Will Medication Help?Plz Read..

[revengeful]

Hi im suffering from SAD for a few years and decided to take action by seeing a pyschiatrist.He prescribed me Xanax and another drug called Serotax.

I just want to ask , will SAD be cured eventually with medication?
Currently i wont say im a very bad case.No doubt sometimes I panic in crowds.But it gets worst especially in front of the opposite sex,(eg. an orientation group with females).Also, i am able to force myself into social situations,its just the negative thoughts which comes automatically i want to eliminate.Will medication help?

Will appreciate input from those currently from medication.Thanks!

 

[Mozart22]

The Seroxat (Paxil) helped me a lot with S.A.D.
But be warned, if you ever wish to get off that drug,
it's VERY hard to do. Once you're on it, it takes a lot of
effort and patience to gradually get off it.

 

[revengeful]

the doctor told me paxil will take 2 weeks to kick in.
U saying that the negavie thoughts will kick back in when i stop medication?
Anyway in what way does the medicine helped u Mozart?care to share?

 

[noblame4]

I was in therepy for a few months for my SAD a couple years ago and I also took paxil. Paxil helped me too, I liked it a lot. The pills dont cure you though, they just make it easier for you to handle the exposure and social skills work you have to do, and that's what 'cures' you.

I was doing really well for a while but my insurance got cancelled suddenly and I had to stop therepy before I was finished and I guess it didnt take because now Im to square one. I guess when you have SAD you do run the risk of a relapse.

Also, I took paxil for a little under a year, and then I had to go off it cold turkey, and damn that was a bitch! For the first three days I had these weird...brain shakes(???) where every so often it felt like my brain just SPINNED around in my skull for a second, very uncomfortable. I also had some mild nausea for about a week. Some people have bad emotional reactions when they go off it, like depression but I felt fine exept for once when I watched an animal cruelty documentary and had one big, quick crying jag. That was it. ....So that's what going off paxil was like for me. It sucked but I've had flues that were more traumatic.

Also, it took about two weeks for my paxil to kick in. I had one little side effect at first where I could feel it "kicking in" because I had this feeling in my jaw like I had to yawn, but didnt. That only lasted about 20 mins and compleatly stopped after about two weeks. The paxil didnt make me feel different or high or anything, I just sort of started feeling like "the hell with it" when people talked to me or I had to go somewhere instead of feeling like "Oh shit! Oh shit! Oh shit!"

So, that's that. I hope this post makes some kind of sence, I've been nipping a little tonight.

Oh, that reminds me of another side effect! You're not supposed to drink alcohol when you're on the paxil, but I did, and I noticed I had to drink more to get buzzed than usual.

And that's it! Good luck man!

 

[revengeful]

ur post sure enlightened me noblame4.My doc gave me medications lasting for about a month b4 im going back to see him.

As i said,my situation is as such.I am not that bad to the point where i cant go anywhere.I just fear the following situations:

1)eg. Orientation camps - where everyone is foreign.I went for this camp last week and ppl prob thought i was autistic cos i take a long time to warm up to people.I hardly spoke..
2)My school..very ironic but anywhere else crowded im totally ok!Maybe its bcos the people there are in my age group..and many opposite sexes..

noblame4..so basically u are saying i will be more "relaxed" and hence able to interact in social situations better?
Im interested to know,since u took the pill b4,and handled social situations pretty well during that period,why couldnt u replicate that "feeling" once u r off the pill?TIA!

 

[noblame4]

Well, it wont make you GQ or anything, but when you dont have the anxiety cloud crudding up your head, conversations just come easier.

My situation is that when I get around people, ESPECIALLY my peers, my mind goes blank, my mouth wont open even if i do think of somethig to say, and when the paxil was working, I didnt freeze up like I normally do.

As for replicating that feeling without the paxil, I dont know why. I'm just back to normal now. :roll:

Also, that was all based on my personal experience. I was seeing a therepist who was coaching me on social skills and my self esteem at the time. Also, my dose was 15 MGs, wich is probably different from yours. I recomend paxil, but dont count on it miraculously curing you or anything just yet.

 

[user12053]

I use something called Alprox and it does help. I only use it when I know I'm going to get anxiety, so I dont get hooked.