![[dr. bob]](/dr-bob-sm.gif)
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 7 to 31 of 45. Go back in thread:
Posted by Vincent_QC on June 12, 2013, at 17:44:22
In reply to Re: New PDoc RX Lamictal for severe anxiety... » Vincent_QC, posted by Phillipa on June 12, 2013, at 16:53:23
> Vincent hi!!!! give it a try!!!. Didn't give me anxiety on low dose. Phillipa
Yes Phillipa, will probably try it for sure... we all react differently to meds... will hope the Lamictal will not give crazy side-effects...
The bad news are that I can't see that PDoc again, he can't take me as an outpatient... he said that I can call him in 2 months because he want to know if the Lamictal work for me or not... and he said that he will keep in toutch with my family Doc, but he said it's impossible to see me again... but I guess that if he want some news in 2 months about me and the Lamictal, if the Lamictal fail, maybe i will be Lucky and he will ask me to go see him again??? I hope...
Posted by gadchik on June 12, 2013, at 17:51:17
In reply to Re: New PDoc RX Lamictal for severe anxiety..., posted by Vincent_QC on June 12, 2013, at 17:44:22
That is bad when tolerance develops on the benzos and they no longer control anxiety. I had to take clonazepam with remeron in order to tolerate zoloft. I had to start at 12.5mg and go very slowly. The remeron with the clonazepam really got my extreme anxiety under control. I ended up having a heart catheritization just because my anxiety got completely out of control. It sounds like you have been through a ton of difficult stuff. I sure hope this pdoc helps you alot. : )
Posted by Vincent_QC on June 12, 2013, at 18:47:51
In reply to Re: New PDoc RX Lamictal for severe anxiety... » Vincent_QC, posted by gadchik on June 12, 2013, at 17:51:17
> That is bad when tolerance develops on the benzos and they no longer control anxiety. I had to take clonazepam with remeron in order to tolerate zoloft. I had to start at 12.5mg and go very slowly. The remeron with the clonazepam really got my extreme anxiety under control. I ended up having a heart catheritization just because my anxiety got completely out of control. It sounds like you have been through a ton of difficult stuff. I sure hope this pdoc helps you alot. : )
Yeah that's bad when tolerance develop for sure... The clonazepam was a wonderful med for my anxiety when I first start it, now I have to take it to avoid withdrawal symptoms and even I think I have some withdrawal symptoms even if I take it...
Oh god, I hope you're heart is ok now? Did you had a heart disease before the anxiety? Or a predisposition to a cardiovascular disease running in your family?
You make me more anxious now, since my biggest anxiety and worries are heart related!!! I have all the symptoms of a heart disease most of the time, feel my heart pounding in my chest, chest pain, back pain , left arm numbness, jaw pain... 1 night on 2 I'm awake by big chest pain and difficulty to breath with tachycardia and sweating... Had some tests done for my heart, usual tests like holter monitor, blood pressure monitoring, chemical stress test with echocardiography, persantin mibi nuclear test... My cardio Doc said I have dysautonomia, and may have pots but can't test me for the postural orthostaric tachycardia syndrome... He find a small hole in the aorta of the heart but said that 15% have it when they born and its not dangerous since its a very small hole... My ejection fraction is at 47... Normal is 55 and more... He said it was linked to physical deconditionning state... Tachycardia was under control with low dose of propranolol until some months ago when it stop working, tried a lot of other beta blocker with no success, anyway my anxiety is 95% related to my heart symptoms... In other hand, I do have a sedentaryifesryle cause I am exercise intolerant, have no energy, exhausted just to take a shower or climbing stairs and take days to recover from a small walk for example...
I also do smoke, and funny enough that new PDoc said before I leave his office that I really need to quit since my nervous system work too much and he said that smoking probably worse a lot my anxiety and he is right, I mean generally the first cigarette I smoke in the morning trigger a panic attack... But addiction to that shit is so strong, especially when you are anxious... Have to quit next week...stop at the pharmacy to pick up my meds and the pharmacist RX nicotine lozenge so have my first box to stop smoking...
Humm remeron, in the past I was able to tolerate 45 mg of it, at some point it help me to decrease my benzo intake but now I can only take 3 mg before bedtime, if I take more I can feel the noradrenaline effect the day after and I have more panic attacks...
Posted by jono_in_adelaide on June 12, 2013, at 19:16:57
In reply to Re: New PDoc RX Lamictal for severe anxiety... » gadchik, posted by Vincent_QC on June 12, 2013, at 18:47:51
I'd try it vincent - it might just work a miracle, you dont have much to lose, and if it works, you have a lot to gain
Posted by Vincent_QC on June 12, 2013, at 19:25:25
In reply to Re: New PDoc RX Lamictal for severe anxiety..., posted by jono_in_adelaide on June 12, 2013, at 19:16:57
> I'd try it vincent - it might just work a miracle, you dont have much to lose, and if it works, you have a lot to gain
Thanks for your encouragement!!! Yes I will try it for sure, maybe just half dose to start since I'm prone to side effects and will see what happen, if no anxiety increase happen then will jump into the PDoc titration dose...
