Frustration

I have been taking Effexor XR for about a year with no problems.  Then I had blood pressure problems and was put on medication for that.  I was doing rather well with both medicines until the stress of my job was taking a toll on me and I had a relapse.  At that time, my medical doctor told me to up my bp medicine.  I did and then all hell broke loose with me.  I ran out of Effexor and could not get with my physch for a med check.  when iI finnally saw him he changed all my meds.  I now am taking Prestiq 50mg, Xananx .5mg and Prozac 20mg daily.  That did not work, so he gave me Lexapro, but my insurance won't cover it.  I have not been able to go to work now for a week.  Should I see another Physchiatrist or stay with the one I have.  I have been diagnosed with panic attacks.  I'm so frustrated.

[loiloi]

Hi. Why did he change your anxiety medication if the Effexor was suiting you, and the raised blood pressure was being controlled by medications?
Effexor and Prozac do not work in the same way. Effexor should never be stopped suddenly, the dose must be gradually reduced to avoid withdrawal symptoms.
Eloise.

[cedarcity]

Thank you for replying.  I am still not doing great.  I have an appt with the dr today.  I am only taking the Pristiq and .5mg of Xanax now and am not much better.  He told me to stop the Prozac on Monday.  I certainly will see another dr.  I have to go back to work today or risk losing my job.  Wish me luck.

Thanks again,

Cedarcity

[cedarcity]

I know that Pristiq will raise the blood pressure also.  Sometimes I feel as if my dr does not read my chart or has a God complex.  I am completely off the Prozac now and taking nothing but the Pristiz and Xanax.

Thank you for replying.

Cedarcity

[Hensley258]

Oh man cedarcity, I'm so sorry that happened to you. I hate to say it dear, but I think you may have what I refer to as, "A jerk for a Psychiatrist."

An experienced and wise Psychiatrist NEVER, will do double and triple med changes all at once. This reckless practice of medicine is completly unexcusible by this doctor.

I had the exact same thing done to me by a garbage doctor back in 98.
I also felt just as horrible as you do now.

Can you make some calls, see if you can find another P-doc?

From now on (if your going to stay on medication) when a Psychiatrist wants to change your meds, first consult with other people that take the same kinds of medications.

That way you get some feed back first from several different sources about, what to expect and the best way to do it.

As Patients we tend to want to think that doctors have all the answers, but the truth is that when it comes to Psychotropic medications, about 60% of them don't know squat.

I know 20 people on this forum alone that I would trust to prescribe my AD medication, before I trusted any doctor. Seriously, sometimes experienced patients of Depression know even more than many doctors about this stuff.