Discussion Meds for Anxiety

[LMLN]

Hi Everyone,
Just wanted to see what others have done for anxiety. I have done the non medicinal techniques without much improvement. I also did try GABA supplements and Chamomille tea too. Dont think that does much at all.
What does work very well is Xanax. But I know it's not good long term. My doctor said I should try gabapentin and another drug hydroxyzine. I tried the hydroxyzine but it does not do anything for me.
I'm really afraid of gabapentin due to side effects. Anyone had any experience with gabapentin for anxiety?

 

[Rollo]

Hi Everyone,
Just wanted to see what others have done for anxiety. I have done the non medicinal techniques without much improvement. I also did try GABA supplements and Chamomille tea too. Dont think that does much at all.
What does work very well is Xanax. But I know it's not good long term. My doctor said I should try gabapentin and another drug hydroxyzine. I tried the hydroxyzine but it does not do anything for me.
I'm really afraid of gabapentin due to side effects. Anyone had any experience with gabapentin for anxiety?

You say Xanax work very well. In what way? What it does for you?

 

[LMLN]

You say Xanax work very well. In what way? What it does for you?

It calms me down I feel peaceful. At least for a while. But I know its habit forming and only meant for occasional use.

 

[APharmaDestroyedLife]

Hi Everyone,
I'm really afraid of gabapentin due to side effects. Anyone had any experience with gabapentin for anxiety?

Please do not go down the gabapentin rabbit hole... its horrible. You build tolerance to it crazy fast it has a really short half life so you have to take it 4 times a day to maintain a steady blood level and withdrawing from it is a nightmare that can last months.

It depletes your body of calcium, magnesium, and zinc. It also scrambles your gaba receptors and throws the entire gaba / glutamate system out of balance.

There are many lawsuits against this drug, and the manufacturer has already paid out over 40 million.

Just research gabapentin withdrawal. I would not touch it. I was on it for just 2 weeks and not only did it make me feel like a zombie, but when I decided to go off of it, it took me 12 weeks to recover from the withdrawal which was severe insomnia, increased anxiety, and neurological symptoms that I am still dealing with to some degree.

I would avoid all anti convulsant drugs for off label mental health reasons... they are nasty.

Benzos are bad news too, drugs like xanax and ativan are pretty much the same. They cause more problems than they solve in the long term, and a persons gaba (a) receptors can be damaged from just 5 days in a row of use.

 

[Rollo]

It calms me down I feel peaceful. At least for a while. But I know its habit forming and only meant for occasional use.

So what kind of stuff you're typically not at peace about when not on Xanax? What kind of stuff you worry about unmedicated?

 

[LMLN]

I have ptsd due to my husbands death. So I'm wound up and upset all the time.

 

[APharmaDestroyedLife]

First... I am sorry you lost your husband...

Honestly as long as youre not driving or in a dangerous situation drinking a few glasses of wine a day is way safer and healthier for you than any prescription drug. Have you tried that?

 

[LMLN]

Yes. But morning is my bad time. Cannot start drinking in the morning. Especially with work.

 

[Rollo]

I have ptsd due to my husbands death. So I'm wound up and upset all the time.

My condolences. However you see it's not exactly a matter of anxiety - rather of sadness and grief. People are typically anxious about things which may happen to them not things which happened already. So is your problem actually anxiety or depression?

 

[SlackJim]

CBD helps me a lot but my anxiety is only mild-medium most the time

 

[LMLN]

My condolences. However you see it's not exactly a matter of anxiety - rather of sadness and grief. People are typically anxious about things which may happen to them not things which happened already. So is your problem actually anxiety or depression?

It's really both. It seems to manifest more as anxiety when I am taking my AD.

 

[DepressoEspresso]

Klonopin has been a godsend. I tried hydroxyzine during my teen years and can say it didn't help in the slightest. It was like taking benadryl. I've been on Klonopin for years now and find myself taking less than when I first started. It's different for everyone though, I wish you the best.

 

[Rollo]

It's really both. It seems to manifest more as anxiety when I am taking my AD.

Well as far as depression goes - losing your husband is something even people with the least amount of issues would be depressed about. So the only thing here is not to make yourself feel bad more than you neccesarily would. In other words you don't have to feel bad.

