Medication advice needed for anxiety

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I have never taken anxiety medications before, and I need some advice from people who have.
I have depersonalization disorder. This disorder is maintained by non-stop obsessive thinking and worrying.
In short, my mind can't rest....ever.
What type of medication does everyone recommend?

I need to mention that I don't have insurance. So I will need something cheap, like a generic brand. Also, can regular family doctors prescribe this medicine, or does a psychiatrist have to do it?

I have another question. In temple Grandin's book "Thinking in Pictures", she mentioned that people on the autism spectrum often need much lower doses of neurological medications than typical people. Is this true?

Thanks in advance for your answers.

My AS son has general anxiety. He was put on Remeron and promptly gained 30 lbs. in 3 months and it didn't help his anxiety. Now my 12 year old has stretch marks. His anxiety abated for a while and now it looks like it's coming back. He's started these repetative behaviors too but I'm not going with meds this time. That's my experience with anti anxiety meds.

Some antidepressants can help with anxiety too. I have Generalized Anxiety Disorder, and also used to have some obsessive-compulsive type behaviors and social anxiety, but Paxil helped a lot.

What makes you think that you have DPD? It seems to me like the concept is fairly vague, and that DPD is generally not diagnosed in people with other mental disorders. If you have AS, as your profile indicates that you believe, then it would probably be seen as totally inappropriate to tack on an additional diagnosis. Symptoms of depersonalization and emotional deadness are common features of AS and do not require stacking up multiple disorders.

The generic over-the-counter anxiety med is called alcohol. It works, but it has some pretty serious problems in that is addictive and toxic. The same is true for benzodiazapenes, which are the most common prescription anxiety meds. It sounds like what you need is some counseling, and only after that's tried should you look into medication. Your lack of insurance is a bummer, but there might be some low income services you could apply for.

I've been using that for sleep issues for years - I can't shut my mind off, either and the internal monologue left to its own devices just never shuts the hell up. I find the side effects to be minimal if its only used at bedtime and you drink lots of water the rest of the day. Not endorsing or recommending, just reporting my experience. And it's less likely to cause Erectile Dysfunction (unless you overdo the dosage and then only temporarily), which most other depression and anxiety meds do.

I also recommend a strict program of diet and exercise to go along with that, although I don't recommend you combine the self-meds and the exercise at the same time.

Something that increases GABA like l-theanine or picamilon.

I have a mind that tends to stress and obsess. I've been diagnosed with mild OCD in the past...no real compulsions, just a tendency to circular thinking. I don't do well at all with benzodiazepines, but I've benefitted from very low dose Lexapro, which is a newer generation SSRI. I currently am on 3 mg, where the normal starting dose is 10 mg. I seem to be quite sensitive to it, so this seems to work for me.

My son has had trouble getting to sleep because of an overactive, anxious mind and melatonin does the trick for him. It's funny because it doesn't make him drowsy but once he's settled in he goes to sleep very quickly.

I also have this problem as well, makes trying to go to sleep at night "not" fun . ...I use Valium but only when I am close to meltdown or anxiety attack. I agree with Willard that some type of exercise program really helps. I felt much better when I was doing Kung Fu several times a week. I wish I could do it now but my back and hips are not cooperating. My daughter wants to try Xanax as her anxiety is severe and nearly constant, she will be 18 in June. She cant leave the house without her blood pressure shooting up. Our doc says there are ways around the addiction by altering the way you take it. Like take it for a few days and then off a few days ect. She has yet to try it. I think if you are ready to go the medication route you should talk to a doctor and tell him/her you want something strictly for anxiety otherwise you could end up on some anti psychotic or something. The new thing docs like to do for Autistic people and kids lately is to put us on Risperal which comes with lots of unwanted side effects like tics and serious weight gain. Otherwise I think its a try it and see what works for the anxiety meds. Not all of us are alike so what works for one person might not work for you. Good luck and I hope you feel better soon.

@ cthulukitty and willard

I have already tried alchohol at bedtime. Sometimes it seems to work and sometimes it doesn't.

I am pretty sure that I have depersonalization disorder on top of as, because I feel better when I am relaxed and not stressed (meaning that I get some emotions back and my body actually feels like its my body). I have also completely come out of it at times.

@liloleme

Risperal would not be the drug for me. I already have a tic disorder.
I think I might exercise more though.

Thank you everyone for the advice.

buspirone is a unique type of drug, not an ssri or benzo
took it for awhile with great results..however I began to get this shocking sensation through my body so I quit taking it.
takes a month to work and when it did I was doing great in school...better than i've ever done.

n e ways...I would recomend it.