Posted by papillon2 on June 23, 2012, at 3:24:09
In reply to Re: must you take it?, posted by papillon2 on June 23, 2012, at 2:21:24
I should elaborate.
Anti-psychotics are not first or even second-line treatments for anxiety. They are usually considered as a last resort after other safer, better tolerated and more rigorously studied treatments have failed. Moreover, they seem to be aggravating your condition.
Treatments for anxiety which have much better backing in the medical community include SSRIs, SNRIs, benzodiazepines and a type of psychotherapy called Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT). CBT can be combined with medication or used by itself and is an evidence-based treatment proven to work for anxiety. In fact it causes the same structural improvements in the brain those caused by medication, for more info see http://www.psychiatrictimes.com/display/article/10168/1926705
CBT has not cured my anxiety but it has lessened its severity and made living with it easier. CBT is more likely to be carried out by a psychologist, although some psychiatrists do both psychotherapy and medication management. I still take medication.
That your doctor seems unwilling to even consider other classes of medication is both perplexing and alarming, unless there is more to the story that you aren't telling us. So, in summation, I would seriously recommend:
(1) seeing another psychiatrist for a second opinion
(2) looking into Cognitive Behavioural Therapy.To be clear, I'm not wholly against the prescribing of anti-psychotics off label. I've taken them myself. They do have a place, but not as a first-line treatment when there are far better options available.
Ring the bells that still can ring
forget your perfect offering
there is a crack in everything
that's how the light gets in
~ Leonard Cohen
poster:papillon2
thread:1020055
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20120608/msgs/1020090.html