Good idea, or no?

[Michael33]

Given what a hypochondriac I am, here's a week after I decided I would go on meds, yet I'm still not on them because I'm scared.
So, I came up with a new idea.. I'm too scared to take SSRI's / anti-depressants because I had obsessive thinking about death before and the suicide warnings scare the shit out of me.

Instead, I've taken Ativan before for just a week and it felt great. It helped most my symptoms and I didn't get suicidal or anything while on them. Do you guys think it would be a big help if I were to get prescribed a benzo and only take it when I feel really anxious as I have for the last 2 weeks or so? I've been managing so well for about a month, just the last two weeks I've had this dizzy and awful anxious feeling that's making my thoughts go off the wall again. IDK if it's dp/dr or what the heck, it's the strangest most awful/scary feeling ever.

[Enduronman]

You can not rely strictly on a benzo friend..
They do not hit the same receptors that your AD will, and an AD is long term...
The whole idea here is to change to chemical composition of the brain, in order for the neurotransmitters to communicate in a different way than the intrusive thoughts...
No Doctor will allow or permit you to take only benzos, long term...
You WILL become addicted to them, simple as that...because of what they're doing for you now...
Take the AD, or kiss the benzos good bye..most Doctors will run drug screens to be sure you ARE taking the prescribed meds (new law)...
You're a hypochondriac, fix it, with the SSRI's...don't cover it up temporarily with the benzos,..but some of those thoughts are STILL there anyway...
Just not as pronounced..
Don't wreck this one good solid chance Dude....

Have a good day.

Enduronman.. :)

[needtogetwell]

^^^^^ good advice from E-man!

Forget the Benzos until you learn some skills to manage the crazy thoughts and anxiety.

Your best odds are with ADs and therapy.

Benzos are useful, but aren't a long term fix!

Give the ADs a chance!

Cheers!
Pam

[NixonRulz]

Given what a hypochondriac I am, here's a week after I decided I would go on meds, yet I'm still not on them because I'm scared.
So, I came up with a new idea.. I'm too scared to take SSRI's / anti-depressants because I had obsessive thinking about death before and the suicide warnings scare the shit out of me.

Instead, I've taken Ativan before for just a week and it felt great. It helped most my symptoms and I didn't get suicidal or anything while on them. Do you guys think it would be a big help if I were to get prescribed a benzo and only take it when I feel really anxious as I have for the last 2 weeks or so? I've been managing so well for about a month, just the last two weeks I've had this dizzy and awful anxious feeling that's making my thoughts go off the wall again. IDK if it's dp/dr or what the heck, it's the strangest most awful/scary feeling ever.

Do the SSRI

AD will give you a steady relief instead of the ups and downs of using a benzo then not

How old are you by the way?

[jessed03]

On a little tangent from the good advice Eman offered;

The chances of becoming suicidal on antidepressants are very rare. Sure it can happen, but the odds are strongly in your favour that it won't. I know they have the black box warning, but that's because they're used to treat patients who have dealt with suicidal ideation before in their lives, or who still have it. People who become suicidal on antidepressants, are often people who have suicidal tendencies hidden by their depression, which then get dug up when their depression starts to ease a little, and they often have more energy and motivation to put a plan into action.

If you're over the age of 25, and don't currently have suicidal ideation, I'd say you don't have too much to worry about.

There's no harm in using a benzo, they're great little pills to have around when you feel really bad, but long term, they're not gonna help you accomplish much, unless you're really dedicated to your therapy perhaps.

[Michael33]

Thanks guys.
@Nixon, I'm 19 years old, turning 20 soon. Thanks for the advice as well. I'm considering a AD but that suicide warning is so hard to swallow before taking one of those pills. Like, do people just lose their mind and kill themselves if they get that bad side effect? I don't understand why people kill themselves, I really know I don't want to but I dont want the meds to make me lose control or something. It's such a scary thought.

Enduro thanks for the advice. I've only had anxiety for 3 months now, so I'm still very new to the idea of it.. I was never planning on taking benzos long term, I've done 5-6 sessions of CBT already and I learned a couple relaxation techniques and how to manage my thoughts by labelling them obsessive thoughts and moving on.

