Anti-Anxiety Medication?

I have been prescribed anti-anxiety meds and contemplates trying them out since I have alot of anxiety and panic attacks. Anybody out there who has had any trouble with these kinds of meds? Really afraid that I'll make it worse although I cant see how much louder this can get right now.

 

You didn't say what medication. I believe you should try it. It should have an immediate affect and if you do not like it stop.

 

Its called Sobril (oxazepam)

 

I have the same problem. I took Coaxil which wasnt very effective on me and now ive been taking Valdoxan for a months. Antidepressants are not ototoxic so they shouldn't cause an increase. Suffering from constant anxiety and panic attacks can though.
Sedatives and sleeping pills can cause addiction and if taken for a long time and in big doses then sudden withdrawal can cause tinnitus. However in this case you can just withdraw slowly. I would not recommend taking sleeping pills and sedatives unless absolutely necessary because they do not treat your anxiety but offer a temporary solutions.
Also read the side effects listed on the information about the drug and try not to google too much.

 

I will talk to my doctor about anti depressants since my main problem now isn't so much the anxiety as the feeling of despair. I just feel like I'll never find any kind of happiness ever in my life again.

 

After reading your other thread that you started yesterday, I believe that you should begin taking the antidepressant that your doctor prescribed. As the saying goes, "If nothing changes then nothing changes."

Just remember that the possible side-effects are just that, Possible not probable. Out of the long list of possible side-effects listed for my antidepressant I only experienced some night sweats for the first few days. No big deal.

Stina gave you very good advice in writing, "Try not to Google too much."

I hope they will allow you to have a new pet where you live to fill the emptiness and reduce the sorrow that's in your heart due to the loss of your beloved cat.

 

Karianne, take it easy and don't despair. Things will get better over time. I had lost two lovely cats too, one was a Turkish Van with pure white body except two dark patch above each eye and a black squirrel like tail, and the other a pure white Persian with pink eyes. These cats loved to stay on my lap in winter when it is colder in the house. I trained them so well that they would go to sleep when I signaled to them to do so. I had a little toy bunk bed for both of them to jump into it to sleep, with the Turkish Van at the top and the Persian at the bottom. So cute. So lovely. The Turkish Van could play really well with me too, and would do acts of jumping, sitting, even roll over. I liked them very much and they liked me too. When I lost them, I was quite sad too for a long while. But the grief would slowly ease off over time. So I hope your depression over the loss of your lovely cat will ease also.

As for the drugs for the control of anxiety & panic attacks, I have tried Ativan for anxiety & Prozac for panic attacks & depression. I also tried amitriptyline. I think I have taken Xanax for a time too. I would say non of them have made my T worse. Nowadays I am off all of them and my T is about the same as before but I have habituated to the ringing. So don't worry too much about taking these meds. If you have lingering symptoms of anxiety or depression, you need the meds to help reduce the severity of the symptoms, particularly while you are having a hard time with T & anxiety. I find out when the anxiety level goes down, T will also be much lower. So it is important to treat the anxiety level. If you can, try go outdoor or do exercise, or pursue a hobby. These will allow your tired & anxious mind to rest and relax. Meds are best used for short term to smooth out the sharp edges of anxiety to prevent becoming drug dependent.

 

You have tried both anti-anxiety and anti depressant but not using anything now? I consider trying out anti depressants now since i struggle with thoughts on not wanting to live with this. My fear is that I will become dependant and will have to take them for the rest of my life.
I was prescribed AD when I first started my struggle with tinnitus but I managed to get back on track without them back then. Not sure if I can this time as I feel my tinnitus much louder now.

 

@Karianne, I take a low dose of Xanax--have for 7 months. T onset caused me panic attacks and I was anxious all the time because of life stressors before onset. No side effects. At first it made me tired but I got over that in 2 weeks or so. I work full time and have not had a problem. I sleep 7-8 hours a night with minimal masking. I also walk briskly 30-45 minutes a day. I used to run but have knee problems from marathon running. Still--even this much exercise helps my anxiety and I practice relaxation and self hypnosis on a daily basis. Sometimes I even forget to take my Xanax and there are no ill effects.

