does anyone suffer from anxiety?

When I went to the doctor for a physical, she said I have anxiety and gave me a medication called lexapro. I had just had finals, which is a time I almost never sleep and stress out like crazy ...
Well, anyway I think she is BSing me lol...I feel like everyone has anxiety and I don't need a medication for it. I had a history of severe depression about a year ago, they wanted to give me meds for it but I decided not to take them and I just got all better and I haven't had depression in over a year now. When I told my doctor all this she thought I must be bi polar because depression likes this just doesn't go away like that Ughh I think I need a new doc, this one is wayy too paranoid. She sent me to a psychiatrist, and I just got back from the psychiatrist, and according to the psychiatrist I am not bi polar but I do have anxiety.
She started listing reasons like I was probably crying to go home when I was little in school and I always get sick to my stomach before a test...Umm is that really all that abnormal??
What do you guys think, is anxiety something you would take medicine for or would you try to manage it on your own?

I am not diagnosed with anxiety but given the choice I would like a pill to take to calm me down at times. But not something I have to take every day. It would be nice to have something fast acting to pop whenever I start to feel like I am going to die.

I was on depression medication when I was younger and I would never recommend that anyone take it ever, especially if you are the creative type. It killed my imagination, and a person who once was a great writer and had the potential to be a skilled artist is now and empty and useless shell.


No I don't think that run of the mill anxiety is abnormal. I think that EVERYONE gets anxious sometimes. Every little kid wanted to go home from school, and most people get nervous before a test. It sounds like your doctor is listing normal things as being abnormal, and that just doesn't sound like a very good doctor.

And I also hate all therapists. I don't believe they do anything for you that you can't do for yourself at home.

We have Kalmers over here, if you start feeling anxious you can take them and they calm you down rather than perscription tablets

i always get knots in my stomach before a test im a nervous wreck thats how you are meant to be isnt it hehe

If you dont think you need the tablets then dont take the, you dont want to get dependant on tablets to have to come off them so slowly knowing you didnt want to be on them

Everyone technically has something "wrong" with them. SSRIs and SSNRIs are given out like candy anymore. I've seem the sleazy looking drug reps in doctors offices and around the hospital, they always look the same... and they always have that case/bag of samples and promo garbage.


You sound normal (whatever normal really is) to me. Maybe you have a little anxiety now and then, and for good reason. School is stressful - maybe doctors are forgetting this.

Lexapro has some serious side effects and if you did test it out you face withdrawals when you want to come off it. It is not a med to be taken lightly.



I could probably get diagnosed with anxiety based on my tachycardia issues. Of course I'd also call a doctor a dumb** * point blank if they did. My tach goes away when I lay down, anxiety does not do that.

I have tachycardia too. It happened the most when I was depressed and I really was very anxious then, and I had palpitations to a point where I went to my doc just for the palpitations and tachycardia at first. But I feel like it isn't as bad as they make it out to be, because I was really anxious and depressed but yet I felt better once I found a few things to motivate me. I dunno, I really don't want to take this lexapro, it was a sample that she gave me and she said come back in four weeks for an increased dose. I think I'll just cancel my next appointment and I won't take it.
Ughh I feel like I was better off not even going for a physical although it's never a bad idea to get random blood work to see if everything is okay. I did have a vitamin D deficiency that they also gave me tablets for- no wonder I sleep so much.... But I just hate doctors In their effort to make sure I'm not sick with something they might miss, they really mess up my daily routine and give me extra headaches. I was really freaked out about possibly being bipolar- I know that's a bit more serious...

Vitamin D deficiency can cause a lot of symptoms itself. You'll probably need to take a D3 supplement all through the winter.

If you truly feel this is a problem for you, do seek another opinion from psychologist instead.

And yes, it's possible for a person to go through bouts of depression and not have long term depression. It's normal even. For example - someone close to you dies, you'll feel depressed while grieving. While some stay depressed a lot of people move passed it.
Also a lot of medical issues can look like depression, specifically deficiencies and hormonal issues.

Do you still get the tach? On an normal day when do you have it? Was your B12 checked?

