I just wanted to clarify what I was trying to say (RE: meds). I realize this is my opinion and perhaps I should have not jumped on my soapbox but its something I feel is worth mentioning based on personal experience.
No matter who you are, the medical choices you make are up to you and your medical team. There isnt a right or wrong medical choice. I realize we all have different needs, medical histories, medical conditions and access to all different kinds of healthcare and nobody can advise anybody based simply on message board postings.
I myself have a chronic and incurable disease called Systemic Lupus. Lupus goes out of remission during times of great stress and in my case, attacks my joints and kidneys. Obviously going through a divorce and separation for 14 months causes stress. In my case though it wasnt just stress, it was unbearable anxiety due to lupus, all the divorce BS and financial struggles. It was making my lupus very active and making me sick (in a physical sense I mean). That is exactly how I wound up in the hospital in April. I am not asking for sympathy nor do I want any, I am just trying to illustrate my progression.
I was prescribed Xanax for my anxiety, Lexapro (anti depressant) and a drug called Inderal (beta blocker) which helps slow the heart rate down to a normal speed because my heart was constantly racing due to anxiety. In addition, I am taking my usual lupus meds.
Now, my lupus meds (as designed) alter the pH of my cells so the auto immune antibodies that my body makes dont keep attacking my kidneys and joints. That also means that I react to meds in a different way due to the way the pH of my cells are altered from my lupus meds.
(yes, I realize this is boring but I do have a point)
I am a small woman - I am five foot 3 and I weigh just 100 pounds so even in small doses Xanax was a killer for me. I was taking the very lowest dose they make (.5). I was walking into walls, seeing things in 3's and my gosh, I even fell off the toilet one day I was so out of it. There were full days I dont even remember other than pacing around my apartment for 12 or 14 hours because I felt so screwed up. One day I went to take my Xanax and I dropped it and I felt like a junkie because I was searching for it like some sort of addict.
Now, my primary dr. gave me Xanax because the day I went to see her I was close to having a nervous breakdown and I dont say that in jest. Her objective in giving me the Xanax was to give me some immediate relief and not to offer me a long term solution. And in that case I do think Xanax is useful. She actually wanted to admit me to the hospital again because my heart rate was so fast and I was in such a state of anxiety she felt it was dangerous for me not to be in care due to physical and mental exhaustion along with my lupus flare.
I had to do lots of fast talking to be able to go home but she got me in to see a psych. as an emergency consult that night. In his opinion he said Xanax is a *very* dangerous drug because it is so highly addictive. In his opinion the addiction period for Xanax is 14 days. All I can say is that was my experience and coming off Xanax was not a pleasant experience. I am not saying that is how it would be for everybody but for me it was. I honestly felt like I was going to die which did not help my lupus.
My psych. is a firm believer in meds like this being the bridge to getting better. Because you sure as hell cant sit in a counselors office and actually learn or absorb what is being discussed when your heart is racing so fast you feel like you might die, you are sweating and shaking and you cant see straight. And those are physical symptoms of anxiety. So, the meds help alter the phsyical symptoms so you can have the ability to work on the emotional side of things without feeling like your body might explode from stress.
IMO if you are only taking pills and doing nothing else (counseling) you are really making a very bad choice. Because you will feel better in a physical sense but that is it - your emotional health will not improve. Sure, you might not feel as "nuts" but overall, you wont be improving yourself as an individual.
My psych. uses a 4 part plan.... meds to help the phsyical side, counseling to help the emotional side, participation in emotional support (support groups, family, friends) and a spiritual practice (could be religion, gratitude journals, yoga... whatever it is you chooose). If you are not willing to participate in all 4 parts of the plan then he will not keep you as a patient. He works *very* closely with the therapists and does not listen to excuses - as he said, meds arent candy to make you happy, they are bridges to a healthy mind and body.
Now, this is my opinion and experience. It is not the only right way to look at things and I respect all experiences and opinions. I am just saying that if you are taking any sort of meds for anxiety do not discount the need to use them in conjunction w/counseling AND dr's that are very skilled in prescribing these sorts of meds. IMO they are nothing to fool around with.
I dont want to make anybody mad or come across as I am disrespecting any medical choices one might make. I am just sharing my opinion and experience.
