Posted by Caleb462 on May 22, 2003, at 22:40:38
In reply to Re: nortryptline affect on anxiety » worrier, posted by hildi on May 20, 2003, at 23:16:01
> > > I'm wanting to try another route than SSRI's for my anxiety and depression- I have read some good posts about nortryptline, but would that med cause even more anxeity? Also, I have read that the TCA's are bad for those who have bipolar tendencies. Does anyone have any comments or experience with this?
> > >
> > > I'm interested- never tried a TCA. I've always been on SSRI's and they all make me feel lousy in one way or another.
> > > Hildi
> >
> > >I've sort of stepped into this conversation in the middle, but feel I'm in about the same boat as you and am looking for some effective alternative. I can't tolerate any of the SSRis and like you, paxil sent me straight over the edge and to the ER with the worst agitation/panic I've ever had (and I've had panic attacks for almost 20 years). It's been almost a year since the paxil disaster and I still haven't gotten back to my original "just plain old panic disorder" self. I know have a constant level of physical anxiety that I never had before the paxil.(had bad reactions to wellbutrin and prozac, but nothing like the paxil and those effects went away pretty quickly after stopping the meds.) Right now I'm getting by on xanax and stubborness, but it's very frustrating and tiring. The xanax takes the edge off, but I never really feel normal. I'm pretty gun shy about trying any new meds, but it's growing increasingly obvious I'm going to have to do something. My pdoc has suggested remeron, or maybe strattera, have you had any experience with either of those? Any suggestions would be apprecciated, as we seem to react to some meds in a very similar way. Luck to you. Worrier.
>
> You sound just like me and have gone throught the same hell with this. I completely undestand what your saying- the underlying anxiety is so much more predominant now, so much more than before the paxil. There is a constant intense agitation, or anxiety, something I cannot even put words on, that is so deep and with me constantly that nothing at all can budge this. Xanax helps some, but this intense agitation/anxiety never goes away. Clonazepam or Klonopin barely touches this. It makes me more woozy, but the agitation remains. I feel like a drunk that's all keyed up sometimes (and I don't drink).
> No, my doctor says I'll hate him if he gives me Remeron because everyone gains a ton of weight on it, he says. Now Strattera was suggested by someone on this site, but wouldn't that cause MORE anxiety? It's a stimulant you know. I bet my doctor wouldn't let me try it, but I'd be curious if such a thing might actually have an opposite effect on me, since all the 'tranquilizers' are not. But then again, I am afraid. My brain and body are so wacked out at this point I feel the same as you, something must be done because I can't live like this anymore, but I am so afraid of further reactions. You know too, when I was younger and everybody was doing speed around me, every time I'd take any I'd get sick. I would vomit it up and try to sleep it away. Now, things like white crosses and black beauties that were going around then are amphetamines, but still a stimulant. I worry that I'd have a similar reaction with the strattera. It is pure NE reuptake. I considered nortript, but that is NE reuptake, amoung other things. . . so I just don't know what to do.
> I don't think I can take another day of this Lexapro. I felt sick all day and emotionless.
> I think the Klon makes me feel nausea, too, and I'm out of xanax, so I feel like a trapped mouse in a lab experiment gone awry.
> Hildi
Actually, NE reuptake is considered GOOD for anxiety. Initially, strattera (or any other NE uptake inhibitor) might cause some degree of increased anxiety, but the end result will be a down-regulation of adrenergic receptors - and thus an anti-anxiety effect. This is the reason Effexor (a mixed serotonin/norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor) is touted so strongly for co-morbid anxiety and depression.
poster:Caleb462
thread:227219
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030520/msgs/228474.html