Posted by Elizabeth on August 31, 2001, at 14:51:36
In reply to Re: Xanax and panic, experiences?-Elizabeth, posted by Thrud on August 30, 2001, at 1:35:24
> Apparently I had some atypical symptoms, like an aura just before the attack (although they were subjective feelings rather than auditory/visual etc disturbances).
It's all subjective. But anyway, I have auras too, and I've never met anybody before who had panic auras.
> Diurnal variation (they always became more frequent in the evening).
I think that's consistent with atypical depression/panic disorder.
> Stuff like that sent me for an EEG and CT scan for a brain tumor (I turned out to be allergic to the Iodine tracer: my face puffed up, tears, saliva and "mucous" poured out uncontrollably. Fun stuff!)
We all know the cure can be worse than the disease, but sometimes even the lab tests can be worse than the disease! < g >
> Sorry, I can't remember the dose. I only rember it as the worst year of my life. Why was it surprising?
Because tricyclics are supposed to work at least somewhat for PAD.
> > > The depression, on the other hand, responded quickly and very easily.
> >
> > Responded to what, exactly?
>
> What ever it is in SSRIs that are supposed to reverse depression I guess!SSRIs, in other words. OK.
> Yes, by then I had tried just about everything everything conventional and unconventional except the MAOIs. My pdoc and I did not bother with them because of their well known sexual side effects which I was (am) desperately trying to escape.
Not any worse than SSRIs. But it sounds like you're getting something other than the standard SSRI sexual dysfunction, since a wide variety of meds seem to do this to you.
> My pdoc is also considering upping the Lamictal from 200mg to 300mg. See, Lamictal has an odd effect on me in that it completely stops panic attacks but leaves me with very high general anxiety (therefore requiring Xanax[maybe klonopin would be better?]).
I don't see anything wrong with adding a benzo to the Lamictal.
> We are not sure if Lamictal is anxiogenic or whether we need to go further to get more anxiolytic effect (if it exists).
Do you remember what level your general anxiety was at pre-Lamictal?
> > It's a triazolobenzodiazepine, like Xanax. Brand name is Deracyn. It's not marketed in the USA, but in other countries it's used as an antidepressant and anxiolytic.
>
> Why was it rejected in the USA?It wasn't rejected; the drug company just decided not to try to get it approved.
> > Opioids can definitely cause sexual problems, BTW.
>
> Count me out then. I'll choose cheap, effective benzo impotence.Well, like I said, your sexual problems don't seem to be the usual sort, so don't rule anything out until you've tried it. (Have you ever taken Tylenol #3 or Vicodin or anything like that, and if so, do you remember any sexual side effects?)
> I think the effectiveness of benzos as hypnotics may be temporary.
It usually is, but they can have residual effects on sleep (e.g., making it easier to maintain sleep) after you've become tolerant to the sedation.
-elizabeth
poster:Elizabeth
thread:76063
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20010828/msgs/77089.html