Pharmacophobia (fear of medication )

[emo]

hi carol,
i only take paracetemol and asprin and too be honest i think doctors hand out medicines and anti biotics far too easily,im a big believer in the body's ability to heal itself,in my experience most minor infections and bugs clear up just as quickly with lots of rest and fluids.the only time in recent years that ive taken antibiotics was for an abcessed tooth and the pain was so awful i had to force the tablets down.but apart from that i try to let my body do the work instead of medication.
love em xx

[bab]

i know this is an old post but this is totally me - i am so scared of meds and of them and of the side effects

[AliBlack]

me too! I used to have no problems taking drugs, rarely had side effects, but as I've got older I get side effects more than I used to, usually nausea, which isn't great when you have emetophobia. It's probably because I have a sensitive (IBS) stomach, although I have read that if you suffer long term anxiety it can alter the chemicals in your body and drugs can have more of an effect. For me it isn't psychosomatic as I wasn't worrying or thinking about side effects, it's the other way around, I started getting side effects and then became phobic about it.
I can't take anti deps or anxiety meds as they make me ill, I tried seroxat and it was a nightmare, on the other hand years ago when I didn't get side effects so much I took prozac without major side effects.

i know this is an old post but this is totally me - i am so scared of meds and of them and of the side effects

[oxana]

I had an allergic reaction to anti naseau medication four years ago and I nearly died it was definately the worst experience of my life! Ever since then i am terrified of other medications and even touching someone or something that has been in contact with medication that i have never tried before! I wont even wear clothes that were in contact with the clothes i wore when i had my allergic reaction because i fear that they might be contaminated by anti naseau medication! i really dont know what to do anymore this has really changed my life in a bad way

[m.draper]

I have the same fear, I have a ear and sinus infection and I have to take Zithromaz and i am scared to death of taking, I am more scared that I will have a reaction to it(not being able to breath) than anything else. I cant even put the pill into my mouth. SO your not alone it is the most frighting thing to allow this much fear contol a persons life. I have no clue how to deal with it I just keep praying that god will help me before this infection becomes very serious.

[sweetbabynrs]

wow lots of good information here. I also suffer from pharmacophobia but to a lesser degree than you. i have extreme apprehension about taking new medications. being a nurse, i understand the necessity and beauty of modern medicine, they truly do work miracles. in YOUR case, unless you unsure weather or not you are allergic to the antibiotic, you must take them. letting an infection get too severe can eventually lead to hospitalization or even be life threatening. antibiotics save lives, you HAVE TO feel the fear and do it anyway.
MY fear of new medication stems from one terrifying reaction that i had to one. it will follow me for the rest of my life,i've never been so afraid. ever since that one experience i can't even get my hand up to my mouth to take a pill if i've never had it before. all meds i've already taken before, like antibiotics, are fine for me. i don't want to get into the details of what happened because i don't want to make you any more fearful of drugs than you already are. take the antibiotics. even if you're afraid. feel the fear and do it anyway..
best of luck to you

---------- Post added at 22:57 ---------- Previous post was at 22:51 ----------

i had the same experience and it was with an anti-nausea medication! actually, it was an antipsychotic (haldol) that they gave me in the ER. when i questioned them about it they said that is has the "side effect" of stopping nausea. which it did. and also caused the most terrifying experience of my life. just like you i can't bring myself to take any medication i've never taken before. even over the counter.

[kittikat]

I am exactly the same, never knew there was a name for it though. I also had a horrifying reaction to clomipramine about 5 years ago and have a terrible fear of taking anything now. Also have a cupboard full of prescription meds never taken because of my fears.

[annette1]

So that's what its called!

I've always had a reluctance to take meds believing that my body could heal itself with good food & exercise. That was until I developed PTSD & my anxiety levels were ridiculously high, I was scared of everything!

My gp suggested anti depressants on a number of occasions but because of my fathers experience with them, he also had ptsd I simply would not take them & it turned into a phobia which was very hard to explain. Then i went into therapy & my psych raised the subject, we discussed it but i just could not agree to taking them i was afraid they would do me harm & block out my traumas & i'd be unable to talk about them & heal.

After 6 weekly appointments I was still a mess, my T was very patient but on this day she told me that it was going to be impossible for me to completely engage in therapy with out medication & as I was paying privately it was a waste of money, she also said something else that really worried me, that refusing to take meds is a form of self abuse, that really did shock me. Although i agreed with her i just didnt know what to do about it, we'd discussed it so many times. Her suggestion was to do some EMDR http://www.emdrassociation.org.uk/home/index.htm therapy work on my fears of meds, I felt i had nothing to lose so agreed.

The result was amazing, i was able to explore how i felt about my dad's experience & my fears for myself. It took just an hour, I left her office feeling somewhat shocked & very tired but just 3 hours later opened the packet, took my first Citalopram tablet without another thought & havent looked back since.

I hope that gives some of you some encouragement, it is possible to work through our phobias, you just need to find the right person to listen & be prepared to work with you.

[speckles69uk]

Hi Carol,

You're not crazy, I totally understand where you're coming from. I refuse to take medication, other than the odd paracetamol as I'm scared of the side effects. I read the leaflets and the lists seem endless, possible side effects - blood clots, heart attack, death! Geez, reading that makes my heart race never mund the possibility of what might happen when I take them. I didn't realise it was such a common problem and that there's a name for it, I thought it was just me being crazy. It's nice to know that we're not all alone. I'm glad you found the courage to take the tablets. Take care.

Kindest regards

Rebecca

[anx2005]

OMG!! That is so me!!! I will not take anything. I am surfing the net right now because I have an infection of the gums around my wisdom tooth. It is called pericoronitis. I braved the dentist got the diagnosis and I am freaked out to take the amoxicillin. I have never been allergic to it before but they say you can develop an allergy at any time to penicillin and its the most common allergy.
I have a super ultra huge fear of meds of all kinds. I either take the pill or not but I do have a bacterial infection that, if not treated, could spread and actually kill me!!! I am afraid to take the med because it could kill me. I am so freaked out!!!!!
I have had PCN like a billion times but never once since my anxiety started. I just don't know what to do. I am on the verge of crying. I am in so much pain from the toothache but I have a very real, very irrational fear of this med. HELP!!!! I know I would be the same with any antibiotic. i can't take tylenol anymore because of the fear. I do not take any new meds ever. I can totally relate!