Switching to Benzos Instead of These Disgusting SSRI’s?
Question by Eclipsed: Switching to Benzos instead of these disgusting SSRI’s?
Here’s some history, I’ve been going through depression therapy for a while, jumping through hoops and taking the plethora of SSRI’s they’ve given. Like I said, I’ve been jumping through the hoops for years, taking Prozac, Zoloft, Lexapro… The list goes on. I started this whole thing because of a depression issue, that I eventually discovered was caused by anxiety and my panic attacks, and it wasn’t truly depression. My doctor says SSRI’s will help reduce anxiety, but so far, I’ve gotten more depressed than I have been in years because of these SSRI’s. They make me feel like a zombie, some make me irritable, some make me just feel all around woozy and sick. All in all, I’ve not been relieved of my anxiety and they have been making my life harder and harder every morning when I pop that pill (Prozac currently). I have strong, overwhelming panic attacks due to situational anxiety and social anxiety. Before all these SSRI’s, I was prescribed .5mg Ativan to take 2-3 pills on the onset of anxiety, and that worked magnificently. Look at that, every night I could fall asleep PERFECTLY, every morning I woke up happy and motivated… Blah blah blah, Getting to the point; They helped. A LOT. And I didn’t even take them on an often basis, I took them as needed. The true anxiety relief about these pills is the psychological effect, the thought that, “I have these Benzo’s, and I’m very stressed right now. However, knowing that I have these Benzos in my pocket right now makes me feel a little more safe in my anxiety, some days I can go weeks without popping an Ativan solely for the fact that I know that I have them in my pocket. Their presence alone can reduce my low level anxiety, and when I have huge panic attacks, I have the safe guard ready to go.
Benzo’s have worked perfectly for me, and I have found a perfect balance to get the relief I need, without having the feeling of dependency on the drug. I’ve found that I do not get addicted to Benzos, and in the moderation that I take them, I am able to go days without feeling panic attacks while only taking 1 or 2 within a week. I also have discovered that in my method, when I stop taking Benzo’s, I have no withdrawal symptoms or increased anxiety. Like I said, I become less anxious just knowing I have something to save me when I need it.
So, here’s the question; after all of this, should I pursue finding a benzo prescription (in moderation and in contract (meaning I will commit to taking 2-3 weeks of prescription and checking in after those weeks are done to prove that I actually consume less than prescribed)) opposed to the SSRI’s that are slowly making me suicidal and angry?
(side note: I have currently found that the most effective anti anxiety treatment is self-medication through meditation. However, you can’t just shut down and start meditating when your boss is mad at you, or you have a 12 hour homework assignment ahead of you, or when I’m trying to socialize with others that are making me anxious… So my approach would be benzos for panic attacks, continued meditation otherwise.
Best answer:
Answer by Bork
SSRIs can help some people, and make others worse. Many of them are rather nasty drugs, and unless your depression is severe they are not worth taking. They are not addictive, but they can cause unpleasant withdrawals. You could not pay me to take them, no matter how bad off I am.
Benzos work wonders, but you have to moderate your usage of them. If you start to develop tolerance and dependency, you will wish you would have stuck with the SSRIs. It is the potential for addiction that make many doctors hesitant to prescribe them. Benzo withdrawal and recovery makes heroin addiction look like a picnic. Go with the benzos IF you can moderate your usage.
Go tell your doctor everything you just told us. If they say no to the benzos, and you think you have a legitimate case, find another doctor.
Jan. 8, 2014 10:03 pm
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