Is anyone else on a med cocktail?

I had been on zoloft for ten years when it quit suddenly three years ago. Since then they have triedme me on Prozac, Zoloft, Pristiq, Abilify, Wellbutrin, Celexa and Effexor. right now they have me on a combinaion of Effexor, Zoloft, Prozac, seeing as they didn't work for me individually. I am on my first week with the added Effexor and do not feel good at all. How long does it take for Effexor to cut in and do they ever get it right when they are blending more than one med. Thank you.

Did you guys try upping your doses before switching???
& Wayupnorth do you need the medicationbfor anxiety only?

I wish you the best of luck. Hang in there ok.

It will ... it was great for me!!! I was on 75mg for the longest time. Increased my dose last week and I'm also feeling a slight increase in anxiety. Hang in there.

Don't give up!!! 9 days is a short time! It will work! I dont have much time right now but I'll tell you ... I went from not wanting to leave my house to leaving the country on a tropical vacation!! Granted the medication helps but you also have to give yourself a kick in the butt so to speak and do things (when you're able to ).

Yes, I am on Buspar, Gabapentin, Clonazepam, Chlorpromaz along with Abilify and Pristiq. Say that ten times fast.

Wayupnorth, I am only on two medications at the moment.

However, this is not my first battle. ;) When fighting depression, they had to give me a cocktail, of sorts. Eventually, I ended up on a mix of five drugs, which worked pretty well.

It took a while (a few months). There were some terrible times. There were side effects from weight gain & swelling, to sweating & fainting, to even hallucinations. Ahhh.... but when they found the combination.

When they got it right, it was absolutely worth every minute of every side effect. The first day I was able to say, "I didn't cry AT ALL yesterday!" every scary part was worth it. Eventually, I got to say, "I'm ready to wean off!" I had several good years after that before this anxiety mess came out to play. haha

Hang in there, friend ~ yes, they can get the combination right and yes, it will be worth it. Just stay in communication with your doctor. If there are side effects you just cannot deal with, then make them aware of that as soon as possible. Some of the side effects wear off once you reach the therapeutic level, though. They'll be able to advise you on that.

You can do this!

Wayupnorth

Good Morning, my cocktail is complicated but I have depression and GAD and have been on and off meds (Mostly on) for 31 years. I also have been to therapy over the years.

Buspar 20mg twice a day. (Anxiety)

Diazepam 2 mg tabs up to 5 times daily as needed. (Anxiety)

Trazodone  150 mg at bedtime for asleep. Trazodone is a tetracyclic antidepressant used to treat depression and anxiety disorders. At low dose it is used off label for insomnia and has been a blessing for me for the past 4 years.

Effexor XR 262.5 mg daily  every morning for Depression (this is the anchor of all my meds) - I worked up from 37.5mg to the current dose. My Psychiatrist believes it will take a good 6-8 weeks for the full therapeutic effect to kick in with each increase in this med but each of us is unique so I will hope you notice a difference soon.  

Yes, I can walk, talk, and function very well on these meds as well as I worked for 30 years in medical field.

The one thing it cannot do is reduce the anxiety over my medical dx, only God can help me with that.

Be brave, get mad and fight the anxiety as I sense you are a winner.

Kindly,

Kitt

 

 

 

 

Berock, Countryhearts and Skitt. Thank you so much for taking the time to tell me what life is like for each of you.

I had tried buspar and it did nothing for me - the Zoloft worked the best for me and for the ten years I was on it, I was very happy - some might say Euphoric but I just felt so good. Do any of you have that happy feeling. I just loved life and couldn't wait to get up in the morning and do stuff. I had it for about a week when I tried Abilify, but apparently it was what they call the honeymoon period and it only lasted a week and it was gone.

Maybe I want too much but I want the anxiety gone and I want to be happy. I sure hope that happens for me. Where's that happy pill?

Wayupnorth,

I am glad to share if it will help you in any way.  The first med I was ever on was the best one for me and it worked for 14 years with just a few short depression breaks but no major issues.  I was on Nortriptyline, a tricyclic antidepressant and one day it just pooped out. You won't find many Drs. who will order this med anymore since the safer meds, the SSRIS and SNRIs, hit the market.

I worked very closely with my Dr. and we went through the list of ADs saving the ones that could pull a person out of depression and we have not used a couple of the big guns as I do not like the idea of the side effects these meds may cause.  I have been on Effexor for nearly 3 years now and other meds were added but made things worse (Zoloft a year ago)

It seems common enough to have some great days, then a period of "adjustment" where you might feel worse again before really feeling better. It is this honeymoon period that often derails people from staying on a med that just takes time to kick into high gear.  The " feeling better" is such a relief and when you start to feel worse again it seems like the "medication" just failed.

You will make it one day at a time and be good to yourself which I know we all tend to beat ourselves up because we look at anxiety and depression as a flaw within ourselves............but it is not.  It hurts so much to feel anxious, it can keep you from living your life the way you dreamed it would be.

Now is the time to get mad at your anxiety and kick it to the curb.

Take care my new friend,

Kitt

 

PS - I am a morning anxiety person too and I will post a bit about that later today.

Wouldn't that be wonderful? Just to feel normal and happy. I think about that a lot. I am happy, I guess. I have my daughter who is the world and the moon and stars to me. My pets who get me through trying times. They help me to feel not so alone. I am sitting here crying like a silly goose.

Just wondering how you are doing today countryhearts = I cry easily too - that only means you are human with real feelings - certainly nothing to be ashamed of. I am still moping around in my nightgown with no energy to do anything productive. It is overcast and supposed to rain so that of course just adds to the gloom of the day. Well I better go and eat something so I can take my pills. Hope you have a good day.

Thanks BeRock - you did make me laugh. Thanks for that.