If its make me more prone to anxiety even at low dose, I don't think I will loose my time on it and jump into the low dose Paxil even if it will take forever to reach the effective dose by small 1 mg increasement dose every 2 weeks...
Thanks again -:)
Posted by polarbear206 on June 12, 2013, at 19:34:29
In reply to Re: New PDoc RX Lamictal for severe anxiety..., posted by Vincent_QC on June 12, 2013, at 17:40:20
> > I think you have a very smart doctor and kudos to him for doing a thorough evaluation. Every initial visit should be like this for anyone who has psychiatric issues. Lamictal is a great drug used in combination with an AD. It was a life savor for me. AD monotherapy exacerbated my anxiety. The thing that only helped to make my AD work they way it shold was adding Lamictal.
>
> Hey thanks for your positive input ;-) You are right, that PDoc is the best I see so far, very helpful, very smart, gentle, human...totally different from the previous one who did nothing for me and only keep saying that I was a passive-agressive patient and that all my symptoms was all in my head and not real (Intestinal pain who last 10 months, lost 60 pounds in 4 months, that bad PDoc never help me, always said it was all in my head, somatic anxiety, no real symptoms, fake to seek some attention from the others)... and I ending with 2 intestinal obstructions, 2 major surgeries, Advanced malnutrition state, 4 months of enteral feeding by a jejunostomy feeding tube connected into my small intestine... I almost die...
>
> Anyway, what is your diagnosis? Do you have some super sensitivities to AD's like me or you can take them at the starting dose without increase of your anxiety?
>
> What antidepressant are you taking? (SSRI like Lexapro?)...
>
> I never had a great sucess with AD as monotherapy for the panic disorder and phobias with the exception of the Paxil... the main problem is that now my anxiety is so high that I react to 1 mg of Paxil and it's not psychological side-effects, they are real... I wait too long before starting it again when I was hit by the severe anxiety back in 2010...I Wonder if starting with the Lamictal first and see if I can tolerate it and then add the Paxil will help me more?
>
> How many time it take for the Lamictal to work on you? What is your dose?
>
> What kind of side-effects did you have with it?
>
> Thanks again ;-)WOW!!! What horrible events you've been through!! I'm very sorry you have been suffering this long!! Lamictal is a pretty smooth drug with a low side effect profile. I have mild bipolar, which surfaced after my son was born. Started with severe paralyzing anxiety, insomnia and weight loss. Dx. with post partum depression. They started me on klonopin and imipramine in the hospital. I would later go through cycles of anxiety alternating with periods of Atypical depression and then periods of normalcy while I was on my meds. I tried many AD. Paxil worked well at times, then would poop out. I've been on Effexor and lamictal for a long time with great success. You mentioned they told you you were passive-aggressive? Do you have shifts in your moods? Are you sleeping and what is your daily sleep pattern like? When someone has trialed and failed multiple AD and if they exacerbate your anxiety, this raises a red flag that you could have an underlying affective disorder, which is best treated with a mood stabilizer and an AD if needed for depression is present. Rule of thumb is to start any drug low and slow. Also, introducing one at time. You have to be patient while titrating up on Lamictal. I noticed an effect within the first week I started it. I worked my way up to 200mg whete I maintained a good response. I take 300mg of Effexor.Hang in there and give it a chance. I also take Klonopin as needed for sleep, however I don't need it all that much. Hope this helps.
Posted by ihatedrugs on June 12, 2013, at 20:47:24
In reply to New PDoc RX Lamictal for severe anxiety..., posted by Vincent_QC on June 12, 2013, at 16:24:17
Hi,
I took Lamictal for a year and didn't get any anxiety (not bipolar). My brother who suffers from debilitating GAD takes 200mg and has been on it for over a year and doing well. Just give a try and monitor your symptoms. Í'd stay away from Google as it could drive anyone insane. Wonder if you type "Lamictal and winning the lottery" in the search bar, you'd find results. Best of luck.
