Posted by finelinebob on May 10, 2004, at 10:14:46
In reply to Getting Off All Meds...Where Do You Draw The Line?, posted by Buckeye Fan on May 10, 2004, at 7:59:59
First of all -- it doesn't matter if someone posted a similar topic in the past ... you need to talk about this now and your take on it is going to be different from anyone else's experience. No apologies necessary.
Have you followed any of the threads talking about coming off of Effexor? Your mileage may vary, but a lot of people have withdrawal symptoms. If you are having a rough time coming off of it, look to those threads for ideas or ask here on your own thread for specifc advice. Xanax can be even worse when it comes to withdrawal -- same advice applies.
On a different thread recently, someone was, well, rather adamant about getting off meds and managing depression or anxiety with nutrition and exercise. Better nutrition and more exercise is a prescription most of us could benefit from! If it works for you, that would be fabulous. Definitely give it a go if you want to stay off meds.
You may have a pretty good shot at that being successful, too. If you were fine up to 40 and then something in your life brought on your panic attacks, if you have been able to address what caused them with talk therapy, then yes -- restoring whatever brain chemistry imbalances you had through lifestyle changes may do very well. People can build up a dependency on Xanax and other meds, so you may need some patience on getting back to "normal". You body is going to need to readjust to living without those chemicals in your bloodstream.
So, if you're going to give it a go, good luck. Keep checking back here if you need the support.
flb
PS. I was 35 before I started on meds. I was almost 38 before me and my pdoc finally found a combination that worked well. My life on THESE meds is far better than my life off meds, but the time in between -- when I was going through about 11 or 12 different med combos looking for what worked -- at times, life was pure hell. Some people get lucky and respond to the first med their doctor prescribes. I wasn't that lucky. Maybe you weren't either. But I have to wonder what I could have made of my life had I known at 18 that it wasn't my character that was screwed up but my chemistry.
PPS. One thing meds will never help with -- that feeling you get when the Buckeyes lose that last game of the football season. Go Blue!! =^P
poster:finelinebob
thread:345296
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20040510/msgs/345329.html