Any take any anti anxiety drugs to help get thru some of this?

ksf56 said:

Oh Diane!
I am so sorry you are going through this! I can identify with your anxiety - I thought I was going to go crazy after my diagnosis. Almost like I was going to crawl out of my skin. I was put on Xanax - to take as needed and I took it only during the worst times - it worked great! This is an extremely stressed out time for you - you are currently not your old self. Treat yourself differently - seek help and let them care for you. Your office experience this AM is awful! I wouldn't go back there but do find someone else. Thank God for your surgeon - his nurse will be your ally. During my chemo, my MO also put me on Ativan - I was anxious all the time and all their help and caring got me through.

Please know you are not alone - everyone here has been there to one degree or another. Do whatever it takes to take care of YOU! Our mental health really takes a beating during this journey. Please ask for something to calm you during the dye injection. The injection wasn't my favorite thing but it does pass fairly quickly and compared to everything you're going through it's just a blip on the radar screen.

Take care - I'll keep you in my prayers!

Hugs!
Karen

CypressCynthia said:

Hope this helps!
A few thoughts.... First off, xanax, valium and the like can be great for getting through a short term crisis. They are not always as successful with longterm issues and, for those, a physician will usually use type of antidepressant that is also an antianxiety (probably wrongly named and antidepressant because this confuses the heck out of the public).

There are reasons for this as 1) longterm meds are often more effective and 2) the shortterm meds can be very hard to get off of (psychiatrists have nicknamed xanax "superglue" for a reason). Now, of course, if you are Stage 4, this may or may not be an issue.

Psychiatrists are no longer what many people still wrongly believe. No couch or therapy...lol (or I should say extremely rare these days). They are usually simply psych medication experts called in to take a look-see at your condition, your symptoms and your other meds to figure out the best meds for you. I know this because my sister is a psychiatrist. For example, if you are on tamoxifen, some meds should be avoided. Kudos to your docs for realizing this!

Also, you would be amazed at the wrong prescriptions handed out by GP's for anxiety--a friend was given welbutrin for anxiety by her GP and I convinced her to go and talk with a psychiatrist after she was bouncing off the wall with even more anxiety.

A significant number of cancer patients do experience anxiety and/or depression. See: Anxiety, Fear and Depression http://www.cancer.org/acs/groups/cid/documents/webcontent/002816-pdf.pdf

I am on lexapro for my day in, day out anxiety and it has really, really helped me cope with my cancer. There are many other antidepressants approved for anxiety including cymbalta, effexor and viibryd (just to name a few). Some can have serious drug-drug interactions, so a psychiatrist can be helpful in sorting this out.

My advice is to take what works for you shortterm (such as xanax) and then see the psychiatrist to figure out the very best medication for YOU. You need to be strong to fight this beast and, as you said, this disease does do a major number on us. Big, big hugs!

P.S. I see that you have seen a psychiatrist before. Please don't let the one bad apple spoil your opinion. I had a lousy one once, but have since had one great psychiatrist and one terrific psychiatric NP. Good luck!