HELP PLEASE!!!

HI, I usually post in the anxiety forum but, today I just feel like if I need some help from you all. Here is my story..two years ago I experienced anxiety for the first time and a mild depression..I started medication and therapy..for a year I was completely fine and even the dr said that I could go off the meds and so I did..(I was taking effexor 75mg) and I was fine for two months until anxiety came back again..stronger this time with these recurrent thoughts...so my dr said fine you will be in half of the dose just so you can learn more in your therapy...it's been six months now and my anxiety still here...except that now I think that I might be bipolar ..the reason?? just fear and altough my therapist has told me that its just anxiety and so my dr has told me the same thing...I am just so scared that I might have develop that...if you can just share your stories and tell me what you think??? I haven't been diagnosed with depression ever since the first time...my husband keeps telling me that I seem fine all the time...could it be just my anxiety???

Hi,
Your problem is most likely the Effexor. This medication is notorious for causing bipolar and mood swings in people who may have underlying anxiety conditions. This happens a lot when people stop the medication and start it up again sometime later. It just doesn't work quite the same sometimes after you stop and restart. So I know you took 75mg for a year and it helped, but now that you reinstated the 37.5 after being off it for a couple months it is likely backfiring on you. This is common. I took effexor for a long time myself (on and off for 6 years) and I learned this the hard way. It eventually turned on me too and started to cause increased fear, rapid thinking, obsessing, and even mood swings although I didn't know it at the time and my pdoc told me it was my own anxiety. Not the case at all. This problem lies with the norepinephrine... this can be very stimulating to parts of the brain that govern fight or flight and fear. Taking this too long can cause bipoloar. No doubt about it. I would talk to your doctor and discuss trying a different anti-depressant. Maybe the regular SSRI's, like Prozac, Celexa, Paxil, etc. would be a better bet since it does not contain the norephineprhin. Just be prepared if you stop the effexor it may take about 6 months to a year to feel back to your old baseline (pre-Effexor). If you feel worse... its not you, its the withdrawal effects from the drug and your brain is trying to rebalance itself. So you need to be patient. Hang in there.