Posted by yxibow on December 30, 2008, at 0:29:28
In reply to Gabapentin v Benzodiazepines, posted by jms600 on December 29, 2008, at 15:49:23
> Hi
>
> Does anyone know of the efficacy of Gabapentin in the treatment of anxiety disorders (GAD, panic disorder and social phobia)?
>
> I have read that Gabapentin mimics GABA in the brain. Surely, if it does this then it must be as effective as at least some of the benzos (e.g. Valium)?
>
> Could anyone advise on the above? I suffer from chronic anxiety (GAD, panic disorder, social phobia). Benzos are out as tolerance started to occur. I've also been through all the SSRIs, a couple of TCAs, Zyprexa, Seroquel, Haloperidol, Stelazine, Effexor, Remeron, Buspar and lithium - all of which haven't done that much. Also had five months of CBT which also hasn't helped much.> Hi
>
> Does anyone know of the efficacy of Gabapentin in the treatment of anxiety disorders (GAD, panic disorder and social phobia)?
>
> I have read that Gabapentin mimics GABA in the brain. Surely, if it does this then it must be as effective as at least some of the benzos (e.g. Valium)?
>
> Could anyone advise on the above? I suffer from chronic anxiety (GAD, panic disorder, social phobia). Benzos are out as tolerance started to occur. I've also been through all the SSRIs, a couple of TCAs, Zyprexa, Seroquel, Haloperidol, Stelazine, Effexor, Remeron, Buspar and lithium - all of which haven't done that much. Also had five months of CBT which also hasn't helped much.
That's quite a list of medications, especially the neuroleptics -- I'm not doubting you, but how much time did you give Seroquel, because it can take months for real improvement.Buspar works for about 1/3 of people and tends to make (some) people dizzy too.
Yes, tolerance unfortunately is a problem and backing off when that happens is necessary. Sometimes you just have to let your GABA transmitters readjust themselves.
If you've recently stopped a benzodiazepine, I'm not sure how effective Neurontin would be in crosstolerance but its worth a try certainly as its not terribly harmful -- Lyrica is stronger and some people say it is more effective, which made it enough to be C-V.
You have to be really open to CBT to have success with it, especially with GAD. Have you tried regular psychotherapy?Also how many AED augmenters have you tried -- Lithium is fairly strong and can be jittery in its own right. E.g. Trileptal and especially Lamictal.
I assume the TCAs included Clomipramine ?
-- Jay
poster:yxibow
thread:871320
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20081223/msgs/871372.html