Hi Cornish,
These haven't been the best days for me lately, but I'll tell you about discovering my anxiety disorder. I'd been physically sick for 2 years. Throwing up daily, not able to keep any food down, and constantly running to the bathroom. Mine was usually just urinating, but I can understand the thought that maybe you have IBS.
My doctor had me run through a million tests to see if I had ulcers, hernias, slow moving digestion, blockages in my digestive tract, everything and anything you can think of dealing with my stomach, cause I was positive that's what my problem was.
Little did I know that the nausea was being brought on by my panic/anxiety attacks. Once my doctor and I agreed that that was the problem, we started off on a really low dose of Paxil. After a month when things still weren't "perfect" we uped the dosage of that and he gave me Adivan for the times I just couldn't relax on my own.
Now I'm taking Paxil and Clonazepam daily. I never wanted to go on "those" meds either. But I'm so thankful my doctor finally convinced me to try. I've been on them now for over 6 years. Not always the same dosages. I've fluctuated them up and down depending on how things are going with my day to day life.
The fear of the unkown in understandable, but I'm sure nearly everyone on this site can tell you they've been on some sort of meds for their anxiety over the years. Just cause you go on something now, doesn't mean it's forever.
And it could take awhile till you and your doctor find the right medication for you. Be patient and try it. But you have to give it more than 1 day to know for sure if it's the right stuff for you.