now. I'm an addict, whether I like it or not.

 

[Fino]

SSRIs are diseases.

 

[Alaric593]

SSRIs are diseases.

Granted, she's not on the spectrum but does have significant trauma from an abusive 2nd marriage, but my sister swears by Prozac for anxiety rather than depression.

The ones that I've tried are a no go. I've not tried Prozac.

 

[SusanLR]

I've tried quite a few different types and MAOIs were the worst for me.
I felt spaced out and dissociative. Even after stopping them, it was about a year
before that feeling finally left.

Prozac slowed down my thinking to the point I joked that my brain had been shot with lidocaine! Didn't like the feeling.
I don't take any antidepressants now. I felt worse with them than without them.

 

[tree]

SSRIs are diseases.

Were you being metaphorical, there?

 

[Au Naturel]

Please be aware that SSRIs, typically given for depression but also sometimes for anxiety, are also addictive. I was on them for years. Then I met with a trusted psychiatrist who suggested getting off all the drugs I was on for a while, to see how I did. What I discovered was that I was physically addicted to whatever SSRI I was on at the time--spent six months having muscle cramps, chills, headaches, etc. It never got better, so I'm back on a different one now. I'm an addict, whether I like it or not.

Any doctor who prescribes an SSRI ought to tell their patients that they must never stop their SSRI cold turkey. Getting off an SSRI takes a month or more of very gradual reduction, depending on how long you were taking them. You should do this under a doctor's care. Dropping an SSRI abruptly can cause SSRI withdrawal syndrome.

https://www.verywellmind.com/ssri-discontinuation-syndrome-378682
It is one reason why I always kept an extra month's worth of pills on hand in case, for any reason, they became unavailable.

I do this for all my prescription drugs. I keep checking to see if they are available for renewal and do it immediately. They become available before they run out so each time I renew I've got a few more for my stash. Of course, it doesn't apply to anything on a controlled substance list.

 

[Au Naturel]

SSRIs are diseases.

Like every treatment, sometimes they work, and sometimes they don't. And what does not work for you or could possibly be negative in effect may be a fabulous success for someone else.

 

[Gift2humanity]

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 have severe anxiety yet I find that ashwagandha takes the edge off, it takes a few weeks to kick in, and you need breaks. It helps me wake up without that cortisol rush.

I don't trust psyche meds, I think Big Pharma and money is the real goal of them.
Most say they don't work apart from controlled drugs, which you don't want due to addiction.
I had prozac, did nothing.
Trazodone - put me to sleep at night, but gave me visual migraine and anger when weaning off too quick.
Quetiapine was prescribed for anxiety, it made my feet and ankles swell so much that walking became difficult toward the end of the day due to gravitational oedema.
Buspirone - made me worse.
Valium, works but highly addictive, toxic and dangerous, I am on it, weaned from 75mg to 13mg and hope to be off this time next year.
I use supplements.

 

[Fino]

I find supplements to be useless.