![[dr. bob]](/dr-bob-sm.gif)
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 11 of 11. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by winger on September 1, 2002, at 20:03:43
I take effexorXR and ativan for anxiety.. it helps but it's not really the real deal for me..
I'm thinking about celxa or lexapro,.
what has worked for everyone else out there.?
I tried Buspar- too short a halflife and gave me panic attacks..
in reality, before I realized what I was doing, I used to drink far too much to treat my anxiety!!
Still want to at times..
Why hasn't someone figured out the actual chemical effects of alcohol on the brain and tried to design a drug that has it's good effects without all of it's detrimental effects...
It seems like nothing is quite as anxiety relieving /without putting me to sleep/ like alcohol is...
problem is, I've gotten to where I hate to get drunk... it sucks to act stupid... and it removes too many inhibitions/takes away good judgement, not to mention the physical problems it can cause..
I just want the anxiety and associated depression gone..
so once again, what has worked for all of you all there... I'm just looking for suggestions...
meds at this time
as I'm already trying a lot of different cognitive and behavoral changes... they're just not enough - I'm wired worry it seems..!
Thanks for any input!!
Posted by nikioct73 on September 1, 2002, at 20:36:41
In reply to Anxiety w/depression - what's worked for you?, posted by winger on September 1, 2002, at 20:03:43
I've never found anything..but Please keep looking..paxi and the like is supposed to help with SP...you have a good PDOC you trust??..its vital to treatment of such things..
Goodluck..
Niki
Posted by rainbowlight on September 1, 2002, at 23:06:01
In reply to Anxiety w/depression - what's worked for you?, posted by winger on September 1, 2002, at 20:03:43
There are quite a few anti-depressants that treat both depression and anxiety. A few are Celexa, Zoloft, Luvox, Prozac. I found Zoloft to be the best for both. Some people also take anti-psychotics for anxiety. Such as Seroquel, Risperdal. The good news is that there are tons of meds that treat both, the bad part is that you have to try quite a few before you find one that works for you. Keep searching, you'll find one that makes you feel better.
Posted by Arthur Gibson on September 2, 2002, at 4:36:09
In reply to Anxiety w/depression - what's worked for you?, posted by winger on September 1, 2002, at 20:03:43
If short half lives give you anxiety, switch to Valium. Attivan is also quite a short half life.
Much of your anxiety problem may be caused be withdrawal. This can go on for weeks or months.
Posted by nmk on September 2, 2002, at 10:35:58
In reply to Anxiety w/depression - what's worked for you?, posted by winger on September 1, 2002, at 20:03:43
I am on the same cocktail of meds as you... 150 mg of effexor and .5 mg of ativan per day as needed for the anxiety. I have been on this combo for three weeks, have noticed slight improvement in the anxiety and depression but nothing earth shattering. The advice I have received from this board is to stick it out at least 6 weeks before making any changes. This is trying since I feel spaced-out, tired, and irritable. I don't know how long you have been on these meds but if it has been longer than six weeks, you might want to talk to your pdoc about an increase in the effexor or a med change. I was on 100 mg of zoloft prior to the effexor with no luck. For sleep, I have had wonderful success with 30 mg of remeron. Hang in there and please keep me posted if you strike gold. I am frustrated as well and just want my life back.
Posted by FredPotter on September 2, 2002, at 17:53:16
In reply to Anxiety w/depression - what's worked for you?, posted by winger on September 1, 2002, at 20:03:43
I agree. I've tried countless ADs and benzos but nothing works like alcohol. What's more it works completely. But after several decades of self-medicating it turned round and bit me. Now I no longer drink and feel like there's nothing to fall back on. Xanax is a joke, but one the doctors take so seriously. So what's the active mechanism of alcohol? Doesn't anyone know? If a new drug based on this were to appear I suspect it would also have a euphoric effect. It appears that's not allowed. Goes against the protestant work ethic or something
Posted by winger on September 2, 2002, at 20:54:51
In reply to Re: Anxiety w/depression - what's worked for you? » winger, posted by FredPotter on September 2, 2002, at 17:53:16
I can't do the alcohol thing anymore because of stomach problems...
and you're right, it's like illegal or something to feel good.. :)
A friend of mine has a saying (his wife is on Zoloft for depression)
"We don't give you pleasure, we just take away the pain!"
Cracked me up!!
I will tell you, I tried Buspar for a while, and it is the closest I have come to the calm that a couple of beers gives me.... but you have to take it up to 3 times a day, and when it wears off, you really feel it.. anxiety/chest pain/etc..
and it started to give me panic attacks, which is really weird.. no anxiety, just panic all of a sudden once in a while...
I had to take Zoloft to get off of it without a bunch of pain.. I ended up losing almost 30 pounds getting off the stuff..
I felt really good when I was on both the Zoloft and the Buspar, very calm, but the Zoloft started to mess my stomach up...
You just can't win...!;)
Everything has a side effect!!
I think I'll just go live on a tropical island somewhere...
take up swimming and fishing eh!?!?
I'm going to keep trying..
