Which med is best for anxiety?

[teacher40]

I have anxiety and also become irritable.  I was on antidepressants for 10 years and weaned off because of weight gain.  I really have noticed the anxiety coming back and a little bit of the lows.  They come and go.  Which med is best and which med would not put weight on.  I am currently taking ativan when needed.  Not all the time.  It really helps with the anxiety, but makes me tired.

[teacher40]

Thanks for responding.  I was on Wellbutrin, didn't have a good experience, but that could have been because I was weaning off of Paxil.  I was thinking of going on Cymbalta????  Maybe I will give Wellbutrin another try.  I have been taking a low dose of ativan when needed.  It seems as though I have been needing it more.  I am very afraid I will need it every day!  Thanks again.

[Agangerswife]

I have had the same experiences as you. I have on and off several different anxiety meds.  Paxil, Zoloft and Xanax.  All with not so good results.  I felt stoned out of my mind and had no feelings about anything.  It did help my anxiety and OCD, but like I said I felt nothing.  I also gained over 80 pounds.  I weaned myself off and had been off everything for about a year and everything came back including depression with the anxiety.  I had managed to get the excess weight back off and went back to the doctor for help.  He suggested Effexor.  I took it for 2 days and had a very bad reaction.  He then put me on Wellbutrin and I felt better than I had in years. I started on a low dose (200mg) a day and couldn't sleep or hardly eat for the first week.  After that I had no problems until about a week ago when I felt I was slipping back.  I went back to the doctor and he put me on a higher dose. I am now on 300mg a day which he said is a normal dose for an adult. I hope it works.  I felt great when I first started.  I had been on the 200mg for about 2 months before I needed to be uped.

[fqmk48Ge]

Hi there,
I am currently taking Paxil for my anxiety/depression/ocd... and it has definitely alleviated the symptoms. I know that all meds are different for everyone... so it might not be the right one for you - but it was the first one my doctor put me on, and i have been responding well to it... Usually I am more sensitive to the side effects of medications and the only side effect I have experienced from Paxil is slight dizziness. Also, it took about 3-4 weeks before I really started noticing a huge difference, but I know my irritability was one of the first things to decrease... Let me know if you have any more questions!

Good luck