anxiety medication with low side effects?

spawn

Well-known member
which medication has low side effects? also that isnt addictive or has major withdrawal symptoms? theres gonna be side effects and stuff i know but i just want something for long term. thats why its important that i dont get something with alot of effects but also something that i wouldnt build a huge tolerance to. any advise would be appreciated. thx
 

villacjs

Well-known member
Lexapro worked well for me, its an SSRI so it isn't addictive and its got a good reputation for low side effects and withdrawal.

Good luck :D
 

spawn

Well-known member
what about sexual side effects? on paxil i lost sex drive and ability to orgasm. and this after only taking 10mg for a week then i stopped.
 

spaz

Active member
I'm on Celexa (Citalopram) and I haven't had any major side effects. No sexual dysfunction. I'm on 40mg. I do get a bit tired sometimes.
 

jennismortal

Well-known member
The following people may be at a higher risk of experiencing anxiety medication side effects.
* People with a history of alcohol and drug abuse.
* Pregnant women or women who are still breastfeeding their baby.
* People 65 years of age and older.
Remember to work closely with your doctor if you are prescribed anxiety medication and report any serious side effects you may experience. Anxiety medication should also be a short-term solution to your problem and you may need professional therapy to learn how to better cope with your anxiety.Anxiety medication that relieve anxiety by slowing down the central nervous system of a user is classified as tranquilizers. They generally have a relaxing and calming effect on users and are the most widely prescribed for anxiety treatment.
 

HidingOnThe4thFloor

Active member
Klonopin worked well for me as a med targeted at anxiety. Fairly fast-acting (though not for panic attack), and at the lower doses helps with sleep and staying calm for long periods of time. It does exacerbate depression, so watch out if that is a problem.
 

edtmrk

Member
I use Cipralex (lexapro in USA) and Wellbutrin. I have NO side effects from either and would recommend them.

That said, if I miss a dose I can certainly feel it emotionally.
 

DillJenkins

Well-known member
The celexa and lexapro have lowest incidence of side effects I believe. I have been on both and the celexa caused headache at first and loss of appetite.

The side effects of most anti-depressants go away after 1-2 months of regular use. The exception is usually with sexual dysfunction or weight gain/loss.
 

social_phobia2008

Well-known member
Different meds have different side effects on patients. So if a drug works for most ppl, there is a chance it may not work for you.

Best advice is to try as many as u can too see what medication works best for you, thats the only way. It may take a while to find it, but its better this way.
 

flowers2

Member
Generally you want to start with therapy, exercise, and dietary modification. They can be as effective as medication and have no side effects.

Then as many posters have mentioned you may want to explore the SSRIs (Wikipedia article on them). Several posters mentioned that they aren't addictive, which is true and false. They aren't addictive in that you need to take higher doses of them or that they produce euphoria. They can, however, be really, really nasty to quit. Paxil in particular is hard to quit for more than 25% of people who use it.

In particular, you want to avoid using benzos if possible because they can have pretty significant side effects.

Hope that was useful! =)
 

Noca

Banned
Generally you want to start with therapy, exercise, and dietary modification. They can be as effective as medication and have no side effects.

Then as many posters have mentioned you may want to explore the SSRIs (Wikipedia article on them). Several posters mentioned that they aren't addictive, which is true and false. They aren't addictive in that you need to take higher doses of them or that they produce euphoria. They can, however, be really, really nasty to quit. Paxil in particular is hard to quit for more than 25% of people who use it.

In particular, you want to avoid using benzos if possible because they can have pretty significant side effects.

Hope that was useful! =)
SSRI's arent addictive, you can only become dependent to them, not addicted. Benzos work great as long as you use them on a PRN basis and not everyday.
 

flowers2

Member
It depends on how you defined being addicted to something. If by addiction you mean that you can't stop taking a substance because doing so will cause withdrawal, then yes, you can get addicted to SSRIs.

And I know people who, upon discontinuation, experienced suicidal urges that they had never felt in their lives, who were taking the medication for mild depression/anxiety. I also know of people who, upon stopping, developed psychosis.

