Anti- anxiety meds

Default · Post by **Default** » Mon Mar 25, 2013 1:07 pm

On of my friends suggested that I look into getting a script for them. Pros? Cons? I knew a guy on Zanax who would forget where he was driving to, so than unerves me a bit.

coopasonic · Post by **coopasonic** » Mon Mar 25, 2013 1:17 pm

I took a couple without any significant side effects... though I can't recall the names. It was 7-8 years ago. They did help, but I'm cheap and they weren't.

LordMortis · Post by **LordMortis** » Mon Mar 25, 2013 1:19 pm

*They* put me on about six different SSRIs (Zoloft, Wellbutrin, Prozac, and Lexapro come time mind) in various dosages and cocktails for about three years before I quit them myself without doctor's approval.

From their perspective, they didn't put me on them for anxiety or depression but rather for "Stress." They didn't help depression, anxiety, or stress but they did make me more cloudy and made me even more clumsy with even worse depth perception than I already have with my jilted eye and made me want to sleep 24 hours a day and I got hot flashes like I was going to through menopause.

They won't call it head med withdrawal because they don't want equate head meds with all the no no narcotics. But head med withdrawal (SSRI discontinuation syndrome) sucks ass.

So while others swear by 'em, unless I have better understanding of what their using, I'll never touch another head me again. OTOH, I'd still jump at prednisone if they ever want to prescribe to me which took care of all of the symptoms they were trying to take care of with the SSRIs.

coopasonic · Post by **coopasonic** » Mon Mar 25, 2013 1:21 pm

LM reminded me, Lexapro was one and I *think* Zoloft was the other. They were somewhat effective, basically taking the edge off for me, but not anything magical.

dbt1949 · Post by **dbt1949** » Mon Mar 25, 2013 1:26 pm

I take prozac. Only side effects noted are lack of appetite and libido.
Diazepam as needed. Dry mouth and sleepiness.

DocDarm · Post by **DocDarm** » Mon Mar 25, 2013 2:54 pm

Talk to your doctor. Then talk to a 2nd doctor.

LordMortis · Post by **LordMortis** » Mon Mar 25, 2013 3:00 pm

DocDarm wrote:Then talk to a 2nd doctor.

Where were you when I needed you? When you are on an HMO referral system, how do you get referred to a second (outside) doctor?

Kraken · Post by **Kraken** » Mon Mar 25, 2013 4:12 pm

A very small dose of Wellbutrin keeps me on an even keel. I get anxious when I forget to take it for a couple of days, otherwise I wouldn't think it was doing anything.

KKBlue · Post by **KKBlue** » Mon Mar 25, 2013 4:33 pm

DocDarm wrote:Talk to your doctor. Then talk to a 2nd doctor.

Agree, unless you really like your main Dr. I like to get second opinions if something doesn't sit right with me.
I have a .05 Lorazepam and it takes the edge off. Sometime I think I can cope better just knowing the pills are right behind the cabinet door. I take it as needed.

Chrisoc13 · Post by **Chrisoc13** » Mon Mar 25, 2013 4:37 pm

DocDarm wrote:Talk to your doctor. Then talk to a 2nd doctor.

+1

Also don't go in looking for a prescription. Go in with your concerns, and see what your physician has to say. These are not magic pills for anxiety, they are a treatment for disorders and illnesses.

stimpy · Post by **stimpy** » Mon Mar 25, 2013 4:39 pm

KKBlue wrote: I have a .05 Lorazepam and it takes the edge off. Sometime I think I can cope better just knowing the pills are right behind the cabinet door. I take it as needed.

As do I. I usually get a script for 15 and they last me 5-6 months.
Despite this, it is always a struggle to get a refill because my Doc either thinks I am or will become addicted......

Sudy · Post by **Sudy** » Mon Mar 25, 2013 10:14 pm

I've been trying SSRI-type antidepressants for about the last year and a half, for anxiety and depression, with mixed results. (Note that these aren't benzodizepines like Zanax, Klonopin, or Ativan, which tend to be prescribed more for "as needed" use. They're a different class of meds I don't have significant experience with.)

First my doctor prescribed Lexapro. Side effects were moderate-to-severe. I had severe nausea for 1-2 hours after waking for maybe the first 4-6 weeks. It eventually subsided completely. And it never got the point where I had to throw up, but boy it came close. Libido wasn't greatly effected, but I experienced mild-to-moderate ED and difficulty climaxing. Withdrawal symtoms (dizziness and "brain zaps") were bad.

