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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 12 of 12. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by lynn971 on December 3, 2005, at 21:00:36
I went to a p-doc for the first time. My diagnosis was Severe generalized anxiety, depression, and OCD. He took me off of lexapro because it made me lose my temper too easily. I was also gaining weight. I was on prozac for 10 years until it stopped working.
My doc put me on zoloft. This is the fifth day on zoloft. I felt the anxiety creep up. Today was horrible. I diched the zoloft. I took a lexapro and a zanax. and a drink of whiskey. Do you have any other suggestions? I have two kids to raise. Help, help, help. help help help/
Posted by Phillipa on December 3, 2005, at 23:05:08
In reply to The anxiety is back!!!!!!!!!! Help!!!!!!, posted by lynn971 on December 3, 2005, at 21:00:36
Lynn whiskey is not the answer. I too had horrible anxiety from lexapro. Zoloft didn't do anything to me. I've always needed a benzo how much xanax do you take? PS you can babblemail me and in turn I'll give you my E-mail address. Fondly, Phillipa
Posted by RobertDavid on December 4, 2005, at 0:02:41
In reply to The anxiety is back!!!!!!!!!! Help!!!!!!, posted by lynn971 on December 3, 2005, at 21:00:36
klonopin works good for me. it has a long half life and you can take it once a day as well. if you haven't tried a benzo you might consider one. the SSRI's just made my anxiety worse. Good luck!
Posted by ace on December 4, 2005, at 8:32:05
In reply to The anxiety is back!!!!!!!!!! Help!!!!!!, posted by lynn971 on December 3, 2005, at 21:00:36
> I went to a p-doc for the first time. My diagnosis was Severe generalized anxiety, depression, and OCD. He took me off of lexapro because it made me lose my temper too easily. I was also gaining weight. I was on prozac for 10 years until it stopped working.
>
> My doc put me on zoloft. This is the fifth day on zoloft. I felt the anxiety creep up. Today was horrible. I diched the zoloft. I took a lexapro and a zanax. and a drink of whiskey. Do you have any other suggestions? I have two kids to raise. Help, help, help. help help help/I believe the Zoloft is causing the anxiety as a start up effect. Even so, Zoloft, in my opinion, is a weak drug for symptoms such as yours. It is very popular among pdocs due to its lack of interactions. I think an MAOI or a TCA with ongoing Xanax therapy is best. You mention alcohol but. Please don't mix alcohol and Xanax. Furthermore if you have any addiction problem in the past Xanax may not be best for you.
Ace.
Posted by lynn971 on December 4, 2005, at 12:40:02
In reply to Re: The anxiety is back!!!!!!!!!! Help!!!!!! » lynn971, posted by ace on December 4, 2005, at 8:32:05
Out of despair last night, I just wanted something to help. I fixed the drink, but I did not drink it. I dont usually drink. Every once in a while I will have a social drink. I do not have a problem with alcohol. I did used to smoke cigarettes. I guess that accounts for an addiction problem/
I also worry about getting addicted to zanax, therefore I try to take it only in emergency situations like last night.I just got back from church, so I am doing good now. My husband has been wonderful as I go through this. I took lexapro today instead of zoloft. I will call my pdoc tomorrow.
Thanks,
Lynn
Posted by blueberry on December 4, 2005, at 18:18:29
In reply to The anxiety is back!!!!!!!!!! Help!!!!!!, posted by lynn971 on December 3, 2005, at 21:00:36
Yeah I know what you mean. I've been on lexapro for a few months, weaned down to 2.5mg, and today switched straight across to zoloft. Lex was good for anxiety, but not for depression, and actually induced a depression of its own.
Most of the day I felt better than in months. But this evening I am having some strong anxiety. Can't tell if it is zoloft start up effects or whether it is lexapro wearing off. Probably both.
In clinical trials zoloft's anti-anxiety is supposed to kick in between 1 and 2 weeks. In the meantime, I am clock watching for my 2.5mg zyprexa to kick in and calm down the anxiety, and I have some xanax on standby.
