Medication phobia

[smurfy33]

Hello all! Does anyone else have a horrible medication phobia?? I never had this problem until I had a bad reaction to Paxil a year ago. Recently I've read here that magnesium is good for anxiety so yesterday I got some and I took one but I was so nervous about taking it. I had to keep reassuring myself that it was just a mineral and it isn't going to hurt me, blah, blah, blah. About a month ago my doctor gave me Inderal (propranolol) for my heart rate/blood pressure and I had a pretty bad anxiety attack after only taking a half of a pill. I couldn't continue taking it. I've even had anxiety over taking B12. I'm ridiculous. I have a prescription for Xanax that has been lying here since July and I'm too chicken to get it filled. They probably won't fill it anymore anyway, it's probably too old. Does anyone else get this nervous about taking medications? Even if they are just vitamins/minerals? Thanks!

[SteveGn]

smurfy, I don't take medication, but keep in mind that magnesium, B12 and other vitamins and minerals are found in the foods you eat and no harm comes to you when you eat. I think the magnesium supplement is especially a good idea since most soils these days are depleted of this mineral.

[boxerlover227]

I am with you on this one!! I have a medication phobia as well, all part of the anxiety disorder! I research all the side effects and once I have the guts to take it, I sware I have everyside effect minutes later, which throws me into a panic attack.. I am a xanax user and I can assure you for me, it has been a god sent! No side effects except for a little tiredness when first using.. That is just my experience with this drug. I just wanted you to know your not alone many of us suffer from this as well. Let me know if the magnesium helps I have been thinking of trying this myself... Good Luck

[Leela_C]

Hi smurfy. I never had a medication phobia in the past but I had two bad experiences (welbutrin and atenolol) and now I am scared to death to take anything. I filled my xanax prescription right away and it took me forever to take it. I am so glad I finally got the courage to take it. I second boxerlover's comment - it has been a god send to me too! If you are afraid to take it, make sure someone is home with you when you take it. You probably even have a pretty low dose, but you can cut it in half at first if you want to. Xanax is a fairly short acting drug, so if you were to have any side effects it wouldn't take that long for you to notice. But I can assure you - I have had ZERO side effects with the xanax. It just calms me down.

[smurfy33]

Thank you all for your quick words of advice. I decided I will get my Xanax prescription filled. I take Ativan once in a while and it really doesn't do much for me.

Boxerlover227 - So far I've taken the magnesium twice, once last night and once this morning. I have this breathing issue which makes me feel like I can't get a deep breath. I'm not sure if this is related to my anxiety or my GERD because it feels like asthma in a way. The magnesium has helped that feeling. My throat doesn't feel as tight and breathing is much easier. I didn't really expect that to happen but I'm glad it has. Also, it sort of made me sleepy but then again it is supposed to calm me. I'll let you know how I feel when I've been on it for a while.

Thanks!