However, I found it very effective for my anxiety and work-related stress, at least for the first 6 months or so. I noticed less chest tightness and anticipatory anxiety, two of my worst, primarily work-related anxiety symptoms. We then added Wellbutrin to ease the sexual side effects, but it didn't help. Eventually I felt that the Lexapro lost its positive effects.

We then tried Effexor. It was difficult for me to gauge its effects in contrast to being off medication entirely, but I didn't find it to regain what the Lexapro had given me. The sexual side effects remained, and the withdrawal was even worse. If I missed even one dose of Effexor, the dizziness and brain zaps came upon me in less than 24 hours and were quite severe. Getting off it entirely required tapering (usually recommended, anyway), and involved probably 4-6 weeks of dizziness, on and off.

Which brings us to Zoloft, which I've been on for 3-4 months now. I don't find it very effective, but I'm still on a low dose. I think I might ask to try a higher one the next time I see my doctor. The good news? No side effects that I can detect. No nausea. Sexual side effects are greatly decreased, if present at all. I missed a dose for the first time yesterday--I was late a whole 24 hours. No dizziness. No brain zaps.

We'll see how it goes if we up my dosage. If that doesn't provide adequate relief, I think it may be time to accept that medication isn't the answer for me. I know it's only an aid to therapy, meditation, exercise, the development of better coping mechanisms, etc. anyway, but at this point it doesn't seem to be worthwhile.

That said, considering the relief I initially felt on Lexapro, I have a good overall impression of meds. As long as you're not expecting an outright cure, give them a chance. If you can find the right prescription, they can be very beneficial. Side effects can be noticeable, but they're just the cost of admission, and one I've been willing to pay.

Default · Post by **Default** » Mon Mar 25, 2013 11:41 pm

Sexual side effects? Considering that I'm not having any sex, that's not a big deal. Stiff neck from tension and the constant urge to scream for the past month or so is throwing me off my game. Not to mention the acid reflux making me gag at three in the morning.

Kraken · Post by **Kraken** » Tue Mar 26, 2013 2:43 am

Zoloft was my second-favorite. I don't remember why I can't have it anymore -- something to do with my liver or kidneys or insurance or something.

Serzone was my favorite -- it was very mildly euphoric, like a tiny dose of ecstasy. I think they stopped making it because people enjoyed it too much. Or maybe died.

Rip · Post by **Rip** » Mon Sep 22, 2014 7:45 pm

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/22/us/se ... -woes.html

When it came to pharmacological solutions to life’s despairs, Aldous Huxley was ahead of the curve. In Huxley’s 1932 novel about a dystopian future, the Alphas, Betas and others populating his “Brave New World” have at their disposal a drug called soma. A little bit of it chases the blues away: “A gramme” — Huxley was English, remember, spelling included — “is better than a damn.” With a swallow, negative feelings are dispelled.

Prozac, the subject of this week’s video documentary from Retro Report, is hardly soma. But its guiding spirit is not dissimilar: A few milligrams of this drug are preferable to the many damns that lie at the core of some people’s lives. Looking back at Prozac’s introduction by Eli Lilly and Company in 1988, and hopscotching to today, the documentary explores the enormous influence, both chemical and cultural, that Prozac and its brethren have had in treating depression, a concern that gained new resonance with the recent suicide of the comedian Robin Williams.

Pendulums, by definition, swing, and the one on which Prozac rides is no exception. After the early talk about it as a wonder pill — a rather chic one at that — a backlash developed, perhaps unsurprisingly. Grave questions arose among some psychiatrists about whether the S.S.R.I.s increased chances that some people, notably teenagers, would commit suicide or at least contemplate it. No definite link was confirmed, but that did not end the concern of some prominent skeptics, like a British psychiatrist, Dr. David Healy. He has dismissed the notion of S.S.R.I.s as saviors as “bio-babble.”

If some users deem Prozac lifesaving, others consider it sensory-depriving. A loss of libido is a common side effect. Some writers and artists, while often relieved to be liberated from depression’s tightest grip, also say that Prozac leaves them mentally hazy. In his 2012 book, “Antifragile: Things That Gain From Disorder,” Nassim Nicholas Taleb offered this: “Had Prozac been available last century, Baudelaire’s ‘spleen,’ Edgar Allan Poe’s moods, the poetry of Sylvia Plath, the lamentations of so many other poets, everything with a soul would have been silenced.”

