Is there a recommended medication for anxiety?

[Michael33]

I've finally decided it's time for me to go on meds.. After 3 months of fighting my anxiety all natural I feel like it's a battle I wont win on my own. Im only 19 and I seriously need to get my life back on track so I can get back to doing well in university because my mind really hasnt been all there since I got anxiety.

I know what meds work mostly depends on the person, but part of my anxiety is that Im scared meds will make me suicidal because its one of the rare side effects, Im a horrible hypochondriac. So my question is, is there a medicine that has the least side effects of all of them? or are they all the same? also if I can get enough opinions from people, what do you guys think the best med is?

Im incredibly scared to go on meds, its giving me horrible anxiety. Can anyone give me advice on how I can ease my anxiety before I get on the things? I feel like if I go on the meds with this mindset Ill just give myself all the bad side effects.

[jessed03]

Just going by studies alone, Prozac has a great efficiency rating according to a British Medical Journal study.

It's also quite easy to take, but a tad slower to work.

That's an SSRI.

Lexapro is also another effective drug, probably better for anxiety, and with a good side effect profile. Takes a shorter while to work than Prozac. Often by a week or two.

Don't worry about side effects if you're a hypo. Don't read into them. It'll do way more harm than good.

Purely for the sake of the thread, I'll rank my 3 favs if I were to go on meds right now:

I'd go Lexapro, then Prozac, then Cymbalta :)

[needtogetwell]

Just going by studies alone, Prozac has a great efficiency rating according to a British Medical Journal study. It's also quite easy to take, but a tad slower to work. That's an SSRI. Lexapro is also another effective drug, probably better for anxiety, and with a good side effect profile. Takes a shorter while to work than Prozac. Often by a week or two. Don't worry about side effects if you're a hypo. Don't read into them. It'll do way more harm than good. Purely for the sake of the thread, I'll rank my 3 favs if I were to go on meds right now: I'd go Lexapro, then Prozac, then Cymbalta :)

Good information Jessed, another bit about Prozac, it is probably the easiest one to come off of with minimal withdrawal issues. It has a crazy long half life which makes it very gentle to come off of when the time comes.

I do however agree with your ranking! :)

[Kabukicho]

Everyone reacts differently to every medication.

All I can tell you is not to be scared. I have had some BAD reactions to antidepressants. And you know what happened? I stopped taking them and got completely better in less than 48 hours. That's all that happened. And I will never touch Zoloft or Celexa or Remeron again, because they were miserable for me. But I'm here to tell the tale, and doing pretty good all around.

That being said, don't take my advice as medical advice. CALL EMERGENCY SERVICES if you feel that you are in danger. And even in that worse case scenario, guess what? The EMS will come and they'll fix you right up.

Don't be scared. Fear is the mind killer, eh? Fear is the ultimate enemy.

[BrookeLynnnn]

I've finally decided it's time for me to go on meds.. After 3 months of fighting my anxiety all natural I feel like it's a battle I wont win on my own. Im only 19 and I seriously need to get my life back on track so I can get back to doing well in university because my mind really hasnt been all there since I got anxiety. I know what meds work mostly depends on the person, but part of my anxiety is that Im scared meds will make me suicidal because its one of the rare side effects, Im a horrible hypochondriac. So my question is, is there a medicine that has the least side effects of all of them? or are they all the same? also if I can get enough opinions from people, what do you guys think the best med is? Im incredibly scared to go on meds, its giving me horrible anxiety. Can anyone give me advice on how I can ease my anxiety before I get on the things? I feel like if I go on the meds with this mindset Ill just give myself all the bad side effects.

I've been dealing with anxiety for about two years almost.. I was scared to death to take meds so I thought I could do it on my own.. Well about 3 weeks ago now, my anxiety got to where I couldn't handle it. So I got meds. The hardest part was swallowing that first pill. After I did & realized nothing happened, it's become so easy to take them now..

I was really against meds but some of us can't handle & overcome without.. I freaked in my Drs office when he suggested pills again.. I asked him what happens to the people who refuse meds? & he told me they eventually go until they can't go anymore & then come get meds..

I started off on prozac for two weeks & got switched to Paxil. So I can't personally recommend a med yet because all this has been within 3 weeks. I do know my friends who has taken Zoloft are having a successful time on it.

