Question:
I used to have a major depression but these days it doesn't seem to be
this way. I'm existing rather than living..but I don't feel the weight
of a real or major depression. I have days when I'm really down but in
comparison to the way it used to be it doesn't feel that bad.
So I guess my question is - what is the difference between anti-anxiety
meds and anti-depressants? (aside from the fact they are treating 2
different illnesses) And can an anti-depressant help with anxiety? Is
my doctor wrong to suggest anti-depressants for me? I'm worried about
taking medication but I feel like I need to do something. It's getting
hard to function like a normal person.
Answer:
My doctor is recommending anti-depressants for me but I'm not sure if
it's the right way to go. She seems to think I have dysthymia (chronic
low mood) and I agree but I feel as though anxiety is worse than any
depression I might have. I don't experience panic attacks but what I do have is generalized
anxiety and sometimes I will be sick in the middle of the night because
my stomach is so knotted. I end up being up for 2-3 hrs vomiting
because of it (sorry, I'm sure that sounds gross). There doesn't seem
to be anything I can do to alleviate this. By the time my stomach is so
knotted that I'm physically ill, nothing helps. I also experience sharp
pains and sometimes dull aching in my chest. I'm currently taking
trazodone for insomnia and it does help a bit but it hasn't stopped
these episodes. I also tend to have these episodes if I drink alcohol.
The day after drinking the anxiety is almost unbearable.
I used to have a major depression but these days it doesn't seem to be
this way. I'm existing rather than living..but I don't feel the weight
of a real or major depression. I have days when I'm really down but in
comparison to the way it used to be it doesn't feel that bad.
So I guess my question is - what is the difference between anti-anxiety
meds and anti-depressants? (aside from the fact they are treating 2
different illnesses) And can an anti-depressant help with anxiety? Is
my doctor wrong to suggest anti-depressants for me? I'm worried about
taking medication but I feel like I need to do something. It's getting
hard to function like a normal person. Some antidepressants can help more with anxiety then others, zoloft is
an example, and is one I am taking. Anti-anxiety medications can be
addictive, but are helpful if they are necessary. Sometimes a combination of meds is required, to really benifet from
them. I'm taking five now.
Most of the meds that are out now have websites you could visit to look
up other information, or you could try places like mywebmd.com.
I hope this is helpful, I can understand not being able to function
well without them.
some of the antidepressants are also used as antianxiety meds.
they can help with both the depression and the anxiety. what
works best for you depends on what chemicals are out of
balance, and how your system responds to that particular
medication. if this medication doesn't help, don't be
surprised if the doctor either raises the dose, sometimes by
quite a bit, or tries another medication. if you're seeing a regular general practitioner, you might
want to get the opinion of a psychiatrist. they're best
trained in the uses of these drugs.
There is some overlap between treatments for anxiety and depression.
Some of the SSRIs are used for both. If you go to my Web site, you can
find all the antidepressants and the conditions for which they are
approved by the FDA. It's possible your doctor might prescribe one of
the meds that is used for both. That would certainly make sense. There are also anti-anxiety medications like Klonopin. I'd say, at
this point, that it's probably impossible to predict the best
treatment strategy for you. You need to start somewhere, and your
doctor's suggestion strikes me as a reasonable one, provided the
antidepressant is known to be useful for anxiety as well.
