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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 9 of 9. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by loudandclear on March 4, 2005, at 15:38:46
Hello. First time poster. I have a few questions and concerns about occurances in my life, and am wondering if others experiece the same thing and or have any advice for me.
A short history. I've been on different SSRIs for about 2.5 years. First Celexa / Lexapro / and now Zoloft. I currently take 75 MG of Zoloft a day. I dont drink or do any other drugs. I occassionally take Advin for Anxiety and or panic.
It seems as of recent, If I loose a night of sleep, the next day I feel extremely self concious, and paranoid. I feel as if I'm in sort of a dream world or in the middle of an acid trip. What ends up happending, as the day goes on I become more paranoid. I begin to go into a state of anxiety and paranoia. At that pint Panic comes into play and I'm totally f-ed up. I usually have to take Adivan to control the panic. This is beginning to happen more frequently. It also seems to corrolate with the fact I'm dating a new girl. Last night she sleep over my place and before i fell asleep, I slipped into a panic attach ( not full blown) but pretty horrible. This is a new girl I'm dating and the fact the she is a sleep next to me and I in the corner having a panic attach is a lot for me to absorb.
Another side not. 3 months ago I went down on zoloft from 75 to 50 MG. I got sick, but after a month felt ok. So I went down to 25MG. This was fine for aboyut a week, until i totally lost mmy mind and was so scared for my life, that i had to go back up to 50MG. That seemed to help, but after a week, and a really late night and no sleep, I lost it again. And had to go up to 75MG.
If anyone has similar experiences, please write back. I'm not sure what to do. The zoloft is obviously not working so well anymore, and I really hate taking Adivan. (I dont want to have a nother drug in me). Can smoking cigerettes be messing me up as well?
Thanks for you time everyone.
Posted by Nixon on March 4, 2005, at 17:15:53
In reply to Zoloft/Sleep Deprivation/cigerettes/Panic disorder, posted by loudandclear on March 4, 2005, at 15:38:46
> Hello. First time poster. I have a few questions and concerns about occurances in my life, and am wondering if others experiece the same thing and or have any advice for me.
>
> A short history. I've been on different SSRIs for about 2.5 years. First Celexa / Lexapro / and now Zoloft. I currently take 75 MG of Zoloft a day. I dont drink or do any other drugs. I occassionally take Advin for Anxiety and or panic.
>
> It seems as of recent, If I loose a night of sleep, the next day I feel extremely self concious, and paranoid. I feel as if I'm in sort of a dream world or in the middle of an acid trip. What ends up happending, as the day goes on I become more paranoid. I begin to go into a state of anxiety and paranoia. At that pint Panic comes into play and I'm totally f-ed up. I usually have to take Adivan to control the panic. This is beginning to happen more frequently. It also seems to corrolate with the fact I'm dating a new girl. Last night she sleep over my place and before i fell asleep, I slipped into a panic attach ( not full blown) but pretty horrible. This is a new girl I'm dating and the fact the she is a sleep next to me and I in the corner having a panic attach is a lot for me to absorb.
>
> Another side not. 3 months ago I went down on zoloft from 75 to 50 MG. I got sick, but after a month felt ok. So I went down to 25MG. This was fine for aboyut a week, until i totally lost mmy mind and was so scared for my life, that i had to go back up to 50MG. That seemed to help, but after a week, and a really late night and no sleep, I lost it again. And had to go up to 75MG.
>
> If anyone has similar experiences, please write back. I'm not sure what to do. The zoloft is obviously not working so well anymore, and I really hate taking Adivan. (I dont want to have a nother drug in me). Can smoking cigerettes be messing me up as well?
>
> Thanks for you time everyone.Hi,
I doubt that cigarettes have anything to do with the symptoms you are describing. Having been in your place it may have something to do with your new relationship but in any case your questions about the meds are what matters. I took zoloft for about 5 years usually at 150mg per day. It helped with depression but without a mood stabilizer I found myself often agitated or excited often. I have been on every ssri there is. Sleep deprivation would elicit some of the feelings you described for me but they would not be as debilitating. It sounds like you are having daily panic attacks. I have had these before in a barber's chair, driving, at the dentist, home and in various places. 75mg zoloft is not a high dose but would be considered appropriate for panic. You are obviously stressed out so I can see why Ativan would be prescribed. It should help. Although you do not want to take any other meds you may want to try switching your ssri, maybe prozac, or upping your dose on zoloft. I found the solution was not an ssri for me but a mood stabilizer ie: Depakote, Lamictal etc... This helped with ups and downs that were leading to anxiety issues. I also found Remeron helpful for sleep and anxiety as well as depression. I am a 32 year old male you has been working at this for about 10 years. Anxiety is a difficult task to overcome but you do have options. The hardest part is the trial and error. One last thing, you could get short term withdrawal on Ativan which could exacerbate your anxiety. Good Luck. JN
Posted by Spriggy on March 4, 2005, at 18:28:20
In reply to Re: Zoloft/Sleep Deprivation/cigerettes/Panic diso » loudandclear, posted by Nixon on March 4, 2005, at 17:15:53
Well, the feelings you describe, I have also felt but mine were MUCH more intense while on an SSRI.
Is it almost the weird head feeling you get if you have a really high fever?
Like things seem "unreal" and you feel detached from yourself? and it's very freaky?
If that's how you are feeling, I wonder if it's possible the medication is doing this to you. It's a side effect (derealization/agitation) for SSRI's. I can NOT tolerate them because it sends me directly into the state mentally that you mentioned.
Maybe talk with pdoc about it and see if you should be taken off SSRI"s for a time to see if it gets better.