You might consider CBT--it helped me quite a bit with my anxiety too. I am habituating, although it is a slow process, it does happen. Also, be kind and gentle with yourself, time is on your side.

 

You can not become addicted to antidepressants - you are confusing them with sedatives and sleeping pills. They also shouldn't cause your tinnitus to get louder. I agree with @Kathi: CBT combined with ADs is probably the most effective way to go. Also, a doctor is actually better for discussing these things as they have an education in the field.

 

Karianne, to clarify, oxazepan is a benzodiazepine used to manage anxiety disorders, for the short-term relief of anxiety, and to help manage anxiety related to depression. Tinnitus is not a side effect of this medication.

There are several different approaches for managing tinnitus that can really help people, and while you are taking the antianxiety medication to help take the edge off, it might be well worth your time to learn more about these approaches. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) has helped a lot of people with tinnitus and I agree with others who have suggested it to you as a good approach.

here2help

 

Yes you can. There is a strong physical dependency that develops when taking SSRI and SNRI anti-depressant medication followed by a withdrawal syndrome that can be very severe and protracted for months and/or years if said medication is not tapered appropriately.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SSRI_discontinuation_syndrome

They are just as habit forming as benzodiazepines over the long term, perhaps even worse.

 

Yes but if you taper appropriately it shouldn't cause permanent problems. Also, unlike benzodiazepines which offer temporary relief antidepressants actually treat the condition and therefore have a longer effect.

 

Karianne, I agree with Stina on AD. It is a lot less problem to get off it than the anti-anxiety drugs. I can only relate to my own experience. For AD which I took much longer than the benzo, my doctor told me it is not addictive. I just stopped it cold turkey after using for 2 years without any withdrawal side effect. For Ativan, a benzo, which I took for about a year, you need to taper it off slowly if you have taken it for a long time. Ask the advice of your doctor on that.

A family friend of mine had taken Ativan 1 mg per day for 5 years. Poor lady she suffered breast cancer while in mid term pregnancy. The news hit her very hard and she was unsure to start cancer treatment right away which means aborting the baby, or to wait till birth saving the baby. With two other young children and uncertain future, she was having a hard time. She chose to wait till birth to start the treatment. The delay means her cancer survival chance is reduced. So caring for 3 young ones plus the side effect of the treatment simply too much for her. Anxiety & depression plus sleeplessness took over her life. She told me she took Ativan every day to sleep and calm down. Luckily she survives her cancer and the benzo simply also doesn't work anymore after 5 years. So she decided to stop it. However instead of consulting the doctor on the phasing out, she asked another friend who had taken Ativan before. The friend told her that she could try to stop it cold turkey, but just be ready for a few weeks of severe withdrawal symptoms. She did just that, and she told me she just bore with the severe anxious symptoms for a week or two and then she was ok.

I don't think this is the correct way, but her experience tells me that the drug has helped her through all those tough time and smoothed out the sharp edge of bad emotions. If she had followed a phase out schedule, it would not have done any harm. Even she didn't, she suffered for a brief period and still managed to live her life. Theirs is now a happy family of 3 adult children now. Life goes on. Another lady on the Yuku forum told me she took Klonopin for a decade now and still going. She is nearly deaf now and her T is unmaskable and she needs the drug to control anxiety. Klonopin is longer lasting than Ativan. She told me that the drug is helping her and as long as it works for her, she is continuing on with it and life goes on.

So if your anxiety is severe, and depression is causing you suicidal thought, there are enough reasons to use the meds to help you. The hesitation & indecision are causing you more anxiety. I suggest you work with your doctor and go for it. There are times in our life we need meds. I needed it to survive my T & H horror days. But that was not the end of the world for me. I am now drug free (except my blood pressure pill, lol) and living an absolutely enjoyable & abundant life. Just spent the Canada Day holiday with the family & grandchildren on a beach bbq. What a fun day full of the blessing of kinship. There is great life after T and the meds. Don't lose heart and keep up the hope that the future will be bright for you. Take care and God bless.

 

Thank you Billie. I used anti axiety meds for a few weeks when I first got T but managed to deal with it and habituate without AD back then. I am afraid of becoming dependant on anything and I'm afraid of making my T worse by taking prescription drugs.

