This new pdoc rx/d buspar 3x a day for me. I will not do that. I don't have anxiety! I am overwhelmed and angry. Sometimes I am fine, but when something triggers me, lately, I'm out of hand. Rignt now, it's the hot weather and light that is making me very vulnerable.

What I need is something to calm me down before I get 1000000000% overwhelmed.

Is there anything like that you can recommend?

[tiltedyogi]

Anger is also my primary problem.

Medically, in the mid to long term, I have found Quetiapine (Seroquel) to be far better than the alternatives. If you're on the verge of exploding already, Clonazepam (Klonopin) or Xanax might be in order.

On a daily basis I try to do some light exercise (walking is fine) so as not to raise my adrenalin too much and meditate (just deep breathing really) for half an hour. I can also do a quick 4-minute relaxation if I'm feeling overwhelmed (breathe in for the count of 4, hold for 4, breathe out for 4 and repeat for 4 minutes).

Hope that helps a little. Good luck!

[tiltedyogi]

Oh, I forgot to mention diet in the latter half also; it's probably as important as medication for me.

No refined sugar, no simple carbohydrates, no refined carbohydrates. I stick with meat, fish, veg, fruit, nuts, eggs, cheese and probably a few other things I can't think of right now.

With the 4-minute relaxation I like to follow it up with doing something very simple/calming/distracting like an online jigsaw puzzle until I'm myself again.

Obviously all of this is only speaking from my experience over the years, so your triggers may be totally different.

[99fairies]

Lamictal helps me with those feelings. Hope you feel better soon.

Dear 99 fairies, what a great name! Love it! Thanks for your suggestion. I wonder if you take Lamictal PRN or every day????

I got off Lamictal a month ago, because, with it and 2 others (Lexapro and Depakote) they were making my physically off balance, and I had two bad falls.

But keep those cards and letters pouring in 99 fairies and all. I am pretty desperate at this point.

[Nammu]

What about buspar makes you so angery? It's a valid drug that could possibly help you. You could have underlying anxiety that triggers your anger.

[5150DirtDiva]

flowerbells, you do not think those are anxiety symptoms???? My anxiety manifests in the same way, feeling overwhelmed and angry (for me I would say irritable, but people call me angry).

I never thought I was depressed before too. I and permanently agitated during my low episodes, but I get SI and have tried too.

I never thought I was manic before as well. I thought everyone felt famous.

[99fairies]

I take 200 in the morning and 125 at supper time. I noticed my anger and irritation go away when I started it 5 years ago. It also lessens the severity of my depressive episodes.

[HALLIEBETH87]

Celexa seems to help me. I also have Ativan prn

Originally Posted by Nammu

What about buspar makes you so angery? It's a valid drug that could possibly help you. You could have underlying anxiety that triggers your anger.

Hi Nammu, thanks for your caring reply -- good question. Well, I just am overwhelmed with all the complex instructions I got yesterday from the new pdoc. All about how and when and IF and HOW and WHEN and IF this one works, or that one doesn't...about my GERD medication and Latuda. Very complex instructions about calories, times, variations on times -- it actually drove me way, way, way over the edge after I got home from my appointment with her. And now this -- 3x a day with Buspar, on top of all of that. That's what is making me frustrated and not wanting Buspar.

Besides, today I took one of the 3 Valiums (10 mg ea) I have left (no refills) and went to sleep for 90 minutes, then woke up fine. That's what I need -- something that works IN THE MOMENT -- not something that I take all the time.

You asked what's making me angry -- another thing , and we've all heard this so many times we are really sick if it -- we are being experimented with --not being paranoid here the professionals are doing the best they know how to do --- BECAUSE nobody knows what works for each of us, or when/if something works for one of us, Why it works, and Why is quits later on. I just am real, real, realllly tired of it after 20 years of "let's try thus and thus" or "Have you tried....?" Yes, 20 years of mental health treatment in the system, and 40 years before that trying things that didn't work at all, not in the system yet. I'm just bummed by the whole thing. I used to believe the meds were working for me, and people I knew well said they did, but now, after over a year of wrongful meds that really screwed me up, I'm kinda at my wits end. I was hospitalized for the first time in my life, it got so terribly bad.

It's hard to get them to prescribe things that actually work in the moment. People who really need PRN's can't get them. If you have a lot of money and are wearing Prada and Chanel you will have no problem.....if you have REAL problems and are poor, you will have trouble getting something that actually helps. There is a war on sick people.

