Hi Jenny,
I've written tons on this site about my medication fears. I took Zoloft for 3 years without fear for my OCD. Then for some reason I started getting panic attacks. I was so convinced that taking the Zoloft long-term had caused me serious damage and that was why I had the attacks and all the weird thoughts of going crazy that accompany the attacks.
Anyways, I stopped the Zoloft and didn't notice much difference in how I felt. However, I had an extremely stressful year on top of the disorder (got married, my mom got cancer, my grandma and dog died, went back to college full-time in a demanding program, etc, etc.). Many doctors told me I should be on meds but I refused to take them. At that time I was also convinced there was something else wrong with me besides panic disorder and GAD. Eventually, I broke down completely and became unable to function in life at all.
So, that's what got me to take the meds. I really hope you will start the meds before you have to go through a complete breakdown. I really feel that if I had started meds earlier, my life would be somewhat normal now. Agoraphobia is a very hard hole to climb out of...
Best of luck,
Sarah