Posted by Phillipa on June 12, 2013, at 22:57:13
In reply to Re: New PDoc RX Lamictal for severe anxiety... » Vincent_QC, posted by ihatedrugs on June 12, 2013, at 20:47:24
How true I've never seen so many googles use one different word turn up so many different results for basically the same thing. Phillipa
Posted by gadchik on June 13, 2013, at 5:37:45
In reply to Re: New PDoc RX Lamictal for severe anxiety... » gadchik, posted by Vincent_QC on June 12, 2013, at 18:47:51
I could only take small amt of remeron too. Just 3.5 to 7.5mg. I tapered it and the zoloft after a couple of yrs to lose weight, and I found I did fine with just clonazepam. About the heart cath, I have never had heart disease. What happened is, I kept going to the er in extreme panic, and always complained of chest pain and pressure. They did all the other heart tests, and finally said they had to do the heart cath, as it was the gold standard to check my heart. Everything turned out normal, and it was uneccesary but because I kept saying chest pain, they felt compelled to do it. I was just having panic attacks, severe.Yes, please quit smoking, I know that will be tough. I wish you could exercise. Building up the heart muscle makes it stronger. Could you start slow, with dr approval, and just walk for 5-10 mins everyday?
Posted by g_g_g_unit on June 13, 2013, at 7:45:30
In reply to Re: New PDoc RX Lamictal for severe anxiety... » jono_in_adelaide, posted by Vincent_QC on June 12, 2013, at 19:25:25
i'm a bit like you Vincent .. severe anxiety, extreme med sensitivity, and also have a heart-attack obsession (among others though, i have full-blown OCD).
i haven't been able to tolerate any ADs up to this point either, and was thinking about trying Lamictal as a last resort.
hope it works out for you, please let me know how it goes
Posted by Vincent_QC on June 13, 2013, at 10:04:19
In reply to Re: New PDoc RX Lamictal for severe anxiety..., posted by polarbear206 on June 12, 2013, at 19:34:29
> WOW!!! What horrible events you've been through!! I'm very sorry you have been suffering this long!! Lamictal is a pretty smooth drug with a low side effect profile. I have mild bipolar, which surfaced after my son was born. Started with severe paralyzing anxiety, insomnia and weight loss. Dx. with post partum depression. They started me on klonopin and imipramine in the hospital. I would later go through cycles of anxiety alternating with periods of Atypical depression and then periods of normalcy while I was on my meds. I tried many AD. Paxil worked well at times, then would poop out. I've been on Effexor and lamictal for a long time with great success. You mentioned they told you you were passive-aggressive? Do you have shifts in your moods? Are you sleeping and what is your daily sleep pattern like? When someone has trialed and failed multiple AD and if they exacerbate your anxiety, this raises a red flag that you could have an underlying affective disorder, which is best treated with a mood stabilizer and an AD if needed for depression is present. Rule of thumb is to start any drug low and slow. Also, introducing one at time. You have to be patient while titrating up on Lamictal. I noticed an effect within the first week I started it. I worked my way up to 200mg whete I maintained a good response. I take 300mg of Effexor.Hang in there and give it a chance. I also take Klonopin as needed for sleep, however I don't need it all that much. Hope this helps.
Hi ;-)
Hummm sound like you had some difficulties yourself and do hope you feel better now!!!
Did you had difficulty to tolerating the imipramine? Any kind of heart side-effects? I react badly to the TCA's, they all give me bad tachycardia...
Bipolar 2 I guess no? It's hard to treat with only AD so that's probably why you are on the Lamictal right now...
I don't have shift of my moods at all, in fact I feel like I have no moods at all, flat, since my anxiety is in the roof and all turning into physical symptoms, it's like everything that I loved in the past like movies, music, going out with friends, architecture...it's like all my anxiety suck out all my energy and I can't enjoy simple things like in the past and I hate that feeling... it's not me at all.
I'm not depress, can feel like i'm irritated once in a while cause my anxiety is so high, I have no patiency at all...
I never had a hypomania episode, my sleep patern was always poor, I mean that I worked 10 years at a evening and night shift so I was at home late in the night, taking my shower and lost some time on my computer and go to bed... When I stop working at night, I return to an usual sleep patern but always had difficulty to fall asleep fast, always take 2-3 hours to fall asleep cause in my head I have a lot of thoughts and rumonation and can't stop thinking...When I finally succeed to fall asleep, I sleep 3 to 4 hours in a row and i'm awake with chest pain, tachycardia, sweating, lack of breath 1 night on 2 and can't return to sleep after...so I get up and go eat breakfast and return in my bed cause I feel so exhausted...
In the past I was put on seroquel for my insomnia, but at the end I was taking 100 mg and didn't sleep more and that Seroquel trigger the panic attack return on me, didn't had a panic attack in a while before starting the seroquel, only had social phobia...
It's funny cause before my anxiety become so high, I was used to start all my meds in normal dosage and sometimes therapeutic dosage, I always start my AD at for examples 20 mg for the Paxil, 20 mg for the Lexapro, 20 mg for the Celexa, 50 mg for the Zoloft, 20 mg for the Prozac... and I never had increase anxiety as a side-effects...Now it's like my body chemistry change and I became meds sensitive... I the last 2 1/2 years I try many times to return on an AD, 2.5 mg of Lexapro lead to supraventricular tachycardia and a trip to the ER, 12.5 mg of Zoloft lead to the same result so I tried to take 1 mg of Paxil and didn't had the tachycardia but my anxiety was worse, I took it for 1 month and reach 1.8 mg and my anxiety was only worse and worse each day... so I just stop...
