what med do you take for anxiety?

[snowgirl]

Curious what meds people are given for anxiety. I have xanax. I used to only take them once in awhile when I was in a situational crisis if you will. Now I take xanax regularly twice a day. MY Family MD gives them to me. I have had the theory on xanax from the student resident pscyhiatrist on my case............. however she still has not changed me to klonopin like she suggested. She said it is better for you ie longer acting and less dependency
Anyone can share their experiences on klonopin or any med that helps their anxiety. I would like to wean off the xanax= however in therapy weekly and still trying to accept being on disability. My anxiety is all related to not working, resigning forced to from my job due to IC. Anxiety and depression I have both. I would say my depression is worse then my anxiety. Still on no meds for depression. I can't take them I have tried all and just failed Celexa. Only thing left would be old tricyclics. Elavil at 25mg was helping . I asked for them to increase the dose. They the psy MD did not want to. Now I was put on catapress pill twice a day.............. drug interaction with elavil that the two together can cause hypertension crisis. Great neither of my MD's or my regular pharmacist picked up on that I did. They sure should have one of the three of them.

Thanks for any replies .

Vicky

[Sally939]

Well, I took anxiety meds for a long time. Then it seemed like my bladder did not like them. It probally was just the start to my ic. So now I have xanex but really barely use it. I wish I was more help there.

[gopher7895]

I take Xanax too and it's a wonderful thing for me. Sometimes at night I get terrible panic attacks and when I take a Xanax I can relax and fall asleep easily. I don't suffer from depression but I get rectal spasms (yuck!) and it helps those too. I asked my family doctor for a Xanax prescription and he wouldn't give it to me. He made me feel like some kind of an addict for asking. They were originally prescribed by another doctor and he told me to go back and see him. I take a low dose .25 mg and 60 pills have lasted me over 6 months. I've read about the dependency risk but I only take it when I need it. I still feel kind of weird about my family doctor's reaction. You'd have thought I asked him for crack the way he looked at me.

[marysxx]

started taking atarax a few weeks ago. suffered terrible heart papations and anxiety. started vistaril same thing. off both now and still have anxiety and bp is up a little. might go on zoloft. elimron/cymbalta:toilet:

[formom]

i have and still do take lorazepem .5. i have been taking that since 2001. i can go for weeks without taking it and it does not bother me, meaning withdrawls. i guess i am just use to it. here are soo many u can try. when i was first diagnosed with anxiety, i took zoloft and lorazepem at nite and it reay helped me, so i weaned off the zoloft after 7 months and just continued lorazepem when needed. good luck

[hdb1982]

I take xanax .50mg 2 x day. It really helps my IC spasms and keeps me from getting worked up over little things.

[dg2901]

I take Ativan (lorazepam) as needed, which isnt very often.

D

[Mel53H]

I take Paxil regularly which is for both anxiety and depression and I have some Antivan (1 mg) that I take for meltdowns.

[karen10]

Hi Vicky,
Sorry to hear you're dealing with this! I also have a tendency to anxiety and dealt with panic disorder for years. If I don't manage it right, they come back. As you might already know, benzo's (xanax being one of them) are addicting and you usually build up a tolerance to them if used regularly, so you are wise in wanting to find something else for regular, long term use. They are great for once in awhile panic episodes. If you can tolerate it, Paxil is often used for anxiety and works very well. It takes time though. Another thing that works very well, is natural and safe is a calcium, magnesium, zinc combo. Calcium/mag are supplements that help regulate our nervous system. I take 1000mg (calcium) a day, but of course, check with your doc (my GYN has told me to take it for years anyway for other reasons). This will also take time. I know most IC'ers can't do caffeine, but make sure you stay away from that too. I'm off Paxil now because I've learned what my triggers are and I avoid those. Then relaxation skills, meditation, and counseling are all very helpful for anxiety!! One more thing, panic attacks involve a surge of adrenaline, that's why we feel all these physiological changes in our body, so if you can go with it and not against it, sometimes that helps as well, such as doing some sort of physical activity (as much as you can handle with your IC). I used to go running (can't do that anymore) when I felt an attack coming on, and by the time I was done, it was gone! You'll get through this, coming to terms with a disability is not easy!! Give yourself time to grieve. Hang in there! :smile tee

[snowgirl]

I take Xanax too and it's a wonderful thing for me. Sometimes at night I get terrible panic attacks and when I take a Xanax I can relax and fall asleep easily. I don't suffer from depression but I get rectal spasms (yuck!) and it helps those too. I asked my family doctor for a Xanax prescription and he wouldn't give it to me. He made me feel like some kind of an addict for asking. They were originally prescribed by another doctor and he told me to go back and see him. I take a low dose .25 mg and 60 pills have lasted me over 6 months. I've read about the dependency risk but I only take it when I need it. I still feel kind of weird about my family doctor's reaction. You'd have thought I asked him for crack the way he looked at me.

not unusual for a family MD to react that was to prescribing xanax. Some don't like it and some won't prescribe it. It's the dependency risk as you mentioned they don't want to get involved in that. Every MD is different though. I get mine from my family MD.

