Today, my new antidepressants finally kicked in. I switched to them to try to control my anxiety. Turns out that the most common side effect, funnily enough, is nervousness. Guess I should've done more research. FML
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Thanksgiving
Questions about your love life, a burnt turkey and the cousin who knows everything: Thanksgiving, a contact sport.
Today, I started taking my anxiety meds. Without them I can't function because I'm constantly fighting off panic attacks, but with them I can't function because I get crippling headaches and heartburn and feel tired all the time. FML
Today, I recently started taking some antidepressants and they have been working really well for me, except for the fact that they have made me crap my pants twice now. Both times in public. FML
Today, my new anxiety medicine fully entered my system. It makes me shit my brains out. I can either fart and risk shitting my pants every time or I can be too anxious to even enter a public place. FML
Today, I’ve been getting my ass handed to me by my anxiety for nearly a year. I talked to my doctor about starting meds. I got so terrified of the possible side effects that I not only had an anxiety attack, I also had a panic attack. I still couldn’t bring myself to take the pills. FML
Today, I found out my anti-depressants are super-effective. So effective, they affect things they aren't even supposed to. Like my ability to pee. FML
Today, my anxiety decided to play a new trick: When I'm trying to go to sleep, I get anxious about having nightmares. It sure does wonders for my insomnia, which I've otherwise completely controlled. FML
Today, I had a anxiety attack about taking my anxiety medicine. FML
Today, I realized that acne is a major side effect of a medication I'm taking. The medication is to help me with my anxiety. The acne is creating more anxiety. And the more anxious I get, the more meds I need. And the more my face breaks out. FML
Today, I realized that I needed a new job when I had to take anti-anxiety medication before meeting with my boss. Last time we met, I had a panic attack. FML
Today, my psychiatrist prescribed Xanax. I thought that was a little extreme and that my anxiety wasn't bad enough for that. Within the next hour, I had 2 panic attacks. I guess I'm worse off than I thought. FML
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Top comments
ScratchCatPower 32
Hey, no worries, there's always other options. Also, consult your doctor, he or she could help too. :)
chinaski7628 32
There are meds that are specifically anti-anxiety (like Ativan). They are usually taken in combination with an SSRI (anti-depressant). I'm not a doctor or pharmacist, so I can't speak to what each med does or how they're different, but there are meds specifically for anxiety. I have generalized anxiety and have taken various combos of both over the years, which is the basis of my (admittedly weak) knowledge.
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Comments (82)
Christoph_Blaski 12
How were you possibly prescribed anti-depressants without being aware it would cause "nervousness"? This is too ridiculous
ScratchCatPower 32
Hey, no worries, there's always other options. Also, consult your doctor, he or she could help too. :)
Steve97 32
Op should've taken a chill pill instead :p
swanheart 35
When you say your meds finally kicked in - what do you mean by this? How can you tell that the nerves you're feeling were caused by the meds and not just a random surge? Anti-depressive/anxiety meds can take a while to take effect on your mood and can initially make things worse before settling down so, depending when you started taking them they may not have started working as they should yet. Hopefully this is the case for you, otherwise as people have said please go back to your docs to get your meds adjusted. Chronic anxiety is awful and I hope you get feeling better soon.
JKW35 21
Side effects can make people very nervous
sthrnbell 9
I'm sorry, that sounds so frustrating, I hope it gets better! Good luck
Attacksloth 33
How long were you on them? It can take six weeks for an antidepressant to kick in according to my family doctor. If it's been a long time then ask for a different one. I tried 3 drugs before finding one that I was compatible with.
seriouslygrowup 11
uuuuuhm your doctor should have known this, it sounds like you self-medicate, which is never a good idea. See a professional.
piobrando 3
Doctors don't necessarily know shit. I've had mine repeatedly prescribe me things that my new family doctor then vetoed- like having me on a benzodiazepine for sleeping when I've previously taken other benzo, in addition to being on xanax for anxiety.
heyLaddieHey 18
A lot of people go to their psychiatrists (and other doctors) and request medication now. It's possible OP did that and ignored their doctor. Also possible they're going to a family practitioner to get them for insurance reasons. Chin up OP, anti depressants usually take a few tries to work at all!
swanheart 35
It's possible they did go and see their doctor - for every person who gets this side-effect there will be 99 who don't. The doctor would have no way of knowing how op would react. It is very common for people to have to try a couple of drugs to find the one that works best for them.
SquirrellyGirl 20
Not exactly, sometimes it takes a few tries to find the medication that works best for you
MrConcise 35
YOU should have done more research? Isn't that the job of your ******* psychiatrist or whoever you're seeing to prescribe that?
piobrando 3
It's called informing yourself. Doctors aren't necessarily trained fully in pharmacology either. Actually, OP could also consult a pharmacist for advice. It depends on the drug's mechanism of action.
MrConcise 35
But psychiatrists are. That's their whole job. They're supposed to find the right medication or treatment for your mental health. I would never go to a regular doctor for something like that, but if OP did, well that's their problem.
piobrando 3
You're naive. It's not that simple - I had to go to my GP, simply because I quite literally don't have access to psychiatric help.
MrConcise 35
Sounds like a personal problem, not me being naive. In fact, it sounds like you're applying your own situation to everybody else. Everybody in Canada could get psychiatric help. I have mine covered by insurance. Many people get theirs covered it as well. Many pay out of pocket. You seem to be in the minority.
piobrando 3
I live in Canada. I cannot access proper psychiatric help, because there is nothing where I live and that process also takes a lot of trial and error, which I can't do. I'm not the only one this happens to - you are naive, and our country isn't the land of resources like people seem to think.
7gramblunt 8
I dont get the point of medication. It has way to many side effects that are potentially worse.
MrConcise 35
Imagine your body didn't produce enough or perhaps too much of a certain chemical for you to function without fear, depression, or severe mood swings. Now imagine the only way to resolve that is to guess which one at random. That's how you explain medication for depression and anxiety.
piobrando 3
Says someone who obviously has never had to rely on medication. Think about what you would say to someone with a physical ailment requiring medication and then ask yourself why you think so badly of people with less visible illnesses.
piobrando 3
I'm so sorry OP- if you feel comfortable sharing, what medication were you prescribed? It's entirely possible that a different antidepressant may be more effective for you. You may also be interested in asking about a medication for more acute anxiety.
heyLaddieHey 18
Anti depressants can make someone not want to kill themselves. Anxiety can also make people want to hurt themselves in other ways, by not eating due to anxiety or hurting themselves to calm down.
kenken5 16
Guess your doctor should've done more research before prescribing them. That's his job.
swanheart 35
Like others have said - some people get side effects others don't. The doc doesn't have a crystal ball
kenken5 16
But there are many different antidepressants. He shouldn't have put her on that one if it could've made her anxiety worse.
swanheart 35
But how could he have predicted the future to know how it would affect the op? Not everybody who takes a medication gets 100% of the possible side effects and there's usually no way to tell who will react badly to a drug unless they've had it before.
brand125 17
ALL medications of this type have the chance to make things worse, thats why there are always possible side effects and if you experience them yout suppose tell your doctor and switch. the doctor cant just presribe one that doesnt have a chance of side effects, because they ALL do so that special side-effectless drug doesnt exist