What do peeps think about medication?

[disco-very]

I thought I'd ask a few questions about medication today & this looks as good a place as any. I am currently taking Venlafaxine 150mg per day & not finding it all that useful. I started on 75mg & that did calm down my rather hysterical/ despairing state at that time.  It felt like the drug had quite literally "put a lid on it". Now that I have been on a higher dose -with the suggestion that I take even higher, this is just another step up - I am having side effects I do not want to live with & have retreated back into sorrow.  As one of the SSRI's, I thought they are coined "happy pills"....not so in this case.
I don't like the idea of ping-ponging from drug to drug til we find one that suits.  I have to admit that i even hate the thought of meds & what they are doing on a toxic level to my body, but have tried telling myself this is a temporary measure, a crutch if you like, until my health improves.

-What do others feel about medication?
-Useful tool or demon drugs pedalled by multi-million dollar drug companies (Effexor, who make "my" meds, being the most successful drug company in the world & Venlafaxine is their billion dollar top-seller). Or I am being cynical here?
-Essential for stability & calm?
-Side effects & long term implications worth it for the effect/treatment?
Please do tell me/us about your experiences & feelings about the question "To med or not to med?"

thanks,
teep

[Nick]

After my experience, I think drugs are a good crutch if you're struggling despite all other interventions (i.e. cbt, exercise therapy).  I haven't been on your drug personally, but my mum has and she has benefited from it a lot.

I am trying another SSIR drug called Citalopram and after a very long wait, it finally appears to be working at a 20mg dose.  I don't feel totally better, but it's taken the edge of it and normalised my sleep patterns ... which have been in chaos for years.

[Starsun]

Hi there,

I have just literally joined this evening after finally being diagnosed with GAD. My doctor has started me on 20mg Fluoxetine every day. I have previously tried Citalopram but it didn't agree with me.

Personally, I am glad for some immediate intervention. It is going to be a while before CBT so something to take the edge off is most welcome.

I would suggest taking more indepth to your doctor, I am sure there is way that will be beneficial for you. I have fianlly come to terms with the fact that I may well be on drugs for a large proportion of my life but if there is something out there that makes every day easier to deal with then thats fine with me.

I hope you find a way that suits you, you aren't though.

[nico]

I've personally been on five different drugs, the first four did near nothing for me. Ranging from no effect at all, to a little but not enough for me. I've now found one that I've been on for two years and I basically rely on it to function. I'm not ready to even think about going without yet, but one day I will. It's been a huge help to me. I've come so far, slowly but surely. My opinion is that medication is a good helping hand, and if you don't feel the one you are given is doing anything (after giving it a fair chance, even though waiting can be awful, it's eventually worth it), then you should definitely bug your doctor to let you try something else, or even just a different dose.

[johnb]

I've started to self medicate, perhaps not the wisest move, but given my situation I'm prepared to try, the reason I chose this path is that recently things have been getting worse anxiety wise, perhaps its my pending return to the UK. anyway I'm already taking 100mg of Metoprolol for my high blood pressure, its not helping very much so I started checking out other Blood pressure medications and found Propranolol, whilst reading the other uses it was mentioned that it is also used to help with Anxiety, here in the Philippines I can buy all this stuff without prescription, so I have now changed medication and am taking 3 x 40mg of Propranolol per day along with Metformin for my diabetes 3x500mg per day. I guess if I face the truth I have probably been self medicating for years but using alcohol to give much needed moral support for social interactions.......seemed to work for a while till you realize what an ar** you can make of yourself when your the only one drunk in a group, and the following morning who needs the anxiety that comes along with the hangover, so many parts I cant remember so my over zealous imagination fills in all the blanks........anyone tried Propranolol? I need a drink

[Hope]

   Hi John
                I have tried Propanolol along side anti-depressants, i think they are beta blockers so that anxious thoughts can't be transferred into anxious feelings , as the heart rate won't increase and start off the physical symptoms. Actors apparently sometimes use these for stage fright!
       Like taking aspirin for a headache , it's fine as a temporary relief from symptoms , but in the long term some kind of therapy to sort the cause has got to be the solution!? Not easy to find the right thing though is it?

      I've found Eastern alternative therapies work well , like yoga and acupuncture, maybe being in the Philippines you can get these kind of treatments a bit cheaper and easier?
      Alot of folks scoff at alternative medicine, but it has stood the test of time, and I think it really does focus more on getting to the root of the problem, rather than just helping you cope as Western medicine seems to be happy do.
     
                         Take care of yourself, Hope.

       

[johnb]

Hi Hope, thanks for the input, what I do have access to here in the Philippines is a whole host of Chinese remedies for a whole host of problems, my Mother in law, all four foot something of her is very out spoken on behalf of traditional Chinese medicines, being a Chinese speaker she will spend hours negotiating the price for various herbs and potions, we also grow quite a number in our garden for the treatment of Diabetes. perhaps before I leave on the 9th of July I'll see what they have on offer for anxiety and produce it at a BAF meeting whilst back in Brighton, I turned 50 this year and have had a pretty adventures life, I know for sure that my anxiety has held me back and spoiled massive periods of my life, times that should have been proud memories but alas became cringing episodes, but my anxiety has also forced my decisions to other paths that would not have been pursued, paths that also became travels and adventures, so the scales most definitely swing from day to day, week to week , month to month

John

[Hope]

  Hi again,
               I think I know what you mean. I doubt my life has been as adventurous as yours but I have done some travelling (external and internal) and the things that really pushed me out there were probably quite negative, so when I'm feeling good I can see it as a blessing too. As for the cringeworthy times, well yeh, there is that but nobody gets it right all the time and I'm sure they're the times that you grow most (yuk..that sounds a bit cringy in itself..barf!).
     
    Be great to try out some herbal remedies, I'm up for any possible solutions, but I'd be a bit wary about producing them in a pub/cafe , you might get accused of something illegal!

                      Onwards and upwards then, Hope(fully)

                 

[stresspuppy]

Hi, just joined the forum but have been on medication for years. I think meds are a useful crutch but also not the only answer, I've been struggling for years and just relying on the meds more than other more involved management approaches such as CBT, support groups etc. More recently I've realised that I've been struggling with the anxiety diagnosis - denial and shame has played a large part in the struggle. Analogies used by others of other more obvious injuries/illnesses - broken legs and healing haven't actually helped. I guess we all know it's a lot more complex than that and often those with anxiety find it so very hard to help themselves - I know I do  .

I don't know if the meds I've been taking, currently 100mg of sertraline (my GP told me that the lower 50mg dose i'd been on wasn't a therapeutic dose for a percentage of patients with anxiety) have a flattening mood affect and therefore help you function but maybe flatten emotions/feelings. I've occasionally, and completely unintentionally (busy head!), forgotten to take my meds and I'd catch myself being in a more positive mood - dare I say happier? and then realise I'd forgotten to take my meds. Maybe no link and I'm not advising merely sharing my experience. I too am not happy taking meds and do wander about the long term effects and my goal is to come off completely but only once I'm in a 'happier place'.

To get to that happy place I've pursued CBT and exercise a lot and eat well, and I think joining the forum and making contact with other people who experience anxiety is the most positive thing I've done recently  . I found the contact with others at a CBT workshop the most positive aspect - sharing experiences and not feeling so alone and ashamed.

I'm determined to manage my anxiety better by accepting it and that the medication regime is part of that but also that medication is only part of the answer and not for everyone. I'm also going to start journaling to put the thoughts down on paper so that I can go back to them and rationalise the irrational.