Hi Sandy,
You say you're on Zoloft and Ativan but aren't taking the medication (?) am I understanding that correctly? So does that mean they've been prescribed to you but you've been afraid to try them? I'm assuming you've received these medications from your doctor, yes? Maybe, one thing you can do, is read up on the medications - would that help your comfort level or would it make it worse - sometimes, for me, if I read up on a medication it can 'sometimes' feed my anxieties - when you read up on a medication, it tends to list a lot of 'possible' side affects, but most likely, only one or two may affect you... my suggestion.....try taking the medication as prescribed ,give it a chance, it may make a big difference. Don't be afraid of medication - it's there for a reason, these meds have been designed specifically for panic/anxiety/depression disorders, and if you're working closely with a doctor, you're in safe hands - stay honest with your doctor, keep the lines of communication open, and if you feel uncomfortable with the medications' affects on you, call your doctor and disscuss it with him or her..... I see a lot of people afraid of taking medication and I can understand that, but, most times...and in your case I don't know because I don't your specifics, but a lot of doctors will start patients out on a low dose and see how it "fits" and work from there. If you're still afraid, I'd call your doctor and talk it out..... I don't know how strong the ativan was that was prescribed to you is, but I've taken ativan - very low dose, and my experience with it was that it was very helpful. I'm just sharing with you, my experience... and as long as these meds were prescribed to you by a doctor and you are working with this doctor on your anxiety/panic issues, I think that you are safe in giving the medication a chance. It seems, at this point, you wouldn't have anything to loose by trying... a lot of overcoming our anxiety/panic is removing our fears and taking small steps towards that - small steps toward overcoming our fears that make us sort of feel held hostage....
the choice is always yours. do you have a therapist? maybe that would be helpful too.... so that in times like these, you could call someone like a therapist and describe what you're