As far as anxiety goes it's a separate issue. Are you anxious about stuff which may happen to you now that your husband is gone?

I know you asked about meds, but if you're cool with it I will explore non-medicinal side.

 

[LMLN]

I'm anxious about facing life without him. The pain of loss is unbearable and I feel anxious because I feel trapped in pain.

 

[APharmaDestroyedLife]

I have heard good things about CBD, you just have to make sure you're getting a pure and trusted source.

On another note this is a great list of herbs. You have to scroll down to about the 4th paragraph for the list of herbs, but the entire post is worth reading.

https://sanctioned-suicide.net/thre...-actually-not-new-age-shit-and-placebo.26847/

 

[Rollo]

I'm anxious about facing life without him. The pain of loss is unbearable and I feel anxious because I feel trapped in pain.

Well it's cause you are trapped in pain, that's the reality of it. The only question is whether you determined to get out of the trap. And if you do then one thing you may want is not to consider the pain unbearable. No matter how strong in the end it is bearable. Your husband meant a lot to you but you came to this world without him. Every human being is a complete being which can exist and be happy on it's own, without somebody esle in particular or without other people in general. And I'm sure your husband would want you to exist and be happy without him as well.

As far as anxiety about facing life, here too the most important thing is to understand that you don't have to be terrified. There are unpleasant things which may happen but you don't have make it worser than they actually are. And you don't have to try to control everything either. If it happens it happens. And what's the worst that can happen? Death? But you're already on suicide board anyway.

 

[k75]

I take gabapentin. I'm prescribed it for nerve damage as well as anxiety. It doesn't really affect me for anxiety as far as I can tell, but it's amazing for my nerve pain, so I take it. At higher doses, I experience other benefits, but I'm not going to recommend that.

I have never experienced side effects or addiction from gabapentin. (Full disclaimer: I don't have an addictive personality and couldn't even get hooked on cigarettes.) Anyway, in my experience, it either works or makes me feel nothing at all. I have just stopped many times with no I'll effects. Of course, everyone is different so I can't say you'd have the same experience, but the whole reason my psychiatrist prefers it is because he says it's less habit forming than benzos. It's also a very safe drug. You can't overdose on it.

My psychiatrist has me on gabapentin and propranolol for anxiety. It's frustrating, because I can't get the one drug that actually works for me, which is Ativan. I don't want to do all these other drugs when there's one proven med that works.

 

[lofistos345]

Life is painful. I don't believe in meds for treating the soul. It will take a long time for you to recover. Go to a therapist, talk to people, it should help. If it's not helping try some for a short time some benzo and a antidepressant. Take care.

 

[brainpain2]

Gabapentin was a nightmare to be on (was in a fog the entire time) and a bitch to get off. You also have to take it 3 times a day. Has your doctor ever discussed an SSRI like Zoloft? It was one thing that helped my anxiety and apparently is one of the most prescribed drugs for anxiety. Unfortunately I had to go off it because after a year or less it made me hypomanic which is like anxiety x1000 but I wouldn't worry about that unless you are on the bipolar spectrum

 

[Donk]

i take lorazepam which is a benzo. i dont like the idea of being addicted to it but i cant live without it. i tried to get off it but withdraw was unbearable.

 

[justanotherday]

Hi Everyone,
Just wanted to see what others have done for anxiety. I have done the non medicinal techniques without much improvement. I also did try GABA supplements and Chamomille tea too. Dont think that does much at all.
What does work very well is Xanax. But I know it's not good long term. My doctor said I should try gabapentin and another drug hydroxyzine. I tried the hydroxyzine but it does not do anything for me.
I'm really afraid of gabapentin due to side effects. Anyone had any experience with gabapentin for anxiety?

I take it for anxiety and it helps me some. I also took it a few years ago, tapered off, then back on it now. It was a little difficult to come off it, but no more difficult than getting off an antidepressant. In short,gabapentin is really the only drug I can tolerate. The bottom line is that we all react differently to these Meds.
The medications that I had the worst experiences stopping were klonopin and lamictal. I was very sick from those Meds.

 

[TheGoodGuy]

I recently tried Xanax for 3-4 weeks and it helped a lot it took away my anxiety and increased my appetite but the withdrawals were terrible I am now tapering down from diazepam but it feels good to have no anxiety and increased appetite since I got a phobia of eating.

