Anxiety getting worse.

[Nik121]

I've been suffering with an anxiety disorder for about 2 years now brought on by major depressive disorder. I was on Klonopin 1 mg and Thorazine 50 mg then changed to Ativan 1 mg and still Thorazine. My new prescriber at my local mental health clinic took me off the Thorazine and changed the Ativan to 0.5. Lately my anxiety has been getting worse. I find it takes me hours to fall asleep and my thoughts are racing constantly. I have a hard time driving because my thoughts seem to go so fast through my mind I can't figure out what any of it means and I try to focus on my thoughts taking my mind off the road. My Ativan is a PRN and I am not prescribed enough to take one daily. My perscribing nurse practitioner will not up the dosage or change it to something stronger. What do I do?

[Paxiled]

You say your prescriber is a nurse practitioner, who is not trained well in -- well, anything, actually.  Their training is for the most basic of problems.  They are not psychiatrists, and the truth is, these meds are so complex that most psychiatrists don't understand them.  For the problems you're reporting you need to see a psychiatrist, a good one at that.  You simply will never get the kind of care you need from a nurse practitioner for this type of need.  You can see a psychiatrist without telling your therapist -- is your therapist, by the way, a psychiatrist?  Usually psychiatrists don't do therapy anymore, so I'm assuming not.  This is important stuff, so I repeat my advice:  see a psychiatrist.  This is your only life.

[tired57]

Can you ask your therapist to communicate with your prescriber? My therapist and prescriber will contact each other when I have a problem like yours. I know from 25 years of experience that anxiety and depression are so hard to treat! And so very disabling! I hope you get some help soon!

[Nik121]

I already explained that my prescriber won't do anything. And I can only see her or I have to change my therapist too.

[Nik121]

Yes I was on all of them but they did nothing for my depression and I've finally found one what works on my depression so I'm afraid to change.

[Paxiled]

Discuss this with a psychiatrist.

[remar]

Have you ever been on an antidepressant like Celexa, Zoloft, Lexapro, any of these? They not only help with depression but anxiety too.