The one thing TRT hasn’t fixed for me is the lifelong anxiety. It’s seldom crippling anymore, but it sure ain’t helping me. I’ve become a big believer in fixing the lifestyle causes of things like that, but it hits a point where I could use a little help.
Lately been exploring the idea of getting something else for that specifically.
I won’t touch benzos, SSRIs are junk, I’m allergic to Wellbutrin. Years ago I was on an MAOI and it was pretty great, but that’s some pretty powerful shit.
Anyone here take anything for anxiety specifically?
-I’ve read the anxiety post over on EM which is pretty focused on Zoloft and Wellbutrin, so it wasn’t much help.
I believe that most of the anxiety meds have a bunch of bad side effects, many of which are sexual side effects. I also feel that they would just prevent me from actually addressing the root cause of the anxiety.
Cognitive behavioral therapy has helped me a lot. I also decided not to let myself get away with avoidance of certain anxiety triggering situations - which definitely improves your reaction going forward. Meditation may be helpful as well, but I never really tried that.
I’m on sertraline, it works well for general anxiety reduction though I still get regular anxiety attacks.
I’ve also had CBT but I didn’t find it to be effective.
My anxiety is better with Buspar, I don’t snap as often, but am still mostly anxious. I’m also on 400mg of Quetiapine for PTSD, Depression and works as a sleep aid.
Quetiapine is single handedly the strongest med I have taken for sleep, my initial dose of 12.5mg had me waking up outside in my yard,LOL. Serious, toke dose went out for a smoke and woke up the next morning on my deck.
I will second the CBT as being a good treatment option. General mindfulness also helps, along with reducing expectations of myself and others. I’ve found that a lot of people who deal with high anxiety also tend to be very hard on themselves and others. It has its upsides, but peace and longevity aren’t among them.
Also, good routine is anxiolytic. If you build a disciplined routine that addresses what you need to address in your life, then you can go to sleep and wake up day-in day-out with a fair bit of comfort knowing that at least your bases are covered.
I take two draws of a Sativa joint, once a week. The first 15 minutes usually brings on anxiety but it allows me to focus on it and deal with the fact that I did it to myself. But after that I feel calm as heck for days. If I get anxious, for no reason, Im able to chill out faster, and probably from practice. Lol
I was prescribed Benzos, hated them, have used weed sparingly for years and it has made a world of difference. But we have to be careful prescribing the drug that probably has the most widely varying range of reactions out of all the popular drugs. Some people get slow and lazy, others are hyperactive and productive. Some people giggle uncontrollably, other people freak out. Some people can smoke it for years and you can barely tell, and some people can smoke it for a year and they seem like someone’s running them at .5x speed for the rest of their lives.
I would strongly suggest something CBD-related long before you add in a psychoactive element like THC. Not a flame at you, middleages, just a caution for the OP - I have seen weed calm people down, but I have seen people have such bad anxiety attacks that they never go near the stuff again. I do consider it less dangerous than a lot of other medications and pretty much all other drugs, but if it’s not something that you already do/have done, be careful with how you approach it.
MOST IMPORTANTLY - if you have not dialed in your eating, your sleeping, your external stressors, and all the things directly under your control, do not add a single other outside substance to your body. Crowdsourcing these things is likely a bad idea in and of itself. I still struggle with depression and anxiety, and likely will for life, but there are ways to begin to find a balance. Good luck, dude.
Im gonna go out on limb here, and say that the whole point of weed is the THC. CBD is a joke. Weed is simply a recreational drug, with therapeutic potential, great for chillin…not magic or a life ruiner. Let’s not liken it to a maxi dose of acid that leaves you permafried. One good point you made… is dial it all in.
I’ve backed off on social media and that’s helped too. I’ve tried backing off on the news a little, but it’s tough as I stock trade (which in itself is high stress).
Ideally I’d make more at my day job - I’ve had a long awkward climb to where I’m at now, and I don’t think that’s helped.