7 ms·

Benzos are pretty terrible drugs in general. The physical addiction potential and withdrawal people are going through are enough to dissuade me from touching th

by glerk 4y ago

Benzos are pretty terrible drugs in general. The physical addiction potential and withdrawal people are going through are enough to dissuade me from touching them. For folks dealing with anxiety, I recommend trying propranolol. It is not as powerful, but sometimes it is enough to achieve the desired effect and the side effects are way less severe.

natly 4y ago
I recommend working out, it helped me a ton with anxiety. It basically cured it (I don't work out much anymore but a short intense few months of hard workouts seems to have almost removed it from my system years afterwards).
- blagie 4y ago
  There are sources of anxiety without clear solutions. I have a stalker. There's low-level harassment continuously, but every few months, she does something crazy, and my life is completely disrupted. I have no idea what to do about it. It's nearing a decade....
  - natly 4y ago
    Sounds awful. My cause was definitely more caused by developmental period weird wiring, so definitely different. Hope you find some way to resolve it one day somehow.
  - Nextgrid 4y ago
    Can police help? Alternatively, (non-violent) retaliation? Seems like there's no downside for this person to be harassing you. Creating a downside might make her think twice next time.
    - cameronh90 4y ago
      Assuming GP is male, he probably doesn't want to do something that might be seen as being aggressive, harassing or upsetting to her, even if not violent. Threatening to involve the police is a common way women abuse men. You can of course involve the police yourself but they often won't listen. I had an ex try to create a situation where I would be framed for rape by creating fake social media accounts purporting to be me. Luckily she wasn't smart and the police saw that all the accounts were obviously created by her. Yet they still didn't help protect me from further harassment or do anything to her for trying to frame me and making false police reports. Sad as it is, probably best to just try and ignore her and consider going by an alias online and moving house.
      - Dma54rhs 4y ago
        I had similar experiences and police are pretty much useless in that case, flat out said since you're physically stronger than the stalker there's no threat to your life. Oh well... Its a constant torture.
        blagie 4y ago
        My ex is smart, wealthy, and devotes most of her life to this. She smart enough that she rarely leave evidence, and when it's there, it's convoluted enough that you can't really act on it. For example, a drone fly-by leaves no evidence. A story about some convoluted 9-month scheme to frame me isn't something anyone will listen to, let alone pursue. If you walk in with a big pile of documentation, you look crazy, not them. The court system is a big hole to throw money into: 1) It is surprisingly impervious to actual evidence. A woman crying on the stand, with a bunch of fabrications, will be believed. A man showing documents won't be. 2) It's influenced by preparation and money. If the other party is willing to devote their whole life into this, and you want to live anything resembling a normal life, you're basically SOL. There isn't a magic fairy government agency who cares about this sort of thing. I don't think there's a solution. I was modestly famous before this, but I haven't done anything public in a half-decade because of this !@#$%.
- cameronh90 4y ago
  Interestingly working out is a trigger for my anxiety. I'm currently trying graded exposure therapy for exercise, but so far it's not working.
  - fb03 4y ago
    Was about to say this. Do you also trigger while trying to exercise? I have had pretty intense panic attacks while trying to work. to the point of having dizziness, weakness, closing throat feelings, the works! Pretty shitty stuff. 15 minutes later, you are absolutely normal and feeling bummed and sometimes embarrassed as well. I would also not wish a panic attack to my worst enemy. What I'm trying to do now is short walks and getting more 'confidence'. I think what gets us/me is the "what if I trigger" thing. So, going slow helps build a little of confidence. That's my current plan, at least. I know an attack is bound to happen, and I will not win every time, but I'm not gonna be deterred by it. I know exercise helps a ton. Thank you for this reply and wish you well!
    - orangepurple 4y ago