But have to start it again, maybe going even slower than 1 mg and start at 0.5 mg and increase the dose every 2 weeks by 0.5 mg... I know it will take forever to reach the 20 mg but I really need to be on an AD and the Paxil is the only one who work for my anxiety, the worse is probably the Lexapro, Celexa, Prozac, Effexor-XR... The Paxil is not a magic pill, it make me very tired, lack of energy, I eat too much on it, I gain weight and a lot of weight in fact, BUT I will take the weight gain and lack of energy from the Paxil anytime if it can help to stop the panic and decrease my general anxiety...
Well thanks for your help ;-) Take care!!!
Posted by Vincent_QC on June 13, 2013, at 10:10:14
In reply to Re: New PDoc RX Lamictal for severe anxiety... » Vincent_QC, posted by ihatedrugs on June 12, 2013, at 20:47:24
> Hi,
>
> I took Lamictal for a year and didn't get any anxiety (not bipolar). My brother who suffers from debilitating GAD takes 200mg and has been on it for over a year and doing well. Just give a try and monitor your symptoms. Í'd stay away from Google as it could drive anyone insane. Wonder if you type "Lamictal and winning the lottery" in the search bar, you'd find results. Best of luck.Hi ;-)
What is your diagnosis? Did you had anxiety problems before starting the Lamictal? Your brother only have GAD? No panic attacks?I agree for Google, not always good to search for symptoms from a drug!!! But I do Google Lamictal + heart palpitations and fall on a lot of web forum with real stories about peoples with bipolar or seizure disorders who had to stop the Lamictal because they had tachycardia, heart palpitations, chest pain all the time...
But I have to agree that you can type Lamictal and any other kind of words who are not related a side-effects and who will find some intersting links... lol
Well, I will try it but lower dose than the PDoc want, maybe 6.25 mg every 2 days for the first week and see how I feel... one thing is sure, if I have a more rapid heart rate, pounding heart beat worse than before I start it or more chest pain épisodes, I will not increase the dose and switch to the Paxil option only...
Thanks again ;-)
Posted by Vincent_QC on June 13, 2013, at 10:23:33
In reply to Re: New PDoc RX Lamictal for severe anxiety... » Vincent_QC, posted by gadchik on June 13, 2013, at 5:37:45
> I could only take small amt of remeron too. Just 3.5 to 7.5mg. I tapered it and the zoloft after a couple of yrs to lose weight, and I found I did fine with just clonazepam. About the heart cath, I have never had heart disease. What happened is, I kept going to the er in extreme panic, and always complained of chest pain and pressure. They did all the other heart tests, and finally said they had to do the heart cath, as it was the gold standard to check my heart. Everything turned out normal, and it was uneccesary but because I kept saying chest pain, they felt compelled to do it. I was just having panic attacks, severe.Yes, please quit smoking, I know that will be tough. I wish you could exercise. Building up the heart muscle makes it stronger. Could you start slow, with dr approval, and just walk for 5-10 mins everyday?
Oh ok I understand now, sorry, my English is not very good, I do my best but with my poor memory it's sometimes hard to understand all the English expression...
So they did an angiography on you? I ask my Cardio Doc to have one since I have many symptoms related to plaque inside my artieries but he said it was too invasive for me... I think it will be the only one heart test who will be able to stop my obsession and my anxiety about my heart and accept that it's only my anxiety who are doing all those symptoms... but it's an expensive test so I will never have it done for me...
The remeron is a weird drug, I try it again at 15 mg back in 2011 and had an horrible day, I do sleep better that night but wasnt able to move at daytime, I was so Dizzy, and I had a bad migraine... I took another 15 mg the night after and felt the same the day after so I just return to the very low dose to help me to fall asleep faster (it's not working anymore... it's like a placebo...).
So the clonazepam alone help you? Did the cardiovascular symptoms stop or you still have them???
My Cardio Doc send me see a Physiotherapist, it's a personnal trainer, He did a small stretching program for me, have to do it 3 times a week and take 15 minutes each time... for now I can only do it 1 time a week, if I do more I feel so exhausted and it take 3-4 days before returning to my usual low energy level before the stretching exercises... Walking is a no no for me now...Taking my shower is the maximum I can do for now!!!
Yes I will stop smoking for sure... When I had my intestinal obstructions and spend 1 month at the hospital I didn't smoke, well my friend go out with me to smoke a cigarette and I took only 2 puff and my heart start racing so I didn't smoke for the whole month... When I return home I do the mistake to start smoking again, at first only 1 cigarette a day and I ending after 1 month at home to return on my usual 25 cigarettes a day...
