Dear Michelle ~
Welcome here to the Support Forum. It's a good step to take as you will find many with anxiety and how they have coped. In fact I have an anxiety condition myself.
If I understand you correctly you have had this condition a long time and are on an increased dose of medication due to getting a tingling sensation, lose your appetite and get the shakes.
A couple of things: You have described some physical symptoms wihtout seeming cause and I wonder if they were examined to ensure they were not part of a medical condition.
The second thing is dosage, if you are a person that does not like to take medication there may well be a strong temptation to cut down your dosage below the amout prescribed by your doctor. On-again-off-again dosage may in itself have unpredictable effects.
Have you discussed this procedure with your doctor? I'm a bit surprised if taking half a table now and again is consistent wiht an increased dosage. Is this what your doctor expects you to do?
Rather than just taking half a tablet when you feel the necessity maybe sticking to a smaller dosage on a regular bias might have more of a preventative effect. Again I'd expect your doctor to be the judge in conjunction with you reporting on effectiveness and side-effects.
There are some things you can do yourself to decrease the mental effects of anxiety, mine puts me in a mental loop that is hard to get out of, and also makes me worry about the worst possible outcome
The exercises in the free phone app, Smiling Mind, have been very effective, though to use the app does take practice before you notice a difference. I have the attention span of a goldfish and managed to find an exercise that helps me.
Croix