 

[Sensei]

I have done the non medicinal techniques without much improvement.?

Does this include meditation? It may sound like mumbo jumbo, but it really helped me.

 

[mathieu]

I took gabapentin a couple of times. It seems to have a sedating effect like Xanax. I was on lyrica which is similar and gained weight.

 

[Little Mook]

Gabapentin did help my anxiety, but I also stopped feeling most other emotions too.
I ended up having to going to hospital with severe cramps and dehydration whilst I was coming off it.

 

[LittleJem]

First of all, I am really sorry for your loss.

For help with anxiety, I personally think the following are all safer options than things like Lyrica and Gabapentin - if any of them help you. There are good reviews out there for all of the following. The top three did not help me - but I have chronic and I think genetic depression, and as usual, different things help different people:

Kava - some people highly rate this for anxiety. There were some safety concerns, but if you get the right bit of the plant in your kava, i don't believe it's an issue. It's used in the Pacific Islands all the time. You can always keep an eye on your liver function.
Kratom - some people highly rate this for anxiety and for depression (I guess also for grief). It is safer than prescription meds IMO. You can build tolerance to it - but to avoid this you can dose it sensibly, and come off it from time to time. Avoid if you have any liver issues/alcohol/other drugs being processed by the liver.
CBD oil - there is a specific way to build this up over two weeks

Does your doctor already have you on an anti-depressant? Because for example, I think Zoloft is meant to be good for anxiety and could support you.

St John's Wort is the best thing I have personally tried so far for depression and anxiety - so it could be worth you trying, if you check and ensure it does not interact with any other medication you are taking. For me, it helps instantly, though it does take a while to build in your system. It is a natural MAOI anti-depressant. It cannot be combined with other anti-depressants.

If you are in USA (or if you can source it) a bit of me wonders if medical MJ is better than benzos for long term use. I have a hunch that it might be. Though perhaps you cannot drive on it.

For anxiety, some people say Ashwaganda, Skullcap, Magnolia Bark. They don't do much for me, but could be worht looking into.
Maybe also a bereavement group could help - to get support and to talk about grief with others who are also grieving? I have found group therapy much more helpful than one to one - but there are also specially trained bereavement counsellors if you are not seeing one, it could help?

 

[justanotherday]

Be careful with those over the counter herbal things too. I had a horrible, sickening reaction to black cohosh.

 

[Holacanthus]

Klonopin has been a godsend. I tried hydroxyzine during my teen years and can say it didn't help in the slightest. It was like taking benadryl. I've been on Klonopin for years now and find myself taking less than when I first started. It's different for everyone though, I wish you the best.

Klonipin worked for me until it didn't. I was like a different person. Then it stopped working and I was just left with the addiction. As you say though, everyone is different.

 

[Deleted member 13227]

Benzos only works in short terms and gives you a lot of side effects. I used to take Cbd oil 5 % and it worked okay but it wasn't strong enough for me, the stronger ones costs more money (I can't afford it cause I am broke).

 

[Nem]

Please do not go down the gabapentin rabbit hole... its horrible. You build tolerance to it crazy fast it has a really short half life so you have to take it 4 times a day to maintain a steady blood level and withdrawing from it is a nightmare that can last months.

It depletes your body of calcium, magnesium, and zinc. It also scrambles your gaba receptors and throws the entire gaba / glutamate system out of balance.

There are many lawsuits against this drug, and the manufacturer has already paid out over 40 million.

Just research gabapentin withdrawal. I would not touch it. I was on it for just 2 weeks and not only did it make me feel like a zombie, but when I decided to go off of it, it took me 12 weeks to recover from the withdrawal which was severe insomnia, increased anxiety, and neurological symptoms that I am still dealing with to some degree.

I would avoid all anti convulsant drugs for off label mental health reasons... they are nasty.

Benzos are bad news too, drugs like xanax and ativan are pretty much the same. They cause more problems than they solve in the long term, and a persons gaba (a) receptors can be damaged from just 5 days in a row of use.

Amen to that, all anti convulsants are pure evil. They shrink your freakin brain on a good day!
Peace/hugs