Anxiety/depression Meds

[Jimmy1965]

Hello,

I have Anxiety and Depression disorder.
My Doctor is weening my off of Xanax onto Ativan! Actually I took my last .25mg of Xanax yesterday morning. Right now I'm taking Ativan a total of 2.5mg four times a day. I'm also am taking 50MG of Zoloft once a day. I've been on the Zoloft now for about 2 1/2 weeks. My questions are? Do you think I will have any withdrawals from the last dosage of Xanax that I took yesterday? Also, What is your opinion of Zoloft and Ativan and how long does it usually take to start feeling the full affect.

Thanks,
Jimmy

[rdh412]

I know you have heard this before but you have to keep telling yourself your stronger than the anxiety ! When the attacks come on take a deep breath and get busy, sometimes it works sometimes not, I have no real rock solid answers, other than attacks always have a root and if you cut the root off the problem the attacks will stop. Mine was an ex husband, I left they stopped.

[mismilwblondy]

i take clonazepam for my aniexty and its not enough i have a attack almost everyday can someone help me as to what i can take so i can work and not have this issues everyday.

[rosetoes]

Hope you are doing well, and you are absolutely right, you need to keep busy and occupy your mind with positive things.  I swear, I can think myself into a panic attack.  I will wake in the middle of the night and have a hot flash and a semi elevated heart rate (Im perimenopausal) and if I don't focus on relaxing and assuring myself that I am fine, I can have a full blown panic attack.  Our minds are so incredible strong and we need to be able to control thoughts.  If I wake up and am still very tired, I don't have the energy to begin the negative thoughts.

I'm sorry to hear about your other halfs ogling other woman, that has a way of hurting our self esteem, it really adds to the negative feelings or fears that we have developed which causes  the anxiety/panic attacks.  Be a little selfish and focus on you some.  I know that you have a little one and they require so much attention, but try to make time for yourself.

Having a forum to share your feelings with others that are going through similar problems help.  I will look for your post and I will be pulling for you.

Take care!

[hippygem]

Hi, thanx for replying, yes, i do have 2 sons, 22 & 24, they are pretty good and supportive, but they dont know how to help me through this period in my life, i think its an age thing happening with me, i was comfortable with the way i looked, but it seems that i dont seem good enough in the relationship im in...well, i dont feel good enough. I feel like i would rather be on my own and not have to worry about what the other half is doing etc, he ogles other women, and always has a comment about the way a woman may dress or her cleavage etc, gets to be pretty annoying when you hear it constantly, he has stopped doing it now, after i brought it all up and told him how it made me feel, but i think the damamge has already been done, and i cant seem to get out of the mistrust issues.
I have locked myself away in my home for so long, didnt go out, was too tired (hep c), i get dizzy and confused in crowds, or going out anywhere makes me really anxious.  I have joined a Hep c support group this week, and im thinking of doing voluntary work, just dont know if i can cope inside with meeting new people etc.
I dont want to go back on the meds, so, i will look into doing some yoga etc.
You are right, i need to stay off the meds for the simple reason of how they made me feel when i was on them.
Sounds like i need to occupy my brain some more and give myself other things to think about eh.  Thanx for the input, i just needed to hear or read it to get going, ill try and see how i go.
Im glad you have managed to get control of things with your own life, keep it up.

[rosetoes]

Hippygem,

First Congrats on getting off of the anti-depressants...after 12 years of usage, it must have been difficult.  Do you have family? husband? children?  What do you do in your personal life?  What is making you feel insecure?  Your age? Are you unhappy with how you look?  

You need to do some soul searching and ask yourself some questions and start to involve yourself in things that interest you.  Start small, if you enjoy reading, then purchase a book and start reading...keep active and occupy your mind with positive thoughts. Read some self help books, get active in something that you enjoy or use to enjoy.

Going back to meds are going to do the same thing over again,so remember why you wanted off of them.  

I took xanax for a few months and while it helped me through a very difficult period for me, I got off of them.  Sometimes when I feel very anxious, I think about taking one but I don't.  It's important that I work through the anxiety and once I do, I feel so much better that I did it on my own.

I realize that not everyone can work through issues and some are far more deeper than mine, but since you did get off of meds, you may want to try some alternatives before you start meds again.

Best Wishes

[hippygem]

Hi everyone, im new to this forum, i suffer depression/anxiety, ive been on many anti-depressants over the last 12 years, i didnt like living in the 'fog' if you know what i mean, so i got off of them, i take serepax (which i think is a form of valium) 30mg at night.  Im feeling totally out of wack, my mind seems to be 'over thinking' all the time, i just want to 'not care' about life or what people think, but i cant seem to get my life together.  Im hepatitis C positive and have been on a treatment for it, it didnt work, now im what they call a 'relapser'.  The hepatitis has given me chronic fatigue, im tired a lot, and also have diet controlled diabetes.  Although i dont really watch what i eat, skipping meals etc.  I cant seem to 'think' to put a meal together, it totally stresses me out just thinking about it.
Im also 46 years of age (female), and feel like im getting old, and dont feel attractive anymore, 'out of date i guess is how i feel', lol, im very insecure, and to be honest i dont know what to do with myself.
I didnt want to go back on anti-depressants, but im starting to feel like i have no option.
Im dealing with the hepatitis c issue, dont worry about that, im ok with regards to that disease, ive accepted it.  Ill just let you all know that i didnt get the disease from drug use, it was from being in a domestic violent marriage, and the beatings my ex gave me was where the exchange of blood was given.  Ive been out of that relationship since 1988.
Do any of you have any thoughts on what step i should take.

