Hello

I suffered with health anxiety a few year ago and was successfully treated with Fluoxetine and CBT. I weaned off the medication and everything was fine for about 18 months.

I felt the health anxiety creeping back about two years ago and went back to GP in Feb this year. I was referred for more CBT and prescribed Fluoxetine again. I had terrible side effects with it so stopped it after 6 days. I have to say I did get a lot of help and information from this forum at that time. I went back to GP and was prescribed Sertraline but I was to scared to take I because of the side effects I had experienced with the Fluoxetine.

Here we are now five months later and due to the pandemic I am still on the waiting list for CBT.
I have been managing with meditation, sometimes alcohol (not good I know) and Kalms tablets. I have been at home during the lockdown which I think has helped me manage. My health anxiety is still there and I now have more general anxiety well and feel anxious most of the time without any obvious reason. I seem to be incapable of making a simple decision and am stressing about every minor decision.

Now that lockdown is easing I find my anxiety getting worse and I have to go back to work next week. The wait for CBT is long so I am considering taking the anti-depressants. I don't find my
GP at all sympathetic and they just say take the anti depressant. I have the fluoxetine and the sertraline at home and keep getting the boxes out and looking at them and reading the leaflets.

I don't feel my anxiety is quite as bad as it was in Feb so I think could cope with side effects better then when I tried the Fluoxetine 10MG and they worked well for me a few years ago so am tempted to try them again. Then I change my mind and remember how horrendous the side effects were in Feb and look again at the Sertraline 50m and think at taking 25mg for a week to see how I get on. I know I have to make the decision myself but would be grateful for your thoughts please.