Finally dealing and accepting

[Willow26]

I have suffered anxiety for over 1 year and I have just finally received help. My doctor has subscribed me some medication but I am having major anxiety about starting to take them and am worried and extremely scared at the side affect. Are these safe to take? Can they harm me in anyway? What is the safest of all the anxiety medicine?  This terrible thing has ruled and ruined my life for long enough I live day to day constantly worried about everything I have the worst anxiety symptoms ever from racing heart headaches dizziness sleep loss stress and I am done with it all I want my life back!!!   

[Doolhof]

Hi Willow26,

I guess a lot of us question the taking of medication, and it is a good thing we do so, that makes us more aware of what we are putting into our bodies and how it is going to help us.

As your Dr has prescribed the medication, he or she has obviously considered what is best for you. Not all medication works the same for all people, so you need to be prepared to trust the Dr and go with what they have suggested.

The Dr. or the chemist can supply you with information about the medication you are to be taking. You can Google the information as well, but I find the medicine people include any and every side effect known to man that might be caused by the medication. It is best to chat with your Dr. or the chemist.

Try the medication, keep in contact with your Dr. and if you don't feel like it is helping, let the Dr, know.

You could also look up information on how to help yourself deal with your anxiety. Do some research. The more you know, the better you will be able to deal with your situation.

Hope this helps a little, from Mrs. Dools 

[Neil_1]

Hi there Willow

Thank you for coming to Beyond Blue and providing your post.

Yes, at first, even the sound of taking a prescription tablet (medication) can cause a bit of uneasiness;   but the thing is, they are all designed to help with which-ever illness is linked with us.   Just for the record, I take 3 different varieties each day;   one lot in the morning and the other two about an hour before I go to bed.

And yes, it is true that some do come with possible side-effects and they will state them either on a website if you search them, or the doctor may have perhaps advised you earlier.  However the thing with this is:   the list of possible side-effects is quite long – and I think this is because they want to cover all bases at the outset, so someone can’t go back later and say, “Hey this has done this to me, and there was no warning about it”.

But I placed the word “possibly” in there above because everyone of is different – and so what may affect one person, may very well have no concerns or effects on another person.

So getting back to your questions:

Yes, I fully believe that they are safe.

I don’t think they can harm you in anyway.

On this site, we aren’t allowed to mention any medications by name – but also, I believe that none of us on this site would possibly know if there is a “safest” one to take.  That question could only be answered by a prescribing GP or psychiatrist.

But bottom line is:  they are out there in the chemists around the land for one simple reason.  To get our bodies to produce the right kind of chemicals in us to try to combat the illness that we suffer from.

There is also no one medication that is a “fix or solution” to any of our illnesses – but the first person to create that will become a multi billionaire.

Your post is a good one and with very valid questions – if this post doesn’t help you much or if others come and provide posts but you’re still unsure;  I would definitely head back to your GP  and ask;  although you may have already done that.

Last thing on this:  as mentioned the meds are no miracle cure – taking meds is one form of defence mechanism put into play to fight the illness, but there’s so many other things we need to get out and do, in order to help us.

Sorry, I’ve rambled on too much here;   but I would really like to hear back from you on this.

Kind regards

Neil

[Willow26]

Hello mrs fools,

thank you very much for your reply and very helpful information I went and got my script filled today and am now feeling more confused then ever I start taking the medication tomorrow morning so fingers crossed this all goes well as I am still never nervous and anxious to take it but like you said the doctor gave me this medicine because he knew it was what I needed right?  This is such a horrible thing to deal with and I just can't wait for it to be better. 

Thank you once again mrs fools have a wonderful night. 

Willow 

[Willow26]

Hello Neil,

yes I am very new to beyond blue and so far I have found it so incredibly helpful, to be honest it's all I thought about all day at work strange right? This site has answered so many of my questions! 

I did read up about the "medication" and I think it made my anxiety worst then anything seeing all them things that "could" happen made me feel very uneasy!

sorry for mentioning the name of the "medication" I was not aware that wasn't allowed,

i had a lovely long chat with my pharmacist today and he put my mind at ease so much.

Ha no worries about the rambling on its nice. 

Thank you very much Neil you have been very helpful. 

Thanks

willow 😄

[Willow26]

Dools  so sorry auto correct very sorry 

[Neil_1]

Dear Willow26

Hey, thank you so much for your latest couple of responses back to us – it’s always awesome to hear back from first time posters, to see how they’re travelling and IF we may have said something that was useful.

That was very pleasing to hear that you had some of your earlier uneasiness put to rest by the chat that you had with your pharmacist.  Hearing such things from a professional within the business is always a good way to go.

Oh and one last thing Willow – you mentioned saying “sorry about mentioning the name of a medication”;   one thing on this site that we try to encourage is that no-one EVER has to say sorry for anything.  It’s a place where people can hopefully feel very comfortable in being able to say anything, to share anything and unload as much as they wish too – and with all that, no-one is ever judged in any way.  This Beyond Blue community is brilliant and even if the real world can’t be like what we have going here, at least we know that when we come here, it’s like one of those clouds with those silver linings – poor analogy, but I hope you get the gist of what I’m trying to say here.

And please feel free to keep posting, asking questions, unloading – whatever you wish – totally up to you.

Kind regards

Neil

[Doolhof]

Hi Willow,

It is great to hear back from you. I hope you will manage okay with the medication. My Dr is putting me on a new medication for migraines, so I am going to ask the chemist about those tablets when I have the script filled tomorrow.

Sometimes all those side effects listed can give you the horrors! It certainly does not mean you will suffer from any of those side effects let alone all of them!

Don't worry about the slip with the name Fools, as Doolhof is not my name any more than Dools is. Someone wrote it as Drools once and I thought that was really funny! Doolhof means "maze or labyrinth " in Dutch. Not that I am Dutch either, I just thought it was a good way to describe how life can feel sometimes.

I don't think it is strange at all that you were thinking about your connection here at Beyond Blue at all. I am happy for you that this has been a positive thing. Like Neil mentioned, we are here to help and support each other. Who wouldn't want to be a part of a caring community!

Wishing you well and looking forward to reading more about your journey!

Cheers for now from Mrs. Dools