Linda

[Tamatola]

I am weaning off of Paxil and am going to try a natural alternative. My main symptoms while weaning off are being very weepy and sensitive, a little bit anxious and a weird sensation in my head. Has anyone else had this? It feels like there is fluid or something behind my eyes and when I turn my head of eyes, it feels like it moves. It is a weird sensation, but I know it is from Paxil withdrawal because I was out of Paxil and went 2 days without it before and had this same thing to happen. Just curious if anyone else has had this to happen and how long it lasts. I'm going to try the nautral stuff because my daughter is too young for medication and I got the natural stuff for her; thought I'd try it too. I've been on the Paxil for too long.
Thanx!

[I am switching]

I've been on and off Prozac since it came on the market. Various doctors have tried changing me - Zoloft, Wellbutrin, Paxil (which was the worst withdrawal). Today, I am taking my first dose of Lexapro after having been off Prozac for about four months which was a HUGE mistake. Prozac and Xanax combined worked very well for me but now I'm on Ativan. I have been assured I will not experience any problems with withdrawal from Xanax; still I worry as I have been on Xanax for the past five years. Let's keep each other posted on how we do, ok?

[jyro]

HELP! The bouts of depression that i get manifest themselves in me with extreme fatigue,lathargy and physical weakness. For years i had been on celexa and it was working just fine. Suddenly it stopped working and i had my fatigue & weakness back. So my psychiatrist began me on the lower doses of wellbutrin while
weaning me off the celexa. After 3 weeks of misery the 300 mg dosage of wellbutrin finally kicked in and I was fine again. I was fine for 4 weeks and then i had another relapse. This time the psychiatrist upped my dosage of wellbutrin to 450mg and put me back on a low dose(10mg) of celexa. He thought maybe i should not have been weaned completely off the celexa. Anyway, it has
been 5 days now on this new combination of meds and i'm still miserable with the same above described symptoms. However,the increased wellbutrin did give me the side effect of paresthesia---whereby i have off & on numbness in 2 fingers(separate hands) and my big toe. Has anyone out there been through what i'm describing?

[31hjnahtan]

Hiya, newbie here, hope everyone's well :o)

Been a BiPolar sufferer for years now, have swings of mania that last for around 4 years (being incredibly 'productive' to the point of ignoring sleep) then a year of feeling utterly suicidal.

Started having anxiety attacks in around 1993, 'plain old anxiety' was pretty horrible but cleared up after several months, docs gave me pills to take but ditched them as i was coming off drugs at the time and saw them more as a substitute  than a remedy... i'd have to merely come off them one day too.

next time it all hit me was around year 2000, didn't realise what was going on really until I recearched it during my latest bout (this/last year) and I now know it was manic depression from then on (utterly worthless feelings etc, terrified i'd end up having to kill myself etc (what a catch 22!)). huh typical.

Just getting over my third 'down swing' like I say, never used medication since '93 and even then i saw little value in it.

Have to say I've found St Johns Wort very helpful indeed though. Also people swear by Acupuncture... might be worth a try. anyone given it a go?

Find ashtanga yoga a great help too (though if you've yet to try yoga make sure you go for Hatha yoga first).

Good luck with your med but i recommend you ditch them if possible (or slowly come off).

at the end of the day we weren't born depressed.

Being pumped full of junk might not be the best bet to get your body to how you were as a kid, purity and all that.

Anyone see the recnt (BBC) program about chinese alternative medicine, not uncommon over there for people to have open heart surgery with acupuncture as the only anasthetic... incredible but this alternative stuff might be worth a second look.

still, you've got to laugh.

hark at me rant, see y'all around :o)
N

[Buddyio]

The maximum dose of Ativan is 3 milagrams a day. You are taking way too much. Also, getting off of ativan is just as hard to get off of as zanax.

[mom3g1b]

Right now she's on 50mg but they want to up it because the doc said even though she's a lot better she's still showing some signs of anxiety.  But if you ask her she feels great.  If I were you I would give the zoloft a little more time.  When she first switched we were thinking this just isn't working but it did start working.  I wish you luck

[Jimmy1965]

Dr.

How long do I have to wait before the Zoloft kicks in? I've been on it now for 3 weeks.

Thanks

[Roger Gould, M.D.]

As long as you are on the Ativan you should not have any xanax withdrawals...this is a good combination, very frequently used..

[Jimmy1965]

Thank you, what is your daughters dosage of Zoloft?

[mom3g1b]

It took my daughter about 3 weeks on zoloft.  but once it worked it's great. she doesn't woory at all anmore. good luck