Anxiety or Depression?

[BlackGST5]

So for the past 10 years or so I have been dealing with pretty bad anxiety. I  guess it's more generalized anxiety as I often feel nervous for no reason and I feel like my body will not relax or feel calm. I also have some degree of social anxiety as well. A few years back I started a new job that was pretty high stress and I feel like my emotions have become numbed. I can still get somewhat happy or upset I guess if something happens, but for the most part my emotions are pretty flat. I don't feel like I can connect with people anymore really and feel like my interest in things I used to enjoy has gone down alot. I think alot of this may be coming from my anxiety as I just feel really burned out. Just within the past 6 months or so I have started to look into treatment options. I have tried SSRI's, Buspar, Wellbutrin, and Clonazepam. The only thing that has really worked for me has been the clonazepam I feel like. All serotonin meds I have tried have made the flat feeling even worse. Wellbutrin made me feel better because it was energizing, but took my anxiety to a new level it was so bad. I have heard the horror stories of benzos and how bad withdrawals can be. I get a pretty good effect from low doses. I take doses of .25 mg and was doing that maybe 2-3 times per week, but it was written for me to take .5 mg twice per day everyday. I recently took clonazepam for a month straight at .25 mg everyday which helped alot and I stopped just to see and had no withdrawal or anything major other than a return of my anxiety.

My question is about the burned out, numb feeling, low energy, and loss of interest in things. Does this sound like a symptom of depression or anxiety? My anxiety definitely came first so I am wondering if the long term anxiety could be causing a low grade depression and maybe if it would improve if I just treated my anxiety? Also, what do people in my situation do when other meds and therapy don't work? I have really tried to avoid taking benzos long term from all the  stories I have read, but I feel like this is my last option at this point.

[Calvin34]

I too have battled anxiety for about 10-12 years. Think it was a result of my father passing away. I have a very low tolerance for drugs now since I had a brief stint of taking ecstasy pills around 2006! Once I stopped I couldn't take pills of any sort without being reminded of that dreadful time in my life. Since then, I've been prescribed Buspar for my on and off anxiety which I completely hated. I switched doctors and was given Klonopin. I've been taking Klonopin the past 5-6 years and it does the trick for me. My anxiety kicks in when I'm alone since that's how my father died. It also kicks in morning time and when I'm around alot of unknown people that I have to watch. I'm now 34 years old. Married with 2 kids. I recently had a horrible episode though. I was between perscriptions and was forced to take PROZAC 40mg until my appointment which was 2 weeks away. The PROZAC totally didn't agree with my body and I wound up in the Emergency Room feeling like I was losing it. I spoke to 2 psychiatrist there and they decided to stop the PROZAC immediately and prescribe me LEXAPRO 10mg and my normal KLONOPIN 1mg for immediate anxiety relief. I take only half the LEXAPRO which is 5mg. I'm on day 4 now of the LEXAPRO and each day is different. I can say it makes you tired most of the day as I take it in the morning around 9am. Later in the day you feel like talking a little more and interacting but it doesn't last too long. Everyday I suppose has gotten better. I had a weird dream day 1. That went away now. I'm new to this forum and I've realized that we are not alone. I think my anxiety leads to a bit of depression so it's like the 2 go hand and hand if you ask me. Seems like with most these antidepressants you must give them a minimum 2 weeks to have a true idea of how you'll fair out. From what I'm reading, it's about finding the right combination of medications that work for you with the most tolerable side effects. Just hang in there, as I'm doing, and just know there's light at the end of the tunnel. I know I'm rambling, but I hope this helps.

[BlackGST5]

Thanks for the reply Calvin. I am glad the Lexapro is working for you. I wish some of the SSRI medications worked for me. I guess they did help to reduce the anxiety, but at the expense of all my emotion good and bad from what it seemed like. Were you taking the Klonopin daily for the 5-6 years or just as needed? Are you just taking it on an as needed basis now after starting up the Lexapro?