Depression and anxiety meds

sexyswamprat · 06-01-2008, 02:23 PM

I'm curious as to what kind of different anti-depressants and anxiety meds some of you are taking and how they are making you feel. I am currently on 40mg celexa once a day, 300mg wellbutrin once a day, and 1mg xanax xr 3xs a day which he wants me to up to 4mgs a day in 2 weeks. My doctor and I have been trying to find the perfect combination for me, but I have to say that sometimes I feel worse after taking these meds then before I started taking them. Can anyone share their experiences with these or any other meds?

sexyswamprat · 06-01-2008, 02:28 PM

Sorry, I just realized that I posted this in the wrong section. But still interested in anyones answers. And maybe how some of you men are dealling with your mate and she feels when she is or isn't taking these meds.

MarianneUnfaithfull · 06-02-2008, 06:57 AM

I've got panic disorder and take 10mg Lexapro (currently on 7.5 - trying to come off it) and I've had agoraphobia for years and overcoming it now, so I take 2mg Valium before I leave the house.
The Valium seems to suit me and takes the edge off things, although to feel completely comfortable I'd need to take a bit more. I always keep them in my bag and sometimes take an extra one. However, as it's agoraphobia I'm being treated for, I'm under strict instructions to never take the Valium in the house. The whole point of it for me is to relax me before I go out and therefore associate leaving the house with feeling calm!
The Lexapro seems to have helped my anxiety but the side effects are just too much. On my way to the doctor's now to discuss coming off or swapping.
Hope this helps.

Mariposie · 06-02-2008, 11:35 AM

In the past I've tried just about every antidepressant known to man. None worked, and they all had miserable side effects. For depression or anxiety. (I don't know how big pharma has been able to convince so many doctors that SSRIs will help with anxiety when there are so many drugs that have been developed for that purpose and work very well.)

Guess what medication did work for my depression? An anti-anxiety med. It obviously helped my anxiety and that in turn helped my depression more than any "anti-depresssant" ever did.

Once I overcame much of my anxiety and felt a boost in my mood, I was more able to engage in behaviors that helped more directly with my depression, such as exercise, meditaion, yoga, and cognitive therapy.

Marianne, best of luck with your agoraphobia. That would be rough. Lexapro made me extremely sleeeeepy. Is that what it does to you?

Sexyswamprat: Yes, antidepressants frequently made me feel worse instead of better. Anti-anxiety meds worked so well that I didn't mind the side effects. Good luck finding a combo that works for you.

sexyswamprat · 06-03-2008, 12:03 AM

Mariposie- I have been on the celexa, wellbutin, and xanax for a couple months now. And I have my good and bad days. But on the good days I don't know which one is helping me the most since I'm taking 2 anti-drepressants and one anxiety. I do understand that it's probabaly the combo of all of them. I just wish that they were all good days. I am worried about taking the 4mg of the xanax xr. Only because of the side effect of being tired all the time. Although the xr makes me no were near as tired as just the regular xanax, which I was taking 4mg a day. And slept ALL the time. But when I was awake I felt that the xanax was helping me tremdously. But I guess when I go back to the doctor at the end of this month we should have a better idea of which and how much of these meds I should be taking.

MarianneUnfaithfull · 06-03-2008, 01:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mariposie

Guess what medication did work for my depression? An anti-anxiety med. It obviously helped my anxiety and that in turn helped my depression more than any "anti-depresssant" ever did.

Once I overcame much of my anxiety and felt a boost in my mood, I was more able to engage in behaviors that helped more directly with my depression, such as exercise, meditaion, yoga, and cognitive therapy.

Marianne, best of luck with your agoraphobia. That would be rough. Lexapro made me extremely sleeeeepy. Is that what it does to you?

I'm like you Mariposie, in that sorting out my anxiety automatically lifts my depression better than any antidepressant could. I really think that all my depression problems have been due to the frustration, sadness and mental exhaustion that come with living with severe anxiety.

And yes, that's been my main problem with Lexapro - sleepiness. My house is a mess. I've got a list of jobs to do, but hardly have the energy to get into the shower some days.

Thanks for wishing me luck

R0xyg4l · 06-04-2008, 04:06 PM

I take 60 mg of Prozac a day and it really has helped me a lot. Since I'm TTC I can't really take anything else, so it all works out. I was previously on Cymbalta which helped with anxiety but I can't say much for depression. Best of luck finding the right combo!

KatCarney · 06-04-2008, 04:21 PM

Be sure to work with a doctor who understands the complexities of PCOS and the many different things that can contribute to depression/anxiety, among them:

- Sleep Apnea
- elevated androgens
- Insulin resistance

Sometimes fixing those issues can alleviate the depression (and sometimes not).

Also see this article:

ARTICLE: When not to treat depression in PCOS with antidepressants

Mariposie · 06-05-2008, 10:13 AM

SexySwampRat: Wow, 4 mg of xanax sounds like a lot! I hope the relief it provides compensates for the tiredness.

:

Maryanne: Yeah, that Lexapro is a beast. I actually slept for 12-16 hours a day when I was taking it, basicallly every minute I wasn't at work. Needless to say, I quit taking it pretty quick. I hope you can find something better that doesn't make you so tired.

:

And I agree with Kat that getting the PCOS under control to whatever degree possible helps with mood problems immensely. Don't use me as an example to follow, though. I was doing great for a while, treating the PCOS aggressively, losing weight, and feeling happier than I had in my life. Then I lost my insurance when I changed jobs and I stopped taking care of the PCOS, aside from taking saw palmetto, and some depression started to creep back into my life. (It didn't help that I got lazy about doing things like exercise, meditation, etc.) I just got back on a regimen of metformin, spironolactone and provera, so here's hoping.