I have som Sobril on my Kitchen counter but had a moment of "I'm gonna deal with this" last night after reading som papers on T and habituation, about the vicious cycle of stress and how that can make T worse and I felt better for little while. Fell asleep on the couch as usual and woke up in the middle of the night without my usual panic and went to bed. My boyfriend had put on my sound-enrichment on my bedside table so it made it less stressful and I fell asleep again without problems. I woke up this morning without panic, so thats good but I'm still very depressed. Trying to work my way out of it but its really hard

 

If you taper from benzodiazepines appropriately they also shouldn't cause permanent problems.

The relief you get from SSRI's and SNRI's is indeed temporary. They do not cure depression anymore than benzodiazepines cure anxiety. The therapeutic effect stops when you discontinue either.

 

If your feeling anxious, take them its not gonna hurt you or make your T worse. Theres only a chance it could cause T if you have been on them for a while and withdraw cold turkey-- which nobody should do. But i find taking them with an AD helps alot-- along with some counselling to help you get through this. I was on them for a year straight when i first got panic attacks like 3 years ago before i got T and my doc put me on them once a day with an AD and it really helped with my attacks. But i did the stupid thing in quitting cold turkey cause my anxiety was under control and didnt need them anymore but suprisingly didnt get any withdraw symptoms. Now that i have T, i take about 2 klonopin a week and along with my AD everyday and i feel really good for the most part. But my doc did say if there is a problem that needs to be solved mentally then benzos should be taken everyday until you get help with counseling and get to the core of the problem, then you dont need them anymore and you can taper slowly and have no problems at all!

 

Sorry disagree. Google ADs and withdrawal, don't fool yourself. I have known lots of people that CAN NOT get off these drugs because of severe physical and mental withdrawal. Therefore stuck for the rest of their lives on them. Most of ADs are know to be more physically and mentally taxing when coming off than hereon. They are also like anything you take, poop out affect, after time and you have to increase your dose. There are millions of horror stories worldwide, and a ton of lawsuits against all these AD drug companies. Not to mention the serious side effects when on them. Among the side effects...most have tinnitus listed. A very valid concern.

 

Yeah AD's are extremely addictive.. My mom takes effexor and my sister takes zoloft and when either of them miss a day or two they get the worse withdraw effects just from missin a dose or two.. My mom just isnt her self she said its horrible.. Same with my sis. I think that benzos are more so addictive meaning they produce a high/mellow out kind of feeling and if your using them daily and miss a dose or two you can feel withdraw also but me for example i felt more withdraw from missing my AD then the klonopin i took daily. Also, comparing benzos to AD's.. They both become dependent to your body meaning one dose might not always work and youl have to up it. Both have there positives and neggatives but i think docs only bash benzos cause people abuse the shit outta them for recreational use where you cant do with a AD. Otherwise these two are fine to take but like i said take it perscribed like you do with your AD and theres no problems, just be prepared for some serious withdraws from AD and benzos if you dont taper correctly.

 

maybe im wrong however my psychiatrist told me that antidepressants just not cause addiction and loudening on tinnitus. Of course there is a difference between people who have to take them for decades and people who take them for a few months or a year. I think this is what Karianne should take and that hardly will cause strong addiction.

 

A few months to a year is way more than enough time to become addicted to any drug. That's why you need to taper when you come off these, because your body goes into shock and withdrawal. Yes, even after a couple of months. I'm not sure where all the confusion is with these drugs. Is it the doctors, the white coat, drug company pitchman, maybe the fluffy commercials? These are powerful mind altering chemicals that are extremely addictive and caution should be used. I am blown away that people just don't get this. I am not saying don't use them, but I don't think people should be blindly making statements that they are not addictive. It's just plain false information, and may lead someone down the wrong path.

 

I have extreme anxiety and plan on being benzos for a while yet.. Although i dont take them everyday ive been on them since 2012 so thats two years and im not addicted. But if my T were to be really bothering me and flare up my anxiety more i wouldnt think twice about goin back on them every day. Cause id rather suffer less if possible. And another thing is i havent had to upp my benzo dose at all, one pill still does the trick since day one. There both mind altering chemicals, but everyone should know this by now.. The key is to use them as perscribed and come off them as perscribed.. But most people will be on an AD the rest of there life cause those are hell coming off of.

