HealingWell
Search Close Search
☰

Do Different Medicines Make You Feel Differently?

Support Forums
>
Anxiety & Panic Disorders
✚ New Topic ✚ Reply
❬ ❬ Previous Thread |Next Thread ❭ ❭
Posted 12/20/2015 5:34 PM (GMT 0)
This might be a little bit of a silly question, but I will still ask it. This is really meant for those who have tried out different medications for anxiety.

Do different medications make you feel differently?

I take only 5 mg of Lexapro on a daily basis. Have been on it for a year. However one of the things I really really really really really don't like is that for a good 2-3 hours after taking the pill it makes me feel "medicated".

Have any of you taken a medication that helps you with your anxiety issues but still leaves you feeling normal and not "weird" (not bad but just off)?

It's odd. For me it almost seems like actually taking the medicine and not enjoying the feeling of being medicated is actually causing me a deal of anxiety in and of itself. Does that make sense?

Thank you!!
Posted 12/20/2015 7:23 PM (GMT 0)
Hi pooldrops5,

When you say "medicated", what do you mean? How does it make you feel?
Have you talked with a doctor about it?

I take Xanax .5mg (Alprazolam .5mg) 3x a day or as needed, and it helps with the anxiety.
I feel normal as far as I can tell when I take it, but I have never tried Lexapro, so I don't know what it's like to feel how you're saying.

Gob bless,
Freakedoutone
Posted 12/20/2015 10:13 PM (GMT 0)
Thank you for the reply!

Lexapro just makes me feel a little bit spacey sometimes. I think it gives me a bit and of adrenaline rush because I kind of feel my nerves surge. Could be that it's just that I don't like and don't happily anticipate taking the medicine. It isn't that it necessarily makes me feel bad. For example the other night I took it early and then was supposed to go out to a bar to meet some friends. I had just a few sips of beer and then started feeling dizzy a little. This was three hours after taking my pill. I just don't like any of it whatsoever. I do not want to feel in the clouds. I do not want to feel tired. I do not want it to make me extra hungry and increase my potential of gaining weight. Lexapro does all of this.

I have taken as needed Xanax but in very very little doses. I usually will only take half a pill. Xanax certainly does the trick but it can leave you feeling groggy. Maybe that smooths out if you take it with regularity.
Posted 12/21/2015 2:39 AM (GMT 0)
Every Rx is going to have a unique effect on any individual.

I have ever read stories of people returning to a previously tolerated med...only to have it not work out so well on subsequent tries...

...so it really is an individual thing...and beyond that...just where your chemisty/system seem to be at, at any given time!

Do you see a GP or a P-doc for your Rx? Perhaps if you have not yet consulted with a psychiatrist...you could benefit from the highest expertise on psychotropics they can provide.

I hope you find your right match for your current needs soon!

S.C.
Posted 12/21/2015 2:40 AM (GMT 0)
Oops...just remembered it WAS you that posted regarding finding a P-doc...

...well there you go! ;p

S.C.
Posted 12/22/2015 3:11 AM (GMT 0)
Yes I believe every med has diiferent effects on any individual if that makes sense. Here is my experience.

Zoloft - makes me sleepy and unmotivated
Lexapro - minimal side effects (I'm sticking with this)
Effexor - I went off the wall manic, ended up in the hospital for a couple days
Posted 12/22/2015 10:30 AM (GMT 0)
Hi

It difficult to say as we all react differently to medication and what works well for one person may not work as well for another.

I am currently taking two antidepressants and yes sometimes I feel a bit medicated but I would rather that than the crippling anxiety I get when not on medication.

Hibee
Posted 12/22/2015 5:31 PM (GMT 0)
Yes, different meds make you feel differently for sure. Everything from the extent of dizziness to the surge it give you after taking it, even the taste you seem to have in your mouth for a while after starting it. Here's what I've tried and how they've made me feel (everyone is different so these may affect you completely differently):
Lexapro (least side effects once i have leveled out- makes me feel a little "wired" after taking it but in a non dependent kind of way)
Zoloft (very sleepy and medicated feeling)
Lithium (it really balanced me out but I hated the metallic taste in my mouth, I would gag on the coated capsules after a while, made me sick to my stomach at first)
Ativan- (groggy and dry mouth)
Xanax (horrible memory and drugged up feeling)
Wellbutrin (made my stomach feel empty and lose of appetite)
Prozac (felt like I was on speed, made my heart race, couldn't take it long enough for the side effects to go away)

Some of these works for some people and others, not so much. When taking lexapro, most Dr's have told me it has the least amount of side effects and if it's the side effects that bother me, well, any other meds are going to give worse side effects so I might as well stick with lexapro... a little discouraging I know. But a lot of Dr's just go based on textbook answers or a general consensus of what they've "heard", and not from personal experience. Try to do your homework on different meds if you're thinking about switching to something new and talk about pros and cons with your dr. That's the most important thing I've learned recently is to always talk it through with your dr. Good luck! I hope you find some relief soon!
PS- I wouldn't drink right after taking lexapro. It's one of the psych meds that you're really not supposed to drink on. It causes me heart palpitations sometimes and horrible hangovers when I drink on it. If you like to drink occasionally, best to take it when you're not going to drink right after.
✚ New Topic ✚ Reply