How many nurses take antidepressants or antianxiety medication?

Nurses Stress 101

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I was wondering and it seems to be quite prominent. Nurses seem to have to take medication alot. Mine started in nursing school. Of course I was a single mom of two, going to nursing school, building a house and living with my mother till it was finished. Talk about stress.. I started having panic attacks. Never before in my life had I had one. I thought I was dying. Well I lived and now not only do I take a PRN order of xanax but I also take an antidepressant. Every nurse I know is either doing the same or has the symptoms without treatment. I was wondering how common indeed it was world wide? Is our profession making us have to be medicated?

I have been taking Effexor for almost 2 years. I just finished my first nursing semster. I struggled in school and wonder if my meds could be one of many factors. Does anyone know if antidepressants can lead to test taking difficulties?

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Specializes in Med/Surge, Psych, LTC, Home Health.

Just be very careful if you ever decide to go off of Effexor!!! A close family member was on it for a year and when she was weaning off of it... oh wow. Her behavior was indescribeable. I daresay she was psychotic. She supposedly weaned off of it properly, even. I mean, she did it the way her doctor instructed her to. She probably could have used some sort of backup drug to make her feel better while weaning off the Effexor. I have heard of other people having a hard time getting off of it as well.

Paxil is notoriously a bad one to wean off of too, but I actually didn't have too hard of a time when I finally came off of it for the last time.

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Specializes in NICU, ER, OR.
Just be very careful if you ever decide to go off of Effexor!!! A close family member was on it for a year and when she was weaning off of it... oh wow. Her behavior was indescribeable. I daresay she was psychotic. She supposedly weaned off of it properly, even. I mean, she did it the way her doctor instructed her to. She probably could have used some sort of backup drug to make her feel better while weaning off the Effexor. I have heard of other people having a hard time getting off of it as well.

Paxil is notoriously a bad one to wean off of too, but I actually didn't have too hard of a time when I finally came off of it for the last time.

Thanks . Right now, I am just waiting for it to work, not even thinking about weaning off..........it never really occurred to me, I suppose I will be on them for the rest of my life....

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Celexa every day and Xanax PRN. However, since I began Celexa in November, I've rarely had to resort to Xanax for panic.

Saved my life. My brother committed suicide in February of 2005, at the age of 35. We weren't blood related*, as he was adopted, but it was a real wake up call for me as I had been fighting depression and anxiety for many years due to an extremely abusive childhood and a genetic disposition to mental illness. After JP died and I finally coped with it, I realized that this time I would try antidepressants and give them a fair trial, not a "well, let's see if this works" deal. I did try, it did work, and I"m alive to be a parent to my three teens.

*I mention this because of the biology of depression and how it can run in families.

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I saw this thread yesterday afternoon, but work was looming and I decided I'd chew on it for a while before posting my (long winded) thoughts.

I'd think long and hard before going on an antianxiety/antidepressant med, and Lord only knows I got enough reason to be stressed out....broke, shoulda filed bankruptcy, crappy employers, mood swings, hordes of little problems, my current medical issues (diabetes/hypertension, prostate problems and side effects thereof), on and on.

lots snipped

To me, I think 'getting a life', so to speak is the single most important factor in dealing with depression/anixety issues. I used to ride a motorcycle, intend to get another one if its the last thing I do, and was undeniably a much happier and more self-satisfied person while I had the bike......sure I had problems just like everyone else, but I also had a constructive outlet.

Bottom line is, while I think meds are useful and a necessary component of dealing with depression/anxiety/stress issues, it would be unwise to think of them as a end-all, be-all solution too!

Just my .02, tho........

Tom

If you can cope with depression with doing things, and if depression is being caused by outside influences, then it is not a chemical imbalance but a psychological reaction to outside stimuli. If the depression is a true chemical imbalance, you can exercise all y ou want, get as involved in as many things as you want, and the depression won't lift - in fact, it could and often does just get worse. Why? Because you start to beat yourself up precisely because you don't feel better.

No, meds are not the end all be all of depression treatment, but one has to understand the type of depression before saying that one option may be better than another.

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I know for a fact Prozac was the drug Most nurses took when I worked in mental health 3 years ago or so .Takeing meds to deal in Utah is a way of life here.

