Non benzo meds for anxiety

[germanshepherd]

Look into Viibryd, it's a new class of anti depressant which will wipe out anxiety, panic etc without the sexual sides. its; actually the one ssri that i may try. I would look into it. I believe this will be my next course of action if my current plan of weaning off benzos with ambien fails.

Trazodone is a non controlled med that has off label use for insomnia and anxiety. It's not a feel good med, but it works well to take the edge off benzo withdrawals and a proper dosage will put you right to sleep. There is also little risk of addiction or dependence on the med. Most docs will prescribe without a lot of pushback.

[iNsom]

Cheers folks (Y)
A couple more to add to the iPhone notes
It's good info to have on hand

[barq2]

I find diphenhydramine does nothing for me now (it used to)
In the UK that is the active ingredient in Nytol.
Sominex' active ingredient (again, in the UK) is promethazine. I find it works a little.

Doxylamine (found in Unisom [US] and Kirkland sleep aid [UK]) works VERY well for me, as does melatonin.

Melatonin also gives me crazy dreams, I wouldn't call them nightmares but sometimes they are powerfull and negitive, however it can be nice to wake up and go "AAHH PHEW, IT WAS ALL DREAM" - that feeling of relief!

I take a slow-release melatonin, but agree about the dreams (luckily mine aren't negative, but definitely crazy!).

Diphenhydramine works a bit for me - sadly not as well as it used to. Kirkland Signature is a good brand for that. Loads of people on the big book-selling-website-beginning-with-A selling it from the USA (but many post abroad quite legally). Agree the same brand is good for doxylamine, which is much more sedating. It was a bit too much for a friend, who got nothing from diphenhydramine anymore, so I pointed out the break line on the pill. She takes half now and that does her fine.

[Jvancouver]

I've used the supplement GABA with good success. I get a small script for Ativan from my GP and I use GABA to supplement it between refills.

[relaxme]

Look into Viibryd, it's a new class of anti depressant which will wipe out anxiety, panic etc without the sexual sides. its; actually the one ssri that i may try. I would look into it. I believe this will be my next course of action if my current plan of weaning off benzos with ambien fails.

Trazodone is a non controlled med that has off label use for insomnia and anxiety. It's not a feel good med, but it works well to take the edge off benzo withdrawals and a proper dosage will put you right to sleep. There is also little risk of addiction or dependence on the med. Most docs will prescribe without a lot of pushback.

Yes, Trazodone is great . Also, is one of the few medicines that actually increase REM sleep. Important thing is to find the right dosage that could be anywhere between 50mg to 150mg.

[Ragnar]

A colleague of mine has introduced me to Mebicarum (Adaptol). I found it effective for smoking cessation and and against anxiety. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mebicar

[Batgirl]

Benadryl and doxylamine have paradoxical effects for me, making me insanely restless and anxious. So, no OTC sleep aids work for me. Valerian has been hit and miss, if I am in an insomnia phase it does nothing. Trying inositol right now, not sure if it is working. Someone me tinned phenibut, which works great for social anxiety and as a mood lifter, but has a definite feel-good component and can be addictive, with bad withdrawals. I would love to try picamilon and learn more about it. For me, meditation has had the best effect but the discipline is the hardest part.

[germanshepherd]

Depending on your level of fitness, I find that running gives some great relief to morning anxiety. I find that about 3 miles and getting my HR up to my target zone (165-170 for me), coupled with a good sweat works wonders. As I mentioned earlier, Trazadone works for sleep, but finding the right dose takes some experimentation. About 100-150 mg works for me. Alternating between sleep meds on a weekly basis on a weekly or interval basis is helpful to mimize tolerance.

[Grandote]

Antihistamines such as benadryl are bad for you too if taken regularly. Along with tolerance they can make you groggy the next day and studies have shown a correlation between anti-h use and dementia. Benzos also have this property as well as terrible addiction. Post w/d syndrome, (paws) can last for years or never leave after long term benzo use. That is why I started this thread.

Phenibut on occasion, no more than once a week might be doable. I use it less often than that just to be safe but I have not heard about paws with it though that may be because they haven't studied it as much. Valerian root, 5htp, melatonin, AMP, kava extract, and some other things will help do the job and keep you off of benzos and anti-h. Etizolaam is another compound that seems to help, it is highly hypnotic as well as sedative. You can get hooked on it too so only once in a while.

Go low tec and tiny doses if you can. A white noise generator migh be just the thing, a little of this and that of herbs and no need for nasty benzos or Z drugs.

[btodd9]

I had a lot of success with Wellbutrin but I think it's better for short term relief... if you have stress/anxiety/depression from one-timer or fixable problems it can work wonders.

It stops working after awhile though (my experience) so if your depression is chronic it's probably not a great choice.