I'm 34. I went to the ER last week because of chest pains and horrible headaches I've been having lately. They told me it was due to anxiety because of all the stress I'm under (failing marriage to an alcoholic, autistic 8 year old son, daughter with seizures, dying dog, crappy job, etc, etc.). They prescribed "trial size" prescriptions of Klonopin and hydroxyzine. The hydroxyzine made me very tired the first day, but it's not so bad now and does seem to calm me down. I've been a little afraid to try the Klonopin after reading all of the side effects. My dose is .25mg twice a day as needed for anxiety. They also told me to see a psychiatrist to talk about all of my problems.

I now realize that all of my life I've suffered from anxiety. I have severe social phobia that I just thought was shyness. I have panic attacks in front of large groups of people like when I was den leader for cub scouts and had to give a presentation at the awards ceremony. I almost passed out. When I was in high school band I used to have to sit in the front row and my leg would shake, I would sweat, and my face would turn bright red. I almost threw up and passed out at every concert. I now cry almost every day and believe I also have OCD and have an irrational fear of germs. I wash my hands all day long and always carry baby wipes for my kids. I should buy stock in Purel. I know that seeing the psychiatrist would be a good thing and the medication seems to help, but I'm just concerned that my husband would use it as proof to say I'm crazy or something. I don't feel crazy, just scared and that fear causes me to react badly.

Hi Nina, welcome to the board. I am new here myself and have found it to be a nice place to come and be able to talk to others who can relate to you and it's comforting to know you are not alone in what you are going through.

Nina,
I think you would feel less anxious if you told your husband what's going on and that you feel scared. Tell him why you feel scared. Tell him what you think you need to do to feel better and ask him to support you. It seems the worst that can happen is that he'll think your crazy which is what you are already projecting anyway, so it can't get any worse than what you already expect. But, there is a much greater chance your husband will understand and be supportive so it's worth the risk. Either way, it will be out in the open and that in itself would reduce some of the anxiety of not knowing

Nina,

I think it is best to avoid the alcoholic husband for now. I also have OCD and panic problems and have had them since I was very young. The Klonopin will definitely help you and you have to stop reading the side effects for every drug you take. The Klonopin will have a mild sedative effect and after you have taken it for a few days that should go away and really there are no side effects unless you stop taking it abruptly after taking large amounts for a long time which you are not. Definitely take the Klonopin. The Benzo's are the most underprescribed medicine for anxiety dissorders out there and they are also the best at controlling the symptoms and they work fast!

What happened is some people got into the use of Benzo's for recreational purposes and took large doses to catch a buzz. Some got addicted at large doses, we are talking handfulls of the stuff here, and when they ran out or couldn't get some more they had seizures and it has killed people. The dosage you will be taking is nothing near the dose that is required to cause people this kind of damage. I take Xanax alone for my OCD and it is the only thing that helps. I will probably take it for the rest of my life so long as it works for me.

Consider the following as well:
Quit drinkink, smoking, caffeine etc.
Exercise and eat well
Mindfulness Meditation (This really helps with the OCD thoughts!!!)
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is also a good solution for OCD, especially with compulsions such as your hand washing.

Welcome to the board.
OE

Hi Nina, Welcome... someone said this when I first came to the board, crazy people don't know they are crazy. Having anxiety does not mean your crazy and thats a fact.
Do what you need to do to get yourself healthy and don't worry about your husband. Anxiety is a hard problem to deal with alone, it's great that you came to this board, everyone here is so helpful, you also need support by you, a psychiatrist, psychologist and a friend to confide in.

Thanks for the warm welcome, everyone. I appreciate all of your support. I finally took the Klonopin about 1-1/2 hour ago and don't feel any different at all. Should I expect it to take longer to take effect?

It all depends on how much you took and how your body personally handles the drug. If you don't feel any relief then you should talk to your doctor about either raising your dose or putting you on another faster acting Benzo like Ativan or Xanax. Give it a couple days though, the Benzo's should be pretty fast acting and you should notice a difference pretty quickly.

Klonopin is not fast acting, it peaks around 3 hours or so I think, but you should start feeling it after 30 minutes. I take .5 mg's , the lowest dose, I don't get a good feeling for an hour. Xanax is faster acting, but does not last as long.

The dose I was prescribed was .25 mg 2 times a day as needed. I waited all night and didn't feel anything at all. Not even tired. Is that dose too low? I'm going to my PCP tomorrow to talk over all of my options. I do think the hydroxyzine helps, though.

Thanks again, everyone!

A total of .5 mg is the lowest dose, but you should still feel at the least a bit tired. Maybe your body just needs a higher dose, or if you took .5 mg at one time you would probably feel it more.
Keep us posted to what your Dr. says.

Hey nina welcome!

Here is a funny coincidece....I am 38...have Anxiety, (and depression), I also have an 8 year old son with Autism, (kind of odd huh?), My dog did die in November, (old age) you got me on the hubby alchohol thing, I am fortunate in that part. ;) I take Ativan 1 mg three times a day, and two different antidepressants, which I would name but I think my doc is going to change them soon any way so why bother. lol Any way, from my point of view...Autism is enough to give you anxiety, I know from experience, and we both know that the rest of the world does not stop just because your plate is full, but, hang in there, take your problems one at a time, and work with your doc on your meds, eventually you will get the combo right and you will be okay. Hope all goes well for you! Best of luck from one Autistic Mom to another!

Kris

Thanks. As much as I love my son, it is hard to be the parent of an Autistic child. I know I'm not alone, but it's nice to hear from someone who knows of my struggles with it. Good luck to you, too.