I personally just deal with my problems . Somedays better than others

That's quite judgemental. It's great that you can deal with your problems. I can deal with my problems too. Very well for the most part. Often better than many "healthy" people I know. However, my brain can't deal with the chemical imbalance tht causes depression even when there are NO problems.

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Specializes in Orthopedics/Med-Surg, LDRP.

Add me to the list. I've been battling depression since my rough teen years and about 4, 5 years ago I was diagnosed with GAD as well. I take Zoloft and Wellbutrin in combo to battle it out. They work well for me and I've been on them about 3 years now.

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Specializes in Float.

I am a student and I keep debating whether I might need meds. I don't really get depressed - if I do it's usually situational. But I do have intense trouble concentrating, I have constant "oh duh" moments. I consider myself a very intelligent person but for awhile now I've felt like a total ditz! I also stay physically exhausted (i think it's likely fibromyalgia) and I have great trouble motivating myself to do much of anything such as study or go to work (even though I love my job) just because i feel so tired and in a fog. I also feel anxiety a lot which I think affects my concentration. I can never really relax - I feel nervous just sitting around ... like I need to be doing something...which is a vicious cycle because I feel too tired to concentrate on anything. we just studied the psych drugs in pharm and I would see the indications for a med and think "this sounds great" but then I'd see a side effect that would hurt another problem ... fixes one problem but creates a new one (or enhances an existing one)

It seems like so much work to find the right drug/dose without too many side effects - right now I just keep living this way but every day I think more and more I need a change..because I want to feel more motivated and energized. Sleep plays a HUGE part - if I get less than 8 I feel very emotional and have this weird paranoid feeling. If i get at least 8 I'm better emotionally but still physically and mentally exhausted. Some days I just wish I could go back to being a stay at home mom - because some days just getting up and showering wears me out - then to have to go work 10-12 hours or study for an exam.... I dunno! Something definitely is different from when i was younger. I still make good grades but feel like I can't focus - and like I said constantly saying or doing something dumb and I can't think of the simplest solutions to things - just can't focus.

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I take Xanax and Lexapro and have tried numerous antidepressants and antianxiety meds over many years. This combination helps tremendously for me. I don't think nurses are the only people taking this category of meds.

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So here I am a couple of days later from my last post.

This anxiety attack lasted approximately 48 hours and took me to new lows that I never knew existed. I was crying not because I was depressed, but because I was so anxious I would rather have died then kept going on like that.

I was lying in bed yesterday afternoon when my girlfriend told me "you have to call your doctor". I didn't want to because he is the doc that is going to be hiring me as his ARNP. So I called my psychiatrist who is on vacation and ended up speaking with a different psychiatrist who is taking call for the week. He was very nice and told me "just because we are in the medical profession does not make us immune to the conditions that can occur." When he said that I felt as if I wasn't such a reject. He also feels that Lexapro may not be the drug of choice for me to be on; however, in the meantime he prescribed Klonopin 1 mg to take at hs and then 0.5 mg BID prn. I've done this along with a GI antispasmodic and am feeling better. At least I am not looking to retreat to my bedroom. :chair:

I did some internet research on psychologists in this area and found one called "North Star, LLC". I left a message on their machine since it is Sunday afternoon and was pleasantly surprised to receive a return phone call from the office manager stating that he received my message and although he doesn't have the appt book at hand he will be in touch with me so that I can have an appt either tomorrow or the next day. Their website also has an approved reading list so I went to Barnes and Noble and purchased a couple to help with my positive self-dialogue. I've lost 5 pounds in three days but I know that I will start to get better very soon.

Thanks for all of your words and support out there. It helps to feel that I am not the only health professional out there struggling. :bluecry1:

Linda

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Have you seen a rheumatologist or a pain management specialist? Fibromyalgia is not very well understood but I know what there are pharmaceuticals out there to help, especially with stressful situations. Where do you live?

- Linda

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Add me to the list. I've been battling depression since my rough teen years and about 4, 5 years ago I was diagnosed with GAD as well. I take Zoloft and Wellbutrin in combo to battle it out. They work well for me and I've been on them about 3 years now.

When I was on Zoloft about 3 years I had a large amount of weight gain and loss of libido. I am hearing now that Wellbutrin is being used in combination to combat those adverse effects. What are you experiences with this combination?

Another interesting point is that there are compounding pharmacies that manufacture drugs specifically tailored for the aclimacteric woman r/t SSRI use.

TIA - Linda

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