I had a very strong heart in the past... I was used to walk 2 hours a day, ride my bike, always had physical works and had no problem, even when I had morbid obesity (before I had my gastric by-pass surgery to loose weight)... The very low energy and bad physical shape start in the middle of 2010 when my anxiety became very bad...
Posted by Vincent_QC on June 13, 2013, at 10:28:51
In reply to Re: New PDoc RX Lamictal for severe anxiety..., posted by g_g_g_unit on June 13, 2013, at 7:45:30
> i'm a bit like you Vincent .. severe anxiety, extreme med sensitivity, and also have a heart-attack obsession (among others though, i have full-blown OCD).
>
> i haven't been able to tolerate any ADs up to this point either, and was thinking about trying Lamictal as a last resort.
>
> hope it works out for you, please let me know how it goesHi -:)
ok and what meds you take right now to control your anxiety and OCD?In the past, did you always been sensitive to the side effects of drugs?
Do you think you will try the Lamictal soon?
Let me know ok!!!
Thanks ;-)
Posted by gadchik on June 13, 2013, at 10:33:35
In reply to Re: New PDoc RX Lamictal for severe anxiety... » gadchik, posted by Vincent_QC on June 13, 2013, at 10:23:33
Once my anxiety got under control, and I took care to sleep well, eat well, exercise, my heart just went back to normal. The heart cath is invasive and expensive. I also had a heart ct scan with the dye, and an ultrasound of my heart, stress test, and an enzyme check, ekg...so many tests, and no cause but anxiety. Crazy what anxiety does to the body. But I was obsessed with my heart and whether it was beating too slow or too fast, I couldnt breathe sometimes and felt as if an elephant was on my chest.
Posted by gadchik on June 13, 2013, at 10:45:57
In reply to Re: New PDoc RX Lamictal for severe anxiety... » g_g_g_unit, posted by Vincent_QC on June 13, 2013, at 10:28:51
As far as the clonzepam, I believe Im developing a tolerance to it,so I took 1/4 out of my pill last night, and feel great today. Your post about developing a tolerance to it really had an effect on me. I may finally be able to taper it and only use occasionally!
Posted by Vincent_QC on June 13, 2013, at 10:57:40
In reply to Re: New PDoc RX Lamictal for severe anxiety... » Vincent_QC, posted by gadchik on June 13, 2013, at 10:33:35
> Once my anxiety got under control, and I took care to sleep well, eat well, exercise, my heart just went back to normal. The heart cath is invasive and expensive. I also had a heart ct scan with the dye, and an ultrasound of my heart, stress test, and an enzyme check, ekg...so many tests, and no cause but anxiety. Crazy what anxiety does to the body. But I was obsessed with my heart and whether it was beating too slow or too fast, I couldnt breathe sometimes and felt as if an elephant was on my chest.
Oh ok!!! But what did you do to have your anxiety under control?
Yes anxiety can do crazy things... The hardest part of it it's to deal with the symptoms and try to not worry about them but in my case the heart obsession is out of control and feed the anxiety all the time. I did try to learn some tips to manage my heart obsession on therapy but it never work... So to avoid the most I can the heart symptoms I tend to rely too much on the propranolol and clonazepam... And with that heart obsession and all those symptoms I can say that dependence to a beta blocker can occur and it's the same type of dependence than the benzo meds...
I have so many bad habits, I mean I know that smoking and not eating enough and choose poor foods choices and not be physical active is bad for my heart, but I feel stuck and cannot start to make good moves to at least give a chance to my body to not develop a heart disease...
Anyway, maybe you can give to me some tips about how to manage that heart obsession?
I'm so tired of taking my blood pressure all the time at home and also have a fixation on my heart rate and chest pain...
Thanks!
Posted by g_g_g_unit on June 13, 2013, at 11:04:32
In reply to Re: New PDoc RX Lamictal for severe anxiety... » g_g_g_unit, posted by Vincent_QC on June 13, 2013, at 10:28:51
> > i'm a bit like you Vincent .. severe anxiety, extreme med sensitivity, and also have a heart-attack obsession (among others though, i have full-blown OCD).
> >
> > i haven't been able to tolerate any ADs up to this point either, and was thinking about trying Lamictal as a last resort.
> >
> > hope it works out for you, please let me know how it goes
>
> Hi -:)
> ok and what meds you take right now to control your anxiety and OCD?nothing at the moment, though i'm non-functional. i do take clonazepam occasionally when i have to leave the house (i can't without it) ..
>
> In the past, did you always been sensitive to the side effects of drugs?i think so, but i have a feeling it's gotten worse with time
>
> Do you think you will try the Lamictal soon?possibly yes, i was thinking of asking my GP for a trial .. either that or Lithium.