Originally Posted by HALLIEBETH87

Celexa seems to help me. I also have Ativan prn

Great info, Halliebeth! I will ask the pdoc about Ativan PRN. So, do you have Celexa daily? Do you take it with anything else? I took Celexa (an SSRI as you know I am sure) years ago, and it worked for depression for a few months, then quit.

I am not actually sure which of the SSRIs it was that had the really unfortunate side effect that -- I could not stand to be around men - if one came close, I felt the physical urge to reach out and physically push him away! That's would be a terrible thing to happen again!!!!!!!!!

I'm actually surprised that the pdoc records do not have accurate, detailed records of what the side effects were for me (or any of us) when we stopped taking a particular medication. They don't put this into their charts, apparently, and I was not instructed to keep these records myself over the years. I have done so more recently, but for 20 years have "tried" so many anti-depressants, mood levelers, and "newer anti-psychotics" that I have no idea what they all were, nor why I got off each one. Some worked, some didn't, none of them worked over the long haul except for Effexor, which caused osteoporosis. I think it worked for maybe 5-6 years before I had to get off it due to that.

Originally Posted by ElsaMars

It's hard to get them to prescribe things that actually work in the moment. People who really need PRN's can't get them. If you have a lot of money and are wearing Prada and Chanel you will have no problem.....if you have REAL problems and are poor, you will have trouble getting something that actually helps. There is a war on sick people.

Great to hear from you ElsaMars. Are you sure that's true, that if you have the do-re-mi, you get prn's and if you don't have it, you usually can't? Why is that, do you think? Is there a prejudice that if one is poor, then one has less self control and won't abuse the drugs? Well, that's sure a big lie, if so. After all, cocaine has historically been a drug of the wealthy.

My mother taught in a girls school for extremely wealthy families, and told me one of her kids' mothers was a serious alcoholic who neglected the girl, who came to school without a bath sometimes in dirty clothes.

Yes, I'm sure. It's not a secret that the rich get better care and services and it's assumed that "weathly" families equal "better" families in the eyes or many. I'm sorry to hear about the girl who came to school dirty....I'm sorry to hear her mother suffered from alcoholism.....I hope they both got the care and medical attention they deserved. There is a huge problem with discrimination against the poor. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see it either....just a little education and placing our learned biases aside. The people with the most problems historically have the least likelihood of receiving help with these problems.

[Guiness187055]

Zyprexa does a number on my anxiety with the occasional xanax thrown in there.

Originally Posted by ElsaMars

Yes, I'm sure. It's not a secret that the rich get better care and services and it's assumed that "weathly" families equal "better" families in the eyes or many. I'm sorry to hear about the girl who came to school dirty....I'm sorry to hear her mother suffered from alcoholism.....I hope they both got the care and medical attention they deserved. There is a huge problem with discrimination against the poor. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see it either....just a little education and placing our learned biases aside. The people with the most problems historically have the least likelihood of receiving help with these problems.

Yeah, true. Not challenging or tossing down an argument gauntlet, but here's an other perspective, fwiw. When I was teaching in a community college department that served lower income, lower achieving adults, there was a young woman who was getting services for displaced homemakers or something like that. She was learning to protect herself, boundary issues, and all sorts of wonderful skills. I wanted to avail myself of these services, but could not -- for two reasons. One, I was "the authority figure" and well known in the community as a teacher, so could not admit to having weaknesses of the kind she had. Two, I was not in the low-income category at that time. I was by no means rich or wealthy, but had no access to these types of programs in any way. I don't know what else to say about that.

As for the mother and daughter my mother told me about, well, that was in the 1950s and I doubt anyone knew anything about what to do then. Or would do anything anyway. It was not the teachers' or the school's "place" to "interfere" in the lives of the rich patrons that sent their kids there. Plus, alcoholism was a no-no subject then -- people drank then -- A LOT -- and it was part of the overall culture. You know, power lunches on the job over martinis, etc.

But, even though I am of a privileged class, white and middle class, I am a woman so to that extent have less overall privilege. But I have the power personality to advocate for myself, and will do so to see if I can get prn.

I'm glad I started this thread about PRN. We all have so much information that the Powers don't deign to tell us about. So far, then, I've learned about Ativan. And possibly Celexa, but I still have not hear back if Celexa can be taken PRN -- I suspect not, though.

Originally Posted by Guiness187055

Zyprexa does a number on my anxiety with the occasional xanax thrown in there.

Perfect -- thanks, Guiness.

