Stress Center Peer Support

I am trying to work up the nerve to take the paxil my Dr prescribed but I have a horrific medicin anxiety!!! I even have trouble taking antibiotics! I have terrible panic attacks as soon as I swallow a pill! I know that I have to do something because I have been battling these panic attacks for two years and am not getting very far!! I just can't seem to stop all my obsessive thougts and I know that is what the problem is. I also know that the medicine would probably be a big help with the thougts! I just know that when I start to take the meds that every little feeling I have I will blame on the med and I will stop taking it before it has time to work. Has anybody been able to beat their med anxiety and go through with taking it? I just don't know what to do I feel like my family is at their wits end and I have to do something but I don't know how!

I was really resistant to starting my antidepressant. I was scared of the side effects and am still scared that I will never be able to go off of them. You are right when you say that from now on every little ill you will blame on the pills because I did too. But I knew I had to do something. I was ruling our whole family with my anxiety attacks. My husband would have to come home from work and my son would have to stay home from college because they didn't want me to be alone and I was scared to be alone with a panic attack. I forced myself to take my medicine and kept saying to myself that what I was doing to my family was not right and that what did I have to lose by taking the medicine. Sure you have side effects but if those meds don't work for you try something else. Give the meds a little time to work before you switch though because Paxil takes time to work. I am so glad I started the medicine because it has helped me a lot. That and starting the program and going to therapy. Now my family is glad to have me back to semi-normal and are involved in my progress. I hope you can start your medicine because it doesn't seem like anything else is working. Don't be ashamed to start the medicine. It is there to help you and maybe you won't have to take it for long. Good Luck.

Gavinsmom: It is so hard to give advice, especially about meds because everyone is different. But Paxil (regular 10mg) has been a lifesaver for me. I also cannot say enough positive things about StressCenter...the program is really great. I hope you have it. If you decide to go on Paxil, give it time to work. For me, after the first couple weeks, every week was better than the last, up until 8 weeks when it leveled off. Coming of it can be difficult, but certainly not impossible if you go really slowly. I tried to taper off starting last August in 2 mg drops, but by January at a flat 2mg dose it was just too low for me and I couldn't handle some things that were happening, so I went back to 10mg. I have no regrets at all about going on this medication when I needed it. My psychiatrist said that the controlled release was just really a patent-extending tool and the regular would work just as well and is cheaper. Good luck,
formerly SleeplessMom

Hi Teresa,
I too am afraid of medications and herbs and occasionally a new vitamin

I had to get a large dose of an antibiotic last Nov when I got a bad case of cellulitis from poison ivy (which I've always gotten bad PI, but never an infection from it). The nurse gave me the shot in my butt and closed the door to the room I was in and said to open the door and tell someone if I had any weird side effects. There was a phone on the wall, so I called my hubby and talked to him for the 20 mins that I had to sit alone and wait. It was torture! But I did it and had no side effects (I never have from anything).

Good luck to you, you certainly aren't alone!!

Take care,
Ocean

I know just what you are talking about. I am allergic to most antibiotica and am terrified about taking medication. I try to do things naturally but there are times when it just doesn't work. WhenI started with my anxiety four months ago my doctor order an anti anxiety medication to take at night before bed because I was getting no sleep at all. I sat there with the medication in my hand crying because I was so afraid to take it. My hsuband had to call the pharmacist who lives next door to tell me that it wouldn't hurt me just help me sleep. As it turned out I had to stop it because it made me feel to zoned out the next day. Then they gave me zoloft - I was so nervous about taking that , that I think I made myself sick. I vomited the whole three days I took it before stopping it. Right now the only medication I am taking for my anxiety is 5mg of valium before bed about every four days. My doctor wants me to try Lexapro but I am reall hesitant to try it. I have had a lot of people try to convince me that I will feel so much better if I just took the medicine - and maybe they are right. I am still undecided about what to do. You are not alone in this - let me know how you make out.

Take Care,
Debbe

I am new to all of this sharing but couldn't resist in giving a helping hand. I to have a medication anxiety issue. I started about a month ago on zoloft 50mg and worked up to 100mg. I noticed that if I take it before bed my mind can't play to many or to long of tricks before I know it I'm waking up in the morning. I have just received the program and am hoping to a full recovery after 7 years.

Hi my friends, I have a trick that I do. With a new med I take the first pill at my doctor's office. Of course, they know my situation and I have been going to the same doctor for 25 years. But they don't mind me taking the new pill in their office and I can sit there as long as I wish and talk to the receptionist, nurse, etc. That takes my mind off the new pill and I have never had a bad experience so far. This works for me, but you would need to know your doctor and his/her office staff. Rob.

I am frightened of taking any kind of meds. I was on Paxil and went off it slowly and got a couple of seizures from it and felt worse on it then off. I say if meds work for you great. If they cause worse anxiety about taking them then not so great. I have been told by therapists that it is not a long term solution just a step to help out at first and to make life bearable if needed. Two therapist I went had advised me of the positives and negatives about meds. They also told me that the key to fixing my anxiety is not meds. My thoughts, and behavior. Breaking the negative catastrophic thought pattern I have. I would suggest going to a therapist and discussing meds with them. They deal with all the aspects of anxiety unlike a Dr. who just deals with you basically on a physical level. The doctors job is to physically fix you. In the end it is ultimately up to you. We can all give our opinions of what worked well or didn't work so well for us, but you need to talk to a therapist who deals with this regulary and knows effects and benefits and see what they suggest. Then like I said it's up to you in the end. If meds work for you great, if not there is always other options. Good luck with your decision.

Gavinsmom, mads are differnet for everyone, so it is hard to give advice. But, Paxil did work wonders for me. After about 2 weeks, I felt better and better. I was also doing (and still am) the program, but I believe the meds are working too. Your doc has prescribed them because he/she feels they will help you. I think we all wish we could do this w/o meds, but the good Lord did give us the ability to make them for a reason. Sometimes, they help.

Have faith and try to replace those negative thoughts about your meds with positive ones. Take care and let us know how you're doing.