AnxiousAspie

I've been on countless SSRI's and none of them have seemed to help.. at all
What are your experiences and did you ever find the right meds that helped/worked for you?

(Not asking medical advice)

Acheleus

I just started taking buspar but I cannot tell if it helps. I do notice I have less fear but the med takes a while to start working I think.

Nanoo32

I have been on cipralex 10mg for three years, I felt my anxiety level increased upon taking it. Due to being encouraged by psychiatrists and doctors to stay on it as well as previous attempts to wean off the drug with horrible side effects it has taken this long to wean off again with better results. In my experience, when I started taking Cipralex my desire to drink increased a lot. I am also weaning off Seroquel, looking forward to a drug free existence. BUT I have been in therapy on and off for the last 4 years currently seeing a CBT therapist which has helped a lot. I always had issues with anxiety but was able to manage it, however being diagnosed with panic disorder with agoraphobia, major depressive disorder, and alcohol dependency just too much to handle. One thing I wished I did was join a support group. Best of luck hope you find something that works for you.

JHF3

What a hole I was in , on a bunch of pills and doing things like going to the E.R with anxiety attacks hoping for a Xanax and not the psych lockup and coerced anti-psychotics. It was hit or miss until I found a hospital with no psych.

Years and years of taking pills that only made it worse, suffered all kinds of side effects and endured hellish withdrawals. Name a pill I took it.

The thing that baffles me is that for a very long time I didn't see how the meds were making it worse. I forgot what I was like before 'looking for the right meds' and was just treating the bad effects of the medication itself.

I was so scammed by the big pharma marketing machine.

jkb

+1
Jess

DylanS

For me, Seroquel has been like an anvil on runaway PTSD symptoms (including hyper-vigilance, panic/agitation/anxiety and insomnia). I currently take the lowest therapeutic dose (25 mg) due to heightened circumstantial stress, but usually take even less than that (12.5 mg).

But, before that, I had a somewhat similar experience as JHF3 - the constant shopping for the right meds or the right cocktail of meds. I think SSRIs are crap and the brain attenuates too fast, then down-regulates the very receptors the meds are flooding.

I very strongly believe that meds should be the avenue of last resort, and believe you me, I tried everything. I still use a LOT of 'tools' (EBT, CBT, and just currently began EFT), exercise, counseling when needed, 'nutrient dense' eating - it all helps. I dunno what your recovery gig is but, for me, I also need a spiritual connection (going the 12 step/AA route).

HTH - I know how miserable it is to be getting no relief from things that are supposed to fix, or at least help, the problem.

DoubleBarrel

I experienced rebound,anxiety and withdrawal from numerous things
I am on absolutely nothing at all, and feel better than ever.

It takes months. Maybe longer, but perhaps you can try going totally clean?

micmac

Lexapro coupled with exercise has been the answer for me.

Doug39

I am a 50 year old man - 81 days sober after 25 years of daily alcohol drinking.

All of my life I have been against medications for anxiety, depression, etc. but yet like an idiot I self medicated with alcohol half of my life.

I have had anxiety issues all my life but it really got out of control about 4 years ago.

Like I said, I quit drinking 81 days ago and started Zoloft. After a month my doctor doubled the dosage because I felt no change.

I began to hate what was happening to me - I became an emotionless robot and my sex drive vanished.

Fed up, I tapered off Zoloft and three weeks later I feel great. I believe my alcohol abuse is what was causing my anxiety.

I will never take any other SSRI's - I never believed in them and still don't. What really ticks me off is that my doctor told me "Zoloft never hurt anybody and it has no side effects". He also told be my sexual dysfunction was "all in my mind". I doubt that highly. Without the Zoloft I am back to 100% in that department.

Subu

I'm on Seroquel long-term on/off at various doses am-pm, Currently 300mg at night.

I've never found SSRI/SNRI useful for anxiety & panic, Prozac for depression yes.

Phenibut worked a treat but was to close to benzo's which aren't suitable long term.

Currently trying low dose lithium, Flaxseed Oil, Vitamin B Complex & Amino acids...

Good luck!

newman23

I can't stand the withdrawal from SSRIs. Have you ever experienced it? Its a real pain. It feels like I have a jolt of electricity going through my body every few seconds and some pretty bad mood swings are some of the most noticeable symptoms, at least for me. The issue was, I was drinking, and didn't take prescribed meds consistently. Times I have, they seem to work. Right now I am working with Citalopram again. Paxil, for me, was a nightmare years ago.

The doc gave me some Gabapentin/Neurontin to try for anxiety. I take it as needed. It seems to help, but just be sure you are familiar with the side effects of what you're taking. The side effects of Gabapentin really freaked me out at first and sparked a lot of anxiety. I thought there was something wrong with me(dizzy, a little drowsy, etc) but I looked at the bottle and read that these are normal("may cause" symptoms, anyway).

Personally, I want to get with a therapist and try some natural ways to alleviate anxiety and remove any and all pills altogether. Right now, though, I feel like I need a quite a bit help of until I make that happen.

GordonG

currently on 20mg prozac and 25 mg seroquel. 14 days so far.And I'm 7 months 20 days clean and sober.

CactusJill

I can't do the SSRIs. They didn't work for me and as others have reported, I gained weight and had no sex drive. I am on Wellbutrin and it really helps with the anxiety. Of course, no medicine is perfect and sometimes something will work for awhile and then you may need a dosage change. Sometimes the anxiety still rears its ugly head but now, for me, it doesn't devolve into straight up paranoia like it used to.

