As a nurse, how do you tell your PCP you want anti-anxiety meds?

GoECU · Oct 28, 2010

Just tell them you are a nurse and they will get it! lol! :lol2: Seriously though, I know a lot of nurses, myself included, that are on anti-anxiety medications and it is nothing to be embarrassed about. Our jobs are highly stressful, other people's lives are literally in our hands. Anyone in that situation would have anxiety. You are not alone and you will not be looked down upon because you need some help. If someone looks down on you for that, they probably have issues themselves and at least you are willing to deal with your problems. We all need help and support at times. Also, like a previous poster said, find a support system it will help you when those trying times seem so rough!! Good Luck!:redpinkhe

diane227, LPN, RN · Oct 28, 2010

From reading your post it sounds like you might benefit from some additional orientation. I would discuss this with my manager and see if it can be arranged. Second, you should get yourself a good critical care text book and an Iphone or Ipod and get some medical references on it that will help you with drugs, physical assessment and labs. I have them on mine and I use them all the time. It might be appropriate to have something for anxiety but it is important to know a couple of things: anti anxiety meds like valium, Xanax etc have a cumulative effect. The more you take, the more you need. So you have to be very cautions with these types of medications. In addition, they can slow your reaction time and cloud your thinking. I know a person who takes Xanax for sleep.... 1 mg at HS and over time she has lost some of her memory capability. She does well visually but when given information verbally she has to write it down or she forgets it. It was determined that the cause of this problem was the chronic use of her anti anxiety medications. So it is important to know that you might feel and process information very differently on anti anxiety medication. Your doctor instead might put you on other medications that are not in that classification such as an SSRI. But you will not usually feel the effect for several weeks. Just use caution.

allnurses Guide · Oct 28, 2010

I agree with JoPACURN and Dianne227. Be very careful with benzodiazepines for work-related anxiety symptoms. In addition to what Diane said, it doesn't take much for too very long to cause some very unpleasant withdrawal symptoms.

They're great for infrequent uses such as medical procedures and plane trips (although my anxiety blows right through the average dose of Xanax before the drink cart comes rumbling down the aisle) :)

Tina, RN · Oct 28, 2010

First, I would recommend that you request additional orientation. I think that if you discuss it with your NM, it will look much better for you, rather than wait for someone to complain behind your back. Being pro-active is always best!

Second, I would see your doctor and discuss depression/anxiety meds. Right now, you seem so very stressed. You need a little help before you can try to tackle things medication-free. You don't want to take anything that will leave you feeling foggy or dopey at work. You can get something PRN, to help you to get a good night's sleep before work, if needed.

It reminds me of what it was like when my daughter had colic... In the beginning, it was so horrendous, the main objective was for everyone to try to get enough sleep. At that time, it wasn't important whether she would get "spoiled" or anything. So, if she needed to be held or sit in the swing for hours, so be it. After the colic passed, we then worked on breaking her of those bad habits. But, it was definitely a matter of dealing with the most important things first.

Best wishes to you! :)

cecilsgirl · Oct 28, 2010

just curious, do you ( those who or have taken anti-anxiety meds) do you take them at work, or before you go to work?

rn4ever? · Oct 28, 2010

Just tell it straight. But I think it's also best to explore other options that would help you cope with stress and anxiety. Medication may be a good thing-----it can cure, it can minimize symptoms, and it can make you relax to name only a few benefits-----but on the other hand, it can also make you dependent, thus giving you another issue to deal with!

kxvc · Oct 28, 2010

It took me a long time to get into the PCP's office for anti-anxiety meds, but the test anxiety I developed my last semester of nursing school was causing me to fail. I am now an RN and from time to time I go back for a check up and a re-fill. I don't think my doc thinks any less of me for it. If anything the experience has helped me to understand my pts and not be judgmental. Before I developed my severe test anxiety I would have told you anxiety was a bunch of bull and that people needed to suck it up. Now I know better.

Ruby Vee, BSN · Oct 28, 2010

i just got a job as a new nurse, graduated in may. i always feel so incredibly stressed at this job. i'm on an icu step down unit, and literally had about 4 weeks of orientation. i deal with difficult patients...chest tubes, icu post cabg, cath lab patients...and general telly pt's.
i always feel like i'm 2 mins from killing someone, and i've made alot of mistakes. i have to ask alot of questions and some charge nurses aren't helpful at all. i always feel like crying....doctors talk to me like i'm stupid and some have no respect for me. i'm just tired of it all. i dread going to work. i wish i was on a lower care floor (but i am thankful to have a job) i have student loans to pay, so i can't quit.
how embarrassing would it be to walk into the dr's office and say i have all this anxiety over being a new nurse and would like a prescription?

