MEDICATION DECISION

[Rikr]

I am in a total anxiety breakdown for the past 5 months - absolute hell so I know the desire for something, anything to stop the suffering. Unfortunately I was there years ago taking benzodiazepine tranquilizers for 9 months - took me three years to recover after a slow taper and it was 1,000 times worse than any anxiety.

So fast forward to another breakdown and my doctors telling me that SSRI and other antidepressants were safer. Took those for a little over a year and it took me 18 month to taper off and again 1,000 times worse than my worst anxiety. For some reason anytime I go back into anxiety symptoms I also get the hideous withdrawal symptoms from the drugs. My doctors said I have a neuronal memory from the withdrawal trauma.

Not everyone has severe discontinuation problems but most do - please do lots of research before you chose medication. Web sites like Surviving Antidepressants and Benzo Buddies have lots of information.

Medication was the worst decision of my life - had I taken better care of myself before the anxiety breakdowns I would not have taken that option.

 

[Cuchculan]

Most of us are on them for life. So really no need for us to worry.

 

[Rikr]

Benzodiazepines eventually reach tolerance and require rapidly escalating doses - antidepressants do what is known as "poop out I have a colleague that is also a medical psychologist who has been on anxiety meds for over 30 years with no problems - he is a rare bird.

After my first hand experience with meds I went to work in a clinic that specializes in getting people off psyche meds. After 12 years I burnt out and retired.

After my hospitalization at age 19 and treated horribly I went to college for 9 years determined to help other anxiety people. I did really well until my father died and I fought with my step mother over the estate for 6 years, the funeral home gave me the wrong body and I sued them, I moved 7 times over 1,000 miles each in 5 years for my job and I was seriously injured in a car accident while on vacation - all the stress caught up with me and I had a breakdown.

Then 8 years later and my wife is diagnosed with late stage 4 cancer and given months to live - we were hit with over a million in medical bills and I went into another breakdown - great news a rare surgeon took her case, did a 9.5 hour surgery and she is alive.

The moral is once you have an anxiety disorder and really anyone with enough stress can breakdown