Medication

[mak79007]

I was on prozac for 5yrs. I stopped taking it last december. I have been debating about taking it again for a few months. I havent started again yet. I started medical school (actual first class tommorow morning), and I have been near hyserical crying all the time. I cant eat real good cause my stomach is upset. I feel miserable and I am afraid with this mental state I wont make it through at all. I am on my last leg. Could anyone tell me their experience with meds. How much it helped? Was it worth it? Anyone went off meds and went through the same things as me? Please share your input. I realy need help and realy need someone to talk to........


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[japa]

I have had only positive experiences with meds. Paxil even eliminated my IBS that I suffered with through my entire childhood and my twenties. It takes a while to explain, but it did do this.


I am wondering though about what your experiences were on Prozac? Since you have had five years of taking a medication, you sort of already possess the answer to your own question. Was taking Prozac worth it? If you were still taking it, do you think that you would be crying hysterically?


I would hate to see you drop out of medical school. You should do all you can to prevent that.Medical school is what the healthy, non-phobic part of you desires, and the phobic part is trying to defeat that.

[mak79007]

On prozac my depression and my emotional state were better. I was less OC. I still freaked if I was exposed to a virus but not to the point were I thought it was a death sentence like I do now. I quit cause I figured if I was still afraid to v on meds that what was the point in taking them.... Now I am finding that I am depressed, and negetive, and feel defeated. I wanted to fight this holistically but now I am starting to think that my brain chemicals are so off now that meds would be the only thing to help me. I am trying to set up a meeting with the universities psychologist. I emailed him about a half hour ago and I am waiting for his reply.


Have you ever stopped meds? What happend? How did paxil help you fear of v?

[ontariogirl]

Sorry I can't help, I haven't been on any med's

[sage]

Mak,


Since you're (almost) in medical school, I'm sure you can appreciate this comment: don't get medical advice from people on the internet! I know everyone is here to be supportive, etc. but really...it doesn't matter about someone else's experience with medication (you must surely realize that). You need to talk to a doctor and/or professional. What I do know about antidepressants is that taking them "cures" nothing...it only stops the chemical reaction in the brain for the time you're on them. Once you stop, you've got the same problem indeed. Many, many people must take them for life, as clinical depression is a chronic condition. Now...having said that...there is convincing evidence that psychotherapy (if the client is willing to work hard at it) will re-wire the brain so that you're not getting the synaptic connections that lead to the chemicals buggering up (how scientific is that, eh?) Point is that IF you undergo psychotherapy you can enjoy the effects of a transformed brain, and it is POSSIBLE that you may be able to get on without medication.


Some of my clients who were put on antidepressants worked with me for 6 months or so and then went off the meds and had no problem ever after that. I would say they had mild cases of depression, however...and in some cases were incorrectly medicated (imo)...they weren't depressed at all - just sad because of some life circumstance that was the last straw.


If I were you (and I most certainly am not) I would consider going back on the meds WHILE working diligently in psychotherapy. Once you gain more knowledge yourself in medical school you will be able to make a very informed decision in the future. You owe it to yourself and your future patients to work hard at beating this thing. It CAN be done - I know cuz I've done it. But it is a life-long commitment. I am still in weekly therapy, and will continue for most of my life...phobia is always looming like a thundercloud in the distance. Although I consider myself completely cured...I know if the anxiety goes up in my life, the phobia will start to show up in symptoms again (never ever as bad as before - that's impossible)...but I think it might be there for sure.


Good luck with your health assessment, and your studies!

[japa]

I think that you are aware not to take anything I am saying about medication as a prescription for you but just as a description of what I have experienced since you said that you were interested in hearing from others.


Paxil just helped me to be a less anxious person in general, so that is why it helped me. I took it for a year, and then I stopped. I restarted it sort of for the same reasons that you are facing now. My anxiety level did not increase for over a year after stopping. My anxiety level increased again for quite a similar reason as what you are experiencing. I had just begun graduate school in order to become an English Literature professor. I was feeling insecure and for many reasons as though I did not belong. Before class presentations, I would have terrible anxiety because I felt inadequate to speak in front of classmates and the professor. In order to alleviate this anxiety and until I could gain facility with this type of public speaking (and gain confidence that I belongedin graduate school as much as the other students), I began taking Paxil again.


Two years later and I would never care about giving a class presentation again. It's not at all a problem for me to speak in that way, and I only experience slight anxiety at conferences and so forth. Now this is in no way just because of taking Paxil. It is just an evolution that I went through in which I realized that I did have something to say, and I could say it well sometimes. Paxil was just to calm me down initially.


Also, I have never taken any medication without also being in psychotherapy. I have been in therapy off and on since 2000. Emet is not much of a problem for me anymore, but I remain in therapy because I havemany abuse issues to work through. My therapist is a wonderful person, and even though I am in graduate school, she has worked out an affordable payment plan so that I can continue to workwith her.


Edited by: japa

[Eternity]

I think if meds make you feel better then you should take them. I doubt youll find one that will cure your fear of vomitting though- if it existed we'd all be on it! I think that most things that you can take are just good for relieving the other symptoms associated with emet- like serious panic attacks, OCD, depression etc. In the end I suppose you haveto weigh up whether its worth it for you personally, and noone elses experience can help you do that better.