There is a problem with people falling in the middle (((hugs))). To rich to qualify for cost free help but not wealthy enough to afford quality care. I'm fortunate as I can advocate for myself....WHEN IM WELL ENOUGH. I'm fortunate because I have an educated husband who can advocate for me when I'm not well enough. There are a great many poor people who are too unwell to do so and not educated enough to even know about the programs and services available to help them.....that is terribly, terribly sad. I'm glad you can advocate for yourself and hope you get something reasonable to help. Why be on daily meds with horrible side effects when a few Ativan a month, taken strategically and safety could provide much better results with a fraction of the short and long term side effects?

[bioChE]

Celexa can't be taken PRN. Ativan can. A lot of docs are reluctant to prescribe benzos these days however, simply because of their potential for abuse and dependence.

Dependency and abuse can happen with anything. The majority of people alive will die from heart disease....a primarily preventable illness they could avoid by eliminating animal products and eating a healthier diet. Do we stop people from having access to food? No, of course not. Make no mistake that the reluctance to prescribe benzos is a war on sick people and it's unfair. Some people will abuse things no matter what and making really sick people suffer because of it is a foolish and misguided decision.

[Guiness187055]

Once I proved that I could use benzo's responsibly my doctor has no fear prescribing them occaisonaly two if I need it. It's about building trust with your doctor. Of course you need a doctor to prescribe one in the first place.

Originally Posted by ElsaMars

There is a problem with people falling in the middle (((hugs))). To rich to qualify for cost free help but not wealthy enough to afford quality care. I'm fortunate as I can advocate for myself....WHEN IM WELL ENOUGH. I'm fortunate because I have an educated husband who can advocate for me when I'm not well enough. There are a great many poor people who are too unwell to do so and not educated enough to even know about the programs and services available to help them.....that is terribly, terribly sad. I'm glad you can advocate for yourself and hope you get something reasonable to help. Why be on daily meds with horrible side effects when a few Ativan a month, taken strategically and safety could provide much better results with a fraction of the short and long term side effects?

Oh, ElsaMars, all this is SOoooooo true and SOoooooo sad. You also wrote: "I'm fortunate as I can advocate for myself....WHEN IM WELL ENOUGH. I'm fortunate because I have an educated husband who can advocate for me when I'm not well enough." Yes, me too, when I am well enough!!!!! Ditto. My sister is educated and can advocate for me when I am not well enough. And my boyfriend advocated for me against this stupid "fall alarm" system thingy which was so out of control, screeching through the little microphone, that is what set me off in the first place. He was SO STRONG!!!!!!!!! But I just HATE leaning on either of them this way. I try not to. But I know what you mean when you say, "when I am well enough." When I am raging and storming, nobody wants to pay any attention to me, and the assumption is that I'm inarticulate and irrational, which, maybe I am. I know I was yesterday! And even this morning!!!

How vewwy, vewwy twue about a few well placed PRNs instead of adding more long term dumb meds.

Originally Posted by Guiness187055

Once I proved that I could use benzo's responsibly my doctor has no fear prescribing them occaisonaly two if I need it. It's about building trust with your doctor. Of course you need a doctor to prescribe one in the first place.

What exactly ARE benzo/s -- benzodiazapine? Is that Valium? It's diazepam,sounds similar -- and what are they used for?

Originally Posted by bioChE

Celexa can't be taken PRN. Ativan can. A lot of docs are reluctant to prescribe benzos these days however, simply because of their potential for abuse and dependence.

Thanks bioCHE. I'll see what I can accomplish with maybe getting one.

[Guiness187055]

Benzodiazepines are a class of drugs primarily used for treating anxiety, but they also are effective in treating several other conditions. The exact mechanism of action of benzodiazepines is not known, but they appear to work by affecting neurotransmitters in the brain, chemicals that nerves release in order to communicate with other nearby nerves. One of these neurotransmitters is gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), a neurotransmitter that suppresses the activity of nerves. Scientists believe that excessive activity of nerves may be the cause of anxiety and other psychological disorders, and benzodiazepines reduce the activity of nerves in the brain and spinal cord by enhancing the effects of GABA.

For what conditions are benzodiazepines used?

Benzodiazepines are used for treating:

• anxiety and panic
• seizures (convulsions), and
• insomnia or trouble sleeping.

They also are used for:

• general anesthesia,
• sedation prior to surgery or diagnostic procedures,
• muscle relaxation,
• alcohol withdrawal and drug associated agitation,
• nausea and vomiting,
• depression, and
• panic attacks.