first you're new -- new at your job, and new as a nurse. it takes time -- sometimes a year or more -- to be able to come to work without feeling as though you're going to kill someone. that's not only normal, it's healthy. it's the new grads who think they know everything that worry me! that first year sucks, but the only way to get past it is to go through it.

everyone makes mistakes -- everyone. even those charge nurses who aren't helpful and the doctors who talk down to you. you're due basic respect as a human being, but as far as respect as a nurse, you have to earn that. you haven't been at the job long enough to be respected as a nurse. you're still learning. there will be a day when suddenly everything you're learning just snaps into place and you get it. then you'll start earning respect as a nurse.

as far as the questions -- are you asking the same questions over and over? are you asking questions rather than trying to figure it out or look it up? for instance, i haven't given a soap suds enema in years. i had a patient who had an order for one, and had to look up the procedure. the new nurse who received the order seven hours before he gave me report on the patient hadn't done the enema because he didn't know how. he could have looked it up just as easily as i could. there's a difference between questions such as "i've forgotten where we moved the transfusion consent forms to" and "the doctor says to give 40 of lasix. what do i do?" if you've been shown several times how to do something simple (like give an iv push med, for example) and you still ask how to do it every single time, no wonder the charge nurses don't want to help you!

i'm not totally against meds, but are you sure you can't get through this without them? if you are, then you just make an appointment with your pcp and tell her/him what you've told us. i have to share something a dear friend told me a few years ago when we were working together in ccu: "i had to stop taking (antidepressants) because it made me feel like everything's all right, nothing's a big deal. and there are some things that aren't all right, that are a big deal. that 500cc of chest tube output in the last half hour, for example. or v tach."

when all is said and done, you'll feel more comfortable in your job in about a year, whether you take the meds or not. the first year just absolutely sucks. i wouldn't go back and go through that again for anything! whatever you decide, i wish you luck.

bjaeram · Oct 29, 2010

I don't think drugs are your answer. You are inexperienced, overworked, and don't have a good support system. Drugs won't help that. They may make you not care so much but I don't think that accomplishes anything. What you are going through is not a psych issue that needs medication it's a NORMAL reaction to what you are dealing with. You need to go to your manager and ask for more assistance, additional training, ect. If you aren't getting it you need to be looking for an easier job until you gain the skill and confidence to work in a more critcal area.

I'm not bashing you or belittling you at all. I think you jumped in with two feet before you were ready to swim. It's not a psych issue that needs meds its an experience issue that needs training.

Drugs aren't an easy fix to a hard situation. They are serious mood altering drugs with many side effects. I have nothing against them if you need them but I don't think you do.

WI_home_RN · Oct 30, 2010

Thank you for all the responses....definitely helped me :)

ncoyle · Oct 30, 2010

What you are feeling is very common to new nurses. Many leave the practice of nursing for the same reasons. Please talk to your PCP. Sounds like you need a nurse mentor to come along your side to help you thru all of this. If you dont know a nurse willing to do so, go to your Director of Nurses. We are not bullet proof, our job can and will cause us stress.. Understanding when you need help will make you a stronger nurse, and your pts will reap the results as well. I hope you also have a strong faith, that is where my strength comes from.

BabyLady, BSN, RN · Nov 2, 2010

I just got a job as a new nurse, graduated in May. I ALWAYS feel so incredibly stressed at this job. I'm on an ICU step down unit, and literally had about 4 weeks of orientation. I deal with difficult patients...chest tubes, ICU post cabg, cath lab patients...and general telly pt's.
I always feel like I'm 2 mins from killing someone, and I've made alot of mistakes. I have to ask alot of questions and some charge nurses aren't helpful AT ALL. I always feel like crying....doctors talk to me like I'm stupid and some have no respect for me. I'm just tired of it all. I dread going to work. I wish I was on a lower care floor (but I am thankful to have a job) I have student loans to pay, so I can't quit.
How embarrassing would it be to walk into the dr's office and say I have all this anxiety over being a new nurse and would like a prescription?

I would never go to a PCP for anti-anxiety meds.

I feel very strongly about this practice and personally do not feel that PCP should even have prescription authority to write for these or any mental healthcare drug.

I feel that anytime anyone feels they need mental healthcare drugs, they need to see a psychologist who can refer them to a psychiatrist...who is an MD that specializes in these types of meds....who is the best person to determine which one you need.

You would be surprised at the ways you can lower stress that do not involve medications..I believe that medications should only be used if you have tried these and then they don't work.

When I was a new grad, I probably went home with a migraine every other day from the stress of learning a new job...that is part of it...but I made it a point, two afternoons a week, to "let it go" and do something for me...and only me.

Even if it was going to the movies by myself, treating myself to a nice dinner, etc.

If I didn't get this time, I was a real witch to be around.