So, I’ve run the gamut with medication to treat anxiety. I’ve been on benzodiazepines, antidepressants, a beta blocker, and of course antipsychotics.
I can’t do beta blockers because they drop my blood pressure too much, and I won’t do benzos anymore. I’m currently taking celexa 20mg (seems to be helping some) and abilify 10mg.
What do you all take for anxiety? What do you think I should try?
HELP!
Anxiety is a big problem for some on abilify. I’m on abilify 10mg too and anxiety is my biggest complaint about it.
I too tried benzos and also gave them up.
What makes it bearable is L-theanine. I would probably have to come off abilify if it wasn’t for l-theanine.
I take a huge amount though, 800mg of l-theanine a day. I take 400mg in the morning and 400mg in the evening.
If you decide to take that high a dose , be aware that you can’t quit it cold turkey without going bananas. You have to taper off it.
Thank you so much! I actually have a bottle of this, but stopped taking it because it wasn’t helping, but the dose is so low (100mg) that I might just need to increase it to see the effects.
Nervousness or shyness.
I’m just curious about why people are stopping the benzos. I mean, I know they are highly addictive but is there another reason not to take them?
They stop being effective after a period of time.
For me, they also really impaired my memory. Seemed like I wasn’t capable of coherent thought for any length of time either. That’s just me though. I understand that they help a LOT of people. I’m just wondering if people have had success with alternatives.
I take Depakote ER for my bipolar mood swings but it also works great for Anxiety.
You can ask your doctor about going low dose on it for Anxiety.
I’m thinking 500mg a day.
It’s worth a shot.
I like to channel my anxiety into things that require a lot of activity, but not much thinking, like housework.
Scrubbing floors, vacuuming, washing windows, sweeping up the cat hair, and if necessary, go for a brisk walk around the block a couple of times.
There is always things to clean at my house.
If you work up a good sweat, you’re too tired to be anxious.
My dr won’t prescribe me a benzo, but then I developed a tolerance to Klonopin and Ativan when I took them in the past. My dr would laugh at the notion of prescribing me Xanax. The only anxiety med she prescribed me was Vistaril, and it didn’t do much. Alleviating my depression alleviates my anxiety, though. Now that I don’t drink my antidepressant can do its job, and I don’t have anywhere near as bad depression or anxiety, except for recently when I was trying taking less antidepressant.
I used to take Xanax before I was MI (I had anxiety before but no other MI) and now I take Vistaril every now and then. Interestingly, when I was first hospitalized involuntarily, I went off Xanax cold turkey after taking it for years. I left my pill container in my car and never brought it up (forgot) in the hospital. Going off Xanax cold turkey can be absolutely monstrous. Not sure why I didn’t have withdrawals.
Anyway, the Vistaril helps a little bit but it is nothing compared to the Xanax. My pdoc won’t prescribe Xanax.
I wish I had an answer for you but I am afraid we are in similar situations. I have a ten-pill benzo prescription (as needed) that I rarely take. Nevertheless, my anxiety has gone over the top recently and something needs to change before I give myself a heart attack. Thanks for bringing it up; hopefully I’ll gain some knowledge through reading the replies. I have a doc appt. tomorrow and I’d prefer not to end up on something that’s going to cause more side effects than I can handle.
I take Xanax .25 mg. Once per day
Escitalopram, but it helps only partially.
escitalopram and rexulti. The rexulti seems to be working, even at a low dose
In addition to meds, there are natural methods that help very substantially with anxiety. It can be helpful to shut off all media, to get away from external stimuli even if it’s enjoyable. Cultivate a passion for healthy exterior/interior silence. Experience the quiet cosmos sometimes, it’s really amazing. Maybe there’s a quiet park nearby, or the ocean, that you can visit.
Meditation is fantastically freeing. Download the free Insight Timer for your iphone or android. Do any one of the many hundreds of guided meditations. It does amazing things for your brain, your cognitive patterns, your spirit, your energy, etc.
Reading and studying can help. Learning something can help. These get the mind away from angst and fear, helping it settle down and experience a healthy productive calm and peace.
I take klonopin and prozac for anxiety but I don’t think the klonopin effects me anymore.
Lexapro, it worked really quickly for dread and anxiety at a low dose.
I’m on Pristiq, 50mg. It’s working wonders for me.
I have been on celexa, Lexapro, clonidine, valium and now ativan