[BFella]

Guys, the reason I don't want to be on daily medication is because it either 1. doesn't work at all or 2. works VERY minimal and has WORSE side effects rather than helping. It's just NOT my thing at all, it VERY rarely works, I've tried Prozac, I've tried Effexor, I've tried many things under the sun and they just DO NOT WORK at all, they're horrible.

Also, I don't have an addicted personality, I was prescribed Xanax yesterday and took it because of a bad panic attack, after that I felt fine, had a few minor panic attacks today at my aunts funeral but nothing enough for me to take Xanax so I didn't, I went all day today feeling "relatively" normal and okay.

Also, I believe it's GAD, because I get anxiety and anxiety attacks for NO reason at all, I will feel fine, then my mind will start racing, then I'll feel light headed and then start freaking out even more and have "shortness of breath" out of NOWHERE at all.

[RubyCamaro]

Bottom line take care of yourself. If you found a good therapist and stuck with it a while & learned the skills you can use to cope more effectively, you would be pleasantly surprised at how much better you can feel. Be very careful with the Xanax. Know you have a great community of folks here that are here for you if you need to vent or just chat. Be sure you are eating well & getting plenty of rest. Hope things improve soon.

[BFella]

Originally Posted by RubyCamaro

Bottom line take care of yourself. If you found a good therapist and stuck with it a while & learned the skills you can use to cope more effectively, you would be pleasantly surprised at how much better you can feel. Be very careful with the Xanax. Know you have a great community of folks here that are here for you if you need to vent or just chat. Be sure you are eating well & getting plenty of rest. Hope things improve soon.

Thank you! I appreciate it very much. I eat very healthy as I go to the gym everyday and take building and weight lifting very seriously.

[Chevrolade]

I have anxiety but I learned to control it now it use to be bad man to a point where I wouldn't even go out cause I feared that ugly feeling but now I'm good just stay busy keep your mind off of it lay off caffeine etc
You will be ok , what I do I keep a Xanax pill with me everywhere I go it just makes me fell safer lol
Good luck man

[Muscle Car Lover]

Originally Posted by BFella

Guys, the reason I don't want to be on daily medication is because it either 1. doesn't work at all or 2. works VERY minimal and has WORSE side effects rather than helping. It's just NOT my thing at all, it VERY rarely works, I've tried Prozac, I've tried Effexor, I've tried many things under the sun and they just DO NOT WORK at all, they're horrible.

Also, I don't have an addicted personality, I was prescribed Xanax yesterday and took it because of a bad panic attack, after that I felt fine, had a few minor panic attacks today at my aunts funeral but nothing enough for me to take Xanax so I didn't, I went all day today feeling "relatively" normal and okay.

Also, I believe it's GAD, because I get anxiety and anxiety attacks for NO reason at all, I will feel fine, then my mind will start racing, then I'll feel light headed and then start freaking out even more and have "shortness of breath" out of NOWHERE at all.

My man, you were at a funeral. I panic if I have to go to the hospital, never mind a funeral! Sorry for your loss.

As others have said, a good professional can help get to the core of what's getting you wired/anxious. Give that a shot.

All my best.

[sberk1012]

Originally Posted by BFella

Guys, the reason I don't want to be on daily medication is because it either 1. doesn't work at all or 2. works VERY minimal and has WORSE side effects rather than helping. It's just NOT my thing at all, it VERY rarely works, I've tried Prozac, I've tried Effexor, I've tried many things under the sun and they just DO NOT WORK at all, they're horrible.

Also, I don't have an addicted personality, I was prescribed Xanax yesterday and took it because of a bad panic attack, after that I felt fine, had a few minor panic attacks today at my aunts funeral but nothing enough for me to take Xanax so I didn't, I went all day today feeling "relatively" normal and okay.

Also, I believe it's GAD, because I get anxiety and anxiety attacks for NO reason at all, I will feel fine, then my mind will start racing, then I'll feel light headed and then start freaking out even more and have "shortness of breath" out of NOWHERE at all.

I understand your point, but to be honest Prozac and Effexor are a couple of the worst of the antidepressants (yes, they're antidepressants used to treat anxiety) to use for anxiety.

If you have GAD, I'm sorry but a daily medication is the way to go. my recommendations to try are, in this order:

1. buspirone (Buspar)
2. citalopram (Celexa)
3. sertraline (Zoloft)
4. escitalopram (Lexapro)
5. paroxetine (Paxil)

The thing about all these drugs is- even though they're similar, some do not work at all for some patients, but then another will work wonders. You really do have to give them all a fair shot (try at least 2 months) to know. All of these drugs are extremely safe. I would literally try all these drugs before I'd think about Xanax for GAD.

One trick you may want to try- start one of these drugs, and in the meantime while it takes it time to start working, use Xanax as needed. After a month or so, you should be able to get off the Xanax- your body should not be too used to the drug at that point and you will not be addicted.

You're right...they will not "pack the punch" that Xanax will, and they will take about a month to start working well, but they are the way to go in your case.

I know you said you don't have an addictive personality. You don't have to. People don't WANT (except drug-seekers) to get addicted to these medications, but you can't help it. It is a physiological response from you're body. That's the whole point of addiction- you lose control and your body has to has to have the drug to feel "normal" after you take it long enough.

Obviously, I can't force you to do anything...I don't want to. I am simply providing my professional opinion. I see this every day in my clinic.

Good luck with whatever you decide!

[Muscle Car Lover]

I am a scientist and I don't think giving prescrip info/advice is something we should do here.

[Stingr69]

Watch out for the caffiene. You can become almost allergic to it out of nowhere. Ask my wife. We were told that it might be from coffee but she is hard headed and refused to give it up (she is like that). I secretlly swapped out her coffee for decaf and never told her. We figured it out that way and her anxiety/panic attacks got better. Now she knows what causes it and does not worry so much when it happens. That helped prevent the escalation a LOT for her. No fear of the symptoms anymore so it is nothing to get fired up about.

After that - I would do excercise (you are already doing it), social interaction, and one more thing - If you just accept the anxiety and say to yourself "oh well - here we are again my friend....", you may, over time become less stressed about it. That would be ideal but it takes time.

Good luck !

-Mark.

[drakedgar]

Have you tried more natural options?
I used to have really high levels of anxiety when I was younger, causing me to stutter, making me even more anxious. If you know what triggers your anxiety (in my case public speaking) I recommend chewing 3 Suntheanine tablets (link below) 15 minutes before the event (or whatever triggers your anxiety), the effect usually last about 1-2 hours.
Suntheanine helps break the "mental loop" that causes anxiety. Suntheanine is not a drug is more like a "helper" to make things easier while your mind "gets used" to what triggers the anxiety.

If you decide to try sunthenine try the "chewable" version since that one works the best (link bellow).

Good Luck!

http://www.amazon.com/Natural-Factor...ds=suntheanine

[ssrs2lt]

being in the military and facing life changing threatening events, causes high axienty in people. they are treated by psychologist, therapy, diet, exercise, and then meds. hang in there it will get better. everyone feels anxious at times in life..