>
> Let me know ok!!!sure no problem :)
>
> Thanks ;-)
Posted by gadchik on June 13, 2013, at 12:12:11
In reply to Re: New PDoc RX Lamictal for severe anxiety... » gadchik, posted by Vincent_QC on June 13, 2013, at 10:57:40
You and I are quite alike! I also had an obsession with taking my blood pressure constantly, also would put my hand on my chest to be sure it was beating. I constantly thought of heart rate. I would even keep myself up at night,jumping up and down, afraid to sleep, thought my heart would stop beating. Also, woke up one night and it was racing and you could feel it beating out of my chest. I think my anxiety caused something with the electrical system of heart to go haywire. I got psychotic with no sleep and stopped eating, made matters worse. I was hopeless, wanted to die. I refused all meds for a long time. They gave me an injection of ativan in er, and that gave me profound relief. I found a pdoc I trusted and she got me to try clonazepam and remeron, very small dose. She then added zoloft. I started to sleep and eat, very gradually started to walk. I was very weak. The clonazepam and remeron helped me stop thinking about my heart. But the sleep, nutrition,exercise was a huge part in my recovery. Do everything in your power to get well. The human body will respond. It has huge capacity to heal.
Posted by Vincent_QC on June 13, 2013, at 15:21:45
In reply to Re: New PDoc RX Lamictal for severe anxiety... » Vincent_QC, posted by gadchik on June 13, 2013, at 12:12:11
> You and I are quite alike! I also had an obsession with taking my blood pressure constantly, also would put my hand on my chest to be sure it was beating. I constantly thought of heart rate. I would even keep myself up at night,jumping up and down, afraid to sleep, thought my heart would stop beating. Also, woke up one night and it was racing and you could feel it beating out of my chest. I think my anxiety caused something with the electrical system of heart to go haywire. I got psychotic with no sleep and stopped eating, made matters worse. I was hopeless, wanted to die. I refused all meds for a long time. They gave me an injection of ativan in er, and that gave me profound relief. I found a pdoc I trusted and she got me to try clonazepam and remeron, very small dose. She then added zoloft. I started to sleep and eat, very gradually started to walk. I was very weak. The clonazepam and remeron helped me stop thinking about my heart. But the sleep, nutrition,exercise was a huge part in my recovery. Do everything in your power to get well. The human body will respond. It has huge capacity to heal.
Thats crazy this obsession with the heart, before 2010 I never was like that... Had minor panic attack while I had to take the bus alone or do an oral speech at the university, but my heart was never an obsession, it was more about going crazy in front of the others and the lack of social ability to make new friends or walk alone in a street cause of the social anxiety...
Now it's all about my heart... Like you at first I had a very low heart rate back in 2010, it's when the anxiety get worse, I start taking my blood pressure all the time even when I was out of the store, I drove the pharmacy with my friend and had to stop to take my blood pressure there... in the middle of 2010 I start having tachycardia especially in the morning and panic attacks was back for good... And then I start taking my pulse rate all the time, on my wrist, on the big veins of my neck...
Now I don't even need to take my pulse rate, I feel each heart beat and count them in my head and the tachycardia is on all the time... In the morning my heart go so fast that I can't count my pulse rate, but it's usually 140 sit and jump to 160 and more by just walking in the house... My cardio Doc don't seem afraid or worried about it, me it's driving me crazy... Also knowing that I have a low ejection fraction of 47 (September 2012 results and felt better at that time so I guess it's even lower now, it's freak me out since I don't want to have heart failure... I also worry about my lungs, lungs cancer run in my family...
The other anxiety symptoms like the chronic headache, heat intolerance, feeling hot all the time, insomnia and bad sleep, lack of energy, low level of stamina (if my parents invite my family for a dinner at home I will feel very anxious to the point that I have to go in my bedroom...or reading a book or watch a movie is impossible since it make me feel very bad after and increase my anxiety and trigger panic and heart symptoms, same if I listen to music, my heart will start going crazy and my head hurt...), the dizziness, weakness...those symptoms are typically anxiety related for sure but for the heart I'm always worry...
So right now you are on what dose of remeron, clonazepam and Zoloft? Did you had to increase very slowly the Zoloft like 6.25mg, 12,5 mg...?
The Zoloft is one of the ssri who trigger panic on me, first dose and 2 hours later I start having panic attacks for 24 h in a row... So give me terrible migraine... I took 200 mg of it at some point before I start being med sensitive for my social anxiety, didn't work after 3 months, it was back in 2008...was before on 30 mg of remeron, 30 mg of Prozac, 10 mg of elavil and 20 mg of Valium... The Zoloft makes me so anxious that my old PDoc at the time change my low vium dose to high Xanax dose... 8mg... It didn't help and I develop a high tolerance to the Xanax, I drop the Zoloft and switch to the Effexor and it was even worse, start having strange behaviours like not eating and obsession about my weight, sleep 1 to 2 h by night, was very energic and at the same time a way too anxious and start abusing the Xanax and ending at the hospital cause of the 12 mg day of Xanax... Anyway...