The only reason I want Benzos is for somewhat of a backup, or I should say a last resort. I have weeks where I am so positive, I label my anxiety disorder a blessing for what it's made me do. Because of it, I'm much more active, my social life has never been better - going out every night and having fun. However, after a couple of those good weeks I always somehow fall into a week-two weeks (this time it's a little over two weeks) where my thoughts just wont go away. The real problem I'm having right now is not so much the thoughts, but this awful dizzy feeling I explained is so horrible and scary that I can't help but think negatively. It's for these times, I'd love to just take a benz and sort of reset - get my thinking slowed down so I can get back into my positive trend. It's hard for me to get out of these phases. I haven't seen my psychologist for about 3 weeks now, and of those 3 weeks I've had about 2 weeks of this horrible feeling. I'm uncertain what it is, it feels like dp/dr but it's not spot on. I wish I knew what I was feeling.

One of my obsessive thoughts were about suicide, that started because of an intrusive thought. I can't seem to completely let go of it, and my brain is so retarted. I know it's an obsessive thought, but now all of a sudden I'm living in fear that I'll get depressed because of these thoughts, and the depression will make the suicidal thoughts real. I also do way too much reading on the internet about stuff that always makes it worse.

I'm so scared of becoming depressed that I excercise obsessively, 4-5 hours a day at minimum, because my doctor told me it's almost as good as medicine for depression. My psycholigst wont diagnose me with Pure O, but I don't believe her. I know I have it, based on the nature of my obsessive thoughts and what helps them. I know for sure she's right that I have hypochondria, I've thought I had almost every disorder in the book so far. Some are easy to rule out like schizophrenia, but some like bipolar or depression are so hard for me to rule out.

[nikki_marie21]

I am a hypochondriac as well,, I was so scared to take meds .. It went as far as being scared to take Benadryl Tylenol or Advil ... But I figured to either keep living the way I am now or constantly live in fear that I am going to die of something .. I took my doctors advice and stayed away from hospitals and come see her as needed. She started me on zoloft .. It's been almost 2 weeks and guess what? No suicidal thoughts (never had the thoughts to begin with .. My fear was that I could die .. Not that I wanted to.) I was also scared that it would change my personality for the worst,, scared me because I have two young boys that I would do anything for. Anyways .. All I'm saying is,,, if your willing to take a benzo,, then give the ssris a shot. What to you have to lose besides some anxiety .. Sure I had side effects from it,, but tolerable knowing that they will pass .. The only odd thing I find from the meds are they give me very very intense dreams .. Do what is right for you and if you don't know what that is then try to accept the help of your doc .. I found this site incredibly helpful and have only been on it for a short amount of time ... And I 100% stay away from googling my symptoms! If your concerned with an issue call your doc or scroll through here too :)

[jessed03]

Obsessions can be gotten rid of using just therapy. It's harder and can take longer, but it's easily doable. If you didn't wanna take a med, it's not like you can't get where you wanna go.

Sounds like you're getting some pretty good therapy. If you wanted to keep that up, and just rely on benzos now and again, it's not the worst thing in the world.

If you're so against meds due to your obsession, it's best to go on them when you're ready, and feel you need to be. Maybe if things haven't changed in 6months - a year.

I've always found meds work better that way.

[Enduronman]

I am a hypochondriac as well,, I was so scared to take meds .. It went as far as being scared to take Benadryl Tylenol or Advil ... But I figured to either keep living the way I am now or constantly live in fear that I am going to die of something .. I took my doctors advice and stayed away from hospitals and come see her as needed. She started me on zoloft .. It's been almost 2 weeks and guess what? No suicidal thoughts (never had the thoughts to begin with .. My fear was that I could die .. Not that I wanted to.) I was also scared that it would change my personality for the worst,, scared me because I have two young boys that I would do anything for. Anyways .. All I'm saying is,,, if your willing to take a benzo,, then give the ssris a shot. What to you have to lose besides some anxiety .. Sure I had side effects from it,, but tolerable knowing that they will pass .. The only odd thing I find from the meds are they give me very very intense dreams .. Do what is right for you and if you don't know what that is then try to accept the help of your doc .. I found this site incredibly helpful and have only been on it for a short amount of time ... And I 100% stay away from googling my symptoms! If your concerned with an issue call your doc or scroll through here too :)

Admirable!
*salute*

Enduronman... :)