Guilt And Shame For Taking Clonazepam.

[ReachingOutJ]

I have a lot of guilt and shame for taking .75mg a day of Clonazepam, because I never took meds before. The doctor tried to get me to take Lexapro, but I can barely handle this one medication, and I fear being poly-drugged.

I had managed to taper myself down slowly a few months ago to .38mg a day, but then my family started to come around to the house *they own the house I reside in, and I had to updose. I miss being strong enough to be medication free. My morning generalized anxiety is still coming in through my dose, and I shake. I am also in the beginning stage of menopause, and on an extremely low dose of HRT for that, but again, I still shake, and get scared. Have you ever had shame and guilt for taking meds? I got screamed at, at first, by a family member, for reaching out for help and going on the medication, and my family are all PTSD deniers. They think it's a "made up" illness. I am in a toxic environment, with no immediate way out, due to financial problems.

 

[Changing4Best]

I take hydroxyzine HCL for anxiety. It is a milder, less addicting drug. I take 1 and 1/2 25 mgs at bedtime, 1 at breakfast and one at lunch. It works just as well as the Clonazepam, which I used to take.

 

[ReachingOutJ]

Hi, SheilaKathy. I've heard that hydroxyzine is worse for breathing issues than Clonazepam, and I am on a form of CPAP, so that's why I don't take it. I think the word is anticholingeric?

 

[Friday]

It's no ones business what tampon brand I use.

Wearing an underwire bra doesn't mean I'm a slut or anti-feminist.

Walking around with my hair uncovered doesn't mean I'm immoral & indecent.


These are all personal decisions. Far less personal than legally protected medical information. When people start getting up in my business? I like to amuse myself by asking them questions that cross their boundaries of personal business. For some it's deriding their tampon use, or demanding to audit their bills, or questioning their child's choice of schooling. For some reason, in the country, we have lost the idea of "private affairs" & "personal business". Just because someone has an opinion on our private affairs? Doesn't mean they have a right to that opinion, nor that I have to give it even a second of consideration. Just because someone asks? Doesn't give them the right to an answer. Your family member who was screaming? Lol. Know some of those. They seem to think that "louder & slower" somehow gives them those rights. Nope. It just makes them even more obnoxious.

 

[ReachingOutJ]

My mother has been abusive since I was 3.

 

[Fadeaway]

@ReachingOutJ I take hydroxyzine for anxiety. It is an anti-histamine. It is often prescribed for breathing issues that are allergenic in nature such as asthma.

 

[hodge]

ReachingOutJ, please don't feel that way for taking an anti-anxiety med. PTSD is NOT a made-up illness and you know that through your treatment and people here. I know how hard it is to disregard your family's opinion, but for the sake of your wellness, I can't see any other choice right now. My family was very resistant to hearing I had PTSD, because, of course, they would have to look at themselves and see if there was anything they had to do with it, and in some cases, yes, they very much had something to do with it. I forgave them. Eventually they all came around, though the principal players have never directly admitted to me what they did. I hope your guys come around to at least accepting you have this and supporting you in whatever way they can. But really, please don't feel ashamed of taking clonazepam. There is nothing wrong with that. It's far better than drinking or taking an illegal drug, right? And it's produced to alleviate anxiety. For what it's worth, my therapist, who is the greatest, says no one is ever going to take her anti-anxiety med away. :-)

 

[ReachingOutJ]

ReachingOutJ, please don't feel that way for taking an anti-anxiety med. PTSD is NOT a made-up illness and...

Thank you, Hodge. It means a lot to me that you took the time to write this post. It's been especially difficult, because not only have family denied my PTSD diagnosis, but a couple of other people I know, including my boyfriend; who used to verbally abuse me, says things like "If it's in the past, it's not real now." They don't seem to understand what a trigger is, or how frightened I am by them. They think I am just dwelling on things and making myself miserable. They blame me for it, and that hurts a lot.

 

[ReachingOutJ]

@ReachingOutJ I take hydroxyzine for anxiety. It is an anti-histamine. It is often...

I know about it from reading up on alternatives for Clonazepam. Unfortunately, I have sleep apnea, so it is not the safest drug for me to take, as it is higher in Anticholingeric properties than Clonazepam. I wish I could take something else, but right now, I can't. I was on Ativan for a while, but my doc switched me over to this, because it has a longer half life.

 

[ReachingOutJ]

It's no ones business what tampon brand I use.

Wearing an underwire bra doesn't mean I'm a slut or...

I'm just going to come out and say it... my mother was a real a**hole to me, and you're right.

 

[Fadeaway]

I did some research on that, I learned something new.

 

[shimmerz]

I have been taking clonazepam for quite some time. I am now taking it on an as needed basis. For me it really helped me work through super high anxiety periods. I didn't want to take drugs either. I hope that you can find peace with that and wonder whether the anxiety you are feeling over taking the drug is a part of your anxiety in general. I wonder how you would picture not being on any drugs? Does the clonazepam help you at all?