LawBeefaroni · Post by **LawBeefaroni** » Mon Sep 22, 2014 7:55 pm

LordMortis wrote:
DocDarm wrote:Then talk to a 2nd doctor.
Where were you when I needed you? When you are on an HMO referral system, how do you get referred to a second (outside) doctor?

It varies but your PCP probably needs to refer you. But probably not to an "outside" doctor. The doctor has to be in-network. Unless your benefits allow out-of-network referrals which usually have some degree of co-insurance. It's usually easier to get a referral to a specialist than to another PCP.

Daehawk · Post by **Daehawk** » Mon Sep 22, 2014 7:58 pm

Ive been giving different ones but after reading side effects I refuse to take them. I think the safest and the only one I would take these days is Valium.

LawBeefaroni · Post by **LawBeefaroni** » Mon Sep 22, 2014 8:00 pm

Daehawk wrote:Ive been giving different ones but after reading side effects I refuse to take them. I think the safest and the only one I would take these days is Valium.

I take Alcohol.

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Mon Sep 22, 2014 8:35 pm

Daehawk wrote:Ive been giving different ones but after reading side effects I refuse to take them. I think the safest and the only one I would take these days is Valium.

You do realize that side effects don't affect everyone that takes them, right? The aren't Faustian deals where you're guaranteed to trade one ailment for another.

hitbyambulance · Post by **hitbyambulance** » Mon Sep 22, 2014 8:41 pm

i just tried and got off Lexapro. terrible adjustment period (headaches, faintness), screwed up sleep schedule, made me spacey, dopey, disconnected, and some other undesired side-effects. noooo thaaank yoooou. but it certainly made me not care about anything...

on Wellbutrin (generic: Bupropion) now, and aside from it waking me up multiple times per night (which i do have to give a few more weeks to see if it resolves), i feel otherwise fine on it.

Kraken · Post by **Kraken** » Mon Sep 22, 2014 8:48 pm

I've been on Wellbutrin for years. I only notice its effects when I stop taking it. It has a short half-life in the body. If I miss 3 or 4 doses the old anxiety flares back up.

dbt1949 · Post by **dbt1949** » Mon Sep 22, 2014 10:10 pm

I had to drop Prozac. Side effects were worse than what they were supposed to help me with.

Sudy · Post by **Sudy** » Tue Sep 23, 2014 2:09 am

I quit Zoloft a year ago July when I decided it wasn't making a notable difference and was fed up with the sexual side effects of SSRIs. This was after also trying Lexapro, Effexor, and Wellbutrin. I thought only the Lexapro made a difference, and only at first.

Flash forward to this July, and I was the lowest I'd ever been. While never seriously contemplating suicide, I had frequent suicidal and self-violent ideation. I was fed up with work and actually tried to take the day off twice for no reason other than despair. I still struggle to know the difference between diagnosed depression and one being reasonably dissatisfied with one's self or one's life, but regardless of whether what I was experiencing was self-created and/or legitimate, it was horrible.

My doctor tried me on Paxil, and I can't believe it, but it was worse. The worst side effects I experienced under the old SSRIs were crippling nausea and brain zaps/dizziness. But nothing that made me consider quitting. The Paxil, however, I didn't last longer than six weeks on. I sweat profusely. The anorgasmia was worse than on the other drugs. I was literally sleepless some nights, and had horrible night sweats. My senses were dulled and I felt disconnected and agitated, and I experienced odd "shivers" and frequent yawning.

So I quit it under my doctor's guidance and started Prozac. Here I am a month and a half later. My depression and anxiety isn't gone; I still struggle to find motivation and be productive. But my dark thoughts have greatly diminished and going to work is no longer as severe a struggle. I just wish I knew whether it was due to the Prozac, or a general change in my outlook and life's events.

Pyperkub · Post by **Pyperkub** » Fri Jan 09, 2015 3:25 pm

This is interesting:

Ketamine, a psychoactive ‘party drug’ better known as Special K, has pharmaceutical companies riding high. Used clinically as an anaesthetic in animals and humans, it has proved an extremely effective treatment for depression, bipolar disorder and suicidal behaviour.

It also works incredibly fast. Unlike conventional antidepressants, which generally take weeks to start working, ketamine lifts depression in as little as two hours. “It blew the doors off what we thought we knew about depression treatment,” says psychiatrist James Murrough at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City.

Another, more tested treatment I've seen lately is Cymbalta.

LawBeefaroni · Post by **LawBeefaroni** » Fri Jan 09, 2015 3:29 pm

Pyperkub wrote:
It also works incredibly fast. Unlike conventional antidepressants, which generally take weeks to start working, ketamine lifts depression in as little as two hours. “It blew the doors off what we thought we knew about depression treatment,” says psychiatrist James Murrough at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City.

