[BiPolarJoe]

Those of you that have BP and/or GAD, I am curious what anti anxiety medications you have had experience with.

I currently take Latuda 100mg, Lamotrigine 300mg and Seroquel 100mg at night for sleep. I had been on some kind of antidepressant since '05 (Lexapro, then Cymbalta, Trintellix for a short stint and then back on Cymbalta). Everytime we made a change was because the current antidepressant seemed to stop working. I spent a good part of this past summer feeling pretty good...maybe a bit hypomanic per my pdoc. Once I slipped back into a depressive state back in mid-July, my pdoc decided to take me off Cympalta. I have since gone into a deeper depression and I sleep at least 10 hours/day. I started to feel some anxiety creep in so I called my pdoc to see if she would prescribe an anti anxiety med to help pull me through this but she wouldn't and wanted to see me face to face first. That appt. is scheduled for this coming Monday.

I hear lots of you on these forums mention that they work well and can help get you moving again but I also hear some of you mention the hell you go through when you stop taking them. I most certainly have an addictive personality so I am playing very cautiously here. Any and all comments are welcome.

[Guiness187055]

I take xanax for anxiety and panic attacks. Zyprexa at night does a good job at knocking back the anxiety the following day.

[Miss Laura]

Serequol for anxiety

[raspberrytorte]

I take gabapentin, librium, and propranolol for my anxiety. Probably going to cut the librium out though. Last thing I need is to become physically dependent on a benzo again.

[UpDownAround]

Interesting that you had good luck with Cymbalta. I was going through another denial cycle and getting it as if I had unipolar depression and it put me in irritable hypomanic hell. I like grinning like an idiot when I am up, not being a nasty old crank. The only good thing it did was get me to come clean again - "Actually, I did get diagnosed as bipolar in '94; I just figured I got better..."

[*Laurie*]

I've been on just about every med there is (literally) for anxiety. The only one that has really helped is Klonopin. Unfortunately, there are all the benzo problems that come along with the Klonopin.

I think Benzos should be used cautiously and are often given to the wrong people who don't really need them or people with weaker tollerance who get a "feel good" feeling off them. If you can "feel" a benzo, you probably shouldn't take it. I cannot feel them, I just become MORE functional. It's much safer for me to drive after a benzo than before while my mind and body are spinning with anxiety.

Maybe getting on cymbalta again is an option for you?

My anxiety is eating me alive. I'm paralyzed by it on and off all day and am not functioning well at all. Benzos have helped me with this kind of crippling anxiety in the past so it's reasonable to believe they could help again. They only take it down a notch though and are not the cure I wish they were.....but it's something which is better than nothing.

Those who are functioning well without them would be smart not to take them......but it's important to understand how many of us are CRIPPLED with anxiety and do need them as there really doesn't seem to be anything as universally helpful for TRULY suffering, anxious people as Benzos.

I wish there were other options with as few side effects as Benzos generally have. Cannabis is another option but people who use it are often dismissed as drug addicts and that isn't too good for anxiety as a general rule. People are denied employment for it too. So sad. People on Benzos are often thought to be drug addicts too. (I think it's by past users who got a high off them so they think EVERYONE gets high off them). Suffering people in general are judged. People don't offer solutions to suffering, just judgement. It's sad, sickening, depressing and frustrating.

If you don't need them to function, don't try to get them. If you are a person who generally has a weak tolerance and becomes intoxicated easily and enjoys being intoxicated, don't take them.

why did you stop cymbalta?

[Guiness187055]

Originally Posted by ElsaMars

I think Benzos should be used cautiously and are often given to the wrong people who don't really need them or people with weaker tollerance who get a "feel good" feeling off them. If you can "feel" a benzo, you probably shouldn't take it. I cannot feel them, I just become MORE functional. It's much safer for me to drive after a benzo than before while my mind and body are spinning with anxiety.

Maybe getting on cymbalta again is an option for you?

My anxiety is eating me alive. I'm paralyzed by it on and off all day and am not functioning well at all. Benzos have helped me with this kind of crippling anxiety in the past so it's reasonable to believe they could help again. They only take it down a notch though and are not the cure I wish they were.....but it's something which is better than nothing.

Those who are functioning well without them would be smart not to take them......but it's important to understand how many of us are CRIPPLED with anxiety and do need them as there really doesn't seem to be anything as universally helpful for TRULY suffering, anxious people as Benzos.

I wish there were other options with as few side effects as Benzos generally have. Cannabis is another option but people who use it are often dismissed as drug addicts and that isn't too good for anxiety as a general rule. People are denied employment for it too. So sad. People on Benzos are often thought to be drug addicts too. (I think it's by past users who got a high off them so they think EVERYONE gets high off them). Suffering people in general are judged. People don't offer solutions to suffering, just judgement. It's sad, sickening, depressing and frustrating.

If you don't need them to function, don't try to get them. If you are a person who generally has a weak tolerance and becomes intoxicated easily and enjoys being intoxicated, don't take them.

why did you stop cymbalta?

Great points I also am able to focus better after taking a benzo. I don't get high in the least bit. They just allow me to function and focus without all of the anxiety or panic.

[BiPolarJoe]

Originally Posted by ElsaMars

I think Benzos should be used cautiously and are often given to the wrong people who don't really need them or people with weaker tollerance who get a "feel good" feeling off them. If you can "feel" a benzo, you probably shouldn't take it. I cannot feel them, I just become MORE functional. It's much safer for me to drive after a benzo than before while my mind and body are spinning with anxiety.

