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medication or not?

15 years ago 0 +0 / -0 313

Hi Cael

I'm sorry to hear you're going through a bit of a struggle right now.. I can completely understand what you're going through as well as your dilemma about medication.

It is a very personal decision and one only you (and your doctor) can best make together BUT I will share my feelings on the subject.

I think QUALITY of life FAR outweighs the need to be "medication free" just to say you are. To allow yourself to get past the stigma and do what is best for you needs to be your ultimate goal.. Not everyone can be drug free. I fought the medication for years and for me personally it was a mistake. It made the battle for me that much harder when I finally decided to take the meds. I had a lot of stuff to work through that I think would not have been so bad if I had just allowed myself to be "human" and accept the helping hand without allowing my own preconceived notions to hinder a healthy and much needed "intervention" for myself. The medication gave me the ability (and shut down the constant racing of my thoughts) to work through the anxiety with a calmer more rationale mind.

I have now been on paxil for 7 years almost. I've had to alter the dose a few times and have almost weaned on a couple of occasions but have come to accept that I may always need something to keep me balanced. If your body does not make seratonin or enough of it... that is just a fact. No amount of excercise, supplements, yoga, meditation or spirituality replaced that in my body... so for me synthetic is the only way I am "whole" so to speak. That being said... even medication isn't an easy way out... It doesn't cure anything - it just gives me enough balance to learn the tools and apply them when needed. I still have to work on myself... just not with a constant state of anxiety (and OCD tendencies for me). The medication gave me my life back... and I'm so glad I finally mustered the courage to swallow that first pill... and was it ever an ordeal!.. lol...

You need to do what is right for you Cael.. but remember you deserve the very BEST quality of life possible... We all do.

The climb upwards may be tough but the view from the top is amazing...

Take care Cael.. and thanks for sharing...This too shall pass

15 years ago 0 +0 / -0 1693

cael,

Have you thought about making an appointment with your family doctor to discuss medication options and what might be right for you?

Breanne, Bilingual Health Educator

15 years ago 0 +0 / -0 12

thanks. i do appreciate any advice. i really don't want to go on medication but i don't know what to do anymore. i have gone through a lot of the program and was doing better but the last several weeks have been constant anxiety, at a high level, to the point that i barely feel able to function. i know it will pass but i keep waiting for it to pass and nothing. i feel it's very difficult to use my "tools" when i get like this. as soon as it lets up a bit it's back again.

15 years ago 0 +0 / -0 477

Hello Cael,

I've taken Lexapro for a year and a half and I went off of it early this year. It has helped me through panic attacks and I feel that my panic attacks came back worse after I got off of them. I am trying out to see how long I can last without them... it's been 4 months now. I feel that medication is good just as long as you take it at your own original dose. I've read how bad it can get for some people because they get prescribed the "general" dosage and those dosages can be too much depending on the person. I think it is a good idea to discuss it with you doctor, therapist, and family members.

15 years ago 0 +0 / -0 1153

Cael,

Our members should be around shortly to discuss their experience with medication.

We encourage you to talk to your doctor as he/she knows what's best for you and will be able to help you make the best decisions for your situation.

Have you started to work through the sessions yet?

Brenna, Bilingual Health Educator

15 years ago 0 +0 / -0 12

hi there. i was hoping to get some feedback about people's thoughts on medication. i've been having a bad month or so and am thinking maybe it's time to take something. i have a very strong resistance to medication but haven't been functioning too well so it might be time. i guess i wouldn't mind hearing if others are on it and how they think it helps. i was on paxil many many years ago and while it got me through the year, i felt very unlike myself and seemed like a ghost. i also did things that i don't think i would do now because i just didn't care about anything. for me, right now, i see medication as possibly making things more complicated, but that might be because i'm so stubborn. i just wonder if this isn't an opportunity for me to address my problems with anxiety once and for all, and that if i took some pills i would just be covering over the problems and have to deal with them later on down the road. thanks for any insights!

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medication or not?