fear of meds

[melvin]

can anyone tell me if they have a fear of taking any meds i may have to go on blood pressure tabs soon i dont have a fear of paracetamol or Anadin but anything else i go into a panic attack i dont know why i just get really scared like i cant think i feel cornered and no one can help me i got the same feelings when they told me i had high blood pressure i came out of docs and cried they might have well said im dying does any one else go through this and what is it

[jothenurse]

I have a terrible med phobia. I was supposed to take some vitamins and I got all panicky about it. I am supposed to start on Effexor - I took one yesterday morning, had a huge panic last night. Didn't take it today, but called the doctor and he said to start again with it tomorrow. It's very scary.

[margaret jones]

Hi Melvin Is it the possible side effects that scare you ???? Thats my biggest fear i did have a bad reaction to some meds and that started my fear .
i do have to take some meds for heartburn and because they have helped so much i continue to take them .
If you need to take them for your BP i think i would try and take them and see how you are

Take Care Maggie

[melvin]

you know i don't know what it is that scares me i just feel scared to death i should try to break it down i really don't know

[cassy1989]

I understand how you feel. I have a huge fear of taking new medication. When I went on to citalopram I was convinced some thing bad was going to happen to me, so much so that I waited a few days to start it and started it a day my Mum was off work so I could go round to her house and sit with her while I took it and I stayed with her ages because I was so scared of any side effects.
I know its really hard but you just have to think what the unlikeliness of having a bad reaction to such medication is. Providing you don't have any allergies to any of the medication in the bp pills then you won't have a reaction. Try to think of it that way. The bp pills really will help you and you must need to take them x

[puppyskin]

its understandable for anxiety sufferers to fear this,probably just a thought about what the meds can do to you without your control,thats my take on it.i was on bp tabs with no probs(dont read the leaflet) you'll be fine.

[jill07]

As anxiety sufferers we tend to worry about everything - part and parcel of the condition! My citalopram have been sat unopened in the cupboard for months.... scared stiff of possible side effects (I am alone with my toddler all day), and scared of becoming dependant on them.
God only knows why we do this.... I mean, what do we think they are going to do, poison us? maim or kill us? At the end of the day we are given them because they are designed to help our problems! I know all this, but I still cant bring myself to start them, even though I know life would probably be a damn site easier with them!
How did you get on Cassy? any horrible side effects?
Agree with you puppy - worst thing you can do is read the leaflet!

[cattttt]

I only just saw this, I'm terrified of meds too. I'm on stuff for BP, when I started on it 3 years ago, I had a panic attack every day when I took it, and 6 months of serious anxiety. I still get worried by anything new, yesterday, when I got my new prescription for the same thing, I examined it with a magnifying glass to make sure they had given me the right thing. I get side effects from just about everything, I always worry that I'm going to have some sort of serious reaction. Does your doc know how you feel? I felt like a real pratt telling my doc about it, but she really was OK about it. I really know how you feel. I don't know if it helps, but if you look at the numbers, the chances of having a bad reaction a so small, you're more likely to get knocked down crossing the road. It's really worth keeping your BP under control because of what could happen otherwise, so if your doc says you need the meds, it's worth biting the bullet for a while till you get over the anxiety about it.

[Anxious_gal]

I'm afraid of medication too, side effects but at time I've even been too paranoid to take a multivitamin.
when i was on antibiotics i was scared to death, I would take the tablet and then spend the whole day been anxious and worried about side effects but after a week of taking them I realized if something were to happen it would have happened already.
if you are really scared maybe some therapy might help?
hopefully after a few days of taking the pills the fear will ease.

[melvin]

thank you for all ur replys guys i will try to take them when the time comes

[jothenurse]

My med phobia is just ridiculous. I think everyone is fed up with me, including the Nurse Practitioner. I called her about having a panic attack during the night after I had taken the effexor that morning. She originally told me to continue with it. I talked to her again this morning and told her that I have tried celexa (2 nights), Zoloft (1 night), and paxil (1 night) and effexor (1 night). Had a panic attack with all of them. I originally told her I couldn't handle the SSRI's, but as you can see, I only took them for maybe one day. So, she wants me to try the Zoloft again. Let's face it - I will get a panic attack with it. I'll just have to try to live through it. She very much thinks I need to be on something other than the small amount of ativan that I take. I know I need to do something, but I am so afraid of the side effects from these drugs. I have lost more than 20 pounds and I have to get myself settled down so I can gain some weight back. Anybody have any advice on how to take the Zoloft and hang in there?