are there any non addictive meds which do not increase anxiety first?

[joannap]

long story but had a horrendous year stress wise and then have come off my citalopram 7 weeks ago and on 80mg propranalol a day and been shall i/shan't i go back on an ssri on bad days.

i have also had a lot of stomach problems and last week a gp i saw prescribed me metoclopramide - after 4 days on this drug i had a horrific reaction to it. after the third dose (thursday night) i suddenly could not keep my legs still and i was hopping in and out of bed all night. by morning i was in tears - i just could not understand why yes - i had gone to bed a bit anxious but now i was feeling like i was having a full on breakdown. i had to be rushed to the doctors friday morning by my mum. she kept trying to reassure me saying - you have felt like this before but i kept telling her the agitation i was feeling was beyond anything i had ever experienced. the different gp i saw that day prescribed me valium 2mg and citalopram - i took one citalopram and something made me look up the side effects of metoclopramide and the internet is full of horror stories of people suffering the same symptoms and are still doing so - that there lives have been ruined by it.

friday afternoon (and by then i had taken another 2 doses of this stomach pill before i made the connection) i was so agitated i could not sit still for even a second and i thought i was going to die - that i should be in hospital. by now i thought it must be this drug and i rang my gp and spoke to a different doctor only to be told that yes - i should stop taking it but that it was probably because i was anxious and "reading too much on the internet". i did take 4 mg valium and by saturday morning the horrible feeling of agitation had gone. it is now sunday and i have the runs plus keep feeling trembly and sick but am much improved although obviously it has not done anything for my underlying existing anxiety! i did take 2mg valium last night because i had only had 2 hrs sleep in 48 hrs but obviously do not want to keep taking them.

my questions are - if i need something more than propranalol to ease my anxiety - there is just no way i could consider going back on an ssri because i have felt horrendous on them whilst kicking in and it would be too much like the experience i had on friday.

is there any medication out there which will definitely not make you feel more anxious/agitated before making you feel better and which is not classed as addictive?

[joannap]

ps - and by me taking the valium - have i already set myself up for valium addiction?! i had 4mg fri afternoon/evening and only 2mg last night so 6mg in total.

[suzy-sue]

Hi Joanna ,sorry to hear you had a bad experience with the Metoclopramide .I was perscribed that many years ago for IBS .it gave a very bad upset stomach and made it feel very tender .You wont get addicted to valium from just taking 6mg .If you take it as and when absolutely needed ,provided its not constant you will not get addicted ..As a rule anything up to about three weeks is ok if taken every day .But addiction is likely after a month .Have you thought about taking alternative medication or herbal remedys ? Some are very good and dont make you addicted . Inisitol is one of them .. You are still in the early stages of being free from the ssris ,it can sometimes take several months to get properly adjusted .I hope you find something that helps you soon T/c .luv Sue x

[ElizabethJane]

Dear Joanna I'm sorry that you are having such a rough time. I don't think that there is a drug that is like the drug that you describe. I have heard that some psychiatrists prescribe small amounts of anti psychotics for anxiety but these are not without side effects. Some people on here have been prescribed pregabalin also for anxiety. I would suggest that you book a double apointment with your GP and discuss your options with him. He might suggest that you manage with no meds for a while. I have taken low dose valium on occasion and it has worked well and taken the edge off the anxiety. If you are aware of its dangers you will not become addicted to it. EJ.

[Dahlia]

I took the same anti-emetic as you (Meto-whatnot) and it made me really irritable, plus it didn't work!

I was looking for a non-addictive alternative to diazepam as well as a good anti-emetic, and someone in the US told me about an anti-histamine called Vistaril - it's called Atarax in the UK. Basically it has NICE approval for GAD in the UK, but specifies it as 'short term' therapy. It's also an anti-emetic, which was really important for me. Apparently it is not addictive.

Anyway - my GP prescribed it for me. For the first few days I felt sleepy - like I do when I take any anti-histamines. But then the sleepiness went, and it does make you feel calmer. I don't take it everyday, but I do take it on days when I am feeling anxious, so that I don't resort to diazepam (although I still prefer diazepam on a bad panic day). However, if you don't take one for quite a while, you will find you get drowsy when you take it as a one-off.

Be prepared that your GP won't have heard of it being used for anxiety - mine looked into it, and then prescribed (he's pretty good at giving whatever I suggest a go, provided it isn't addictive). It's a very old anti-histamine, so not often prescribed for allergies any more.

Just a thought.

Dahlia