      I had those exact symptoms from not eating sufficients amounts of salt combined with not drinking enough water. Now I aim for 7 grams of table salt per day. Low sodium symptoms are indistinguishable from "feeling like you are dying."
      - fb03 4y ago
        In several other occasions, eating a little bit of salt helped as well ahah.
    - projectazorian 4y ago
      Have you been checked out for asthma? It could be exercise induced asthma. I used to suffer from these symptoms a lot, finally broke down and asked my doctor about trying an albuterol inhaler - which has nearly cured it, as long as I remember to use it prior to exercise.
      - 4y ago
- cycomanic 4y ago
  Yes, it's unfortunate that exercise is not prescribed more for these issues as there are tons of studies showing the benefits of working out against depression, anxiety etc.. I think we should really be seeing a mechanism where doctors can prescribe time off for exercise to deal with mental or physical issues, without repercussions for the employee. Maybe it's too much of a hope to see that in the US, but at least in Europe.
- bowsamic 4y ago
  Mindfulness meditation totally cured my anxiety. People don’t believe me and say I’m making it up, but it’s true. How do I know? Before if I smoked weed I would panic, now I can have a bong hit and be fine. I don’t think there’s a clearer indicator than that. It was easy to, I just had to learn to mindfully see the moment my anxiety arises and let it go. On the other hand, depression has been much harder to deal with
kayodelycaon 4y ago
Just a warning to anyone who has asthma, propranolol is a older beta blocker from the 1960s and has made asthma worse in various trials. My doctor and psychiatrist recommended I use other classes of medications.
- matheusmoreira 4y ago
  Yes. Asthma is treated with beta agonists. Beta blockers will block the effect of the asthma medication.
  - kayodelycaon 4y ago
    Yup. Newer, more specific beta-blockers are supposed to be safer, but I’m not really interested testing that. :)
    - matheusmoreira 4y ago
      Yeah. Asthma is treated with beta-2 agonists. Newer beta blockers such as metoprolol are beta-1 selective and so have "almost no effect" on beta-2 receptors. Older beta blockers like propranolol are not selective at all. Not interested in taking unnecessary risks either since there are better and safer drugs for general anxiety disorder.
leach 4y ago
I take a benzo ICE as needed, but was on them for a while and never really noticed degenerative affects though I’m young though. Should I be worried?
- kayodelycaon 4y ago
  From the article: > When diazepam medication was stopped, the effects lingered for a while but were eventually reversed. I think you’ll be okay.
  - leach 4y ago
    That’s good, I’m conflicted because they’ve helped me but they are nasty little drugs. I’ve only ever been prescribed would never take them recreationally. I was on them daily for a while and eventually, even though I never really worried or got anxious, other emotions where muted as well. I felt like I didn’t need it anymore and my doctor didn’t tapper me off them correctly so for two weeks strait I barely slept and had terrible withdrawal symptoms. Having them ICE is nice but I would never recommend them to people to take daily they are just to intense.
jotm 4y ago
Most drugs that actually work are terrible. If you're gonna abuse stimulants for relaxation, it's obvious to everyone but you that it will be a very bad time, for example. That said, the recommended dosages are basically bullshit. For anything, I'd say take 1/2 or 1/3 of what they recommend in the first few days/weeks and taper up. But please use your own brain when taking advice from strangers.
colechristensen 4y ago
Propranolol does almost, but not quite nothing for me. It does, however, put me on a daily(!) withdrawl cycle where when I'm on it, it does a small amount which is right up near the level of noticing, and when it wears off amplifies my normal symptoms. Xanax was the only thing I ever took that did more than took the edge off (or some things which just made me loopy, sleepy, and/or high), it could at appropriate dosages simply turn my symptoms off and I went about doing normal productive human things that I wanted to. But the state that I live in, and every doctor that I've met since I moved across the country has wanted to try every other drug in the book (again) before even considering, and none have thought raising the dosage beyond the literal smallest dose (despite me being 6'2" >200lbs). It is extremely frustrating.
hawthornio 4y ago
Another happy propranolol user!

