besides benzos

What options are there for anxiety besides benzos or APs? I find i get stressed/anxious too much sometimes then I take more ativan then I'm allowed. Then I start rationing it. Then I get more stressed after it wears off. An endless cycle. Thanks.

Hey, CharachtorAssassination,
I do the same but with my pain meds. It sucks! My doctor just upped the strengths of the stuff I take, maybe that will help.
I take Klonopin for anxiety. The long- acting stuff helps me comply with the dosage on that. Took Xanax for years and the ups & downs were killer. Would your doc give you Klonopin and a quick-acting for panic attacks? There's a rapid-dissolve Klonopin that my daughter takes in addition to the long acting. That might work.

Buspar, SSRIs, antihistamines are all used for anxiety. The best thing I used was counseling and a support group. In the end that worked better than any med ever could because it got to the cause of the problem - my thinking.

when do you take your klonopin?

I tried clonazepam but I remember taking it at bed time and waking up irritable.
And I felt drugged.

hi, the anxiety medication I have tried out didn't work that well for me either. Have you tried EFT? It's basically tapping on certain points in order to relieve anxiety. For me it was a bit helpful (in combination with other things) during mild to moderate anxiety days. If you haven't tried it out you have nothing to lose by giving it a try It will at least force you to shift your focus from the anxiety to the exercise. There are also other things like EMDR that you could try out with a therapist for a long term effect.

I use Diazepam, have done for almost three years, sparingly. Or as sparingly as possible, but like you, take more than I'm meant when things are really bad. I have tried Propranolol before, it slows your heart rate down as far as I know, it's a beta blocker. It's not suitable for asthmatics, I have mild asthma but it didn't have any adverse effects and some doctors will prescribe it if its only mild asthma and hasn't caused you any real difficulties. It helped a little, but obviously not as good as Diazepam. But, because it slows things down, it can help combat panic. I've also tried Buspirone, but that never helped at all. It does some people but I personally didn't find it helpful. Have you asked your doctor about other meds?

I have tried everything out there. My gp has me on 8mg xanax daily & I also go through the worry of running out because i've been on such a high dosage for 4 years & my tolerance is unbelievable. Feels like now I just have to take them to keep the withdrawl at bay. I hope you find a way out of the vicious cycle of benzos

Some of the people who post in the BP forum seem to have some effective ways of dealing with anxiety w/o medication. Check out that forum and see what you can find.
VenusHalley and Anika are the posters to read.

Actually I have tried something else which was wonderful - shiatsu. It gives you the best feeling, all my anxiety just melted away and I felt genuine happiness, almost giddy with laughter as well, it was brill. Only drawback, expensive at £40 a session. But I highly recommend it.

I do the same thing with my xan and then I will start counting them. I get better some weeks and can have some left over and other weeks I am dealing with something and it will consume me to the point of making me sick, and I cant eat that I feel that is the only way to get relief. I dont know how to control it and that makes it even worse

Good question, like u I was given Ativan.

I just a had some crazy nightmarish anxiety and I had to take 4mg. I'm afraid things are getting out of control.