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Drug needed to reduce social anxiety/shyness

ebeneezer: fair point re. illicit drugs.

As for the SSRI's - in my case they only 'kickstarted' my brain while I was taking them. Once I stopped I was pretty much back to square 1, which is why I reccomend therapy as well.

"This is something you have to overcome yourself by facing social situations that make you feel uncomfortable. Start slowly and face things, then your anxiety and shyness will go as you develop within yourself. TRUST ME its true."

I think this is good advice also, but maybe a little too simplistic because many peoples shyness/anxiety is at least partly due to a chemical imbalance in the brain.

I think a combination of proven medication, healthy lifestyle (i.e diet and exercise), behaviour therapy and (like you said) slowly facing ones fears is probably the best method... IMHO, of course :D
 
I talked to my psychiatrist, he said to pick between wellbutrin and prozac. i picked prozac. but there is a problem with that now, my insurance wont pay for brand name and he said i should have brand name prozac because it is 20-30% more effective. generic prozac might not even be covered by my worthless insurance too.

This is actually NOT true 99% of the time. The generic to prosac has only been in production for the last few years and is made to meet the same high standards as is the branded product. Ask your doc where he/she is getting this 20-30% figure? The drug company? It is true that back a number of years ago, genrics could be less reliable that the branded product, but as of the last decade or so much has changed. The 'medical letter' which is a publication that every physician knows quite well has even come out and stated that there are virtually no measurable differences between the currently manufactured generics and the branded product. In some cases, the generics may actually be of greater quality, because they are being made by newer machines and more modern techniques, whereas the branded products are often being made by the same machines that originally churned out the first batch of pills from when the drug was initially launched.

Drug companies are notorious for spreading such messages, and seeing as how generic companies do not have a direct voice with the physicians, these claims are often taken at face value. Doctors are often pushed to write DAW "Dispense As Written" or DNS "Do Not Substitute" at the bottom of their scripts by drug companies once a generic equivalent is made - simply do to the fact that the entrance of a generic equivalent to a drugs market usually results in a massive, instantaneous loss in market share. In some cases the genric displaces over 90% of the branded business one it hits pharmacies.

Tell your doc that your insurance will not pay for the branded prosac, and that you would like to start out with the generic. If for some reason this does not help, there are a number fo other SSRIs that you might find helful that are not generic including Zoloft. If your doc insists on writing you the branded product, you could always just take the script and then askt eh PHARMACIST to fill it with the generic. Most states have a law that states that any script may be altered if 2 of the 3 parties (betwee the doc, the pharmacist and the patient) are in agreement. The Pharmacists are usually eager to make the switch to generic as well, as the pharmacy makes more of a profit off of them.

As far as treatment of social anxiety/shyness with a opiates... this is NOT sound advice, especially for someone such as yourself who has not yet had a chance to try out such proven medications as the SSRIs and others. As you stated, you are looking for a treatment which will work in the long term. Addiction and withdrawal are not symptoms you want to be dealing with down he road.

Best of luck, please keep us posted.

SG
 
Hi eb.

As far as I know this is a proven statement. The brain produces all sorts of chemicals, many of them related to mood. Probably the most well known one is 5ht (seretonin). Not only do different people produce different amounts of 5ht, but there is also a great deal of variance in how quickly people use it, how ones brain interacts with it etc.

This is one of the reasons why a medication like an SSRI effects people differently or why you have a 'come down' after an e - your brain must replenish its stock of 5ht.

Of course I should point out Im not a neuroscientist, just an average bloke - so I could be wrong =D
 
Sounds plausible. I did some neuro in my 3rd year psych degree. never covered that area though, lol. I would have thought i may be a bit of both some of it chemical, some of it environment. I'd say mine is like that anyway. I found out a month ago i have Inattentive ADD, this accounts for a lot of the things do and used to do. I can be very shy one minute and really outgoing the next.
 
Yep I definately think with most people it is a combination of chemical & environment or nature & nurture - whatever you want to call it. What is inattentive ADD? Being somewhat of a social fruitloop myself I'm always interested in this type of stuff.
 
a few shots of vodka, always helped my shyness around girls and stuff... maybe try a barb. like Tuinal
 
Whatever you do don't get on freaking Buspar. It will make you feel like you have 2 -12volt batteries plugged right into your nervous system. It's a terrible effect.
 
^^^
Not everyone is going to respond the same way that YOU did. Don't be so presumptuous.
 
opiates and benzos... if you want a less dramatic change, go for the SSRIs paxil zoloft, etc, or buspar. Or even neurontin. GHB is also good. for benzos I find klonopin and rohypnol to work the best.
 
I suffered from severe depression and social anxiety which i could not live with. I was put on lexapro and experienced 2 months of heaven. I was extremely happy and though i was manic, i loved it. It helped for my depression and social anxiety. I was taken off of it b/c i was so manic, but i now have mild depression from time to time, but no social anxiety whatsoever. So ask your doc about lexapro. Also xanax (or any benzo) will help with anxiety. Opiates will as well, but only while your on them. As far as shyness, it could just be ur personality, but i found mine to be the anxiety. Just depends on who u r.

LEXAPRO
 
Lexapro was a miracle drug for me. I felt like I was on psychadelic amphetamines everyday. I was extremely hyper, and energetic, and I couldn't stop talking. Most of the time I was saying stuff that made no since, and I was constantly laughing, and I couldn't stop. I was going like that for 3 months, when my doctor made me stop, b/c of how manic I was.
 
Im currently taking 100mg of zoloft for social anxiety, i have found it to be amazing, takes a while to kick in but really awesome, i didnt even know i was anxious till the feeling had gone because it had been with me my entire life.

Counselling and desensitization work well too, eg put yourself in situations where you would normally be embarrased /anxious. For me, most of mine was relationship anxiety, so my desensitisation is to go up and talk to hot chicks, and then eventually try and get them to root me ;)

i have found www.pickupguide.com/layguide handy for my desensitisation so far so it may help you too ;)
 
IMO Klonopin, Xanax SR, Nardil, Parnate, Picamilon are the best choices to deal with social anxiety.
GHB is useful but it's action is short-term (2 hours).

Oh, and I've heard that L-theanine is a good choice also.
 
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hmm.. how do you people define anxiety? I can't just go to my doc say "I get anxious sometimes, can you prescribe me sum gooood shiit", lol , nah but you see what I mean.. I tend to get pretty anxious, and I would be relieved if I had something I could take atleast before meeting people to let go easier.. Alcohol does wonders for anxiety though in small doses, but I can't stand it and the line between small dose and too much is thin.. I might try picamilon soon.

The people who have taken drugs to battle anxiety, how would you define anxiety? and were you on those drugs 24 / 7 then or just on special occasions or what/when?
I'm interested in something which would relieve me of anxiety but still let me be able to speak and operate normally.. so that people can't tell that you're under influence by a substance..doctors visits are a good example of a situation where something calming/anxiety relieving would be proper (depending on what you go to the doctor for of course, but in general if you go there to discuss something unpleasant.
 
well bro, if your shy maybe thats just your personality. except it. no need to change that. but if you truly have a disorder, try some xanax or something to relax you in crowds of people.
 
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