Speaking as someone who has suffered from depression and anxiety for most of her life, I'd go to meds only under the supervision of an excellent psychiatrist (I am lucky to have a "House" like shrink but with better bed side manner). And ONLY if my anxiety/depression was making it impossible to function in my daily life. I've been able to taper off of lexapro with the help of a marvelous website: www.theroadback.org and my doctor's blessing.

You are the best judge as to how you are coping in your life and, if necessary, find the right doctor who will support you in that decision.

Best and good luck,

Hi, I suffer from bad anxiety, I have been on anti depressants in the past and to be honest, I didn't find them helpful. This past month has been awful for me and I had a really bad panic attack, I went to my doctor and begged him not to put me back on anti depressants, he just prescribed me diazepam to get me throught the tough times. I haven't taken many and don't intend to. I really want to beat his on my own and I feel that I can and anyone can if they can work through it. I think talking to someone is a better option than medication-but obviously everyone is different and medication works better for some. I am sending you hugs as I know how awful anxiety is. x

I suffer from anxiety and take daily medication (Celexa, similar to Lexapro) for it as well as "calm down" medication as needed (Xanax). I take these medications because my anxiety when out of control is debilitating as well as terrifying. It is a psychiatric condition and is much more severe than just your everyday stress.

I believe that depression and anxiety disorders are over-diagnosed. A lot of doctors want to give everyone a pill to make life better rather than letting them deal with it on their own. It sounds to me like you have normal everyday anxiety, but I am not a doctor. Ultimately even if you do have anxiety disorder, as long as you are not endangering yourself or others you don't necessarily need medication, you just need to work with your doctor find a solution that works best for you!

Originally Posted by strange_wings

Vitamin D deficiency can cause a lot of symptoms itself. You'll probably need to take a D3 supplement all through the winter.

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They prescribed me a very concentrated vitamin D tablet it had 50,000 mg I think and I have to take it once a week for 2 months. Also said I should go outside for 20 minutes but it has been rainy all week so I haven't done that. I am surprised because I walk around campus a lot so that means I should be getting enough sunlight, but one thing I never do is drink milk and I know that has vitamin D so maybe thats why I don't have enough.

Originally Posted by strange_wings

If you truly feel this is a problem for you, do seek another opinion from psychologist instead.


Do you still get the tach? On an normal day when do you have it? Was your B12 checked?

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This isn't really a problem anymore, it used to be. I was gaining a lot of weight and I was depressed, but for over a year now I haven't had any symptoms. The anxiety has started to come back a little in the past month because I had finals and I was extremely nervous because in one of my classes, I didn't go all semester and the course grade consisted of a paper and a final, both of which were due at the end of the course so I was freaking out. It all turned out well though, I got an A in that class. But it really stressed me out and I had a lot of dreams where I was failing it lol ..i think that's why I've had a little anxiety but nothing major like it used to be when I was depressed a year ago. As far as the tachycardia, it hasn't been in issue in over a year either. In the past month, I've had it at night before going to sleep, but I still wouldn't say it's as bad.

Originally Posted by Ruthyb

Hi, I suffer from bad anxiety, I have been on anti depressants in the past and to be honest, I didn't find them helpful. This past month has been awful for me and I had a really bad panic attack, I went to my doctor and begged him not to put me back on anti depressants, he just prescribed me diazepam to get me throught the tough times. I haven't taken many and don't intend to. I really want to beat his on my own and I feel that I can and anyone can if they can work through it. I think talking to someone is a better option than medication-but obviously everyone is different and medication works better for some. I am sending you hugs as I know how awful anxiety is. x

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My dad was taking medicine for anxiety and found it to be useless also, it didn't help him at all and he stopped taking it. I really feel the same way you do, I feel like I can beat it on my own and I am in control, not some pill or some doctor. When I was in therapy I feel like it had the opposite effect, it made me get worse because I felt like "it's okay, I am sick I just need to leave it up to the docs they will take care of it"..I am glad I didn't just do that, I left therapy and didn't take meds and I was able to find motivation to get better. I am glad I'm not the only one who feels like it's possible to get through these issues without meds.

