Anti-anxiety Meds Recommendations?

[Ray_Of_Fricken_Sunshine]

Hey Y'all!
I'm going to keep it short. I've had severe anxiety for the majority of my life. After having the DS, my PCOS is getting better, which means my hormones are closer to where they should be than they ever have been. Which means my testosterone is lower, my estrogen higher, and I'm just all over the place. I've always been able to self regulate my anxiety to an extent, and I can't now. I finally accepted that I may need help, and my PCP prescribed Paxil. I came home and read into it, and am really uncomfortable with the side effects and reviews. I don't think I'm going to take it.
Are there any anti-anxiety/depression meds y'all would recommend that doesn't cause weight gain?
I miss y'all, btw, and hope everyone is doing well!

CaitlynR Any insight?

 

[Duckman]

I'm taking welbutrin and celexa. I still have anxiety attacks.

 

[Manapan]

I'm still pre op, so unsure how they will absorb, but I have a long history on antidepressants and anti anxiety meds. Prozac is one antidepressant that tends to have an appetite suppressant effect, and it's also used for some anxiety disorders. I'm currently taking Prozac and Buspar, but the Prozac does more for me.

 

[southernlady]

Do what you need to help yourself. But keep protein snacks handy for when the munchies get the better of you.

 

[CaitlynR]

It’s really hard to say what will work for a particular person. It’s trial and error. Sucky, I know. All the medications have potentially bad side effects or downsides. I’m not going to say don’t look things up, because I certainly do and knowledge is valuable, but try to see side effects in perspective: the people with the worst reactions, even very rare, are the people who want to tell the world about it. Many side effects are only in the first week or two.

That said: (hugedisclaimerimnotamedicalprovidertakewhatisaywithhugedrainsofsalt)

I think Lexapro is a great drug for anxiety. It’s pretty safe and low side effect profile. Personally I’ve had a great response to Effexor but that doesn’t mean I would necessarily recommend it. I needed it, and there’s some evidence it (and other SNRIs) can be more effective than most of the others (SSRIs). However, it can raise blood pressure, and worse yet, discontinuation effects (what you feel if you try to go off or miss a couple days) are notoriously horrible. That’s acceptable to me as I don’t plan to ever go off if it keeps working. This med though changed my life. I was taking Lexapro before it which certainly helped, but switched due to a pronounced hand tremor (not common, just one of those weird things). Once I got to my ideal dose of Effexor, I am less anxious and otherwise negatively emotionally affected by things that I didn’t even realize could be helped by medication (for example, a weird aversion to getting gas for my car alone, completely disappeared).

The most effective short term (as in, a couple hours) are benzodiazepines. You still want an antidepressant first and foremost, but a mild benzo can help prevent a panic attack or get through something very difficult. You have to be very careful with these though and not take them often (like, maybe once or twice a week if in the long term) or take them very short term (a couple months) because physical dependence is very very easy, and once that happens, it is hard to get off and long term frequent use can paradoxically increase anxiety. This Med class should be avoided with any concern for abuse/addiction.

 

[southernlady]

I'm taking welbutrin and celexa. I still have anxiety attacks.

This is an example of how different people are. I did fine on Welbutrin (off label for nerve pain). Celexa, however, was one of the worst ones I ever tried. I was one who had severe mental confusion. It was almost like I was having a stroke. They got me off it as fast as possible.

 

[Mermaid]

Xanax makes a sublingual dissolving tablet. Quite effective as a “rescue” anxiety med. Fast acting and unaltered response as compared to pre DS effectiveness.

 

[Stefanie S.]

I'm with Caitlyn on the Effexor! She described it perfectly. I absolutely love it. No side effects. No weight gain. Taken it for 12 years now. But I will say I tried coming off twice (just because I didn't think I still needed it, but I did!)... and coming off of it is horrendous! So I just won't go off it and I feel normal now and no anxiety.

 

[JackieOnLine]

I'm glad you are having good results with Effexor - it's one of the pills I started and really didn't like and when I stopped taking it I had my first and only migraine.

long-term the SSRIs I have been on tend to poop out but more and additional pills seemed to make me worse. in fact, I had a period where I was diagnosed with bipolar II and when I cut back on the (generic) lexapro and got off the other stuff I went back to "only" being depressed and anxious.

I've got more to say but I think I'll talk to Liz privately, first.

 

[Velvetkiss]

I take the generic of Celexa (Citalopram) for my anxiety and it has helped me a lot pre and post DS. It is similar to Lexapro. I had no weight gain with Celexa. I also tried adding in Wellbutrin and that was a nightmare for me, it caused me to have the worst anxiety that I have ever experienced. It really is a trial and error because we are all different, but starting out on low doses of a Celexa or Lexapro might be a good start, talk to your Doctor.

 

[Pink Unicorn]

Celexa is available in a liquid form, which helps with actually digesting the medicine instead of pooping it out.

 

[southernlady]

Just be careful with any meds. Watch for side effects, esp the rare ones. Me and Celexa hate each other. It made me act like I was having a stroke. In fact, an episode happened in my PCP’s waiting room while hubby was seeing him. Even tho I wasn’t scheduled, they hustled me in fast. I came off it as fast as possible.

 

[DianaCox]

I was “diagnosed” last week with anxiety, and (based on what she tried to prescribe) depression. I went to see this doctor because my PCP refused to continue to prescribe the small dose of Ativan (a benzo) that I’ve been using, together with half a Lunesta, to easily fall asleep, because of the new laws regarding reporting requirements for such meds.

So I had to see a shrink to get a prescription for Ativan to sleep, as well as to always have a few extra pills on hand for the 3-5 time/year when I have an actual anxiety or panic attack. And predictably, she didn’t want me on them. Benzos are apparently not good for older people. She suggested that I take a genetic test for enzymes that metabolize psychoactive drugs to determine what would be best for me. In the meantime, she prescribed 15 Ativan and told me to come back in 2 weeks.

Long story short, I filled the script that day, and a few days later, when I ran out of the last pills from my previous script, I discovered that the bottle of pills was missing. I don’t know whether I accidentally threw them out when I tossed the Walgreen’s bag out, which had some other trash in it, or if one of the new cleaning ladies who came during that time (but they didn’t touch the oxycodone or codeine on my dresser, so I think it was my fault) snatched it, but I had to face going cold turkey on the Ativan, not only that night, but for the next 10 days, because I could not believeably tell my new shrink that I lost my first benzo script. I took my 1/2 Lunesta - and fell asleep easily. As I have every night since.

So when I went back to see the shrink, I told her what happened, and we went over the results of my genetic tests, and she wanted to prescribe both an antidepressant and a non-benzo anti-anxiety med. I refused the antidepressant and agreed to try Buspar for the anti-anxiety med. After 5 days on the Buspar, I don’t feel like it is doing anything, but it’s not bothering me either, so I’ll stay on it and see how it goes - it is supposed to take a while to build up therapeutic levels. Remember, I wasn’t taking the Ativan (tiny dose of 0.5 mg) except to fall asleep, so it’s not like I felt I needed it 99.9% of the time during the day.

At my next appointment, I’m going to ask her for a small stash of Ativan for fast-acting “rescue” from an anxiety/panic attack.