No kidding?

Hyena · Post by **Hyena** » Fri Jan 09, 2015 4:23 pm

My wife is on fluoxotine, and it takes the edge off for her pretty well. Recommended for stress and anxiety. She has a foul temper, but with this stuff, it's obvious that it helps. Our relationship has improved leaps and bounds because our communications aren't peppered with her temper flareups. That said, it's not a miracle drug, and sometimes circumstances can overwhelm her still, but it is definitely an improvement.

Skinypupy · Post by **Skinypupy** » Fri Jan 09, 2015 5:22 pm

I tried Xanax for mild anxiety issues and hated it. All it ever did was make me tired as hell.

Nightwish · Post by **Nightwish** » Fri Jan 09, 2015 6:02 pm

I tried and am taking a bunch of them. In fact, I am pretty sure I'm taking too much now since I sleep too much and quit my stress inducing dead end job a while ago now.
They're tools, nothing more nothing less. I was starting to question where my life was going and getting pretty certain that it was going nowhere, hence the dosage. While they helped me figure out I'd better try to do something else before I was old and bitter, I think I need my edge back to fight more for myself. Kind of if I didn't like my life, at least I didn't have to feel it, but now I want to take it back.
So, yeah, they're tools, they have a lot of positives and negatives and it's very hard both for yourself and your doctor to figure out how you are and what you need. I can see why she thought I needed a lot of help because I basically spent my time hiding myself, so I didn't say much to anyone, including her.
So, be careful but don't run away from them. They could help calm you down enough to figure out what's wrong and what's next for you.

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Wed Mar 06, 2019 12:27 pm

Pyperkub wrote: ↑Fri Jan 09, 2015 3:25 pm This is interesting:

Ketamine, a psychoactive ‘party drug’ better known as Special K, has pharmaceutical companies riding high. Used clinically as an anaesthetic in animals and humans, it has proved an extremely effective treatment for depression, bipolar disorder and suicidal behaviour.

It also works incredibly fast. Unlike conventional antidepressants, which generally take weeks to start working, ketamine lifts depression in as little as two hours. “It blew the doors off what we thought we knew about depression treatment,” says psychiatrist James Murrough at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City.

FDA approved

The Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday approved esketamine, the first major depression treatment to hit the U.S. market in decades and a new option for patients who haven’t responded to existing therapies.

Esketamine — developed by Johnson & Johnson and delivered as a nasal spray — was tested in combination with oral antidepressants in patients with what’s known as treatment-resistant depression. The drug is related to ketamine, a common anesthetic that’s sometimes misused recreationally. Many experts have hailed esketamine as a critical option for patients in dire need of new treatments — particularly because it might work faster than existing antidepressants.
...
The drug’s labeling will include a warning that patients who take esketamine are at risk for sedation and issues with attention, judgement, and thinking. It will also warn that there is a risk of misuse, abuse, and suicidal thoughts after taking esketamine. Patients who receive the drug will have to be monitored for at least two hours every time they get esketamine.

LawBeefaroni · Post by **LawBeefaroni** » Wed Mar 06, 2019 12:40 pm

The good thing about esketamine is that it is fast acting. The problem is that it will require an office visit to administer, with 2 hours of observation. It will make it difficult as a "crisis mediation" drug.

Also, it is good for about a week after a few doses so people using it will need to keep going back.

I have this dystopian vision of esketamine clinics almost like Starbucks. You go in, get your dose, and veg on your tablet for a few hours. Or maybe like dialysis clinics. Lots of money for J&J though.

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Wed Mar 06, 2019 12:47 pm

At least weekly treatments will be easier to manage than daily methadone clinic visits.

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Tue Jun 11, 2019 12:51 pm

Kaiser

Food and Drug Administration approved a ketamine cousin called esketamine, taken as a nasal spray, for patients with intractable depression. With that, the esketamine nasal spray, under the brand name Spravato, was introduced as a miracle drug — announced in press releases, celebrated on the evening news and embraced by major health care providers like the Department of Veterans Affairs.

The problem, critics say, is that the drug’s manufacturer, Janssen, provided the FDA at best modest evidence it worked and then only in limited trials. It presented no information about the safety of Spravato for long-term use beyond 60 weeks. And three patients who received the drug died by suicide during clinical trials, compared with none in the control group, raising red flags Janssen and the FDA dismissed.

