Can anyone tell me about anxiety meds plz... Desperate

mamalu- I'm so sorry to hear of your sadness. I used to suffer with anxiety attacks and made many trips to ER thinking I was dying. I was given xanax and it worked great for me. If I would take it when I started feeling the slightest adrenaline rush, it would usually prevent the attack. Then I went probably 15 years without one. But during chemo my onc wanted me to take it. I now have xanax on hand to use whenever needed. I took it for 2 weeks once, but that's probably the longest continuous time. I don't feel any side effects when using it.

Getting a bc diagnosis takes a toll on us all. Now is a great time to use these meds, just to regain some control where you can think clearly again. Best wishes to you...anxiety is the pits!

mamalu13,

I was taking ativan during treatment, like on the day of chemo to get through the treatment and then after treatment, i felt like i needed it on a daily basis.  The problem was that it only helped for a few hours, and I need more than that.  My onc put me on Klonopin, which was longer acting, like 12 hours I think, and although she prescribed like 1mg pill twice a day, I started with half of one pill (.5 mg) and that was all i took all day, and that helped enough for me.  I was also taking celexa because she prescribed them together.  You know celexa and klonopin REALLY helped me.  about 2 years after this combination I became pregnant and stopped these meds cold turkey. It was a couple of tough weeks (you should never stop cold turkey)  after my baby was born, i started having the worst anxiety i've ever experienced.  I started on the celexa alone and that has been pretty good.  The reason I like this is because the klonopin in addicting, and supposedly the celexa isn't.  Celexa is an antidepressant, but it is also used for anxiety disorder.  You take it everyday.  I hope this helps.  The way you describe your sadness suggests you need help to feel better.  I would say for immediate relief the klonopin/ativan will help, the celexa takes a few weeks to really kick in.  I think this is why my onc prescribed them together because the klonopin helped until the celexa kicked in.  Good luck.  Big hugs, and YES YOU WILL BE YOU AND FEEL GOOD AGAIN.  You're already on the way because you recognize the problem!

I should add that i started the celexa slowly.  the first time i started the 20 mg dose, it made me SO DIZZY ... so i started slow, like 5 mg for a few days, then 10 for a week, up to 15 then 20.  I took the liquid form so really easy to dose up or down.  good luck.

I took celexa during an extremely stressful period in my life(believe it or not, it wasn't the breast cancer portion!) and it helped A LOT. I tapered up to the full dose, and when it was time to go off of it after about 2 years, I also tapered off of it. I did not have any adverse side effects. I also visited a therapist during that time, which helped immensely. 

When I was first diagnosed with breast cancer, my doctor gave me clonazepam to help me sleep for the first couple of weeks. Again, I tapered up then tapered down.  

My oncologist has told me that celexa is no longer an option for me since my cancer was ER+ and I am on tamoxifen. Apparently, celexa, and many other antidepressants interfere with tamoxifen. He has told me that effexor would be my drug of choice, should I ever need one again. So far, so good. I haven't needed it, but I would not rule out taking it in the future.

Mary 

I've been taking Ativan on occasion for three years (since my bc diagnosis) - I take a very small dose and probably only once or twice a week - heavier use during scan season - it works for me but everyone is different - I do wish I'd had it many years ago (I've suffered from anxiety since my childhood).

I was so anxious before my first treatment the other week my psych-onc recommended I get an anti-anxiety med and my PCP prescribed me Lexotan (Bromazepam) 3mg tablets. I was to take either 1/2 or a whole tablet twice daily, as needed.



Now, he did say that this med can be addictive, but it works pretty immediately and is suitable for short-term use, and the 3mg is still 1/2 of the max 6mg ones.



I took 1/2 tablet morning and night in the 4 days leading up to my first chemo and a whole one in the morning before my chemo. Then went back to 1/2 for the day after. Then I stopped taking them because I felt I was over the anxiety.



I still have over 1/2 of the original box sitting there and I intend on taking them again before my next tx in a week and a bit.



My PCP was happy to prescribe these because he knows that I do not have an addictive personality and that I was definitely anxious and not depressed (there is a big difference in those). He said he preferred not to put me on some major anti-depressant like Effexor because they are actually more physically addictive, take longer to work (up to 3 weeks for Effexor!) and have many more side effects, including loss of sexual libido and function ( which is one of the many potential SEs from chemo that I was stressing over to start with...).



Hope this helps and you get what "fits" your needs :-)



regards Jenn

I was given diazepam when I was first diagnosed 10 mg and took it fairly frequently as I was experiencing major anxiety attacks.  Then I ended up with a new PCP that insisted I get off the Diazepam and take Lorazepam instead.  Diazepam is longer acting - 8 hours or so whereas, Lorazepam is good for 4 hours.  Now if you are not having an anxiety attack - Lorazepam is great as a sleeping aid and will put me down for 10 hours of straight sleep.  However if you are having an anxiety attack it works differently and is only good for 4 hours.

The only problem is that if you have to take a drug test, it will show up in your system so it is important that if you have to do this, you let the person know that you have a prescription for it.

I take Lorazepam an average of 3x per week - no more than that. 

I am also on Zoloft.  I tried Celexa, Wellbutrin, and some other anti-depressants and my body reacts best to Zoloft.  Everyone is different - what works for me may not necessarily work for you.