Med suggestions..

Hoping for some help in choosing a better medication. If there's a particular spot to direct these kinds of threads to please let me know. I've seen my doctor in the past for recommendations. She does research and we try something but I've never reached out for suggestions online.

Symptoms I'm looking to treat are pretty basic, I think. Excessive worrying, fear in public settings (unless I'm with someone I trust), inability to function in environments with conflicting sounds (such as hearing multiple conversations at once, everyone trying to talk over everyone else), and some new feelings of compulsion, having to get things a certain way before I can move on from them.

In 2008 after stopping Effexor and spending two weeks in absolute withdrawal hell I swore I would never get on antidepressants again. As much as I'll hate to do it I think it might be time to break my vow. I don't particularly feel depressed but I definitely have some anxiety issues. I was diagnosed with GAD a couple of years ago and prescribed Xanax. I take it infrequently, and only in .25mg dosages (or less, sometimes I'll split it) because it makes me sleepy. I was prescribed Buspar last year and it did help but the brain zaps were so bad that I decided it wasn't worth it. Honestly, the brain zaps brought on more anxiety than the Buspar was fixing. I feel almost traumatized by them and the thought of having them again makes me want to wither and die... but my anxiety/general fear and the irritability that comes along with it are taking a serious toll on my relationship and I'd rather have brain zaps than keep pushing my boyfriend away.

I'm hoping to find something that won't impact my libido (which is already at about a -10, always has been low but anxiety makes it much worse) and that won't give me constant daily brain zaps. I most recently took Effexor and Lexapro and they had the worst side effects, hands down. Between 16 and 20 I took Paxil, Celexa, Wellbutrin, and Zoloft. I only remember that Paxil made me feel like an emotionless zombie for a couple of weeks. I took the Wellbutrin for a few weeks to help me quit smoking (it didn't work, but I did eventually quit using something else). Oh, ha. Also important to mention is that I'm taking Adderall and probably should avoid anything that doesn't mesh well with it.

Thoughts, suggestions? Thanks in advance.

I wish I could help you, but I am not qualified to do so. I just know how hard it can be to find the right medication. For some it is very difficult. It doesn't sound like you've tried them all yet, though, so there's still plenty of hope.

Plus, you didn't mention whether you're using CBT or some other form of therapy. For me, Klonopin works a charm, but I'm positive it wouldn't if I weren't doing the mental work to get better. You have to attack this thing on several fronts. A med that didn't work before may work if you're also working on your general frame of mind.

Nothing but the best of luck.

debaser said...
I wish I could help you, but I am not qualified to do so. I just know how hard it can be to find the right medication. For some it is very difficult. It doesn't sound like you've tried them all yet, though, so there's still plenty of hope.

Plus, you didn't mention whether you're using CBT or some other form of therapy. For me, Klonopin works a charm, but I'm positive it wouldn't if I weren't doing the mental work to get better. You have to attack this thing on several fronts. A med that didn't work before may work if you're also working on your general frame of mind.

Nothing but the best of luck.

Sorry, I knew I forgot something. I was in therapy until about 3 weeks ago when I decided the person I've bene seeing is not right for me. I've done some CBT with a previous therapist and I've been drawing on those experiences while I try to find a new therapist.

Edit: Actually I'm not entirely sure I want to find another therapist. I've gone to therapy off and on for the last 15 years and I honestly don't think the time and money spent has been worth the results. Maybe my expectations are too high but I'm tired of having to explain to a therapist that if I'm paying to be there I don't want have to hear his/her childhood anecdotes. (Slight pet peeve forming, apparently... )

Post Edited (palaver) : 2/15/2011 11:41:43 AM (GMT-7)

spinal soldier said...
i take adderall myself for opiate pain medicine grogyness, but i think it can induce some of the things your describing. not that it is a bad med. but maybe your dose is to high, and i also think Klonopin is a good drug for the type of anxiety syptoms your describing. it kicks in fast and has a very long half-life, on of the top 3-5 out of 40-50 drugs so you don't get the peaks and valleys like the xanax. you should look under the category " anxiolytics" on wikipedia and you might be able to find ones good for you.

I'll look into the klonopin.. I'm on the lowest dose of Adderall but I hadn't considered the possibility that it could be causing some of this stuff. Thanks for input.