Question: I have been having a lot of anxiety for the past three months. It seems to be almost 100% about doctors and sometimes about medical conditions (that I may or may not actually have) that might require me to see a doctor.

It was triggered by a doctor that I had who pressured me to have a physical exam that I was uncomfortable with. He kept telling me that I could have cancer, only my symptoms didn't fit cancer, and I don't have it. He really terrified me for some reason that I don't completely understand. Obviously I'm not seeing him again. But now the problem is that I seem to be afraid of all doctors, even female ones. I'm not overly crazy about nurses either, but they seem somewhat easier to tolerate.

It's causing problems because now my blood pressure is much higher than it used to be even though I added a second blood pressure medication. The diastolic blood pressure is a tiny bit high at home, but at the doctor's office both diastolic and systolic shoot up a lot. My heart rate is very high as well. It'll be in the mid 90's at home, sometimes even in the 80's. But at the doctor's office it goes up to 122, just because I walk in the door.

I had a cardio workup, which was not fun, but came out completely normal...other than a very high (but regular) heart rate. I've been to psychotherapy a lot. I tried xanax. I don't like it, and frankly it makes me more nervous because I feel stupid on it and when I'm at the doctor I need to be alert.

I am on Effexor 150mg. I have been on it for years for depression, which I'm used to. I was on 75mg though for quite a few years until about two months before the incident with the doctor. I have wondered if the increase in the Effexor contributed to the high heart rate and the high blood pressure, and maybe the anxiety? I had been on several SSRIs before starting Effexor, but the Effexor worked the best. I have always had the sleep too much kind of depression.

Now my depression is pretty stable, but the anxiety is still bad. It increases a lot when I have an appointment coming up, which I do now.

My question: I know that Effexor is sometimes prescribed for anxiety, but is it possible that it could be increasing it in me? Or at least increasing the heart rate / blood pressure?

Is there anything else I can do to get rid of this stupid doctor phobia? I don't avoid going. In fact I've been a lot lately. But it's been pretty miserable.

Thank you for your response,

I don't have a psychiatrist. I live in a very rural area where there is a huge shortage of them. I have been getting the Effexor from my family doctor. He is opposed to benzodiazepines, and I don't think he'd give me one to take regularly. I also don't think Etizolam is available in the US.

I did try xanax, which was prescribed as needed for panic attacks. I felt drunk on it...like I couldn't think clearly, which made me more anxious around doctors because I'm pretty sure one of them is going to kill me if I don't pay attention to what they are doing. I'm also afraid of addiction to be honest.

But you didn't answer totally about the Effexor. Does Effexor ever increase anxiety?