Posted by lynn971 on December 4, 2005, at 21:00:02
In reply to Re: The anxiety is back!!!!!!!!!! Help!!!!!!, posted by blueberry on December 4, 2005, at 18:18:29
I hope that I did the right thing by not taking the zoloft at all since my episode last night.
This afternoon it was bad as well. I just cried and cried. All I could say was, "Lord please help me." He must have because right now I am ok.
Do you have panic attacks or general anxiety disorder? Are you going to continue with the zoloft?
I was having some depression spells with the lexapro, but I think I will sticke to lexapro until I get in touch with my pdoc.
Posted by UgottaHaveHope on December 5, 2005, at 1:37:37
In reply to Re: The anxiety is back!!!!!!!!!! Help!!!!!! » blueberry, posted by lynn971 on December 4, 2005, at 21:00:02
I have severe GAD and depression. Tried 30 meds over eight years, and finally found something to calm me down this summer: Seroquel (50mg).
It is new at being prescribed for anxiety by docs. It takes away the rush of racing thoughts, but does make me a little groggy. However, it is worth the tradeoff and my body has adjusted better over time.
Posted by blueberry on December 5, 2005, at 14:25:17
In reply to Re: The anxiety is back!!!!!!!!!! Help!!!!!! » blueberry, posted by lynn971 on December 4, 2005, at 21:00:02
What you could do is cut the dose of zoloft in half, and add in half of the dose of lexapro you were on. Do a crossover taper with both, taking several weeks. Gently in tiny steps increase zoloft while at the same time in tiny steps decreas lexapro. Both are easy to cut with a knife. The sizes don't have to be exact.
If you could get some zyprexa or seroquel, that could help big time. Just miniscule doses like 1/2 of a 2.5mg zyprexa tab or half of a 25mg seroquel tab could bring on some nice peace, and at the same time boost the effectiveness of the antidepressant and speed up its response time.
The main reason I stopped lexapro is because it actually created a depression of its own. I could feel the lexapro induced depression fade every day about 12 hours after I took my dose. Took me a while to figure it out. I thought it was my regular depression, but it was actually lexapro induced depression on top of my regular depression. I'm liking zoloft so far...but I take it with 2.5mg zyprexa which changes the whole picture significantly. All antidepressants take on a completely different character when they have a little bit of an antipsychotic in the background.
Posted by lynn971 on December 5, 2005, at 21:03:13
In reply to Re: The anxiety is back!!!!!!!!!! Help!!!!!! » lynn971, posted by blueberry on December 5, 2005, at 14:25:17
The anxiety was so bad today that I had to leave work. I teach.
I am too scared to continue the zoloft at all. I uped my lexapro from 10 mg to 15mg. I hope that is ok.
Today I called my pdoc, he is out for the month of December. I told the nurse about the bad time I was having. She said that she would find a doctor and call back. That never happened. Tonight I got desparate so I called the emergency number, the nurse said that she would get someone to call but no one did. That was about 21/2 hours ago. It is a good thing that I am not suicidal.
Posted by Phillipa on December 5, 2005, at 22:16:43
In reply to Re: The anxiety is back!!!!!!!!!! Help!!!!!!, posted by lynn971 on December 5, 2005, at 21:03:13
Well for goodnes sakes E-mail me back. I never got the message. Fondly, Phillipa
Posted by jflange on December 7, 2005, at 20:05:03
In reply to Re: The anxiety is back!!!!!!!!!! Help!!!!!!, posted by lynn971 on December 5, 2005, at 21:03:13
Lynn-
I teach too and also have GAD and I know how hard it is at times. I hope you figure this thing out soon - I have been there.
In my opinion, Zoloft (and Lexapro, for that matter) can really spike anxiety. I take Zoloft because I also suffer from panic.
I think there are three options you could consider:
1. stay on Zoloft and add Buspar (I do this) to help with the GAD. Buspar works well with Zoloft/Lexapro/ other SSRIs, though not so well alone.
2. take klonopin by itself (a longer lasting benzo like xanax that has worked for a lot of people on this board with anxiety).
3. add klonopin to Zoloft. Like Buspar, klonopin allows you to get the benefits of an SSRI (Zoloft) without all the anxiety.Feel better,
jflange
This is the end of the thread.
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