Right now, I have to do like you and start to put some order in my life, stop smoking, eat well (less sugar, more fruits and vegetables), start to walk a little bit and strength my heart... It's so hard when you feel like shit and anxious all the time... My heart symptoms prevent me to do any kind of exercise cause I fear it will trigger a heart attack... It's a bad circle and I can't find the exit!!!
Well, thanks again and answer about your meds dose ok!!!
Posted by Vincent_QC on June 13, 2013, at 15:24:27
In reply to Re: New PDoc RX Lamictal for severe anxiety... » Vincent_QC, posted by g_g_g_unit on June 13, 2013, at 11:04:32
> > > i'm a bit like you Vincent .. severe anxiety, extreme med sensitivity, and also have a heart-attack obsession (among others though, i have full-blown OCD).
> > >
> > > i haven't been able to tolerate any ADs up to this point either, and was thinking about trying Lamictal as a last resort.
> > >
> > > hope it works out for you, please let me know how it goes
> >
> > Hi -:)
> > ok and what meds you take right now to control your anxiety and OCD?
>
> nothing at the moment, though i'm non-functional. i do take clonazepam occasionally when i have to leave the house (i can't without it) ..
> >
> > In the past, did you always been sensitive to the side effects of drugs?
>
> i think so, but i have a feeling it's gotten worse with time
> >
> > Do you think you will try the Lamictal soon?
>
> possibly yes, i was thinking of asking my GP for a trial .. either that or Lithium.
> >
> > Let me know ok!!!
>
> sure no problem :)
> >
> > Thanks ;-)
>
>Ok so you are disable from work like me? Homebound and agoraphobia like me? Can you go out of your house alone like to take a walk in the street? Can you stay alone at home? Did you feel ok at home I mean symptoms free or you have anxiety symptoms even at home?
Posted by ihatedrugs on June 13, 2013, at 15:26:04
In reply to Re: New PDoc RX Lamictal for severe anxiety... » ihatedrugs, posted by Vincent_QC on June 13, 2013, at 10:10:14
> > Hi,
> >
> > I took Lamictal for a year and didn't get any anxiety (not bipolar). My brother who suffers from debilitating GAD takes 200mg and has been on it for over a year and doing well. Just give a try and monitor your symptoms. Í'd stay away from Google as it could drive anyone insane. Wonder if you type "Lamictal and winning the lottery" in the search bar, you'd find results. Best of luck.
>
> Hi ;-)
> What is your diagnosis? Did you had anxiety problems before starting the Lamictal? Your brother only have GAD? No panic attacks?
>
> I agree for Google, not always good to search for symptoms from a drug!!! But I do Google Lamictal + heart palpitations and fall on a lot of web forum with real stories about peoples with bipolar or seizure disorders who had to stop the Lamictal because they had tachycardia, heart palpitations, chest pain all the time...
>
> But I have to agree that you can type Lamictal and any other kind of words who are not related a side-effects and who will find some intersting links... lol
>
> Well, I will try it but lower dose than the PDoc want, maybe 6.25 mg every 2 days for the first week and see how I feel... one thing is sure, if I have a more rapid heart rate, pounding heart beat worse than before I start it or more chest pain épisodes, I will not increase the dose and switch to the Paxil option only...
>
> Thanks again ;-)My brother suffers from panic attacks and severe anxiety as well as depression. My diagnosis is MDD and GAD, although anxiety for me wasn't as big an issue as depression. I'm sorry you have to start a new med fearing its side effects due to your heart condition. Hopefully it will be a Godsend for you. Perhaps you could call the dr. who treated you and ask him if he could look into the correlation of heart problems and Lamictal further. Drs. have access to all kinds of peer-reviewed literature. Your starting dose is also tiny in comparison to what is normally recommended but given your situation is a good thing to be cautious. I truly wish you the best of luck.
Posted by gadchik on June 13, 2013, at 16:19:38
In reply to Re: New PDoc RX Lamictal for severe anxiety... » gadchik, posted by Vincent_QC on June 13, 2013, at 15:21:45
I tapered off of remeron and zoloft a couple of yrs ago because I gained 30lbs and I wanted to feel fit and healthy again. I started out on remeron 7.5mg and clonazepam .5mg. After a month, my pdoc added 12.5mg zoloft and after a couple of weeks went up to 25mg and stayed there. I only need small doses of meds to work. I also did cbt, and reg counseling. I was determined to get well, and I did. After tapering, I lost all the weight. Stayed on clonazepam .5mg. Thats all I take. But I really want to taper off and just use occasionally.