The FDA, under political pressure to rapidly greenlight drugs that treat life-threatening conditions, approved it anyway. And, though Spravato’s appearance on the market was greeted with public applause, some deep misgivings were expressed at its day-long review meeting and in the agency’s own briefing materials, according to public recordings, documents and interviews with participants, KHN found.

LawBeefaroni · Post by **LawBeefaroni** » Tue Jun 11, 2019 3:01 pm

It's all about the Benjamins. A few dead depression patients? Suicide no less? Pshaw. Mental health is hot as hell!

morlac · Post by **morlac** » Tue Jun 11, 2019 4:22 pm

Gotta makeup the opioid loss somehow. Weekly clinic visits for a quick nasal spray dosage should do the trick. Just one sniff!

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Tue Jun 11, 2019 4:30 pm

Kraken wrote: ↑Tue Mar 26, 2013 2:43 am Serzone was my favorite -- it was very mildly euphoric, like a tiny dose of ecstasy. I think they stopped making it because people enjoyed it too much. Or maybe died.

Severe liver damage.

LordMortis · Post by **LordMortis** » Tue Jun 11, 2019 4:40 pm

Don't let Janssen be the bad

After nearly five years of being run the through the ringer on Humira with "extreme exhaustion is not a side effect" let's send you to a shrink, a cardiologist, a neurologist, the sleep doctor, etc... I was finally taken off Humira and my insurer agreed to Remicaid. The difference has been huge. I'd rather my crone's go untreated and get progressively worse than go back Humira. I've been trying to rebuild stamina lost of over five years of doing nothing but working at keyboard and sleeping and overcoming five years of literally doing nothing is hard to do when you're pushing 50.

On topic, before my insurer dumped my shrink I had my first panic attack. I was given the minimum does of a generic for Xanax. I don't want it to become a thing for me but I have it when anxiety starts to take control. When it does I'll take .25 mg and after about 90 minutes or more, it takes the edge off. Also, she put me on a generic for Provigil (Modafinil). Again, it's not Jesus but again, day to day, it takes the edge off and helps me concentrate through the anxiety. All in all, it's the only day to day med to put a dent in the stress my body is putting on itself that my PCP says is literally killing me. The various doctors had to go through hoops to get my insurance to allow me take it and provide a pretty long list of "this didn't work" to make it happen.

GreenGoo · Post by **GreenGoo** » Tue Jun 11, 2019 4:53 pm

LordMortis wrote: ↑Tue Jun 11, 2019 4:40 pm I've been trying to rebuild stamina lost of over five years of doing nothing working at keyboard and sleeping and overcoming five years of literally doing nothing is hard to do when you're pushing 50.

Truth.

Default · Post by **Default** » Tue Jun 11, 2019 10:30 pm

FWIW, after I started taking Adderol for the ADHD, my suicidal thoughts and depression went away. Well, vanished immediately might be the better phrasing. It has evened out the emotional rollercoaster that I have been going through for as long as I can remember. Apparently, the dark thoughts and depression stemmed from feeling constantly overwhelmed and dealing with one crisis after another. Adderol helps me put things into perspective.
I did not need an antidepressant, I needed focus.

LordMortis · Post by **LordMortis** » Tue Jun 11, 2019 10:45 pm

Default wrote: ↑Tue Jun 11, 2019 10:30 pm FWIW, after I started taking Adderol for the ADHD, my suicidal thoughts and depression went away. Well, vanished immediately might be the better phrasing. It has evened out the emotional rollercoaster that I have been going through for as long as I can remember. Apparently, the dark thoughts and depression stemmed from feeling constantly overwhelmed and dealing with one crisis after another. Adderol helps me put things into perspective.
I did not need an antidepressant, I needed focus.

They tried Adderol for me before the Provigil. I was on the max dose and it did nothing. Nothing positive. Nothing negative. Nothing. She expected I'd have serious downs at the end of the day as the adderol reached the end of its dose. No crash (though I was already exhausted all day every day, so what's a crash from that?) My shrink was stunned. I'm on the a huge amount of Provigil (generic) and the effects are very mild but yeah, it's the focus that's doing me well. My shrink and I called it being more present. It's not life altering but it was the first positive effect I had from any of them and I'm glad to be on it.

Default · Post by **Default** » Wed Jun 12, 2019 10:01 am

It's always a hunt for what works for the individual. I don't have any side effects from the adderall. I do notice that lack of sleep kills its effectiveness, but when offered a higher dosage, I refused. I need to develop better coping mechanisms and healthier habits, rather than relying totally on meds.