Difference between anxiety and depression medication ?
Q.My doctor is recommending anti-depressants for me but I'm not sure if it's the right way to go. She seems to think I have dysthymia (chronic low mood) and I agree but I feel as though anxiety is worse than any depression I might have. I used to have a major depression but these days it doesn't seem to be this way. I'm existing rather than living..but I don't feel the weight of a real or major depression. I have days when I'm really down but in comparison to the way it used to be it doesn't feel that bad. So I guess my question is - what is the difference between anti-anxiety meds and anti-depressants? (aside from the fact they are treating 2 different illnesses) And can an anti-depressant help with anxiety? Is my doctor wrong to suggest anti-depressants for me? I'm worried about taking medication but I feel like I need to do something. It's getting hard to function like a normal person.
A.Some antidepressants can help more with anxiety then others, zoloft is an example, and is one I am taking. Anti-anxiety medications can be addictive, but are helpful if they are necessary. Sometimes a combination of meds is required, to really benifet from them. I'm taking five now. Most of the meds that are out now have websites you could visit to look up other information, or you could try places like mywebmd.com. some of the antidepressants are also used as antianxiety meds. they can help with both the depression and the anxiety. what works best for you depends on what chemicals are out of balance, and how your system responds to that particular medication. if this medication doesn't help, don't be surprised if the doctor either raises the dose, sometimes by quite a bit, or tries another medication. if you're seeing a regular general practitioner, you might want to get the opinion of a psychiatrist. they're best trained in the uses of these drugs. There is some overlap between treatments for anxiety and depression. Some of the SSRIs are used for both. If you go to my Web site, you can find all the antidepressants and the conditions for which they are approved by the FDA. It's possible your doctor might prescribe one of the meds that is used for both. That would certainly make sense. There are also anti-anxiety medications like Klonopin. I'd say, at this point, that it's probably impossible to predict the best treatment strategy for you. You need to start somewhere, and your doctor's suggestion strikes me as a reasonable one, provided the antidepressant is known to be useful for anxiety as well.
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