[Espurr1989]

I finally got something aside from an antidepressant for my anxiety last week. I've taken it 3 times since then, mainly for job stress that piles up from one day to the next during the week.

So I got to wondering... When do you guys know that it's time to take your as needed meds? Specific symptoms or severity? When you know you'll be in specific situations? Other ways?

My therapist says I don't need to be afraid of them, but I do need to respect them. I would like to avoid an addiction problem in the future, but I also don't want to suffer needlessly or jeopardize my job and health by acting irrationally due to anxiety. I am also actively pursuing alternate methods for treating anxiety such as CBT, sensory maintenance, and deep breathing/muscle relaxation.

When my husband says "don't you think you should take X,Y, Z

[Ripose]

I try to wait until the anxiety/paranoia/panic starts but sometimes I just take them all at once in the morning. Either way seems to work well.

[xRavenx]

When I'm feeling"off" compared to usual, where I'm starting to feel tension in my body and shortness of breath from anxiety. It works pretty well. I try to take it early enough before the anxiety gets completely uncontrollable, but when I sense it coming on.

[HALLIEBETH87]

When I really just can't calm down or sleep.

[Sad Mermaid]

When my usual sleep medicine just isn't working. I wait a while before taking a PRN.

[Kuras]

It's been years since I've taken benzos or anything like that. In the case of anxiety, the med is best utilized at the first signs/symptoms of a panic attack or extended period of heavy anxiety.

When Haldol was just my auxiliary PRN med for my more serious super crazy fun times, I would being dosing once I had failed to achieve sleep in at least a couple days and other issues were beginning to arise (not eating, self-destructive actions or impulses, worsening psychosis, etc). Now it's just a primary med for me, which I'm permitted to increase dosing on if/when necessary.

tl;dr - You just kinda learn after awhile.

[mindwrench]

The only "as needed" med I have is Hydroxyzine for anxiety. I think it sucks as an anti anxiety med but it kinda works as a sleep aid so I use it for that most nights.

[wiretwister]

to sleep ... If I take it anymore it will become my "regular" med .... during day if a "tough" client is coming up ... mostly to keep me from going over that "hill: .... then sometimes (esp friday) ... when I just want the day to go very smoothly ... I call it having a good day .... dr seems ok ... keeps writing Rx ... love my xanex ....

been having a rash ... very itchy ... seems to take the edge off ...

[annielovesbacon]

I have the same problem. I have an "as needed" med for anxiety but uh... I am anxious all the time!!! I try to only take it when I can feel the physical symptoms of anxiety setting in, like knot in my stomach, can't breathe, tight chest, really hot, etc. Or I take it to fall asleep sometimes.

Well, I hate Ativan because it's useless to me, so I never use it. I'd rather have Klonopin or... well... anything BUT Ativan

Then I use Seroquel to make me sleep when I'm hypo/manic. It also helps to bring me down.

[Moose72]

My as needed is extra zyprexa. No Ativan or the like