It did nothing for me except make me a little sick. It is supposed to be an MAO and if this is so then it should not be used with SSRIs. I knew a Nurse who used it and liked it and she was the one who told me it was an MAO. I do remember reading somewhere that there were some undesirable side affects. It may not be legal in Canada. Are you going to try it? If you do let me know how you do.
It was bothering me that there was a reason to not take St. John's Wort. It restricts the ability of the P450 enzyme in the liver to metabolize medications and since a lot of medications are metabolized here they may not work. In my case blood pressure meds and Arthritis meds. I'm not saying it's not safe I'm just saying your doctor may not approve. Another one that my doctor does not approve of is Kava Kava. It can cause liver and Kidney damage in susceptible people. The decision is yours but I would read about them first. I know there in the book but in Canada Kava is not legal and St john's wort may not be also. It's like The lemon Balm tea I use, I don't know how safe it really is so I use it with caution.
I am nearly twice your age but I remember the parties and I remember the remorse the next day, mostly because I didn't know if what I might have done was wrong. There was a lot of peer pressure at that age and it got me in trouble. I just wanted to be like the big boys and at that time I don't think I knew right from wrong. Having it bother me for a number of years made me a better person and I realize now that I probably didn't have much control over the situation. And making mistakes doesn't end at fifteen or twenty or even at sixty. And some times there not your fault. Some one once told me that if God can forgive me why can't I forgive my self. I agree with sunny, your not going to do it again so forgive yourself. Don't let one little slip ruin your chance for a beautiful life.
The head ache shouldn't be from the xanax. Don't stop the xanax cold turkey or your panic will increase. Taper it. and if you find you need it some time do it. Your anxiety is Ok because it is still in your system. It will take a few days to completely be gone. Again taper it. Skip one day for a week and then two days for a week etc. or there about. You will have to figure out how long to taper it. Your mind will have to get used to doing without it. At least xanax with it's 24 hour half life is easy to get off. If you don't know what half life is it means that in 24 hours half is gone and in another 24 hours half the remaining is gone, etc, till it's all gone. So you still have some in your system. Good luck.
I realized I didn't explain that very good. You start by skipping a day for a week or there about, so it would be take on day one then skip day two then take day three and skip say four etc. for around a week and if you feel Ok. then you go take on day one, skip days two and three and take on day four and skip days five and six etc. You slowly extend the days off till you can quit all together without the panic coming back real bad. If it starts to come back then coast along for a few extra days where you are till you feel comfortable. You were on a small dose so you should be able to quit fairly fast but if you try to quit too fast you will get rebound and have to start over again. Once you are off don't feel bad if you have to still take it a couple of times a month. At that dose you won't have to taper and because of the long half life you will get some good from it for days. Skipping days is the preferred way to do it if you don't want to get dependant, but only if you intend to do it long term which you don't I gather. Good to see you are going to try without it. You may find you think clearer. My comprehension is way better since I got off ativan. I still have some valium and have only once had to take it. I've thought about it but just knowing it was there if I needed it made it possible to do with out it. Feel free to ask if you get part way and are not sure if your doing it right. You may get some stomach upset or other effects as you quit but they will go away. The only one to watch for is that the panic doesn't increase. If you haven't been following the program then you should study some of the relaxation techniques because anxiety will try to sneak in. What you need to do now is learn to handle any anxiety that crops up. Eat proper, sleep proper, and think happy thoughts. Again good luck.
You know that a lot of things are dose related, and the biggest mistake people make is thinking that because you don't need a prescription they're safe. Even arsenic is safe in a small enough dose. It used to be used for venereal diseases. Any way research is good. 5 htp, melatonin, seratonin, Gaba, etc. are all good if you know that they are needed. But taking some thing you don't actually need can upset the balance of other related things and make it worse. Even vitamins can be a problem. Sorry if I sound like I'm lecturing. You sound so happy that I hate to see you mess it up taking something you don't need. And you know there will be set backs but they are temporary.
Welcome. Let me give you some assurance that you are not dying, nor do you have any horrible disease. If your Doctor cleared you then you are Ok. Panic can manifest itself in an untold number of ways as you will see from the forums. I think you should read them and you will see that you are not alone. You will also see that people do get better. There is a lot of information here. The program wont cure you before Christmas, but the relaxation tecniques will make it easier. If you follow the program you will get relief, A lot of relief, but it takes time and you have to work at it. If the doctor offered Medication, you should probably take it at least till the holliday season is over. There are people here who no longer have attacks, and there are people who still get them but there now of such short duration they don't count. And there are people who have learned coping skills to use while they work towards a cure. We are all different and how soon you get relief will depend on how bad you want it. During an attack nothing is real. Can your body make you feel this way? No! It can only contribute, but your mind can and it does by the use of negative thoughts and confusing thoughts. Explaining the ins and outs would take a lot of space and there are good books and web sites on it which you should read even if you find them disturbing. Remember you are not alone. Post here and some one will answer. There is help here. I find it interesting to read the posts and see just how far people have come and how they did it. So again Welcome and find time to do the program, it will help. Take it from a person who was probably worse than you are less than a year ago.
Sounds like Agoraphobia, and it is curable. It is also not what most people think it is. I suffered from it and and still have it reoccure some times. Read up on it and see if you think that is what you have. Also read the program, It can help a lot.
It amazes me how you can say all the things that I somehow forget to. Thank you for being there for our new member, I too used to get reflux and still have to sleep with my head up. Susan, if you can't get to a pharmacist you can find out what drugs don't go together at drugsdotcom and it includes foods also so if you ever question taking something you can look there, especially on the weekend or after hours. It's good assurance when the panic starts telling you that you made a mistake with your meds.
It’s been a while since you were active on this site. Please extend your session below
You have been logged out due to inactivity.
Please sign back in.
We use cookies to help us learn about how our platform is used and how we can improve your experience. To
learn more please see our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