[snowgirl]

I take xanax .50mg 2 x day. It really helps my IC spasms and keeps me from getting worked up over little things.

Do you take the xanax regularly twice a day every day or just if you need it?

[Claredale]

I take valium at night sometimes. I took it every night plus Atavin until I was prescribed Rezorem which definitely helps me go to sleep. I had already been through several other sleep meds, which worked for awhile, then they would lose their effectiveness. I take my Rezorem, then go to bed and watch anything on HGTV (since it's no plot and nothing to think about) and I simply go to sleep within a few minutes. I used to be so very anxious when it got closer for time to go to bed because I knew I would hurt more and my bladder would be more sensitive. I would stay awake for hours trying to read, listen to my meditation tapes, etc and nothing worked. The longer I stayed awake, the worse I my anxiety got.

I hope you find something that helps you! I definitely know how it can effect you!

T83

[Hypnogal]

Chamomile herb and tea. That's it. Did you know it contains quercetin? Chamomile has scientifically an anti-inflammatory, anti-spasmotic and anti-anxiety effects. It has gotten me off all xanax, valium and I was on those for many years. All natural. Bladder friendly. Can even help heal internal mucosa. NO side effects. Wondeful. I also take it in pill form. No more insomnia for me. Never toxic. Never addicting. Look it up yourself - it's just wonderful.

[DaniOwl]

I've taken Clonazepam (Klonopin) .5mg 2x per day, everyday, for almost two years now for anxiety and panic attacks - 3 a day if it's a bad day. It's prescribed by a psychiatrist and I also see a psychotherapist for anxiety issues. For a while I was back down to 1 pill a day when I was feeling good. Then I started getting anxious about health issues and was back up to 2 a day. It works great. No major side effects. I am concerned a little bit about dependency, but I'd rather not deal with major anxiety and panic attacks. It also helps relieve my bladder pain a bit, so there's another plus. I still do have some anxiety, but it's manageable and nowhere near what it was 2 years ago.

[hdb1982]

Vicky,
I am prone to anxiety attacks have been since I was in high school. I was very determined and pushed myself waaaaay to hard. That is when it was originally given to me. I was off it for a few years and then this year we found out that my dad, who is only 53, is terminally ill. ( you can read my post "Pray for me I can't take this" if you want to know that story)All of the anxiety and panic attacks came back hard. I already take the anti depressant Elavil for IC so they didn't want to add another one. So my dr put me back on xaxax to help me. At first I would take them just when I started to have the feeling I was going to have an attack. Then I started noticing when I took them my bladder would calm down. I mentioned this to my dr and he said it was also an antispasmadic (sp) and I must be having bladder spasms if it was helping my bladder so he changed my xanax from as needed to 2 x day. So it kills 2 birds with one stone. There have been times I haven't taken it like if I forgot it and was gone all day. I have never noticed any withdraw feelings just bladder pain when I skip a dose. I know it is addictive but I haven't had any issues with it.

[sickofmybladder]

I take xanax - was originally prescribed to me @ .25 mg - .50 mg 3x per day - by my family doctor - who also diagnosed me with GAD -- unfortunately it is not mixing well with some other i.c. medications so I am not able to take it now as often (maybe can take 1 dose - 2xs per week) and I really need it - so I am planning on talking to my doctor at my next appt. to see if he will switch me to valium for the added benefit of the muscle relaxer (so maybe I can cut out the med that isn't mixing well).

I know the benzos can be addictive/dependent but everyone around me (boss, mom, husband, kids) noticed a difference for the better once I was on medication - and I felt almost "normal" - I'll take my chances ......

Good luck!

[snowgirl]

Yes I can see where xanax has helped me in the bladder dept. Right now I take it twice a day . I am not ready to wean from it now but hopefully someday. Since I can't take/ get ambien anymore . My insurance won't pay for ambien anymore. Xanax helps me to sleep at night. I used to take 0.25mg
but I have builta tolerance and need 0.5mg. I refuse to take any higher dose then 0.5mg.

Yes it would break my anxiety - panic attack at 0.5mg but not at 0.25mmg