Confused about Medication

[LMC618]

Im 21 years old and I have been suffering with anxiet on and off for about 6 years. A couple years ago I was prescribed prozac and took about 30 mg. I guess it worked because while I was on it I felt fine so I went off it. Then, 6 months later I started having horrible panic attacks, and couldnt be far away from a hospital. I went back on prozac and I was fine so I went off it. Now I am worse than ever. I can barely leave my house without a "comfort" person. I can't drive on freeways or be more than 10 miles away from a hospital. I can barely work or function without worrying about my anxiety and panic attacks. Its hard to get a bunch of tests done because I dont have medical insurance. I went to a medical dr. and he didn't do any blood tests or anything, but he did prescribe me paxil. He said I shouldnt take the prozac, take the paxil. I am SOOO anxious about any medications. I dont know which one to take now. What if I get a bad reaction to the prozac? How safe is the prozac? What if the manufacterors screwed up on the prozac and really put 80 mg. inside 10 mg capsules or worse- what if its a different drug. As for paxil- I havnt even taken that before. What if I get an allergic reaction? What if it makes me worse" I dont know which med to take. I dont know how I can gain enough courage to taker either. I know I have to get better. Im only 21 and Im not living life. I cant even go to the mall with my friends anymore. How safe are these 2 medications? I read about and hear all these bad stories and it scares me...I don't know what to do. Please help me.

[Roger Gould, M.D.]

I am not your doctor so can not give you direct advice, but can tell you that both of these medications are considered safe and reliable, but since you have been successful with prozac, please ask your doctor to consider that as a first choice to try.  But more important than the medication is your need to get psychotherapy.  The medication is only a temporary crutch...the real cure comes when you deal with your phobias directly.

[LynnSB]

I would be VERY careful of taking Paxil.  the chairman of the dept of medicine at Emory told me he thinks it is a "horrible " drug. It is very, very difficult -- FAR MORE DIFFICULT -- than Prozac to come off of. It sounds to me that you are very sensitive to the effects of coming off prozac. I am not a doctor but I work in the medical community. I would suggest you go back on prozac and when you are ready to go off of it , ignore what is told you about how you should be able to go off cold turkey and taper off very slowly, using the liquid when you get down to below 5 mg. a day for, say a week. GOOD LUCK!!

[setshiva]

paroxetine (Paxil) and SNRIs Serotonin Norepinephrine Reuptake Inhibitors ie venlafaxine (Effexor) are used for anxiety disorder. Both paroxetine and venlafaxine have received approval for use in anxiety. Other SSRIs are fluoxetine, sertraline, fluvoxamine, paroxetine, and citalopram which are also commonly seen in the various disorders.



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Regards

[terramuggus]

Before you continue trying to treat a psychiatric construct (anxiety disorder) you should seek out a complete physical and demand an MRI, as well as an EEG. In other words, you need to rule out underlying medical disorders, such as heart rhythmn dysregulation, breathing problems, or even sleep apnea, vitamin deficiencies, metabolic disorders, dietary sensitivities/allergies, low/high irregular blood pressure, and seizure disorders. If you haven't been through any of these elimination (differential) diagnostic proceedures, your doctor is technically committing malpractice.



You might be interested in seeking help from former Paxil victims here: www.paxilprogress.org



By the way, a major class-action lawsuit was filed on March 23, 2006 against the makers of Paxil for having lied about its safety to the FDA. This is the third American lawsuit, the other two having been settled out of court. There is also a major class action suit to be filed in England by the end of this summer.



For more information please visit: www.psychrights.org and www.freedom-center.org



These organizations are in no way affiliated with the Church of Scientology, or the American Psychiatric Association.



Good luck and God bless,



Terramuggus

[enaj]

Trust your doctor and your medication. Get behaviorial therapy. You are obviously wired for anxiety and something has flicked the switch. However, it is very curable so don't give up hope. I was practically housebound and couldn't drive--now I'm good. I take an older anti-depressent (a tricylcic) which works for me, but I think I will be on it forever. I don't think you should go on and off medication. The "withdrawala" can be as bad as the anxiety. Get to the library and take out every book you can find by Claire Weekes. And don't give up. Others have been and are now on this path with you; you are not alone, and you are not dying or going crazy. Be tenacious in finding the help you need.

[LMC618]

Last night was my first night taking prozac. I started with 10 mg. I had my boyfriend sleep with me and he's going to for the next couple days. I dont think Im more anxious...maybe Im just worried that this is bad for my insides or something. I took it at 8 pm and fell asleep at about 10. Then I woke up at 1:00 am and couldnt go back to sleep until 4ish. Now I have a headache...and because Im soooo paranoid im thinkin "am i gonna have an anurism or a clot in my brain?"... Anywaysa....Im going to keep going with the prozac. Hopefully it will work well. Can anyone tell me when they started noticing a difference after they started prozac?

[enaj]

It takes two or three weeks. In the meantime, don't think every little odd feeling you have comes from the medication. It doesn't. I have been taking an anti-depressant for twenty years, and the only thing it did that it wasn't supposed to was make me gain weight! (and prozac usually doesn't do that). Just keep taking it and let time and the medication work. My medicine makes it possible for me to function. If I wern't taking it, I would probably be in bed (full-time)  with the covers pulled up over my head!

[LMC618]

I have been on 10 mg prozac for 7 days. I have not felt any relief from my anxiety....i think it has possibly gotten a little worse. Im still afraid to go anywhere that is too far away from a hospital. Should I increase my dose to 20 mg and continue this medication? Has anyone hared the same frustrations as I am right now? I want to get better.

[enaj]

It is difficult and progress is very slow. You must let time pass, despite the pain of the wait. Don't give up on the medicine yet; it takes a long time to take effect. Again, I urge you to get a book (any book) by Claire Weeks. She is very understanding and just reading the book will make you feel better. There is hope; sometimes it just seems hard to see. You are not alone. You are not going crazy. You will get better.

[enaj]

Continue to be in touch with your doctor. That dosage of prozac seems low to me. Do you live in a large enough city that there is a support group for people with panic disorder? It helps so much to talk to other people who totally understand. Also try to educate your "safe person" so that they can continue to support you in this.

[BarelyThere]

In my opinion, you need a good benzodiazepine. In other words, a good tranquilizer that will help you NOW. Screw waiting 3 weeks (and really it's closer to 6 weeks for the full effect) for the Prozac to kick in. You need help now. I know the benzos have gotten a bad reputation lately due the the addiction potential, but all of the psychoactve drugs are addictive to some extent and all of them carry risk of dependency. The pharmacutical companies are making big bucks selling the SSRIs, etc. and they are now claiming that they help practically EVERY affliction known to man. They don't. I'm not saying that they don't help SOME people, but they should not be considered a fix all solution and in my opinion they are not effective enough for someone with severe anxiety. If the benzos (Klonopin, Valium, Ativan, etc.) are taken responsibly they can be very helpful as I have seen in my own experience. They are enormously helpful for sleep problems as well.



If "drug holidays" are taken, the effectiveness can be maintained much longer and there is less potential for heavy withdrawl symp