[BrookeLynnnn]

I've finally decided it's time for me to go on meds.. After 3 months of fighting my anxiety all natural I feel like it's a battle I wont win on my own. Im only 19 and I seriously need to get my life back on track so I can get back to doing well in university because my mind really hasnt been all there since I got anxiety. I know what meds work mostly depends on the person, but part of my anxiety is that Im scared meds will make me suicidal because its one of the rare side effects, Im a horrible hypochondriac. So my question is, is there a medicine that has the least side effects of all of them? or are they all the same? also if I can get enough opinions from people, what do you guys think the best med is? Im incredibly scared to go on meds, its giving me horrible anxiety. Can anyone give me advice on how I can ease my anxiety before I get on the things? I feel like if I go on the meds with this mindset Ill just give myself all the bad side effects.

ve been dealing with anxiety for about two years almost.. I was scared to death to take meds so I thought I could do it on my own.. Well about 3 weeks ago now, my anxiety got to where I couldn't handle it. So I got meds. The hardest part was swallowing that first pill. After I did & realized nothing happened, it's become so easy to take them now..

I was really against meds but some of us can't handle & overcome without.. I freaked in my Drs office when he suggested pills again.. I asked him what happens to the people who refuse meds? & he told me they eventually go until they can't go anymore & then come get meds..

I started off on prozac for two weeks & got switched to Paxil. So I can't personally recommend a med yet because all this has been within 3 weeks. I do know my friends who has taken Zoloft are having a successful time on it.

[Michael33]

Thanks guys, this has been a very hard decision for me to make. I'll let you all know what medication I end up on, and how I react.

It hasn't helped that my psychologist tells me I should not go on meds because she's trying to change my negative thought pattern along with some CBT, breathing techniques etc., but my family doctor tells me I should because everyone he's put on meds is functioning properly, and he also assured me that he'll keep a close eye on me while I'm on the medication.

The only friend of mine who I know is on medication is currently taking Xanax and she says it works well. I remember when I got my first panic attack I was on Ativan for like 2 weeks but I'd only take a 0.5mg tablet when I really needed it (I ended up only taking 6-7 tablets), but everytime I did I ended up somehow getting vivid intrusive thoughts, got me into this whole messed up negative thought pattern since. So scared to take another benzodepine thats why Im willing to try an ssri

Wish me luck!! thanks for all your insight btw guys I can't begin to express how helpful this forum has been for me, I'd be a lost case without it.

[acetone]

There is no "The best med" but there are classes of meds for anxiety and depression. Some react good to one med others do better on another.

[Blessed]

Hate to hi jack a thread but have a question please?? I have been on 10mg Prozac and have decided today with ok from doc to go to 20mg. Is this considered a high dose? Scared of meds but need some anxiety relief here. My doc will not give me anymore ativan till I make another appointment so that made me feel like a drug abuser :(. Any experience with being on 20mg Prozac? How long till I tell a difference? Thank yoy

[jessed03]

Hate to hi jack a thread but have a question please?? I have been on 10mg Prozac and have decided today with ok from doc to go to 20mg. Is this considered a high dose? Scared of meds but need some anxiety relief here. My doc will not give me anymore ativan till I make another appointment so that made me feel like a drug abuser :(. Any experience with being on 20mg Prozac? How long till I tell a difference? Thank yoy

Nope, 20mg of Prozac is still a fairly low dose. It's the lowest therapeutic dose. 10mg is usually just a starter for most people until they can handle 20. In England you'd be lucky to even find 10mg at all, everybody starts on 20mg.

20mg was ok for me. I felt kind of good after 2 weeks. In the end I needed a stronger dose still, and went on to another med :)

[Blessed]

Hate to sound dumb but how could you tell that it just wasn't strong enough for you?

[jessed03]

Hate to sound dumb but how could you tell that it just wasn't strong enough for you?

It didn't do enough for my anxiety. I wanted to wake up and feel 90% normal. On Prozac I was only feeling 40% normal. That wasnt good enough for me. The right med should make your life considerably easier, not just a tad easier.

I tried to up the dose, but got some side effects so switched over to Remeron. That took me to around 60-65% normal, but couldn't tolerate a higher dose, so stuck with that and done other therapies to get me higher to 90% normal :)