Hi Everyone,
My name is Laura, and I'm new to the Anxiety forum. Years ago I was a regular poster in the Ulcerative Colitis forum but, fortunately, my UC has been under control for almost a decade so I have not posted in a long time.
I have always had anxiety, but in the Fall of 2021 - out of nowhere - it became very severe to the point of being debilitating. I could not sleep, had racing and very dark thoughts, felt like the world was ending, felt like an elephant was sitting on my chest and that I couldn't breathe, was depressed, and felt isolated (even though I have a good support system). I also had been taking Klonopin at increasingly higher doses for years in order to get sleep, and I began to realize how dependent on the Klonopin I'd become. I don't know if it was pandemic fatigue that caused the anxiety episode (I know a lot of people are depressed/anxious right now), or possibly the death of my uncle around that time, but regardless it was like nothing I'd ever experienced before.
I started seeing a psychiatrist in December. This has been great in a lot of ways, as I'm now on 25mg of Zoloft which is providing relief. He also has me on 600mg of Gabapentin and 50mg of Hydroxyzine for sleep, which is getting me anywhere from 6 - 8 hours per night. Fortunately I was able to ween off the Klonopin quickly with very few withdrawal symptoms. I'm happy to be off of it.
However, as I'm sure some can relate to, this new cocktail of meds has caused weight gain. I've never had issues with weight, and have been the same weight for years, but suddenly and very rapidly I've gained almost 20 pounds. It literally happened over the course of a month or two, and no matter what I do it will not budge. I do vigorous workouts everyday and also count my calories - I'm not overeating.
This morning I weighed myself and somehow I've gained another 3 pounds over the weekend, even though I definitely did not overeat and followed my workout routine. I'm not comfortable with this. I'm on the verge of none of my clothes fitting, and I also feel very uncomfortable in my body since the weight is storing itself in places where I don't usually gain - primarily the middle section.
Any advice? This is the first time I've felt stable since the Fall, so I'm very hesitant to vary things up but the anxiety I feel over gaining weight is quickly starting to outweigh the benefits of being on these drugs. In the past I've tried Wellbutrin (which skyrocketed my anxiety and insomnia), and also Lamictal (which turned out to be the wrong class of drugs for my issues altogether). Are there other SSRI's that don't cause weight gain?
Any advice would be appreciated. Doctors/psychiatrists are helpful, but I know from dealing with my UC that there are tips/advice that only those of us with first hand experience can know.
It's great to meet you all, and I look forward to being part of this community!