While going to sleep isn't really a time one would associate with an adrenaline rush. If it happened while you were asleep it would point to some sort of sleep disorder (and be easier to figure out).
It could simply be something off in your body. Periods, not drinking enough, not getting enough vitamins or minerals from foods, etc can all cause crazy symptoms. Hopefully that's all it is and supplementing, eating well, and relaxing makes you feel better soon.

Vitamin D deficiencies can cause both anxiety and depression as symptoms - so maybe that's the worst of it. (vit D issues will affect thyroid, as well) Several things can affect how much you get and how your body processes it. Some people just have issues with it.
Others, like my mother, were put on a cholesterol lowering drug with no one keeping track of her vit D levels.

Originally Posted by CruiserMaiden

I suffer from anxiety and take daily medication (Celexa, similar to Lexapro) for it as well as "calm down" medication as needed (Xanax). I take these medications because my anxiety when out of control is debilitating as well as terrifying. It is a psychiatric condition and is much more severe than just your everyday stress.

I believe that depression and anxiety disorders are over-diagnosed. A lot of doctors want to give everyone a pill to make life better rather than letting them deal with it on their own. It sounds to me like you have normal everyday anxiety, but I am not a doctor. Ultimately even if you do have anxiety disorder, as long as you are not endangering yourself or others you don't necessarily need medication, you just need to work with your doctor find a solution that works best for you!

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I've suffered from depression since I got hormones, and have had panic disorder (severe, needing daily medication) for um 8yrs now. Unfortunately in my case it is hereditary, environmental factors didn't/don't help.

I've done the antidepressent route, spent quite a few yrs on them. It helped.... and although I swore I would never go back on them (I had a horrible 6mos withdrawal when I went off) I am back to a point in my life where I need the help and am contemplating going back on them.

Panic Disorder: I need medication, most likely for the rest of my life, in order to function and live a semi normal life. Even so, I still have panic attacks, and I still get anxious over certain things. The anxiety I feel on meds is what I would consider a "normal persons" anxiety. If that was all I had, I would NOT take meds for it. But I have panic attacks repeatedly, to the point of fear of leaving my home....

IMO: I would not take meds unless your quality of life is being seriously affected. If you are just getting the jitters, then no, I wouldn't take meds.

I would seek alternative treatments for your anxiety. Learn relaxation techniques, deep breathing, etc. It helps a lot.

Sounds like you need to find a doctor better suited to your way of thinking.....

I agree with the post about seeing a psychologist, if you don't want to take pills, then maybe cognitive therapy or counselling or whatever you want to call it might help. It also seems like the anxiety is really circumstantial, with finals and all that. So sure, you sound 'normal' enough to me. Not that you should listen to what i have to say necessarily..

Me, I'll take a pill for anything pretty much. Which is probably not necessarily a good thing, I know. Just 2 weeks ago I asked my dr. for a Rx for Wellbutrin (i was on it for a few years in early 2000s and it DID help me.) and something anti-anxiety because I've been having really bad anxiety issues lately. Then again, I've had a bunch of big things going on in my life lately too which could mean it's not a chemical imbalance but just normal nerves. Dr. gave me the Rx's but also told me to maybe wait on starting the Wellbutrin cos I might not need it. I haven't felt the need to take any Xanax yet either, I just got that for a 'just in case' thing if i feel like i'm dying. I'm very much leaning towards going back on the Wellbutrin soonish though. I know the feeling of slipping into real clinical depression and I don't want to get there again.

With the way docs so freely prescribe meds these days, I was surprised that, while my dr. gave me the Rx's, she did recommend to hold off.. Sounds like you might want someone like her.. (she does like to steal my blood a lot though. OUCH!)

I hope you feel better soon, in any case. Finals are done, try to relax a bit!

Originally Posted by Snake_Lady

I would seek alternative treatments for your anxiety. Learn relaxation techniques, deep breathing, etc. It helps a lot.