I may try this lexapro, see what that does...
and it's strange, most doctors freak about the zoloft, but my doctor is pretty cool, she's all about trying to help. and if it works, try it, just keep it under control. She has discussed trying Klonopin (hope I spelled it right!)
Anyway, best of luck...
keep on smiling! :)
> I agree. I've tried countless ADs and benzos but nothing works like alcohol. What's more it works completely. But after several decades of self-medicating it turned round and bit me. Now I no longer drink and feel like there's nothing to fall back on. Xanax is a joke, but one the doctors take so seriously. So what's the active mechanism of alcohol? Doesn't anyone know? If a new drug based on this were to appear I suspect it would also have a euphoric effect. It appears that's not allowed. Goes against the protestant work ethic or something
Posted by gypsea on September 2, 2002, at 21:15:33
In reply to Anxiety w/depression - what's worked for you?, posted by winger on September 1, 2002, at 20:03:43
> I take effexorXR and ativan for anxiety.. it helps but it's not really the real deal for me..
> I'm thinking about celxa or lexapro,.
> what has worked for everyone else out there.?
> I tried Buspar- too short a halflife and gave me panic attacks..
> in reality, before I realized what I was doing, I used to drink far too much to treat my anxiety!!
> Still want to at times..
> Why hasn't someone figured out the actual chemical effects of alcohol on the brain and tried to design a drug that has it's good effects without all of it's detrimental effects...
> It seems like nothing is quite as anxiety relieving /without putting me to sleep/ like alcohol is...
> problem is, I've gotten to where I hate to get drunk... it sucks to act stupid... and it removes too many inhibitions/takes away good judgement, not to mention the physical problems it can cause..
> I just want the anxiety and associated depression gone..
> so once again, what has worked for all of you all there... I'm just looking for suggestions...
> meds at this time
> as I'm already trying a lot of different cognitive and behavoral changes... they're just not enough - I'm wired worry it seems..!
> Thanks for any input!!Have you tried an MAOI? Nothing really worked for me - allowed me to feel genuinely normal again, gave me my life back - until I tried Nardil (in conjunction with whatever benzo I was using at the time). My anxiety is gone and I've been asymptomatic for over 11 years as a result of this med! It's not without its side effects, restrictions and conta-indications, but I'm happy to make the compromises. Though the Ativan/Nardil cocktail worked fine for me, I prefer the longer-life benzos. Klonapin's been great. I only have to take 1 mg once a day and I found that it's been much easier to taper down to a minimum dosage than with the shorter half-life benzos.
Gypsea
Posted by FredPotter on September 2, 2002, at 21:31:13
In reply to Re: Anxiety w/depression - what's worked for you? » FredPotter, posted by winger on September 2, 2002, at 20:54:51
New Zealand is close to being an island paradise, but it doesn't make anxiety and depression go away. By the way, yours is the only good report of Buspar I've ever seen. If it gave you panic attacks and you took Xanax for those, things sound like they'd be pretty much perfect
Posted by BarbaraCat on September 3, 2002, at 2:47:25
In reply to Anxiety w/depression - what's worked for you?, posted by winger on September 1, 2002, at 20:03:43
I hear you loud and clear about the alcohol. There's nothing so reliable as getting a buzz on to make you feel really fine - for a while. Then the depression, self-disgust, etc. I believe that what we're experiencing as far as the 'pleasure' is alcohol's effect on dopamine. That's the happy, energized beginning phase. After that at high doses, you're getting the effects of neuro toxicity and inhibitory neurotransmitters. There's a very avant garde website I happen to like very much at www.biopsychiatry.com. They take the stance that we're fed up with the 'dirty' mood brighteners we have available and need 'brighter' ones, namely, dopaminergic drugs. The whole site makes for hours and hours of fascinating reading.
Which doesn't get to the point of what's worked for anxiety? Sheesh, I wish I knew. The best, of course, is alot of good hard regular exercise. There's nothing like that tingling sense of well being. But what besides? I'm currently taking lorezapam and neurontin for anxiety, along with Remeron and lithium. I think that neuontin helps, but at high doses (3000 mg) and I hesitate in getting used to such a high dose. I'm experimenting with different herbs, such as valerian, passionflower and hops tincture, but can't say that I notice anything really really swell. I'd like to try Xanax again. Someone here on this board has had Librium offered by her doctor. I took this about 30 years ago and it worked very well. It's similar to valium as far as I remember, but went out of fashion. It would be nice to revive this old standby because it sure did the trick when I badly needed it. BarbaraCat
Posted by timmy4 on September 4, 2002, at 12:07:05
In reply to Re: Anxiety w/depression - what's worked for you? » winger, posted by BarbaraCat on September 3, 2002, at 2:47:25
Paxil CR.
Its continuous release and has not been harsh on me with side effects. I feel more calm and collected, however it does take time to build up your dosages and feel the help.
This is the end of the thread.
Psycho-Babble Medication | Extras | FAQ
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.org
Script revised: February 4, 2008
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/cgi-bin/pb/mget.pl
Copyright 2006-17 Robert Hsiung.
Owned and operated by Dr. Bob LLC and not the University of Chicago.