Medication and anxiety. Your feedback

[Lind779]

Hi guys,

I have posted a few times on here and have appreciated the support.

I have acknowledged to myself that I actually have anxiety. I couldnt really believe that all the nausea, heart pulpitations and loss of appetite over the last 3 months was all due to this. But... I witnessed myself the on and off switch in my head 2 days ago and thats when I realised it was.

I was vomitting all morning - of course nothing was coming back up and then driving in the car with my husband talking about anxiety and then POW! No sickness, got hungry and no heart pulpitations. It was like the anxiety disappeared. Of courses this only lasted till the next day and back to feeling sick but I realised at that moment it was all anxiety.

I've accepted the fact that I need help. My brain is stuck in a vicious loop that I cant get out of on my own. Started anti-depressants and just seen a psychologists.

I've been on the anti-depressants for just under 2 weeks and still no change. Probably a little more anxious and nauseated since being on them.

My question is, how long were you on meds before you started to feel better and how? I only want to hear the good stories as I dont think I could handle anything negative right now. I NEED HOPE.

Thanks guys

[blondguy]

Hi Lind

Only the good news....no worries at all and thankyou for having the courage to post !

* Anxiety Attacks are limited...your biological make up can only produce so much adrenaline...

* Anxiety Attacks do reduce in severity over time Lind....I have had a few years doing so...They DO fade..

* My meds took approx 4 weeks to kick in....the side effects did dissipate Lind

* HOPE! I can give you that Lind as I feel your pain....My anxiety was severe and did decrease..The meds are not a total fix....they take away the deep lows we get and give us a platform on which we can heal with regular counselling.....It DOES work.

* Keep in regular contact with your GP so he/she can help you through this difficult period. They have much better training on anxiety than when I went through what you are now

You are more than welcome to post as many times as you wish. There are many kind and positive people here on the forums that can help you 🙂

Here for You

My Kind Thoughts for You

Paul

[Strong100]

Hi Lind,

Just letting you know that you're not alone in having this question.

Hope you're feeling better soon.

[Lind779]

Thankyou so much Paul 😊

[blondguy]

No worries Lind....You Rock....You have a great attitude 🙂

Here for You!

Paul 🙂

[Greyhound123]

In my experience with SSRI's they take up to 4 weeks to rely kick in, however it is a slow process and I didn't all of a sudden feel better, I found that i just stopped noticing how bad i felt.

[blondguy]

(sorry to hijack your thread Lind)

Hello Greyhound123 and Welcome to The Beyond Blue Community 🙂

Thanks for posting too! I agree with you as its a slow process its not a immediate fix...well said. You also said that you noticed how bad you felt. Your experience is good to read as I was the same. The meds take the bad lows away and give us a platform on which we can heal ourselves with ongoing therapy or even a GP too.

I hope you can keep posting Greyhound123

Kind Thoughts

Paul

[Lind779]

Thank you so much for your support.

I was feeling really well the last 7 days and just now had an anxiety attack because I feel lightheaded today. Probably coming down with something but the anxiety came in full force. Need to control it somehow. Cant have this everytime I come down with something or a new anxiety symptom rises. 😯

[Greyhound123]

Thank you for your kind words.

Just one other thing I might add, and first of all a disclaimer that my Anxiety issue may be different to yours as I have OCD and I am not sure if yours is GAD or another.

But I found exactly what Paul said, I think you put it perfectly to say "the medication gives you a platform from which we can heal ourselves". I find the medication takes the severity away from the anxiety but does not completely get rid of it. The second part and possibly the hardest, is recognizing what is anxiety and what is not, as then you can see the anxiety for what it is, just your mind playing tricks so to speak.

So you may find that you still get panic attacks while on the medication, just less severe, and with the less severe attacks you can now work with your counciler/psych to learn how to deal with them. I hope that makes sense.