by glerk 4y ago

natly 4y ago

I recommend working out, it helped me a ton with anxiety. It basically cured it (I don't work out much anymore but a short intense few months of hard workouts seems to have almost removed it from my system years afterwards).

blagie 4y ago
There are sources of anxiety without clear solutions. I have a stalker. There's low-level harassment continuously, but every few months, she does something crazy, and my life is completely disrupted. I have no idea what to do about it. It's nearing a decade....
- natly 4y ago
  Sounds awful. My cause was definitely more caused by developmental period weird wiring, so definitely different. Hope you find some way to resolve it one day somehow.
- Nextgrid 4y ago
  Can police help? Alternatively, (non-violent) retaliation? Seems like there's no downside for this person to be harassing you. Creating a downside might make her think twice next time.
  - cameronh90 4y ago
    Assuming GP is male, he probably doesn't want to do something that might be seen as being aggressive, harassing or upsetting to her, even if not violent. Threatening to involve the police is a common way women abuse men. You can of course involve the police yourself but they often won't listen. I had an ex try to create a situation where I would be framed for rape by creating fake social media accounts purporting to be me. Luckily she wasn't smart and the police saw that all the accounts were obviously created by her. Yet they still didn't help protect me from further harassment or do anything to her for trying to frame me and making false police reports. Sad as it is, probably best to just try and ignore her and consider going by an alias online and moving house.
    - Dma54rhs 4y ago
      I had similar experiences and police are pretty much useless in that case, flat out said since you're physically stronger than the stalker there's no threat to your life. Oh well... Its a constant torture.
      - blagie 4y ago
        My ex is smart, wealthy, and devotes most of her life to this. She smart enough that she rarely leave evidence, and when it's there, it's convoluted enough that you can't really act on it. For example, a drone fly-by leaves no evidence. A story about some convoluted 9-month scheme to frame me isn't something anyone will listen to, let alone pursue. If you walk in with a big pile of documentation, you look crazy, not them. The court system is a big hole to throw money into: 1) It is surprisingly impervious to actual evidence. A woman crying on the stand, with a bunch of fabrications, will be believed. A man showing documents won't be. 2) It's influenced by preparation and money. If the other party is willing to devote their whole life into this, and you want to live anything resembling a normal life, you're basically SOL. There isn't a magic fairy government agency who cares about this sort of thing. I don't think there's a solution. I was modestly famous before this, but I haven't done anything public in a half-decade because of this !@#$%.
cameronh90 4y ago
Interestingly working out is a trigger for my anxiety. I'm currently trying graded exposure therapy for exercise, but so far it's not working.
- fb03 4y ago
  Was about to say this. Do you also trigger while trying to exercise? I have had pretty intense panic attacks while trying to work. to the point of having dizziness, weakness, closing throat feelings, the works! Pretty shitty stuff. 15 minutes later, you are absolutely normal and feeling bummed and sometimes embarrassed as well. I would also not wish a panic attack to my worst enemy. What I'm trying to do now is short walks and getting more 'confidence'. I think what gets us/me is the "what if I trigger" thing. So, going slow helps build a little of confidence. That's my current plan, at least. I know an attack is bound to happen, and I will not win every time, but I'm not gonna be deterred by it. I know exercise helps a ton. Thank you for this reply and wish you well!
  - orangepurple 4y ago
    I had those exact symptoms from not eating sufficients amounts of salt combined with not drinking enough water. Now I aim for 7 grams of table salt per day. Low sodium symptoms are indistinguishable from "feeling like you are dying."
    - fb03 4y ago
      In several other occasions, eating a little bit of salt helped as well ahah.
  - projectazorian 4y ago
    Have you been checked out for asthma? It could be exercise induced asthma. I used to suffer from these symptoms a lot, finally broke down and asked my doctor about trying an albuterol inhaler - which has nearly cured it, as long as I remember to use it prior to exercise.
    - 4y ago
cycomanic 4y ago
Yes, it's unfortunate that exercise is not prescribed more for these issues as there are tons of studies showing the benefits of working out against depression, anxiety etc.. I think we should really be seeing a mechanism where doctors can prescribe time off for exercise to deal with mental or physical issues, without repercussions for the employee. Maybe it's too much of a hope to see that in the US, but at least in Europe.
bowsamic 4y ago
Mindfulness meditation totally cured my anxiety. People don’t believe me and say I’m making it up, but it’s true. How do I know? Before if I smoked weed I would panic, now I can have a bong hit and be fine. I don’t think there’s a clearer indicator than that. It was easy to, I just had to learn to mindfully see the moment my anxiety arises and let it go. On the other hand, depression has been much harder to deal with

kayodelycaon 4y ago

Just a warning to anyone who has asthma, propranolol is a older beta blocker from the 1960s and has made asthma worse in various trials. My doctor and psychiatrist recommended I use other classes of medications.

matheusmoreira 4y ago
Yes. Asthma is treated with beta agonists. Beta blockers will block the effect of the asthma medication.
- kayodelycaon 4y ago
  Yup. Newer, more specific beta-blockers are supposed to be safer, but I’m not really interested testing that. :)
  - matheusmoreira 4y ago
    Yeah. Asthma is treated with beta-2 agonists. Newer beta blockers such as metoprolol are beta-1 selective and so have "almost no effect" on beta-2 receptors. Older beta blockers like propranolol are not selective at all. Not interested in taking unnecessary risks either since there are better and safer drugs for general anxiety disorder.

leach 4y ago

I take a benzo ICE as needed, but was on them for a while and never really noticed degenerative affects though I’m young though. Should I be worried?

kayodelycaon 4y ago
From the article: > When diazepam medication was stopped, the effects lingered for a while but were eventually reversed. I think you’ll be okay.
- leach 4y ago
  That’s good, I’m conflicted because they’ve helped me but they are nasty little drugs. I’ve only ever been prescribed would never take them recreationally. I was on them daily for a while and eventually, even though I never really worried or got anxious, other emotions where muted as well. I felt like I didn’t need it anymore and my doctor didn’t tapper me off them correctly so for two weeks strait I barely slept and had terrible withdrawal symptoms. Having them ICE is nice but I would never recommend them to people to take daily they are just to intense.

jotm 4y ago

Most drugs that actually work are terrible. If you're gonna abuse stimulants for relaxation, it's obvious to everyone but you that it will be a very bad time, for example. That said, the recommended dosages are basically bullshit. For anything, I'd say take 1/2 or 1/3 of what they recommend in the first few days/weeks and taper up. But please use your own brain when taking advice from strangers.

colechristensen 4y ago

Propranolol does almost, but not quite nothing for me. It does, however, put me on a daily(!) withdrawl cycle where when I'm on it, it does a small amount which is right up near the level of noticing, and when it wears off amplifies my normal symptoms. Xanax was the only thing I ever took that did more than took the edge off (or some things which just made me loopy, sleepy, and/or high), it could at appropriate dosages simply turn my symptoms off and I went about doing normal productive human things that I wanted to. But the state that I live in, and every doctor that I've met since I moved across the country has wanted to try every other drug in the book (again) before even considering, and none have thought raising the dosage beyond the literal smallest dose (despite me being 6'2" >200lbs). It is extremely frustrating.

hawthornio 4y ago

Another happy propranolol user!