These are far from the benign drugs they're made out to be. They have their uses, but denying their problems is not good either.
 

DillJenkins

Well-known member
Generally you want to start with therapy, exercise, and dietary modification. They can be as effective as medication and have no side effects.

Then as many posters have mentioned you may want to explore the SSRIs (Wikipedia article on them). Several posters mentioned that they aren't addictive, which is true and false. They aren't addictive in that you need to take higher doses of them or that they produce euphoria. They can, however, be really, really nasty to quit. Paxil in particular is hard to quit for more than 25% of people who use it.

In particular, you want to avoid using benzos if possible because they can have pretty significant side effects.

Hope that was useful! =)

LOL. Try taking 4mg Klonopin everyday for 2 years and compare it to Paxil or Effexor withdrawal and tell me which one is harder to quit.

I have done all three and I assure you that benzo withdrawal is like going through hell. I actually laugh people who compare it to SSRI withdrawal.

SSRI can have nasty discontinuation like "brain zaps" and that type of stuff but comparatively speaking are not addictive. Benzo's have few side effects except for making you a bit stoned at first. Tolerance and withdrawal are not side effects im afraid.

Its best to research any medication you try before hand. Im still glad I used benzos because I knew the risks beforehand so I wasn't surprised when I became tolerant and dependent. They are really helpful for hardcore anxiety.

Once again, I recommend Celexa as first-line anxiety/depression medicine. It has some evidence to show that it works for people who are resistant to other SSRI's: Citalopram for social anxiety disorder: an open-la...[CNS Spectr. 2002] - PubMed Result

I have tried Paxil, Lexapro, Zoloft, Effexor, and Celexa and the Celexa was the only serotonin type medicine to help at all. Unfortunately it quit working after about 4 months or so.
 

Noca

Banned
It depends on how you defined being addicted to something. If by addiction you mean that you can't stop taking a substance because doing so will cause withdrawal, then yes, you can get addicted to SSRIs.

And I know people who, upon discontinuation, experienced suicidal urges that they had never felt in their lives, who were taking the medication for mild depression/anxiety. I also know of people who, upon stopping, developed psychosis.

These are far from the benign drugs they're made out to be. They have their uses, but denying their problems is not good either.

The difference between "addiction" and "dependence" when relating to drugs is as follows:

Addiction is a biological and psychological condition that compels a person to satisfy their need for a particular stimulus and to keep satisfying it, no matter what.

(Discovery Health :: Addiction v. Dependence on Pain Medications , paragraph 3)


Dependence is a physical state that occurs when the lack of a drug causes the body to have a reaction. Physical dependence is solely a physical state indicating that the body has grown so adapted to having the drug present that sudden removal of it will lead to negative consequences such as a withdrawal reaction. This can occur with almost any kind of drug.

(Discovery Health :: Addiction v. Dependence on Pain Medications , paragraph 5)
 
Let your doctor know you're not happy with what you're on now. There's no way of knowing which medications your body will react well to and have few side effects until you try them. The medications effect everyone differently, so what gave me no side effects could totally throw you out of whack. It's for you and your doctor to figure out, but you need to let him know you want to try something else.
 

Jake123

Banned
Every single medication I've ever taken has been completely useless. I've tried everything and it's ALL garbage. All of it. Either it makes me feel mentally worse or it does nothing but gives me physical side effects. Some people aren't fixed by anything. My advice to people screwing around with meds: Good luck. I've been a guinea pig since I was 9 with every psychotropic medication you can imagine and it has just destroyed me mentally if anything.
 

Enialis227

Well-known member
Regardless of what you may hear, medication is a GOOD thing. So many people, including myself, would be so completely ****ed up without it that they can't function.
Until I started taking meds, I was never able to be the person I wanted to be. I have made so many mistakes and I have wanted to kill myself so many times, I cried myself to sleep countless nights. But now, my life is better than I ever thought possible. I have the chance to change things now, and all I have to do is take a handful of pills every day (It would be much less for someone with just Social Phobia.)
Many people can be fixed with medications, and they shouldn't be scared off by people that have had negative experiences with them.
 
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