Crippling Social Anxiety Returned after a while/ Medication discomfort

[youngdude421]

I have been dealing with anxiety/depression issues my whole life. About 2 and a half months ago my doctor switched me from effexor to Cymbalta due to negative side effects from the effexor. My understanding is that Cymbalta is geared more toward GAD and not SA. My Doc & i had a talk about this. I am also on Klonopin 1.5mg a day. About a week ago My anxiety in social settings got so powerful that it was effecting my performance at work. My heart would pound as I drove closer to my job or any social event. (restaurant, friends home etc). Once in the social event I would sweat(enough where others notice), chest would tighten, & I would become like catatonic (afraid to speak to anyone) .I called my MD & told him what I was experiencing, he said to raise the Klonopin to 2mg a day & possibly to 2.5mg. I have always been DEAD set against going above the dose of 1.5mg, I have seen the slippery slope of substance abuse & have a healthy fear of falling into "becoming too comfortable with my happy pills mentality". But since the physical symptoms of panic were literally causing pain in my body and such a terror in my mind I decided to lighten up & go up to 2mg of klonopin. I was much better @ work when i did that. For some reason I feel like I am doing something wrong by having my med increased. I wish i wouldn't let my anxiety abuse me any way it can but that's the nature of the beast I suppose. I have already Lost one job due to anxiety in my life & was not about to sit by & watch it happen again because I am to stubborn to Listen to my doc & take a med that will make my daily life doable. I just feel conflicted like I should be getting through on little to no klonopin I guess.

If you read this long post I thank you. I had to vent,    JJ

[BluCrystal]

Thanks, Dude, but you don't have to be sorry.  My insurance company might be a bit bent though!  :-)  Blessings - Blu

[youngdude421]

Yes I have seen this a million times. Sorry to hear you had to  dump that $ into the Effexor Blu

[BluCrystal]

It is very true that one med that works for your friend will NOT work for you.  I was on Effexor for awhile and (get this) it did NOTHING.  Zero.  It was like taking a placebo that costed $350!  But I have friends who use Effexor and find it very helpful, so go figure... Blessings - Blu

[youngdude421]

Effexor treated my social anxiety pretty well though, so it depends on every med/ every individual

[youngdude421]

I tappered off of the effexor, thanks for the feedback. Perhaps i do need to go on a SSRI

[Paxiled]

Ditto on the above.  ssris are usually used for anxiety, not snris, which target norepenephrine as well as serotonin and that's basically adrenalin.  Can be helpful for depressants, but can be anxiety provoking for those for whom anxiety is the main problem.  Could be you're just in the wrong class of meds.  Also, did you just quit the Effexor, or did you taper off first?  You could also be suffering withdrawals for Effexor, as it (and Cymbalta as well) are very hard to stop taking.  Switching from one drug in the same class as another doesn't necessarily do anything about the effects of quitting the first med.  These are just possibilities, but the do need to be considered.

[remar]

Cymbalta can be one of the more stimulating meds. It can work great for depression but many of us that have taken it to help with our anxiety found that it actually made it worse.
You may want to talk to your Dr about trying you on a less stimulating antidepressant instead of increasing your anxiety med.

[BluCrystal]

Hi JJ.  I've been there.  Truth of the matter is this: we were not put on this planet to be miserable.  And our various types of 'beasts' are particularly badly behaved as well as being difficult to train. :-)  Do not be self-critical about this.  Yes, I know everyone and his entire family is on 'happy pills' these days.  I really think that only about 25% of those taking these drugs really need them.Ignore the hype about it.  It's a problem and you have it, and your doctor is prescribing you meds to help.  I do it too.  Thing is this: it has become an unwritten 'no-no' to discuss it with anyone other than your doctor and your spouse/parent/adult child.  This is because way too many people abuse these meds, and we don't want to make ourselves targets.  Tired now.  Blessings - Blu