 

There is a difference between withdrawal effects and addiction
http://www.webmd.com/depression/ssris-myths-and-facts-about-antidepressants
Yes there iss information about them causing addiction, but it controversial and has not been proved yet.
Also I would like to know where do you take the information that you have to increase the dose? The dose is normally increased when the patient doesn't get better,but not due to the fact that the patient feels that they can't live without a bigger dose (such as with alcohol for example)

 

Avoid these meds like you would the plague,once on them,so hard to get of them,my take they increase ones anxiety,depending on the one taking them,body make up different for all of us what's suitable for one don't suit another.Im with Telis on this ,slippery road to go down. Go to herbal,these you can stop at will,not addictive .Plenty on the market.Maybe short term on herbal is all it will take,meds do more long term harm in my book,like we haven't got enough to look after,don't go adding on to it.One Drs med often leads onto another,then your on the roundabout,hard then to get off.Many will say they wish they never started on them to begin with,it's a decision one can only make for themselves.

 

AD's dont cause addiction like alchohol where your using them for recreational use but the body does get use to them cause they level you out and make you feel like yourself which is the whole point in taking them.. My doc said you can be on these for the rest of your life i plan on being on my AD forever cause it helps with my anxiety so why quit it if its not really hurting anything. And ive tryed therapy, natural supplements nothing helped like the lexapro im on does. Just have to take it everyday. Few members in my family take effexor and they said it saved there life.. And thats a potent AD. All comes down to yourself and what you decide on doing. But taking as perscribed is not gonna hurt, same with benzos.

 

No one will ever change my mind on these drugs,I've been on them ,I know how they made me feel .Worse,I gradually brought myself off them. Yes I was told not addictive,learnt different,boy did I.there not for everyone,I've never had depression ,but the anxiety,still to this day.they for me not a magic pill,anxiety is not like flicking a switch hey presto it's gone,don't work like that,it wasn't the tinnitus that started it off ,it was going to a dr for allergies,dr put me on those meds,then came the anxiety.Thats my personal view to those or any kind of meds in relation to subject.if they help you then go for it.Will say that was the first time I'd ever been on those type of meds,maybe I was one of the unlucky ones who knows.

 

I agree with everyone on here. Taking anti-anxiety meds won't make your T worse. In fact, it should improve it because it will make you feel better. Taking meds to help you with your stress and anxiety in the short term is a good step for you. Couple that with CBT to address the underlying causes of this stress, depression, anxiety etc and you will be on your way.

 

I agree totally erik. I take xanax, went through CBT, exercise and try to get 7-8 hours sleep a night. I am way better than I was--I have my life back and habituation is starting. Tonight I'm going out to dinner with my girlfriends! That wouldn't have happened if I didn't take care of my anxiety.

My doc explained that I may take a low dose of xanax or something like it for the rest of my life. My brain doesn't make enough of something it needs not to be anxious and the meds take care of that. As long as one takes the prescribed dose--no more--than there is no problem. The therapeutic effects-- continue to work long term. I have not developed a tolerance other than I don't get tired from the meds anymore and I don't get any kind of euphoria. I am just myself--like I was before life's stressors of the last three years and the onset of T last November. My doc took a complete history before prescribing to insure that I didn't have any kind of addiction problems in the past--some people have addictive personalities.

 

You are right is saying that medicines effect everyone differently and you were unlucky, but I think it is wrong to tell people to avoid it like the plague! There medicines have helped millions, myself included, but like any medicine they are not for everyone. Aspirin kills people as well. People need to make an informed decision on their own personal situation with a competent doctor and do not abuse it. I also believe that AD are not physically addiciting, but yes coming off of them can cause withdrawal problems, that's why it needs to be tapered slowly thru your doctor. I am sorry you had a bad experience but I don't think it is fair to scare off people these medicines can help.

 

Is it bad that ive been on a low dose of klonopin for two years .5 like two days a week if that and still feel euphoria from it? Like if i have a bad anxiety day and i take one it still makes my thinking positive and calms my body to where im able to take control and feel like a sense of everythings gonna be okay. --- kills my anxiety. Guess thats what its suppose to do right? Do you still feel the effects from your xanex?