How Do I Know Which Anxiety Disorder Medication Is Best For Me?

— -- Question: How do I know which anxiety disorder medication is best for me?

Answer: In selecting a type of antianxiety medication, it's always best to review your symptoms with your physician, who may take into account not just your anxiety symptoms, but any additional diagnoses you have, whether other psychiatric disorders or medical disorders. For instance, for patients who have anxiety plus depression, which is common, use of an antidepressant medication may permit treatment not just of the anxiety, but of the depression as well.

For an individual with anxiety and manic depressive -- or bipolar -- illness, then using a mood stabilizer or benzodiazepine or combination of those two may be more appropriate than using an antidepressant.

In addition, selection of an antianxiety medication may hinge on what the patient's previously experienced and their sensitivity to side effects. For some individuals, antidepressants may cause them to feel more anxious, particularly early on. Many of those individuals were able to get through that over a period of days or weeks, but for some people they find it intolerable, and selection of alternative treatments may be appropriate.

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