Conversations with your doctor may not always be easy, especially when they’re about sensitive topics like increasing anxiety medication dosage. Being open and honest and bringing a list of questions can help.

Anxiety is a natural feeling that helps you prepare to face adversity. Too much anxiety, however, or anxiety that sticks around longer than it should, can start to compromise your mental and physical well-being.

If you live with persistent anxiety or have received a diagnosis of an anxiety disorder, anxiety medications can help relieve those intense feelings of worry and impending doom. They can also help manage physical symptoms of anxiety like sweating, rapid heart rate, shallow breathing, and nausea.

Not all anxiety medications work for everyone, and sometimes medications stop being effective for various reasons. If your anxiety medications aren’t managing your symptoms well enough, it’s always OK to talk with your doctor about increasing or changing your prescription.

If you’re considering asking your doctor to increase the dose of your anxiety medication, take a moment to think about what you would want to know if you were the doctor.

Track your symptoms

One of the first things you will want to be prepared to discuss is why you want to increase your dose. Tracking your symptoms each day before your visit can help illustrate how anxiety is affecting your life and why you want a change.

Signs anxiety medication dosing may be too low can include:

  • still feeling anxious despite taking the medication as indicated
  • anxiety is steadily worsening
  • physical symptoms of anxiety, like headaches, muscle tension, or heart palpitations, are persistent or worsen even with medication
  • you’re unable to relax during quiet moments
  • you can’t sleep at night due to anxious thoughts
  • you experience breakthrough panic attacks

By tracking your symptoms, your doctor can see how often anxiety is affecting you while on medication. It’s also helpful to track any emotional, behavioral, or physical changes.

Anxiety medications have side effects, and there may be a more ideal choice if you’re experiencing medication-related challenges like excessive sweating or dizziness.

Research your medications

Your doctor has an in-depth knowledge of anxiety medications and their appropriate uses, but understanding your medication options can help you feel in control of your treatment plan.

Knowing how your current medication works helps you understand which experiences might be breakthrough anxiety and which ones are related to life stressors or common side effects. It can also help you maintain realistic expectations on anxiety management.

Many medications take time to work, and there may be an adjustment period after you start taking the medication. Anxiety medications are generally started at a low dose because the goal is to manage symptoms of anxiety effectively with the least amount of medication possible.

Once you’ve become accustomed to your medications, know how long they take to see improvement, and their typical starting dosages, you can come to your appointment with specific and relevant questions, like: “My anxiety worsens within several hours of taking my medication. Does this mean my dose is too low?”

Write down important talking points and questions

The doctor’s office can be a hectic environment. It’s easy to feel pressured to get through an appointment as fast as possible. Bringing a list of key talking points and questions with you helps keep the conversation with your doctor on track and ensures nothing gets missed.

It can also help to take notes during the conversation, as it’s easy to forget what was said.

Additionally, if you truly don’t have enough time to cover all of the topics, you may be able to leave your list of questions with your doctor to be more thoroughly discussed on a phone call or video chat later in the day.

Come with clear goals

Your anxiety medications may be working — just not in the ways you’d prefer. When asking your doctor for a dose increase, be clear about your goals.

For example, if it’s important for you to feel less anxious when in social settings than it is to manage anxiety before bed, tell your doctor. Different medications or dosages may be more effective for your needs.

Knowing what you want to say when asking your doctor to increase anxiety medications and effectively communicating those things can be two different challenges.

Be open and honest

Doctors aren’t mind readers. If you’re not open about your anxiety experiences, they can’t know the true severity of your symptoms. In other words, saying you’re “fine” when you really feel overwhelmed can lead your doctor to believe all is well.

Helpful questions to ask

If you need some ideas of what types of questions to ask your doctor when you want to increase your anxiety medications, consider these:

  • Could my current anxiety symptoms mean my medication dose is too low?
  • What other factors might contribute to me feeling this way?
  • Are there benefits to increasing my medication dose?
  • What risks and side effects are there?
  • How will a high dose affect my concentration and focus?
  • Will a higher dose affect my ability to work or do other tasks?
  • Would switching or adding medications be better than increasing my dose?
  • How long will it take a new dose to be effective?
  • Will we taper the dose back down once symptoms are better managed?
  • What happens if my symptoms still aren’t managed at a higher dose?
  • Are there any lifestyle changes I can make to improve the effectiveness of my medication?
  • Is there a best time of day to take my medication to improve its effects?
  • What are the next steps in my treatment plan if increasing the dose doesn’t work?

Increasing your anxiety medication dose is just one option when your symptoms aren’t effectively managed. Adding medication, changing medication, and incorporating supportive therapies and interventions can also help.

Discuss your alternatives

Ask your doctor about the alternatives to increasing your anxiety medication. No single medication can do it all or do everything for everyone.

You may need a combination of medications, or you may be able to manage symptoms better by incorporating:

Understand the process

Anxiety management can be a process, and understanding that process can prevent you from feeling overwhelmed or discouraged.

Questions to ask your doctor about your treatment process include:

  • What are the most common treatments for my diagnosis?
  • Why did you select this medication or this combination of therapies?
  • How long will it take to see improvement?
  • How will we monitor the effectiveness of the treatments?
  • Do you collaborate with my other doctors or therapists to determine the best course of treatment?
  • What are signs that I’m making progress?

What happens after your appointment depends on your conversation with your doctor. Once you get home, review your doctor’s recommendations. If your anxiety medication dose was increased, start your new dose as directed. If a new prescription is issued, you’ll need to visit the pharmacy and have it filled.

If you have any questions or aren’t clear about recommendations once you’re home, call the office and have them clarify. Guessing about your mediation can cause challenges with side effects and effectiveness. It may even cause serious medical complications.

If you’re starting a new routine, it’s a great time to start tracking your symptoms and progress so you can have that information for your next doctor’s visit.

After your appointment is also the time to implement lifestyle changes to support your anxiety management. It’s OK to start these slowly if they feel daunting. One step at a time is still positive progress.

Talking with your doctor about increasing your anxiety medication dosage can be anxiety-inducing all on its own. By coming to your appointment prepared with your symptom tracker, a list of questions, and personal goals, you are more likely to get your needs met.

In addition to being prepared, do your best to be clear and honest about the effects of anxiety in your life. Your doctor wants you to feel better, and they base much of your treatment plan on how you describe your lived experience.