Agoraphobia and medication

Mental health
1

I posted a few week back regarding my anxiety now becoming agoraphobia. I still am unable to go out alone and have been prescribed medication. I tried one which made me ill so now I have been given venlafaxine. However after reading about how hard it is to come off of this drug I am reluctant to start it. Plus I believe it is more effective for depression not anxiety. Part of me feels that medication is not really the key. I am not sure why this has happened. I have always been anxious but not in the way I am now.

I used to be able to control the anxiety, for example if I felt dizzy or weird when out I would rush home, like almost run and though I felt bad I had a solution and the feeling was gone. Plus it wasn’t there all the time. Then last year the symptoms changed so now I literally cannot move when out. I have to walk slowly and hold on to something - this is like 1000 times worse then the fight of flight feeling. But during these “attacks” I wasn’t having a panic attack as such. The imbalance is incredible like I will fall backwards or sideways and I have a feeling of intense nausea . I could not turn around or walk fast; just slowly edge along until I got home. Sometimes I really don’t know how I made it.

I can walk okay when at home but even then I have some dizziness which has been there since I had a really bad vertigo attack many many years ago. I don’t think I ever really recovered from waking up with severe vertigo and am always on alert for it to happen again. However, as I said this was controllable, this problem when walking outdoors is not and I am afraid it will never go away or is something more sinister as it does not match a panic attack.

I tried to go out and stay in the situation but it did not seem to get better and I was not strong enough to stay out for long. I just pray that one day it will get better but now even the thought of going out makes me feel nauseated.

2

Regarding my earlier post I wondered if benzodiazepines may help? or would GPs even prescribe them due to them being addictive? the antidepressants definitely did not help and I cannot wait 4-6 weeks for them to work.

3

I'm sorry to hear about how difficult it's been for you. I also get dizzy and disoriented when I go out alone and I know how scary it can be. I know that benzodiazepines can help immediately but also that it's probably best to use them as a short-term solution. My SNRI took weeks to start really helping me, and my psychiatrist did offer Ativan as a temporary solution for the waiting period. They are addictive so if you struggle with substances it can be a slippery slope. But as something just to hold you over and make the first few weeks of an antidepressant more bearable, they could definitely be a viable option. I hope you find something that works or at least helps. You got this.

4

Thank you, it really is difficult isn't it. I have kind of forgotten what it feels like to feel normal (well as normal as I used to feel!) its like trying to reprogram yourself. I hope you feel better soon too.