Medication Help

[collegestudent82]

   I've been dealing with anxiety and depression since i was about 16 years old. There is an extremely strong family history, so I'm pretty confident that most of it is biological, although there are probably some underlying stressors. Last year I was on 5 mg of lexapro and 15mg of remeron for sleeping and eating. When I got home for the summer  my doc recommended that I try getting off the lexapro. After doing this I began to feel depressed and anxious again, which coincided with a long-term relationship break up. So i went back on the lexapro, but nothing seemed to be happening. My doctor put me on 100mg of lamictal for cycling. I started feeling better within a couple weeks, and my doc told me again to get off the lexapro so I wasn't on two anti-depressants. At the beginning of school i was taking one 5 every other day and noticed that I had bad days and good days. Eventually I went off completely and now I have extremely high anxiety, very low appetite, and problems sleeping. My doc from home told me to go back on the lexapro. It's been a week and I felt great for one day, thought I was through it, but then the symptoms came back. I asked my doc if I could get a prescription of a xanax/klonopin for when my anxiety was too much to handle. He said that he didn't feel as though I should do this and that it only leads to bad things. I'm going to a new doc by my college soon since I don't live at home anymore. What should I do? I really feel as though the benzo's could help in the short term. should I try to go up to 10 on the lexapro? Also,is it possible that since I got off the lexapro it won't work again this time, I've heard that before.

Thanks in advance

[africanzoey]

The Klonopin may help the appetite because it will help the axiety.  Klonopin is long acting med for anxiety where Xanax is short acting (made for acute attacks).  If Klonopin does not work well try Valium.  When I took Klonopin it started making me have fevers, which is rare but can happen, that is when we switched.  I do agree when docs feel challenged when you spend time researching and getting educated regarding your condition and you ask to try a medication then move on to someone else.  Best of Luck!

[collegestudent82]

will the klonopin help with my appetite

[mike_007]

If your doc won't give you Klonopin then go find another doc that will. Klonopin is very mild, but works great for anxiety. It isn't nearly as likely to be abused as Xanax is. Stay away from Xanax, IMO.

This may sound funny, but I'm tired of docs telling me "this isn't good for you." In case the medical establishment hasn't figured out, the internet is full of information and lots of patients are savvy enough to do their own research. If I walk into a doc and say "I want this medication" it is because I've spent 20+ hours researching solutions online. The doctor's monopoly of scientific data is a thing of the past.

Now, if a doctor says "no" I say "bye."

[Roger Gould, M.D.]

You should ask your college doctor about some psychotherapy counseling, which is your best bet for dealing with this....also, not xanax, but if you need additional, ask re klonopin that you can take at night before sleep, and will work during the day for you as well.