Posted by Spriggy on March 4, 2005, at 18:30:44
In reply to Re: Zoloft/Sleep Deprivation/cigerettes/Panic diso, posted by Spriggy on March 4, 2005, at 18:28:20
And for the record (and for your benefit),
I want you to know that when I felt that way, it was the most horrific feeling of my life. I felt for sure like I was going insane.
I am now 5 weeks off the SSRI and with EVERY passing day, I am feeling better.
So please know, you will get better. The medication could be the problem and switching it or stopping it (not cold turkey though!) could be your answer.
Keep us posted.
Posted by loudandclear on March 4, 2005, at 20:15:59
In reply to Re: Zoloft/Sleep Deprivation/cigerettes/Panic diso, posted by Spriggy on March 4, 2005, at 18:30:44
Thanks you guys.
I do feel that part of it has to do with the medication I'm on. I never had any panic and or anxiety attacks until i began the use of these drugs. They did help me for some time, but now i feel like i'm just sorta screwed up from them.
I feel easily overwhelmed and feel like I'm not stable at all. I'm gonna try and get some rest, but thanks again for the comments.
I need to find a pdoc ASAP. I should probably be going through this under some sorta supervision.
Posted by Phillipa on March 4, 2005, at 22:13:47
In reply to Re: Zoloft/Sleep Deprivation/cigerettes/Panic diso, posted by loudandclear on March 4, 2005, at 20:15:59
Yes, find a pdoc. Fondly, Phillipa
Posted by olysi79 on March 4, 2005, at 23:50:09
In reply to Zoloft/Sleep Deprivation/cigerettes/Panic disorder, posted by loudandclear on March 4, 2005, at 15:38:46
Hi there, this sounds like a situation that i have been encountering as well. Not pleasant in the least. Nixon is right, go the mood stabilizer route for sure, but perhaps keep an SSRI in there. Has your doc discussed BP with you at all (not insinuating you're BP or anything- jsut checking all angles) Anxiety is quite central to mood instability to many people. Keep your ativan around, try a mood stabilizer, and keep some sort of SSRI in there. When things reach a crisis level, consider an atypical like Zyprexa to knock you out and "reset things" so to speak.
> Hello. First time poster. I have a few questions and concerns about occurances in my life, and am wondering if others experiece the same thing and or have any advice for me.
>
> A short history. I've been on different SSRIs for about 2.5 years. First Celexa / Lexapro / and now Zoloft. I currently take 75 MG of Zoloft a day. I dont drink or do any other drugs. I occassionally take Advin for Anxiety and or panic.
>
> It seems as of recent, If I loose a night of sleep, the next day I feel extremely self concious, and paranoid. I feel as if I'm in sort of a dream world or in the middle of an acid trip. What ends up happending, as the day goes on I become more paranoid. I begin to go into a state of anxiety and paranoia. At that pint Panic comes into play and I'm totally f-ed up. I usually have to take Adivan to control the panic. This is beginning to happen more frequently. It also seems to corrolate with the fact I'm dating a new girl. Last night she sleep over my place and before i fell asleep, I slipped into a panic attach ( not full blown) but pretty horrible. This is a new girl I'm dating and the fact the she is a sleep next to me and I in the corner having a panic attach is a lot for me to absorb.
>
> Another side not. 3 months ago I went down on zoloft from 75 to 50 MG. I got sick, but after a month felt ok. So I went down to 25MG. This was fine for aboyut a week, until i totally lost mmy mind and was so scared for my life, that i had to go back up to 50MG. That seemed to help, but after a week, and a really late night and no sleep, I lost it again. And had to go up to 75MG.
>
> If anyone has similar experiences, please write back. I'm not sure what to do. The zoloft is obviously not working so well anymore, and I really hate taking Adivan. (I dont want to have a nother drug in me). Can smoking cigerettes be messing me up as well?
>
> Thanks for you time everyone.
Posted by loudandclear on March 6, 2005, at 18:00:12
In reply to Re: Zoloft/Sleep Deprivation/cigerettes/Panic disorder » loudandclear, posted by olysi79 on March 4, 2005, at 23:50:09
Well, things seem to be getting worse. I'm now experiencing panic attacks daily. The second i begin to realise I might have one, I'm too late. The feeling begins to close in on me. I try and ignore it, I try and not take anything for it, but it eventually wins. I was hanging out with my new girlfriend, when outta no where I began to feel the first waves of panic. I tried to hold out and relax, but the more I did that the worse the waves got. I went into her bathroom and took an Adivan. Its been about 1 hour and I am now slightly beginng to feel better. The part I hate about all of this is the feeling that I'm going "off the deep end", so to speak. Like i feel ( at the time of panic) that I need to escape the feelling. I get really scared. I really want the feelings to go away :( I feel trapped and feel the sense of shame, embarrassment, and over loss of control of my emotions. I dont know what to do with myself.
Well, now i'm at home and I'm going to call just about every psychiatrist that my issurance covers, to see if I can meet with one soon. I dont know how much longer I can do this, I feel that if it keeps getting worse I might have a heart attack or somethintg.
Thanks for all the feedback and stuff. The more i can learn about my disorder, the better I can help treat myself. The more knowledge I can gain on the subject, the more personal experiences I can read, the more I feel like I'm on a road to a better way.
cheers_
DanielOh, and this might be a dumb question, but I did have coffee this morning and am wondering if the withdrawl from the coffee could have triggered the panic? Thanks
Posted by Phillipa on March 6, 2005, at 19:03:16
In reply to Re: a short update, posted by loudandclear on March 6, 2005, at 18:00:12
The caffeine in coffee will definitely up your anxiety. Fondly, Phillipa
This is the end of the thread.
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