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Actually deep breathing for 10 seconds is what my doctor recommended rather than me popping pills. (which i haven't, yet)

Well I've never actually been really bothered by anxiety, anything I've ever felt I've always attributed to my nerves and normal causes, I've never felt like "i need to see a doc because this isn't normal"
When I went to the doctor this time she was asking me all kinds of questions like rate your mood right now and describe your overall mood...
So based on my answers she gave me this diagnosis.
I guess what I'm trying to say is, there was a time when I really must have been anxious because I thought I was going to die randomly and kept asking people to come stay with me in case I need someone to call 911, even though I had no symptoms of a disease, I just sorta had that feeling ....But even then, I never went rushing to the doc to ask what's wrong with me, I thought I was just making myself paranoid and after a while I'll feel better. And I always ended up feeling better after a while...So I just don't see any reason to take these pills. The doctor kept saying "do you really want to live like this for the rest of your life" and I was like ummm well I've been living like this and I can't really complain...I dunno, I feel like it's manageable but the doctor kept convincing me that I'm too anxious and it isn't normal to worry so much. Yes, I worry but I talk myself out of it, like after about 5 minutes of paranoid worrying that something bad will happen and imagining scenes of tragedies, I turn on the TV or put on a song and I forget about it after a while....It's so not a big deal.

Originally Posted by Snake_Lady

I've suffered from depression since I got hormones, and have had panic disorder (severe, needing daily medication) for um 8yrs now. Unfortunately in my case it is hereditary, environmental factors didn't/don't help.

I've done the antidepressent route, spent quite a few yrs on them. It helped.... and although I swore I would never go back on them (I had a horrible 6mos withdrawal when I went off) I am back to a point in my life where I need the help and am contemplating going back on them.

Panic Disorder: I need medication, most likely for the rest of my life, in order to function and live a semi normal life. Even so, I still have panic attacks, and I still get anxious over certain things. The anxiety I feel on meds is what I would consider a "normal persons" anxiety. If that was all I had, I would NOT take meds for it. But I have panic attacks repeatedly, to the point of fear of leaving my home....

IMO: I would not take meds unless your quality of life is being seriously affected. If you are just getting the jitters, then no, I wouldn't take meds.

I would seek alternative treatments for your anxiety. Learn relaxation techniques, deep breathing, etc. It helps a lot.

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x2
My experience is a lot like this. I agree 100%

I have anxiety. It got to a point where I would have panic attacks and I was so stressed out that I just wasn't able to cope. I felt that everything in my life was just out of control. In 2002 or so I went to my doctor and he put me on Celexa. I now take 30 mg every day and I feel so much better. I feel like my old self. It takes a great deal to get me rattled now.

Everyone can have anxiety, but when it's so bad that it's affecting your life on a pretty much regular basis, you need to seek out a doctor and get put on some medication. Like depression it's a chemical imbalance in the brain and needs to be treated.

I'm so glad that I went to my doctor. I feel "normal," like my old self again, and I like that feeling.

Originally Posted by ut0pia

Yes, I worry but I talk myself out of it, like after about 5 minutes of paranoid worrying that something bad will happen and imagining scenes of tragedies, I turn on the TV or put on a song and I forget about it after a while....It's so not a big deal.

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Well you know best how you feel and how you cope. If it's not a big deal, then don't do the pills. The doctor can't force you, it's just her recommendation. And it does sound pretty pushy, from what you're saying you're feeling. If you feel like you're coping with life and managing ok, then cool! You're aware that there are treatment options available if you ever feel you're getting worse and need them.



OK now we all need to stop worrying about worrying!!

Panic attacks are the worst thing I think that could ever happen to you, I had a bad one just after my husbands nana died about 3 weeks ago and I was in Tesco doing my shopping. I have never had one as bad as that and I had to drop my shopping and run, it was like something so terrible was going to happen and I had to get out even though I didn't know what or why? I rung my mum who also suffers with them, she told me to breathe deeply, calm down and go for a lie down and it really helped. I never ant to experience that again and I would not wish it on anyone, I am so sorry for anyone who suffers them, especially on a regular basis. I don't know why mine came on, it was my husbands nana that died, not mine, just awful. xx