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Re: SSRI with the less anxiety increase at first??? » Vincent_QC

Posted by Reggie BoStar on December 13, 2009, at 23:54:43

In reply to SSRI with the less anxiety increase at first???, posted by Vincent_QC on December 13, 2009, at 13:55:00

Vincent,
Per Phillipa's suggestion, everyone seems to have unique experiences with the brain juices.

Benzos are not an option for me because I'm an alcoholic. However, years ago I was put on Buspar (Buspiron) for anxiety following ECT treatments. Not only did it fix the anxiety without sedating me - it also marked the end of any anxiety-type reactions at any time while taking SSRIs and other AD's. For me Buspar has been the non-benzo solution for anxiety and remains one of the few meds I've ever taken that does what it's supposed to do with no side effects that I'm aware of.

A word about Neurontin though: up until last summer I had been taking 2400 mg/day. I was taking it to reduce the number of migraines I was having and their severity, which worked very well; and also to lower the risk of seizures caused by the Wellbutrin I was taking.

I had been complaining about constant fatigue for years. At least once or twice a month I would have 4-5 day sleeping marathons wherein I got out of bed only to go to the john, feed the cats, and drink a bottle of Ensure. Eventually another patient in a therapy meeting pointed out that Neurontin ran a pretty high risk of causing the fatigue I was experiencing.

I talked it over with my Neurologist and we began a closely supervised reduction in Neurontin, gradually getting it down to the 1200mg/day dose I'm on now. It worked really well at reducing fatigue and lowering the number of sleep marathons I seem to need. Unfortunately I've found that I can't go much lower without bringing on terrible migraines. So that's where I'm sitting for now. My Neurologist suggested that maybe we can try reducing it slowly again after I've been on 1200mg for a longer time.

I chimed in there for two reasons: to let you know that for me, Buspar fixed the kinds of anxiety problems you're describing; and that Neurontin, while it does work at reducing the frequency of my migraines and as a general pain killer for neuralgia-type problems, causes a huge amount of fatigue and sedation.

That's my story at any rate. To repeat Phillipa yet again, everyone is different. It's taken many years of discouraging experimentation to get where I am, which is somewhat in control of my symptoms but not completely by a long shot. I still have a long ways to go and probably less time than I've already spent working on everything.

You're sure to have better luck, because mine stinks in any kind of comparison test you could imagine.

Have a good one,
Reggie BoStar


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poster:Reggie BoStar thread:929106
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20091206/msgs/929166.html