I'd like to think that everyone has something that will help, whether it is medicine, exercise, clean living, or another strategy.

ineed

I was put on several different SSRIs when I was 17, not at once, but slowly one by one. None of them made me better, in fact each one made me worse and actually suicidal. I was also put on hefty doses of addictive benzos, oxazepam, diazepam, temazepan (yes all at once!) along with lyrica. Sure, that killed my anxiety in its tracks, but it was also killing my soul. I was on that cocktail for 6 months, of which I can't remember a thing of them. I hated every moment, and I remember the withdrawals from all of it - long and painful, especially the lyrica. It's the most difficult med I've ever have to come off from. That psychiatrist was crazy to put me on all those meds at 17. He should be banned from practicing quite frankly as it was insane. I was falling asleep everywhere at all times, in lessons id apparently pass out, during chapel services id pass out and start snoring extremely loud in front of the entire school.

Two years later I finally met a decent doctor, he sat me down with my mother for 2 and a half hours and evaluated me fully. Then he talked to me personally, then my mother personally and we discussed all parts of my life. I was diagnosed with ADHD, with a minor anxiety disorder- but in the end I found out that my ADHD was actually what was causing the anxiety. I am taking dexamphetamine daily, and have been for the last two years. I haven't abused it whatsoever as I know it's pointless, and most importantly because it genuinely helps me enormously.

However, I was also put on this wonder medication called buspar to start with too, and it did absolute WONDERS for my anxiety. Seriously - it took around a week for it to start working properly, but it was fantastic! It got rid of all my anxiety whatsoever (I was put on this beforehand to see if the disorders were separate or together) and it's not addictive at all. I still had problems with my concentration though - that's when I tried Ritalin, which was terrible for me, but it did help me concentrate slightly albeit with a ton of side effects. Then I tried dexedrine and wham, two birds with one stone so to speak.

I don't know, but I highly recommend buspar to everyone that wants an anti-anxiety med. in comparison to everything else out there used for anxiety treatment I can say firmly that it is 100% the best. Many people give up on it quickly because they don't believe it's effective after trying a benzo for example. But the sad reality is that it's actually more effective, doesn't make you sleepy and you can come off it whenever you like. It's just not an instant cure, which is why most give up on it.

You should give it a try for 4 weeks - see if you like it.

However do not go down the benzo or lyrica route. No matter what the doctor says, and that is how it was sold to me - lyrica is highly addictive, more dangerous than benzos to come off and the withdrawals are actually worse than anything else you could withdraw from. I really mean it. Lyrica left my head scrambled for around 6 months after stoping it, after a 8 month taper. It's incredibly expensive too, and doesnt come in lower doses than 25mg capsules, apart from the solution which again is just outrageously expensive, but you will need it to come off it.

As for a natural alternative, you should try l-theanine capsules. It's actually very effective and works instantly, 300mg three to four times a day should be way more the enough. 150mg even.

Atarax is also marvellous, you take it before you go to bed (it helps you sleep) and you wake up feeling refreshed - but also calmer. I don't know how or why, but it keeps you calm all day from a nightly dose.

jakec

I was on different medications for my anxiety and depression. I was on Zoloft and Buspar but I didn't notice any difference probably because I was abusing drugs while on them.

I was on Abilify once, that seemed to make no difference on my anxiety or depression.

I was on Adderall, it suprisingly didn't make my anxiety worse, it made me more calm(I have ADHD) and made me less depressed.. but I eventually began abusing them so I had to stop taking it entirely.

I've been prescribed Neurontin(gabapentin) 600mg for anxiety.. it seemed to work quite well... until I experimented with taking very large amounts of it and realized the high was like benzodiazapines...so I got off that too.

Now all's im on is Prozac 20mg.. My depression has improved but I still experience pretty bad anxiety on a daily basis. If my anxiety gets really bad I'l take 50mg of Benadryl and try to deep breathe..

I also take vitamins and supplements such as B Complex, Fish Oil, Amino Acids, Zinc, and Valarian Root.

MissTM

Currently, I'm on an SNRI called Savella. It helps treat chronic pain better then Cymbalta does. I was actually in a medical study that tested the efficacy of the drug compared to Cymbalta, and that's the only reason as to why I even found out about the medication. It's still relatively new in the US, but it's one of the only drugs approved to treat Fibromyalgia. It doesn't really do much for my anxiety and depression though.

I also take Wellbutrin, which somewhat helps with my depression (it's okay for my ADHD as well). I take a beta blocker at night, Propanolol ER, that helps with anxiety. It also keeps the Wellbutrin from causing my HR to be high (resting heart rate was in the 100s). There is also an IR version of the Propanolol that Dr's take to keep steady hands during surgery, or students like to take them for stage fright. I was given 10mg doses of the IR version if for any reason I had breakthrough anxiety, this is what I would use only during the day since it doesn't cause drowsiness for me (although it can for others). Non-addicting as well.

I also use Lamictal to help keep me from getting in too low of a mood. My depression can dip quite a bit unfortunately. I notice that it also helps me from overreacting since I'm not feeling my emotions as intensely as before. I don't mind dulling my emotions, they can be difficult to handle.

Otherwise, I use Klonopin as a back-up for anxiety at night only. And, since my PTSD is triggered at night, I often have panic attacks before I go to sleep or I'll be woken up from a dead sleep and have a panic attack. I have used Atarax before, but the side effects from long-term use are a bit intense.

I also wanted to note that there is a cheek-swab test that my psychiatrist offered me. It tests the enzymes in your body to see which drugs are absorbed correctly. This could save a person a lot of time and energy. Instead of trying out several different drugs or drug classes, you can find out which drugs would work best for you automatically. Unfortunately, the test is only for medication that is used for Depression/Anxiety, ADD/ADHD, and Pain. And, your Dr. has to have a contract with the company in order for you to utilize their services. I had all three tests done (Medicare/Medicaid/Tricare cover these tests if they're necessary) and it helped my psych and I figure out a medication regimen.