I updated the poll today to reflect a new topic- Medications. I'm curious to know how many of you take meds and how many don't and which one you take. Not only that I am curious how you feel about your prescription, how much or how often do you need to take it, or why you don't take medication at all. I will start. I take one 50mg a day and 1/2 to one pill of clonozepam when needed which is like waves or rollercoasters. I will go for weeks without needing to take one of those but then there will be a month or so where I have to take it several times a day to make it through. Clonozepam (I swear I spell it differently every time) has been a life saver for me. It took me a lot longer to warm up to Zoloft. But I think I am finally seeing results from being consistent with it.
The poll will be up until next Friday night and then I will replace it with a new one. Feel free to take it and add any comments you want.
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6 comments:
I am with you on the Clonozepam...just knowing I had it with me has helped me through several stressful situations. Another interesting question might be, do you take the brand or the generic? My doc insists on giving me the Prozac brand, but I take the generic Clonozepam.
Take Care!
I take 20mg of generic Paxil daily. I have not had a full-blown attack since going up to this dosage...I have had a few close calls, though. Thankfully, this is all I have needed!
Clonozepam is my generic for Klonopin. I take 1mg of it a day. I should be taking 200mg of Wellbutrin SR twice a day, but since I've started a new job and been off insurance, I've only been taking one a day so I don't have to buy it as often (even the generic - Bupropion - is ridiculously expensive w/out insurance). I'm sure that explains my current moods, though.
I take 100mg of Zoloft once a day in the mornings. I hate the fuzziness, but I LOVE the decrease of anxiety!
This topic has been on my mind a lot lately so I'll put in my thoughts. I don't take any medication right now. My thoughts on why are kind of complicated. I was on paxil for almost five years. I felt like it changed parts of my personality that I didn't want changed. Like I just didn't care about some things. Then it sort of lost its effectiveness. Finally, when I went off it I felt really terrible and that is actually when I started having panic attacks. It made me wary. I also worry that I tend to use medication as a crutch and not deal with the issues that really cause me problems (like I feel good enough to function but not really better). I'm not sure if this is all reasonable though.
Edie,
I know people on Paxil that had the same side effects. It made them not care about anything, to the point where they were flunking out of school. I think that means you need a different medication. The purpose of medication I feel is to make you feel "normal" like yourself. If you don't than thats not the right medication. Don't give up on it altogether. I also had a lot of the same feelings about using meds as a crutch, feeling like I should be able to control my own thoughts naturally. My therapist told me that some people's brains are just hard wired differently and they actually need medication to function properly. For example, if you are diabetic and your body needs insulin, that is totally acceptable because your body can't produce it on it's own. If your body can't produce the dopamine or whatever brain chemical you need to not have panic attacks and control your anxiety, than you need medication to help you control those chemicals and there is nothing wrong with that. Its a wierd stigma our country has that head medicine is somehow degrading as opposed to medicine for any other part of your body. I used to feel the same way and was never consistent with my Zoloft until just recently. It has been a huge help for me. I think if you are still having panic attacks or extreme bouts of anxiety it might be worth talking to your doctor about a different medication that could work for you. I take Zoloft for SA and I have NO side effects from it. (Its actually Sertraline, a generic brand of Zoloft). If you need it, don't give up!
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