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OTC anti-anxiety medication


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whirl3daway

do you have any experience with this? I have an anxiety problem and I know diet, exercise etc all help, but they don't alleviate my symptoms. I would like to avoid taking a prescription if possible.

 

I recently ordered some of this ZenRX stuff I read about. It contains kava-kava, theanine, gaba and other natural things.

 

have you tried this? or anything else? what helps you with anxiety - especially if you have a disorder?

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I've never heard of OTC anxiety medication. I take a Buspirone prescription and it's low cost, minimal to no side effects. It's designed for daily anxiety maintenance and is not a narcotic like many others that get you addicted, so I highly recommend it.

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Many drugs/supplements work to stimulate something to be released or is a precursor to something that you are missing (like a hormone) so that it can bind with a receptor or, some drugs directly mimic hormones and directly bind with the receptor to either make something happen agonist or prevent something from happening antagonist...not surprisingly many things work on a global level and can have other side benefits and side effects, and not surprisingly many people have a different distribution of receptors and sensitivities to drugs and their own hormones (and then even become resistant to them after saturation)...So honestly, a doctor could prescribe something to you have knowledge of how a drug works or interacts and someone else can take the same thing having vastly different experiences. You'll have to experiment and observe to honestly find the truth, and if you often stay on to long effectiveness decreases. Take caffeine for example, some people can drink multiple cups of coffee a day an no effect, others would be wired esp if they had been off sometime.

 

It sounds like your looking into supplements so...

Independent Analysis on Supplements & Nutrition | Examine.com

is a good starting place. They have a stack section there also. Don't let it be the only thing you look it.

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amaysngrace

Sometimes it's better to see a doctor and take a measured recommended dose of something than trying to concoct up a home remedy.

 

Doctors are smarter than you or I because they know more about it than we do.

 

Too many home remedies could be more damaging than a tried and true method. I just don't understand the mentality of people who "don't want a prescription". Like somehow having added anxiety over wondering if a concoction you mixed up at home for your anxiety disorder is a far superior idea than simply taking a "prescription" or something...

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white_bass87
So honestly, a doctor could prescribe something to you have knowledge of how a drug works or interacts and someone else can take the same thing having vastly different experiences.

 

That is spot on for anyone that has ever been on anxiety medication.

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Google GABA containing foods. I keep a list on my fridge and eat most of them, like green tea, bananas, nuts, broccoli.

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whirl3daway

It's not that I'm against medication - quite the opposite. My insurance makes it sort of expensive, and I also am not fond of the side effects I get. Brain fogginess and sexual issues have been abound for me while I tried medicines. I wish it could be both affordable and not insane for my head! I will ask my nurse practitioner what she thinks of this, though.

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whirl3daway
Google GABA containing foods. I keep a list on my fridge and eat most of them, like green tea, bananas, nuts, broccoli.

 

Yeah, I already eat these things. Except bananas. Because they are the devil.

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I really don't think you will get a huge amount of relief from otc products if things are that bad. Have you been recording your moods on a daily basis to see if you are more anxious some days rather than others?

 

It could very well be hormonally related- and if it is then you could find some more specific otc products to help.

 

Without having some idea of the cause behavioural/hormonal/chemical, then trying different things is a bit of a stab in the dark.

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whirl3daway
As an RN, I advise you to see your doctor. Not for a med but to determine 'if' one may be helpful. Perhaps a short term prescription...or not.

 

Sometimes all that is needed is a reassurance that what you are feeling is well within healthy standards. We can all get anxious, stressed at times.

 

As for a healthy lifestyle...a good diet and exercise may not be enough but they are helpful. Much easier to cope with any situation when physically healthy. Nothing wrong with exploring alternative supplements, etc. but run them by your doctor first. Don't choose them because of Internet advice.

 

 

I am of course feeling very stressed and anxious going through a breakup. I think that's fairly normal. But I have a tendency to get overanxious and overanalyze things - I'm a child abuse survivor who has been in therapy for years at this point now lol. I have stress managing techniques also but they are hard to implement when I'm already having the racing anxiety.

