Root cause of anxiety & self medicating

[pg8899]

I am trying to figure out the root cause of my anxiety/social anxiety symptoms. I have recently gotten my testosterone levels checked and they came back extremely low for a 23 year old man. The result was even low for a 69 year old man!

I believe my anxiety stems from some kind of hormonal imbalance, which would also explain my lack of natural musculature and my inability to gain muscle weight, along with many other things.

I can't pinpoint exactly when my anxiety/SA started as it kind of gradually developed along with puberty. All I can say is that I was a mischievous chatterbox as a child and I want to regain that part of me, but I feel something is chemically restraining me.

I am awaiting further results from my GP. I am testing for testosterone, prolactin, estradiol, LH & FSH and T4 levels.

Has anyone ever noticed their anxiety or depression symptoms improve after treating an underlying health issue?

I am also curious what effect SSRI's or anti-depressants would have on me even though I know it is masking the problem. I just want to function normally for a while. Has anyone taken any meds without a prescription or bought generic meds online? Are they the kind of drugs you can just try for 6 weeks to see how you react to them? Can they cause any kind of irreversible damage?

I know self medicating is generally frowned upon but in perspective it can't be as bad as going out clubbing and taking unknown powders like MDMA or E's which many young people I know do.

Even if I were to go through my doctor for this, what is considered the most popular & effective drug for treating social anxiety, shyness and social awkwardness?

[mikewales]

There is nowhere to legally buy prescription only drugs ( which includes all SSRI's and anti-depressants ) online.

At best, they wont send you anything and will just steal your money, at worse you are getting pills that aren't what they say they are, and you will have no clue what is actually in them, or what effect they will have on your mental health.

If you want meds, go to your doctor and see about getting a prescription, don't buy them online !

[pg8899]

There is nowhere to legally buy prescription only drugs ( which includes all SSRI's and anti-depressants ) online.

At best, they wont send you anything and will just steal your money, at worse you are getting pills that aren't what they say they are, and you will have no clue what is actually in them, or what effect they will have on your mental health.

If you want meds, go to your doctor and see about getting a prescription, don't buy them online !

You can get generic brands legally online, in fact I recently bought some retin -A cream and anti-fungal tablets (nystatin) online with no problems.

I do agree though getting them prescribed from a doctor is obviously the more sensible option. I was just wondering if these types of medication can just be casually sampled or are they physically dangerous in the same way as accutane for instance and need to be strictly controlled?

[eight days a week]

There is nowhere to legally buy prescription only drugs ( which includes all SSRI's and anti-depressants ) online.

At best, they wont send you anything and will just steal your money, at worse you are getting pills that aren't what they say they are, and you will have no clue what is actually in them, or what effect they will have on your mental health.

If you want meds, go to your doctor and see about getting a prescription, don't buy them online !

I completely agree about the risks, but to say there is nowhere legally to buy them is completely incorrect. I have had legally-bought from the internet prescription-only medicines delivered to my doorstep - completely legal from the country they are sent from, and completely legal for me to receive. These medicines were clearly marked for customs, and there was never any problem at all.

There are legal problems with restricted (scheduled) medicines such as benzos, and quite rightly so.

They will not sell restricted medicines to you because that is illegal!!

I only did this because my GP and psychiatrist were between them failing to address my problems and prescribe medicines that I'd spent (probably) hundreds of hours researching, understood better than them, and knew that they were worth a try compared to feeling suicidal as I was.

Has anyone ever noticed their anxiety or depression symptoms improve after treating an underlying health issue?

A gaba-b agonist (you can google 'gaba') helped me a lot with some aspects of my anxiety (especially social anxiety) and eventually was prescribed to me on the NHS.

I am also curious what effect SSRI's or anti-depressants would have on me even though I know it is masking the problem. I just want to function normally for a while. Has anyone taken any meds without a prescription or bought generic meds online? Are they the kind of drugs you can just try for 6 weeks to see how you react to them? Can they cause any kind of irreversible damage?

It depends on the medicine. I guess some people would argue that SSRIs change your brain permanently, for better or for worse. The gaba-b agonist I took is completely reversible, but it works for me on certain levels and so I continue to take it under the guidance of my doctors.

Even if I were to go through my doctor for this, what is considered the most popular & effective drug for treating social anxiety, shyness and social awkwardness?

I think this is completely up in the air unfortunately. It depends on the root-cause of your anxieties, and I think it's fair to say these are different from person to person. What you might be prescribed depends on the experiences (and possibly lack of knowledge, and/or prejudices) of your doctor, and possibly various other things.

There isn't one single, universal, cause, or one single 'magic bullet' to fix this, alas.

It's really good to hear that you're having all those tests, hopefully they will pinpoint something If not, and you are determined to find something, research different meds (there is a lot of information on here about loads of them), and (I agree with Mike here) approach your doctor first rather than looking to the internet - I only did as a last resort. Take a look at pregabalin (for gaba) and buspirone (for anxiety and also anti-depression) perhaps.

There are alternatives to medicines as well of course. Arguably, you should look at those first. No irreversible side effects from things like moderate exercise and a good diet, that's for sure! And CBT for my anxiety worked wonders for me

Good luck!

[Ingenious]

Are they the kind of drugs you can just try for 6 weeks to see how you react to them?

They're regarded as long term treatments. It can take 6 weeks just for the full effects to get into your system then you usually stay on them for months. You need to be assessed for these by a professional - your GP - and then monitored regularly afterwards. It is of course entirely down to you what you do with your life but FWIW self medicating with any medication of this type is, in my opinion, not a good idea.

[dan1234]

There are certain online pharmacies where a doctor authorises the medicine, issues a prescription, and the product is posted to your door. It is expensive, about 40 pounds for 28 10mg diazepam tablets.