Medications and Depression

Hi,

Awhile back my pdoc prescribed Ativan along with my other meds for anxiety. I hated it...it made me foggy and I had memory issues. Also, I noticed on it I became severely depressed. I developed tolerance and had to keep increasing my dose... I just went off of it and the withdrawals are terrible. Antihistamines tend to trigger depression as well.

My doc has now put me on Vistaril and Gabapentin instead. Has anyone here taken Benzos or Vistaril and it made their depression worse? It seems with Bi-olar and BPD the balance between falling into mania or depression can get out of wack with certain meds...for me antidepressants are horrible
Esp cause I have BPD as well.
I also take Seroquel and Lamictal...

I think certain meds can absolutely make depression/mania worse and it depends on how each person handles the drug and its side effects. Ativan is a downer so I can see how it made you sluggish and feel worse. And I can see how you can get addicted. I have an insanely high tolerance and I often have to triple my benzo dosage. And I've also been on meds that made me dysphoric and hypo too. Everyone reacts to meds different and I'd suggest you bring up a med change with pdoc.

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Thanks I hope the other meds work better

I didn't know that about antihistamines and allergymedication. I take a LOT - it's necessary to triple or quadruple them up for any effect. Interestingly it is this time of year that I plunge into the worst of my Depression. It never occured to me that there could be a link.

My friend had to go to the ER and they found antidepressants in her blood. She told them she doesn't take them and they asked her if she was on a cold med. So these meds do effect us mentally and as you know, ADs aren't very good for BP.

I have a low tolerance for meds, but Ativan takes 2 milligrams before if works for me. When my doctor used to prescribe .5 milligrams, I had to take 4 in order for it to help my anxiety. Now they prescribe 1 milligram pills and I need 2 for it to be effective. I tell them this, and they still prescribe 1 milligram doses which I find odd. I don't take them daily, I go several days between because I'm worried about memory loss and dependency. If I take them at night, I wake up with serious med hang over though. Antihistamines can cause me to get hyper, or feel very sluggish and worsening my depression. I always thought my unpredictable responses to meds (one time it does nothing, the next I'm raging out of control because of the same med and dose) was a bipolar thing but I haven't noticed too many people here discuss an unpredictable response to meds. Like someone said, they are downers so it makes sense they can effect you as such. I'm sorry you have this reaction and I hope you find something to work for you. I currently just avoid all things anxiety causing right now. I spend most of my time locked away in my house. That is not a treatment plan I would recommend to anyone, though it does work somewhat. It's really not a sustainable way to live.

I hear you... I'm the same way. I cannot tolerate antidepressants cause they give me agitation and I get very angry and neurotic. I noticed taking 2 to 3 mg of Ativan made me really depressed and want to drink which is not good for an alcoholic trying to stay sober. I'm on gabapentin for anxiety and it seems to help
Benzos can cause memory problems and tolerance quickly plus horrible withdrawals. From my studies they were only supposed to be prescribed on a temporary basis.

I used to take Vistaril last year. It was prescribed as a PRN for sleep and/or anxiety. I didn't notice it making anything worse, rather it did what it was supposed to do.
The Restoril I'm on now is for sleep and no issues for the six months or so that I've been on it.
I hope you're able to find relief from your meds. Mixing those cocktails can be tricky sometimes.