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Go for a long run until you are too exhausted to think.

 

Most people are victims of some form of child abuse. That's almost normal. It's how you live the rest of your life that counts. Many people have had the most horrendous experiences (like the Holocaust) but survive and even thrive afterward because they believe if they survived that, they can handle anything life throws at them.

 

Google breathing for anxiety. The way you breath can make you more or less anxious.

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It's not that I'm against medication - quite the opposite. My insurance makes it sort of expensive, and I also am not fond of the side effects I get. Brain fogginess and sexual issues have been abound for me while I tried medicines. I wish it could be both affordable and not insane for my head! I will ask my nurse practitioner what she thinks of this, though.

 

I think what you are asking, is are there herbal remedies for anxiety? This answer is maybe. There is lots of research on this and lots of things you can try. I added Herbal hot teas with raw natural honey to my diet recently.

 

I am on a very very low does of Klonopin and is has helped me a lot. No side effects at all. I see a Psychiatrist every 3 months to check on how I am doing. I do not like taking RXs either.

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It's not that I'm against medication - quite the opposite. My insurance makes it sort of expensive, and I also am not fond of the side effects I get. Brain fogginess and sexual issues have been abound for me while I tried medicines. I wish it could be both affordable and not insane for my head! I will ask my nurse practitioner what she thinks of this, though.

 

I think my Buspirone was $15 with insurance/copay, maybe $30 without...but it has lasted me 3 months or so.

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whirl3daway

Most people are victims of some form of child abuse. That's almost normal.

 

I'm fairly certain most people aren't kidnapped by their fathers, separated from their mothers for years while being brainwashed against her, sexually and physically abused, and then totally ignored. Hopefully that's not almost normal.

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whirl3daway
I think my Buspirone was $15 with insurance/copay, maybe $30 without...but it has lasted me 3 months or so.

 

Buspirone was one I tried with my nurse practitioner. It worked a bit, but wasn't a huge help. :/ I was taking cymbalta at the same time though, so maybe taking it alone would help.

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Have you tried reducing/eliminating caffeine, if you consume it? Caffeine can magnify anxiety a lot. I'm not saying it would totally cure your anxiety, but it could help tremendously.

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Benedryl is a short term acting anti -anxiety med, but it causes drowsiness and your body will get used to it over the long term - but its mostly harmless.

 

I recently went on beta blockers for blood pressure, they are used off label for anxiety (my doc gives them to people for short term anxiety issues) and I can report I have experience this positive side effect. Better then busprione.

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I take a low dose of Hyland's Calm's Forte. It's a homeopathic sleep aid, but also aid in calming your nerves. It's magnesium based. Works for me.

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lucy_in_disguise

You can try valerian root. My mom swears by that s!ht. I believe it is very popular in Russia/ Eastern Europe as an anxiety medication, and it is natural, with minimal reported side effects.

 

This wont be a popular answer, but personally I find marijuana to be quite helpful. I can be pretty intense and tend to bite off more than I can chew, finding myself frequently stressing out in certain situations. A hit off my vaporizer is all it takes for me to relax, and personally i am more wary of the long term effects of perscription pills than weed, so it's an option that works for me.

 

Different strains have different effects tho, and pot can aggravate anxiety for some people, so be careful if you decide to experiment.

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learning_slowly

But I know people that had equally bad experiences and went through what you are going through. They did take prescription drugs and last I heard, had given them up bar relapses.

 

Now they are doing well in their job, have a new boyfriend etc, so there is hope for you too. But maybe it is worth getting something that works for you for the immediate future?

 

The only problem I have with them is, what happens when you get another setback?

 

Is the brain not like a muscle? If we go through this hardship, won't we be better prepared for when we have other difficulties?

 

I don't know the answer to the 2 questions above, but hopefully somebody does and then that can help you choose what path to take.

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