When is medicine needed?

anothersideofme · Post by **anothersideofme** » Thu May 08, 2008 5:05 am

I am waiting for my program to arrive but have a question about medicine. I am currently on 30 mg cymbalta daily for anxiety. I actually partially weaned of Zoloft to start it. I had been on the zoloft for many years and I guess it stopped working. Anyway, I've been on the cymbalta for about a month now and I'm experiencing some depression which is a new problem for me and I still have anxiety too.

My question is this...will this program help if the problem is chemical in nature? And, how do you know if the anxiety and depression is chemical in nature?

Thanks!

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Thu May 08, 2008 5:15 am

My husband recently told me that my meds are only going to take me so far and it's up to me to do the rest. I have to learn to work through anxiety when I can instead of running for a pill. I also have some serious work to do on allowing negative thinking in my life, carrying guilt, what-ifing, and having just an overall doomsday attitude.
SO, The program helps me help myself and the meds work on the chemical imbalance. And together, we should get there.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Thu May 08, 2008 5:22 am

those are good questions...
Since you don't have the tapes yet...I will give you a little insite to what Lucinda and her Dr. partner say. They said that medication helps for the time being, but just taking medication will never solve issues. Because those issues are in your head. This program is a behavior modification program, so if you are on medication right now, the behavior modification will eventually ween you off of meds.

I have more depression than anxiety and have been thinking about taking meds for a while. This program does not tell you,not to take meds, but it also tells you meds will not cure you. Your mind will.

Just promise that when you recieve the program not to skip week one. I thought i would do that because i (thought) i already knew everything. But i did it anyway and boy was i wrong about knowing everything. After week 1 you will have a better understanding to your questions.

I hope i helped some. Good luck..you will be fine.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Thu May 08, 2008 9:09 am

My experience with medications are not so good. I took citalopram 20 mg 5 tablets only and I had violent thoughts. My doctor replace it with buproban 150 mg 5 tablets also I my reaction to it was even worse. I became overactive, restless, and the violent thoughts was even worse.So I quit taking both and just remain on alphrazolam to help me sleep. I changed doctor and she thinks that for a permanent fix I should take cymbalta which I refuse. I hope i will be able to fight this anxiety without adding anymore medication and with Lucinda's Program.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Thu May 08, 2008 3:10 pm

Thanks you guys! Marcor15, I'm sorry you've had such problems with medicine. I was so scared about those type of reactions when I first began medicine. I'm glad that didn't happen.

AllisonJane, thank you very much for your suggestion about the first session. I've been wondering if I already know everything that's in the program because of the free emails she's sent and I've read her book. I'm really hoping there's more in it.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Sun May 11, 2008 5:29 pm

My question is this...will this program help if the problem is chemical in nature? And, how do you know if the anxiety and depression is chemical in nature

Hi anothersideofme,

This is a good question. I don't think doctors know the complete answer to this yet. Generally, anxiety/panic is caused by thinking, as is a lot of depression. But there are exceptions (such as Mitrol Valve Prolaps can cause panic and anxiety). Also, some depressions are biological in nature such as bi-polar disorder or schizophrenia. The program can help someone with bi-polar disorder improve their thoughts and reactions to circumstances but can't completely cure it since it is biological in nature rather than psychological.

I believe the program can help someone with any of these problems. I know of one individual who is a member on this site with MVP who has said it has helped her and I've seen studies where cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) has helped bi-polar patients. The program is based upon CBT. CBT has been proven in clinical studies to be as effective as meds in treating moderate to severe clinical depression. Sometimes the combo of meds with CBT works better than either one by itself. Links to some of these studies are below.

Dr. David Burns is a well known psychiatrist who believes that our thoughts create our moods and emotions and that they also can impact our brain chemistry for good or bad. I am of the same opinion. Since working with the program for several years my anti-depressants have been reduced by 80% and am off of anti-anxiety meds completely. Wishing you the best in your recovery.

<A HREF="http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/ ... 051702.php" TARGET=_blank>http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/ ... 702.php</A>

<A HREF="http://www.clinicalanswers.nhs.uk/index ... estion=359" TARGET=_blank>http://www.clinicalanswers.nhs.uk/index ... ion=359</A>

<A HREF="http://my.webmd.com/content/Article/23/1663_53120.htm" TARGET=_blank>http://my.webmd.com/content/Article/23/ ... 120.htm</A>

<A HREF="http://www.academyofct.org/Library/Info ... derID=1126" TARGET=_blank>http://www.academyofct.org/Library/Info ... ID=1126</A>

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Tue May 13, 2008 6:32 am

Thanks Don! I was actually diagnosed with mvp while pregnant with the first child. How does this relate with anxiety and panic? I just thought it was a heart issue.

Thanks

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Tue May 13, 2008 9:35 am

Here's a quote from the link below:

Anxiety, panic attacks, and depression may be associated with mitral valve prolapse. Like fatigue, these symptoms are believed to be related to imbalances of the autonomic nervous system.

<A HREF="http://www.medicinenet.com/mitral_valve ... /page2.htm" TARGET=_blank>http://www.medicinenet.com/mitral_valve ... ge2.htm</A>

Your doc should know more about this. I'd quiz him/her the next time I saw them.