Medication?

[ThePunkAlien]

Quick question for anyone that uses meds to balance their lives out. Does it have any negative side effects? Like does it make you go numb?

I'm a writer with social anxiety disorder that makes me completely shut off around groups because my brain chemistry gives me this sensation of feeling high or extremely tired. Sort of like being out of body. I've gotten rid of my negative thoughts, for the most part, but the feeling of that high still holds me back. I'm a writer though, so I've gone my life unmedicated because of my fear that it'll numb me and ruin my creative side that's become my profession (close to selling a script to Warner Brothers).

Basically asking, does medication numb you or just target certain aspects of your chemistry that helps you day-to-day?

[Prozac]

I've had anti-anxiety medication and I'm currently taking Fluoxetine. The anti-depressants had absolutely horrendous side effects for a month or two (google it and I had basically all of the side-effects, inc. increased suicidal thoughts). Now though, I don't really have any side effects, but it has made it easier to deal with everything. It doesn't seem like i'm on medication, I just know I'm happier now, though that's also to do with other things.

[EmisaurusRex]

Well, it really varies for each person. Medications effect people differently. It also depends on the medication that you are taking. I've taken medicines that made me completely numb and I just wandered around in a state. It was terrible. But, I've also taken medicines that, like Stephanie, had really bad side effects at first but after awhile I was fine.
It's something that you could probably discuss with a psychiatrist or other doctor and get the facts on what generally happens with different anti-anxiety medications and then you could decide if there was one you wanted to try.
If you do decide to try medication, don't let how it effects you for the first few weeks make you stop taking it...it can take awhile to work properly.

[Music]

If you can find the right medication and the right dose for you then there shouldn't be any horrible negative effects. I'm not on medication for anxiety but I've been on s lot of different medication for a few different reasons. I can tell you now that some can have horrible effects, but now I've found the right one for me and I barely notice it now.
I think you should give it a shot, if it does bother you you can always just get off of it then, no harm done. Permanent effects are rare so if it's available to you then you don't have much to lose.

[Stacey]

Like others have said, once you have found the right medication and the right dosage you should never have any feelings of being numb, or anything like that. I personally started taking anti-depressants for my generalized anxiety disorder back in January. Although I don't experience social anxiety I do understand that feeling of being high that you explained, but on top of that my anxiety got so bad that I would have anxiety attacks several times a day and have constant debilitating physical symptoms. I first tried Klonopin, which had no effect at all on me and I was then switched to Effexor which I can honestly say, has made me feel better than ever. Aside from the initial month where the medication was adjusting to my system and I felt dizzy or nauseous a lot since June I have had no anxiety attacks, I've taken my Ativan maybe once, and I'm happy. I honestly don't feel like I'm on medication at all. I was so scared of how I would feel when I was on it, but it is honestly not as bad as you may assume once you find the right one for you, and it should in no way affect your creativity!

[Ghost On The Highway]

Unfortunately...it depends. Shitty answer, I know, but these drugs do different things for different people, and even the placebo effect can make a major difference in how you feel (or in my case, the reverse placebo effect). For me, SSRI's (Lexapro, Prozac, Zoloft) were quite numbing and anxiety-inducing. Fortunately, there were no physical side effects, withdrawal, etc. from quitting! Lamictal and Wellbutrin have been moderately stimulating mentally and creatively, though Wellbutrin seemed to leave me a bit cold emotionally. Klonopin and Xanax did wonders for me as needed, they helped restore a sense of balance when I was feeling awful, panicky, or just fucked up in general. YMMV.

[OMFG!You'reActuallySmart!]

It varies for different individuals, the medication itself, dosage and duration (other factors too but these are the easiest to understand). I mention duration because it's common for experiencing positive or negative effects in the first week to three weeks of taking it. This is often a result of your body reacting to the sudden change and so it compensates. Sometimes it ends before three, two or even one week but for psychiatric medications, the rule of thumb is a few weeks. If it continues beyond that, such as several months, it's not likely to dissipate but one thing to remember is even if it is a negative side-effect, it may not be severe. It can make life a bit uncomfortable or it can lead to rather awful effects, such as affecting bone marrow.

Unfortunately, you can only know by taking it. If you're taking other medications already, you can have interactions, which sometimes don't affect the person even though theoretically it's meant to, or it may be a positive effect. Sometimes it's a negative one but there's a spectrum of negative effects.