Meds?

[Cú Chulainn]

Was just wondering if anyone on here has every successfully gone off the meds.
I would rather not be on them for Life.

[SLjimbo]

There seems to be a phobia of taking medications for some people when it comes to anxiety and panic attacks. It's understandable one fear of taking them is getting "addicted" to them, but that's not always the case.

However, I want to stress that it should be your doctor, therapist, or psychiatrist's decision to decide what is the right medicine for you based on your medical and family history. If you do go on a medicine regiment, DO NOT stop or tamper off them on your own decision. This is a very slippery slope that could lead to anxiety relapse. I learned that the hard way when I started to wane off my Prozac on my own and next thing you know my panic attacks came back like a ton of bricks.

Only your doctor should make the call on whether to stop, take less, or take more medication. He or she will be the one to determine if you do need medication to combat your panic attacks and anxiety.

But I wouldn't get discouraged at all. It's not like you have to take anti-depressants for the rest of your life. The key here is that medication is only one step in your road to recovery from anxiety/panic. Don't forget there's other components involved too such as CBT, mediation, and so on.

[hanshan]

I agree that stopping long-term medications should always be done in consultation with your doctor. Go slow, and expect some withdrawal symptoms (doctors like to call them "discontinuation effects" when it's ADs, etc).

Overall, it's something everyone has to work out is best for themselves. There are people posting to NMP who have stopped medication and feel the better for it, and others who are happy to keep going indefinitely. The main point is that there is nothing wrong if you need to take medication long-term. There are many people with a wide range of other conditions in the same situation.

[Cú Chulainn]

Hi,
Thanks for responding
SLjimbo I'm starting CBT in January and looking forward to it. :D
Hopefully I can come off the meds within a year or two.