That long wait until the next doctor's appointment and possibly changing my prescription

I posted earlier in the week that I started to get anxiety at the end of a cruise, and it's stayed pretty consistent since the day we docked back home on Sunday. It was weird because I had been taking my medication daily, and there's been no change, so it's very strange that I've had a week's worth of anxiety despite taking the medication and despite no clear triggers. Other times I've had anxiety have been either going cold turkey because I forgot my medication on a trip, or doing lots of online dating. For the first one, I got better once I got back on medication after a while. For the online dating, once I took a break, the anxiety was gone.

This just keeps popping back up, which is a first for me. I'm thinking my medication just may not be good anymore, but I can't see a doctor until Wednesday (earlier appointment), and I can't see my psychiatrist until the following Monday. I went to urgent care and got nine Xanax pills, and to make them last, I've been breaking the pills in half. But seriously, I wish I had requested double dosage, so a half a pill would have been .5mg, which would be perfect for me.

Morning anxiety has been a pain, and it's made worse due to the fact that I have a limited supply of Xanax. This is my weekend and I'm not relaxed as I'd like to be. I'm at a coffee shop right now reading and I have some football on my laptop, which is all distracting and nice.

Wednesday will be nice because I'm pretty sure I'll be able to get a proper month's supply of Xanax, but I have to ask about changing my prescription. I'm on Prozak right now. The first medication I ever took was Lexapro, which worked well for me. I tried many others since I thought it may have been giving me side effects involving erectile dysfunction. I tried a billion different medications for about three-week intervals, but I had no luck, so I started to think that maybe the issue was me and not the medication (though I'm still not 100% on what's wrong with me on that end).

But the bottom line is I eventually settled on Prozak, which I think was supposed to limit side effects. It may be weaker overall than Lexapro, so I may ask my doctor about possibly going back to that. However, if it really is the cause of my other issue, then I have to figure that one out.

Sorry this is rambling, but I feel better at least putting this out there on a forum like this and with anonymity.


Cliff notes:

1) Came back from a cruise and had anxiety. It hasn't gone away all week.
2) I only have a few Xanax to last me until my appointment on Wednesday.
3) I was on Lexapro for years but eventually changed to Prozak in 2016. I may have to return to Lexapro if it's more potent.
4) Regardless, I don't get why I've had anxiety for this long with no clear trigger.
5) I have erectile dysfunction, but I'm young, and my doctors said it's most likely my medication that's causing it. We've never done tests to see if there's something physically wrong with me in that department, though, so I'm not sure, but that's something I have to ask about if I switch to another medication.

Scaredy Cat said...
H.H,

A couple of things to discuss as possibilities with your prescribing doc on Monday...

You may just need an increase of your Prozac. What it your current level, is there room to go up? Also, how long have you been taking it? Inefficacy after a certain amount of time is not unusual and a switch can be necessary.

If you decide to go back to the Lexapro, but fear the sexual side effects, you might consider an augmentation with another Rx such as Wellbutrin. 'Adds-ons' can allow you to take a med that performs well for you, and greatly reduce/eliminate the undesired effects that you want to avoid.

I hope that you come away from your appointment with a solid plan, and some encouragement that you are going to get relief with a new regimen.

For now, keep up with your coping skills...and post whenever you need support!

S.C.

Hey!

My appointment is unfortunately on Wednesday, not Monday. I take 20mg of Prozak.

I'm actually not that familiar with the Augmentation prescriptions! What do you know about them? I can direct any questions to my doctor. =) Thanks!

Scaredy Cat said...
Okay, you are on the lowest of doses for Prozac, so you have increase room for sure. This may be the first step you want to take, since it is the easiest and least amount of change.

However, here is more information on the Wellbutrin augmentation. This is taken from an article not specifically for treating anxiety, so ignore the part about solely taking buproprion, as this is not typically helpful for A/P management. However, adding it to an existing SSRI for combating sexual dysfunction can be.

The antidepressant Wellbutrin (buproprion) is a norepinephrine-dopamine reuptake inhibitor (NDRI). It works somewhat differently than selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) such as Prozac, Zoloft, and Paxil (paroxetine), and tends to not affect sexual dysfunction as much. Some people are able to switch to Wellbutrin alone and still get enough relief from their depression symptoms. Others can take Wellbutrin in addition to their regular medication. Ask your doctor if either approach might be an option for you.

Best to you and let us know what you hear Wednesday.

S.C.

I will ask about this because I THINK I had taken Wellbutrin alone for a period of time and it wasn't working well, but I've never asked about taking it in conjunction with something else. I'll have to work with my psychiatrist and look back at some of the medication we tried a few years ago.

Thank you! I will let you know what happens Wednesday.

So I got some more Xanax, two a day, to last until my psych appointment on Monday. My doctor said due to getting stricter on how many doctors can prescribe medication, she wanted to know who would be my regular doctor/specialist for this. Since it'll likely be my psychiatrist, she offered to give me more of my current medication if needed but to wait until Monday to discuss new dosage or prescriptions from my psychiatrist.

So I get it. It makes sense to prevent abuse, but it sucks that it's affecting someone who wouldn't abuse it lol. Regardless, I've had a bit less morning anxiety recently, which is good, so I guess the real wait will be for Monday.

That's the update! =)

Appointment is actually today, not yesterday. Going at 3! The continuous anxiety every day has stopped, though it came back yesterday afternoon. I still feel a bit off so I'll get the update from my psychiatrist and then update you here.

Hibee said...
Hi

I hope your appointment went well today?

Keep us posted.

Hibee

Hi!

It went very well and felt great to FINALLY get there. We talked about the side effects, but we both agreed that the first thing to do would be get me back to normal, and then we can talk about what to use to reduce side effects. I'm going from 20mg to 40mg, and I'll see her again in a few weeks. =)

Scaredy Cat said...
Good news! Glad to hear that you have a plan of action...this will actually go a long way in helping you to feel better I think. It's always good to have a clear management path/goal.

Keep us updated as you can. Peace and progress!

S.C.

I will! And I agree: it felt good finally seeing her and putting a plan in motion. I've never waited that long to see a psychiatrist before, but she was on vacation earlier in the month, and I think people booked up post-vacation for her.

Yay! Great news...thanks for the update!

Your increased anxiety currently may just be due to having visitors and a diruption in your schedule. Even good/positive stimulation can register to our brains as stressful.

Keep up the great work and may your progress continue!

S.C.