Experience with anxiety meds?

[drloretta]

As I head into menopause my hormones and emotions are all out of whack. It doesn't help that 3 people I know have died so far this year, which affected me more than I thought it would. I mentioned it to my ob/gyn when I saw her last month, and she said she would be willing to prescribe an anti-anxiety med to help out. I wanted to wait until the chaos that was DD's birthday (and a visit from all the grandparents) to see if it was a temporary thing, but I'm still experiencing some anxiety. Any personal experiences would be helpful.

[Deleted]

Yes I think they are a godsend. I would see a psych instead of your OB but I've had problems with GPs doing my med management. Start with a low dose and make sure you give it the full two weeks to work. Do you have acute anxiety like panic attacks or just in general? Self care is also an important component. Make sure you get lots of sleep.

[dbsk8dance]

I'm on a low dose of Zoloft for anxiety. It has helped me a ton.

[Deleted]

I currently take Buspar which is very helpful but I tend to do better with managing anxiety while PG. I have been on Ativan and Xanax and prefer those but had a hard time weaning off of them. I also take Atarax twice a day and find that to be more of a placebo. I have taken Effexor Xr for years and still do but I do not think it helps my anxiety. If it does I would have hated to experience life without it! My anxiety is highly connected to my hormones and I can pinpoint shifts very easily.

[drloretta]

I'm having mild anxiety attacks (shortness of breath, feeling totally overwhelmed) that come and go, but have gotten more noticeable since the year started. The doctor talked to me about long-acting antidepressants, as well as PRN anti-anxiety meds. I assume we'd have to talk about which would be more appropriate for me.

We originally discussed antidepressants if I had mood swings along with hot flashes (apparently some of them can take care of both issues). So we're just starting the conversation about which way to go, if needed.

[Deleted]

I would get a good referral. It really depends on your symptoms and history, triggers, severity....and a review of potential side effects, particularly with menopause.

[cilantro]

I got nothing, but I wanted to say I'm sorry you're struggling with this.

[sookie]

Pre-HJ I had pretty bad anxiety and went to therapy a few times for some coping strategies and then did a very low dose of Zoloft to help control it. I took the meds for about 2 years and have now been off of them for around a year and a half. I still get some of it creeping back in occasionally, but it was my goal to be off of them and try to control it through coping mechanisms while BFing. It's much, much better than it was previously, so this strategy is working for me now.

[drloretta]

For those of you on low doses, what side effects did you have, if any?

[sookie]

I didn't have any side effects thankfully. I did however try going cold turkey on them once since the dose was so low. Don't ever do that. Trust me.