Hi 
I want to ask does anyone use prescribed medication for anxiety while going through breast cancer treatment?
I’ve been in sertraline for 5 years following a shock death of a very close freind from heart attack in the gym. That was an ordeal that knocked me down and sertraline has been a life saver for me to kill anxiety. I’ve stayed on it and has rebuilt my confidence over the years so much so that when I got my cancer diagnosis in June it helped me process everything without going into overdrive of anxiety. Helped me get through a mastectomy and now my cancer has spread to Lymph I’ll be having a lymph node clearance and chemo helps me remain calm about whatever this cancer is doing and the treatments I must have. It makes me feel so I’m not anxious that I feel detached from the cancer. I’m back at work till I go off again for next operation and chemotherapy. I’m with a local support group of women with similar conditions treated, ongoing. I have to say that Sertraline has been very very good at curbing anxiety. I absolutely shit my pants leading up to every consultation with fear and dread but attend them. I would be a very nervous neurotic person without it. I’d be in panic mode crying and hyperventilating. Whist I’m not promoting anything I’m just telling you my experience of dealing with fear and anxiety and how I’ve found a way to cope with it . Xxx
Hi louisea77
I too suffer from anxiety & OCD & i’m on Citalopram & i too have been through breast cancer. My husband said he couldn’t believe how well i dealt with it all, obviously i did have my moments. You have been through alot, well done. Stay strong. xx
Hi,
I am on mirtazapine and I know I wouldn’t cope without it - I was an emotional mess before I started on it, but now feel like I can live my life despite an incurable diagnosis and although I still feel sad sometimes, I can deal with it all much better.
Different things work for different people and I believe whatever works for you is the right thing to do.
Sending you positive wishes.
Lisa x
Hello everyone
Intermittent diazepam is working for me (although 3 days until my mastectomy and my heart feels like it’s going to explode and my stomach is permanently in knots.)
It is an addictive drug but I have a trusting GP and I use 2mg here and there and often 5mg at night. Dont intend using it forever but it’s getting me through. Does anyone else take it?
I took it for 2 weeks after my diagnosis with no issues going forward. I was constantly in a state of high anxiety and had hideous palpitations - it’s a really helpful drug used properly .Hoping you feel the great sense of relief I felt waking up from my op knowing the cancer had been removed .x
Thanks so much Jill. Just taken my ‘fix’ for the night, so should get a block of sleep.
Goodnight everyone 
I got married on Friday 
We have been away for a wonderful weekend but with the dark cloud still looming. Came back today, Mastectomy on Thursday, the anxiety flood gates have opened. My poor wife doesn’t know what she’s let herself in for. So worried about ‘her’ future mental health not just mine. 
I think you will both feel alot better after the op on Thursday - the anticipation of these things is usually so much worse than the reality .Once you can actually get on and do something positive to get rid of the cancer you do feel a little bit more in control .
I don’t use it but my sertraline curbs my anxiety. On the day of my mastectomy I told the surgeon and anethatist how anxious I felt about the operation and they gave me oxycodone before I went for anaesthesia which really made me relaxed and about an hour before I went in for surgery. I even asked the nurse in the pre op is it normal to feel so laid back and calm. Anything that helps you get through it. Take it. You will be ok xx
Hi please I know it’s a worry but do you have any support groups or a close freinds circle to talk to. Your wife is also going to go through this as well as it affects not just us but everyone around us and they carry worry and anxiety about everything we’re going through because they are our closest nearest and dearest. Xx
I’m reaching out a bit more now. I’ve now got a ‘someone like me’ on here and was saying to her only 10 minutes ago where would be good support for my wife.
Does anyone have any recommendation’s on uk support for partners?
Thanks for caring.
Im on citalopram and helped with my diagnosis of secondary breast cancer in my spine. I was a tearful mess every time i saw family and friends. With the help of it i manage to cope with anxiety and panic. There is no shame in having to take this type of tablet, some people think they are a failure in taking it, but you are NOT.
Both the Aurora centre and the MacMillan institute offer great support for partners and family. Your whole support system needs help. Good luck.
I totally agree @jane8 if the anti anxiety medication works it’s a wonderful way of getting through the anxiety of everything we are faced with in the path of treatment that’s already out of our control and in the hands of the experts. Helps navigate life with some sense of balance without going totally off the rails with panic or sinking into a hole of despair. Much love to you xx
Hello can I ask how long you have been on the Mirtazapine for? And the mg you are on. I have been on paroxetine for years and it’s not really helped after my radiotherapy so doctor has put me on this. I have just been weened off paroxetine and will have 30 mg of new tablet. I have felt so anxious and depressed after finishing all my treatment.
Hi,
I have been on mirtazapine for just over a year I think. I’m on 45mg per day, but started off on 30mg per day for quite a while.
I really hope it works for you.
Take care,
Lisa x
Thank you
Hi @pussycat26 I’ve been on paroxetine , fluoxetine In the past and really struggled with their numbing side effects. No emotion to anything and came from off then to go onto sertraline which changed my life completely in that in the 5 years I’ve been on it shut down my over anxiety to the point I’ve done things bravely I’d avoided in the past. Sertraline got me through a cancer diagnosis and a mastectomy and now chemotherapy and working at work where I can to maintain some norms. Sertraline is my saviour to maintain normal. It’s got to be taken long term to realise how important it curbs anxiety, balances your anxiety and gives you a clear perspective of your situation. I recommend it xx
Thank you that’s really interesting to know.
I had been diagnosed with invasive Doctor casanoma.I had 3 notes removed from the brushed.Only one positive node in the axilla But for other notes were removed , ask a precaution. I went through four months of chemo in thirty rounds of radiation. It has been 14 months I have been on Verzenio and Letrozole. I am being treated for a limp fadema which started about a month ago.In my estimation I am a retired nurse and I believe it to be mild. I have of body aches everywhere.I have epigastric pain.I am sure this is related to the medication.But in my mind i’m always thinking I am dying from cancer. I am.
Always thinking that it will return. I pray and I pray every second of the day. How are people?
Coping with this fear. I am sixty nine years old but I always thought of myself as a very young 60ish woman. My hair has started to grow back.And I should be positive.People tell me I do look very well. We’re being scared to death ever stop?