Posted by Vincent_QC on June 13, 2013, at 18:48:25
In reply to Re: New PDoc RX Lamictal for severe anxiety... » Vincent_QC, posted by ihatedrugs on June 13, 2013, at 15:26:04
>
> My brother suffers from panic attacks and severe anxiety as well as depression. My diagnosis is MDD and GAD, although anxiety for me wasn't as big an issue as depression. I'm sorry you have to start a new med fearing its side effects due to your heart condition. Hopefully it will be a Godsend for you. Perhaps you could call the dr. who treated you and ask him if he could look into the correlation of heart problems and Lamictal further. Drs. have access to all kinds of peer-reviewed literature. Your starting dose is also tiny in comparison to what is normally recommended but given your situation is a good thing to be cautious. I truly wish you the best of luck.Hey thanks for your answer, you're a nice person!!!
I'm glad it's working well for your brother! You stop the lamictal no?
When the PDoc write the script to me in his office I ask him directly the question, I ask about the side effects on the heart and he answer that he never heard of heart related side effects... I know that PDoc have access to a lot of literature about all the meds, here in the Canada they have a big book call CPS, it's listing all the meds and all the side effects and interractions for each med... I have to trust him and try it...
It's not just about the fear of heart related side effects, it's because since 2010 I'm really med sensitive and no Doc know why my brain and body react like that... Like I was saying, I was used to take huge dose of meds, sometimes 4 meds at the same time and didn't had sensitivity to meds... I remember a cocktail of 40 mg of lexapro + 300 mg of Wellbutrin cause the lexapro was making me feel soooo tired and was also on low dose of seroquel for the insomnia and 20 mg of Ritalin to have more energy and was a heavy coffee drinker at the time with around 8 cups a day... Wasn't more anxious, never had heart palpitations or tachycardia, no dizziness or low blood pressure... But all those meds did nothing for my social anxiety... Lexapro alone in high dose was perhaps the worse ssri I was put on and never did anything to help my anxiety... Only the Paxil help me... And the Nardil help also but had orthostaric hypotension even with some florinef so I didn't stay on it more than 4 months... But overall the Paxil 20 mg and even 15 mg was enough for me to stop all the panic attacks and other inappropriate fears and phobia...
The lamictal dose the PDoc RX is 12.5 mg every 2 days the first week and up to 12.5 mg each day and after 25 mg day and 50 mg... It's low dose but he know I'm med sensitive... And just to play more safe, I will start even lower...and see what happen...
Posted by Vincent_QC on June 13, 2013, at 19:06:42
In reply to Re: New PDoc RX Lamictal for severe anxiety... » Vincent_QC, posted by gadchik on June 13, 2013, at 16:19:38
> I tapered off of remeron and zoloft a couple of yrs ago because I gained 30lbs and I wanted to feel fit and healthy again. I started out on remeron 7.5mg and clonazepam .5mg. After a month, my pdoc added 12.5mg zoloft and after a couple of weeks went up to 25mg and stayed there. I only need small doses of meds to work. I also did cbt, and reg counseling. I was determined to get well, and I did. After tapering, I lost all the weight. Stayed on clonazepam .5mg. Thats all I take. But I really want to taper off and just use occasionally.
Oh ok, I'm glad to see that you are feeling better and off meds...
I never gain weight on the remeron only, but I gain weight from all the ssri or srni... Lexapro is the worse for the weight gain even if apparently it's the one with less weight gain effect... The Zoloft even at 200 mg did nothing for my anxiety, seem like 25 mg or 200 mg was the same, just had panic attacks from it and worse social phobia...
Benzo are ok for short term or prn...sadly some PDoc don't understand that they can worse the anxiety in a long term view!!! I think a part of my anxiety disorder is linked to the clonazepam but well, since 1 year I decrease my dose from 8 mg to 7 mg and I will not move to a lower dose before another med like the Paxil or Lamictal (if it work on me) will put my anxiety under control... For now it's impossible to see me going on a withdrawal of the benzo... Will die for sure...
I find out that from all the benzo meds on the market, only the Valium at a low dose can be use as a long term help for anxiety... The problem with the clonazepam or Xanax are their strong addiction effect...whatever the short or long half life, for me those 2 benzo are the worse... My goal, when an AD or another no addicting med will control more my anxiety, will be to withdrawal slowly the clonazepam and switch to low dose of Valium... It's the more stable benzo, stay a long time in your system, no rebound anxiety, no interdose withdrawal effects (I have them even on the clonazepam and the half life is long compare to the Xanax)...
One thing is sure, for now I only have some power to help me to reduce my anxiety with better foods habit, stop smoking, and start slowly exercise...
Go forward in 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.