[lilypup]

I have bipolar 2 but have suffered also with anxiety (undiagnosed) for the past couple of years.
I am afraid of driving/riding, health problems, my kids' health, and my weight. I really get ridiculously anxious over these things.
I see two therapists: one for CBT and the anxieties and another just for general issues. They're both helpful and great people.
I have been suspicious that some of my meds could be causing anxiety or making it worse. I am on:
Rexulti 2.0 mg
Wellbutrin XR 300 mg (150 twice per day)
Lamictal 300?
Klonopin .5 prn up to three per day

My new pdoc just put me on BuSpar 5 mg three times per day.

I work hard to get well, Meditation, support group, church, coloring therapy, devotionals, support prayer partner, drink water, good sleep, CBT work, mood tracking, yoga, walking, supplements, journaling, getting out of the house.

I am just overwhelmed with this anxiety.

Any suggestions? Thanks for any help you can give.

[still_crazy]

wellbutrin can cause and/or worsen anxiety. Rexulti can cause akathisia, which is intense, drug-induced restlessness. Akathisia occurs on a spectrum, from relatively minor to so severe that it results in violence. Antipsychotics/neuroleptics/tranquilizers can also cause tardive akathisia, which is when a person develops chronic, long lasting akathisia as a result of long-term tranquilizer treatment.

Lamictal calms some people down, because its a seizure drug. Klonopin, of course, generally helps anxiety, but long term use can be problematic and tapering can be hell on earth. Klonopin is a "highly potent" benzodiazepine, which means low(er) doses are used for anxiety relief than, say, Valium. To find your Valium-equivalent dose in Klonopin, multiply x 20. So..you're on 30mgs/Valium (basically...), which is well within the 40mgs/day recommended maximum from way back when.

All benzodiazepines can cause depression. Klonopin is believed by some to be worse than many other benzodiazepines.

BuSpar can be dosed up to 60mgs/day, I think. I didn't much care for it. My former shrink said she thinks its not all that effective, although she used it to boost antidepressants in people with lingering depression despite standard treatment.

Rexulti can cause tardive dyskinesia, which is an often permanent condition in which you have involuntary muscle movements. This is true of --all-- antipsychotics/tranquilizers, new and old. The risk goes up with dose, long term exposure, etc., but the risk is never 0. Even short term treatment can cause TD, even with the new(er) drugs. Some people who taper tranquilizers have TD for a while and then it goes away. This is called "withdrawal emergent tardive dyskinesia," and there's not a whole lot of data on it.

Now and then, antipsychotics/tranquilizers cause an overall reduction in mental abilities, IQ, etc. This is called tardive dementia. There's not a whole lot of data on it, unfortunately.

Have you ever tried supplements? I have a diagnosis of Bipolar I. I take a hefty dose of Abilify (sort of like Rexulti's grand-pappy), and I take lots of b-vitamins, niacinamide (B3), vitamin E, C, etc. Seems to help my anxiety and also reduces the risk of problems from the tranquilizer (or so say the "alternative health" people...).

I've been popping l-theanine ("Suntheanine" brand, btw) like a mad man lately. Seems to help, on top of everything else. Mine are 150mgs capsules. I take 4 in the AM and 4 again in the PM. I'm remarkably calm, cool, and collected.

OK. I hope this helps. I wish you well. :-)

[*Laurie*]

Originally Posted by lilypup

I have bipolar 2 but have suffered also with anxiety (undiagnosed) for the past couple of years.
I am afraid of driving/riding, health problems, my kids' health, and my weight. I really get ridiculously anxious over these things.
I see two therapists: one for CBT and the anxieties and another just for general issues. They're both helpful and great people.
I have been suspicious that some of my meds could be causing anxiety or making it worse. I am on:
Rexulti 2.0 mg
Wellbutrin XR 300 mg (150 twice per day)
Lamictal 300?
Klonopin .5 prn up to three per day

My new pdoc just put me on BuSpar 5 mg three times per day.

I work hard to get well, Meditation, support group, church, coloring therapy, devotionals, support prayer partner, drink water, good sleep, CBT work, mood tracking, yoga, walking, supplements, journaling, getting out of the house.

I am just overwhelmed with this anxiety.

Any suggestions? Thanks for any help you can give.

You are doing everything you can; hopefully the meds will help you soon. I know that many people say BuSpar doesn't help them, but my daughter has an anxiety disorder and BuSpar has been a miracle for her.