Medication for anxiety?

Sk07 · ‎31-08-2014

New on here. Looking for advice. I have had anxiety for 3 years with panic disorder and agoraphobia. Recently this has all turned into depression also. Have tried 3 different medications, none which have worked for me. I am currently medication free but I am not getting any better at all. My psychiatrist is on leave for 6 weeks and I am unsure how to cope in that time. Just wondering if people have tried that many medications before and still went on to find one that worked or do I just have to give up on the idea of medication and try and beat it on my own. Any advice would be greatly appreciated because I am feeling quite desperate about it all. Seems like nothing I do is working. Thanks

white knight · ‎01-09-2014

Hi sk07, welcome here.

Anxiety like many of these issues on these pages, is a tough one to journey through. My anxiety was first detected in 1988 but I suspect it was well before then that it started. Often it takes a trauma for one to realise there is a serious problem. Blood pressure, fast heart rate etc can be the indicators.

Your GP and psychiatrist will guide you medically. I cant go there. But there are some relatively basic things you can do to help yourself that I dont need a medical career to advise.During anxious moments try -

1/ Slow deep breathing. Says it all.

2/ Muscle relaxing. I often carry this out before I sleep at night. Tense up one set of muscles at a time and hold them tense for about 15 seconds. eg toes and feet, calves, knees and thighs right up to and including your head. Then tense all muscles up for 30 seconds. You'll feel really relaxed then.

3/ Eat slower. Place your cutlery down after each mouthful.

4/ Instead of quick reactions with others try to be calm and discuss things.

I found the greatest anti anxiety thing for me was a change of job. My job at the peak of my issues in 1988 was in law enforcement (not police) and my therapist advised me to seek a calmer environment. I became a sheltered workshop supervisor. Made a lot of sense.

Good luck.

Willsdog · ‎01-09-2014

Hello Sko7. Welcome to beyond Blue and thank you for sharing your story. It is not unusual for a person to be put on many many medications before one is found that works for you. You are special (meaning unique) and we have to find the right medication just for you. So don't think you are in a hopeless situation, you are not. There ARE medications out there that will work for you, its just a question of finding the right one. Let me say that you are not alone. When Depression and Anxiety strike a person for the first time most think that no-one else can possibly understand what they are going through. This is actually true. But then when you talk to other people who have been through depression and anxiety you understand that you are not alone and that there are thousands of people out there who know exactly what you are going through. That is why we have forums like this one. First of all we are not supposed to give medical advice in the forum or discuss medications. However I will try to answer your questions and stay within the rules. I will tell you my story and maybe you can relate to it. I'm a professional and have worked my entire adult life. One day, for no reason I was struck down with terrible anxiety. Maybe I was also depressed but it was the anxiety that was the worst. As the anxiety went on for days and days I did become depressed. So I was both depressed and suffering from anxiety. My personal experience was that it was the anxiety that was stopping me from coming out of my depression. Once the anxiety was medicated the antidepressants worked and I was fine. Depression and anxiety often go together and both must be addressed for you to get well. There are hundreds of anti-depressant (AD) medications out there. You would think that there would only be one right? The reason for so many is that every person is different. An AD that may work like a miracle drug for one person won't have any affect on another person suffering the exact same symptoms. There is one out there that will work for you. It may be that one of the ones you have already tried is the right one for you. It could be that it is your anxiety that is not being treated and therefore you cannot get out of your depression.

Willsdog · ‎01-09-2014

I ran out of space so I had to start a new post.

You will know whether this is so because of the way you are feeling. If you are suffering sever anxiety it is harder for the AD to work. Having said that, many of the AD medications not only treat depression but they also treat anxiety. However it is important to realise that AD are much more effective treating depression than anxiety, especially is you have severe anxiety. There are also very potent anti-anxiety medications out there. The problem with the ant-anxiety medications are that they can be addictive. If you drink a lot of alcohol or use Cannabis or other illegal drugs this will make your depression and anxiety worse and alcohol and illegal drugs are depressants i.e. they can make you depressed. It will also mean that you will be more likely to become addicted to anti anxiety medications. So if you drink a lot and use illegal drugs you have to stop because you CANNOT get better if you use them. This doesn't mean you cant have the occasional drink. For me to get out of my depression and anxiety I had to take both an anti-depression and anti anxiety medication. Once I was put on both I recovered quickly. This may be the case for you as well. Maybe you need to be on an AD and a anti-anxiety medication. However this is a serious matter that YOU MUST discuss with your psychiatrist. You may need to be on an anti anxiety med for a few weeks to allow the AD to work. Again this is something you must discuss with your psychiatrist. Some doctors don't like prescribing anti anxiety medications but if anxiety is seriously affecting your recovery you may need to be insistent with your psychiatrist. I am not a medical professional and I am not telling you to go down this path. It is something you and your psychiatrist have to work out. You know what you are going through so you are best to judge what course of action you need to take. All I can say is that for me antidepressants were not enough and it was only when my anxiety was treated with anti anxiety medication did I recover, and I recovered well. I truly hope that I have helped in some way or at least given you something to discuss with your psychiatrist. I wish you all the best and hope you recover soon. Remember there is no shame in being depressed and you are no less of a person for feeling the way you do. You are very brave for admitting you are struggling and for coming to beyond blue to share your story. Get well soon.

Sk07 · ‎02-09-2014

Thankyou so much for your encouraging words. I guess I just really needed to see if there are people out there who do recover from this and that I can have hope. Because it feels very hopeless most of the time. I can def take a lot from what you said. Thanks for the support. Will talk to my psychiatrist and see if there is something they suggest to try. I do have anti anxiety medication which are great in times of panic however I don't like to take them a lot because of the way I feel for hours after and also I don't want to become reliant on them. But Thankyou so so much for commenting. 🙂