[Kaboodle]

Wanted some opinions....

I have GAD and have been severely sensitized from a psych trauma over 2 yrs ago. I am going to therapy which I should have done in the beginning but I thought it'd all go away. Silly me. I'm to the point where I think this anxiety has become hard-wired into me and I will end up needing some type of med. Things that I used to get a little upset about and say 'oh whatever' and move on really upset me now and I dwell on them which heightens the anxiety. I no longer call it 'my' anxiety because I do NOT want to take ownership of it.

I see my family dr in Feb and was wondering how I should approach it. If it'd be better to have an as needed medication or something daily. I'd prefer the as needed but I don't want to be the one to tell him what to give me. Would appreciate some thoughts and experiences.

Thanks.

By "as needed" you mean, for the most part, benzodiazipines. As long as you keep them as needed (prn) you're pretty much okay. Buuut...they work so well and so quickly that you can easily end up taking them more and more often. Benzos are extremely addictive and your body builds a tolerance to them very quickly, resulting in you requiring more to feel good again.

As one who has done both prn and daily, I suggest daily.

[gnat]

Most doctors with good knowledge of psych meds won't prescribe the benzos without a daily med. As Sister Rags pointed out, they are very addictive. They are not intended to be prescribed alone. Generally docs would give you a long term anti-anxiety which needs to be taken every day to build up and maintain therapeutic levels. The benzo would be prescribed on an "as needed" basis to help you when things are exceptionally rough or in those first few weeks as your daily meds builds up in your system. They work fast but don't last long which makes them easy to get hooked on as you'll be looking for that quick relief. The other thing with the benzos, they may effect your ability to do things such as drive or complete certain aspects of your job.

[Auntie2014]

Over the years I have taken combo of different meds. What works best for me is a constant .5 of Lorazepam at bedtime. PRN 1mg for panic/flashback with additional .5 after 30 minutes. If still having MAJOR problems I can add 1 more .5mg after another 30 minutes or call pdoc for advice. It took a lot of time and urgent calls to pdoc to figure out this system and for us both to feel comfortable with it.

It just depends on what works for each person and communication with pdoc.