To @jschwing
John,
Today is/was a horrible day for me. We picked up our taxes and I noticed that the ID.me PIN numbers that our accountant is using don’t match the numbers that were generated on line by him earlier this year. Well, now my blood pressure is going crazy and you can practically hear my heartbeat across the room. This little incident will take 1 year out of my already shortened lifespan. Every little stinkin’ thing makes me c-r-a-z-y. I see my cardiologist tomorrow and he’s going to wonder why I haven’t had a heart attack or stroke yet. I read somewhere on line recently that it’s very dangerous to have constant heart palpitations ~ you could ultimately die. You and I are very similar in that none of the many, many combinations of meds worked. I’m sure my prescribers thought I wasn’t being truthful when asked if they helped. Some of the meds I only took for a day or two - this really annoyed the prescribers, but knew they weren’t right for me. I don’t have any medication for the anxiety. I used to take Ativan but I had to stop. I did go to in-house treatment to “detox” but I wasn’t very successful on the outside. I still battle with wanting to use the Ativan because of the fast relief you get but it doesn’t last long enough. I have battled with anxiety (Social Phobia) my whole life. I started medication more than 40 years ago. Prior to that, I was still very anxious but I managed to work and have a small social life. I worked in LA years ago and I had the responsibility of being a Notary. The four men who were waiting for me to write their name in the Notary Log must have wondered what drug I was on as my hands flew across the page. Unfortunately, things like this rule my life.
p.s. besides talk therapy, I have never tried any other treatment
Claudia

Gawd...I can relate but I had debilitating anxiety since I was 16 yrs. old. When in my 30's I decided to go into therapy and because I had a trusting relationship with this pyschiatrist, she prescribed Klonepin for me and for the first time in my life, I didn't have panic attacks and head tremors. I actually think the tremors were more debilitating than the anxiety. You can suck it up and not tell anyone that you are anxious but head tremors are pretty difficult to hide!!!! So fast forward 30+ years. I was still seeing the same psychiatrist (not on a weekly basis) but anyway, she was retiring and because she had a good heart, she found the names of other therapists who were taking on new patients, etc., etc. When I voiced my new anxiety to her about whether this new therapist would be comfortable continuing to prescribe klonepin, she assured me that klonepin was the correct drug to take for my anxiety. Tremors I will get to in a minute. So I developed IC (interstitial bladder pain) which was severe and no real fix. For awhile I tried different things that my new neurologist prescribed but no real help. She recommended that I see the pain mgt. clinic at the same hospital that she worked. So I did and the doctor had all my health records and put me on Lyrica (pregabalin) and within a couple of weeks, I noticed that I was forgetting to take the klonepin. The Lyrica works for both nerve pain and anxiety and also my head tremors disappeared. Meant to circle back and tell you before getting on Lyrica, I broke down and saw a neurologist (at same hospital) after a work buddy said to me "oh you have tremors too. do you take anything for it?" At first I denied it as I always found it embarrassing to admit to and talk about but then I figured, do something different and discuss with this person. Turns out she also had tremors and was seeing a neurologist for them. I went and it was diagnosed at "essential tremors" which just means that they are hereditary and not symptomatic of any disease. The neurologist gave me a RX for something which helped. I can't remember the name of it. But this is what I want to make clear to anyone reading this post. When I began taking the Lyrica for a totally different and painful problem, it not only alleviated that pain completely, but as said no more anxiety or tremors. I know that it is a drug that is addictive, the same as the klonepin. However, if I can take one pill that works for several health problems, why wouldn't I do so. Hope this helps in some small way. I felt bad when I read that you had to leave work because of the anxiety and tremors. Do not suffer in silence. It is 2025 not the Victorian Age. Neurologists, therapists, etc. will listen to you and want to find an answer.