Maybe getting on cymbalta again is an option for you?

My anxiety is eating me alive. I'm paralyzed by it on and off all day and am not functioning well at all. Benzos have helped me with this kind of crippling anxiety in the past so it's reasonable to believe they could help again. They only take it down a notch though and are not the cure I wish they were.....but it's something which is better than nothing.

Those who are functioning well without them would be smart not to take them......but it's important to understand how many of us are CRIPPLED with anxiety and do need them as there really doesn't seem to be anything as universally helpful for TRULY suffering, anxious people as Benzos.

I wish there were other options with as few side effects as Benzos generally have. Cannabis is another option but people who use it are often dismissed as drug addicts and that isn't too good for anxiety as a general rule. People are denied employment for it too. So sad. People on Benzos are often thought to be drug addicts too. (I think it's by past users who got a high off them so they think EVERYONE gets high off them). Suffering people in general are judged. People don't offer solutions to suffering, just judgement. It's sad, sickening, depressing and frustrating.

If you don't need them to function, don't try to get them. If you are a person who generally has a weak tolerance and becomes intoxicated easily and enjoys being intoxicated, don't take them.

why did you stop cymbalta?

Per my pdoc, I was a bit hypomanic this summer and she was thinking the Cymbalta may be the cause of it. I actually disagreed with her as I was still getting good sleep (6-8 hrs/night) and was not out of control...I felt good. Anyway, being that I continue to ride the up and down bipolar roller coaster, she thought it was worth a shot taking it out of the cocktail. It may have been the wrong move but the past 12 years of being on an antidepressant hasn't been the cure all for me either. I trust her and she is good at what she does but right now I am rather impatient as I want to get this wet towel of depression lifted immediately. I'm sure some of you can relate.

It's interesting you mention cannabis. I was a big fan and user for years and looking back, I wonder if it was helping my general anxiety and in turn, a reason I was a big fan. However, until that can be available for my pdoc to administer, I'm not gonna add that as an adjunct med. FYI, my pdoc and I did discuss cannabis during one of our visits and she thinks some of the current research looks interesting and maybe even promising but it's not legal in my state and not something she can write scrips for.

Doctors are really stupid in MANY cases. They don't prescribe Benzos because they are not "safe" but prescribe much more dangerous medications which need to be taken DAILY instead of as needed which cause obesity, heart disease (the LEADING CAUSE OF DEATH) liver disease, diabetes, brain shrinkage and more. As if adding obesity to a list of an anxious persons problems is a good idea. Making them need to starve off hunger constantly and develop unhealthy relationships with food which we need for survival. You can take a whole bottle of Benzos and likely have nothing happen.....take a whole bottle of lithium and you're in for a world of problems.

Doctors have gigantic egos far too often and are good at regurgitating average easy ideas while not so good at real independent thought. I've always been more impressed with creative types....math was easy for me but writing a novel takes real independent thought. I can learn concrete math ideas with ease but couldn't write a novel to save my life. Becoming a doctor is usually a sign a persons had a Kush, Kush life than being honestly intelligent.....they do some stupid stuff like thinking Benzos are less safe than the crap they push without a second thought. If someone tries to numb themselves with drugs of any kind the solution is finding out why THAT PERSON is doing so instead of punishing many people for the medical condition that person suffers with.

People who whine about other people taking Benzos don't offer solutions, they just think it's their right to force other people to suffer. Many are judging people because they think they are getting "high". I can smoke a jount and function MUCH better than most afterwards and NOBODY would be able to tell. Without smoking it I'm often crippled in pain and anxiety. I was a gymnast and could do flips on a balance beam so I have better than average hand eye coordination. I should start judging sober people for being less capable than I am when I'm supposedly "stoned". I'm just going to start smoking pot again and wait for the rest of the stupid world to catch up and realize that not EVERYONE feels like they do when taking the SAME drug. It's not rocket science but getting people to wake up is beginning to feel like a lost cause.

Originally Posted by BiPolarJoe

Per my pdoc, I was a bit hypomanic this summer and she was thinking the Cymbalta may be the cause of it. I actually disagreed with her as I was still getting good sleep (6-8 hrs/night) and was not out of control...I felt good. Anyway, being that I continue to ride the up and down bipolar roller coaster, she thought it was worth a shot taking it out of the cocktail. It may have been the wrong move but the past 12 years of being on an antidepressant hasn't been the cure all for me either. I trust her and she is good at what she does but right now I am rather impatient as I want to get this wet towel of depression lifted immediately. I'm sure some of you can relate.

It's interesting you mention cannabis. I was a big fan and user for years and looking back, I wonder if it was helping my general anxiety and in turn, a reason I was a big fan. However, until that can be available for my pdoc to administer, I'm not gonna add that as an adjunct med. FYI, my pdoc and I did discuss cannabis during one of our visits and she thinks some of the current research looks interesting and maybe even promising but it's not legal in my state and not something she can write scrips for.

Yeah, I'd push for the cymbalta as you'll likely have better luck and it sounds to me like it was working. I'm glad your doctor is at least following the new research on cannabis (not that much is available) ......it sounds like you might have a good doctor there. Good luck.

The LAST thing I want is a doctor deciding how much cannabis I'd need. My doctor actually said that when I told him I was using it. Like he should have a right. LOL. Can he compare my level of functioning on different dosages somehow or am I smart enough to figure it out for myself? Imagine if we needed to run to the doctor each time we needed a fever reducer or had a headache. Good gawd! I'm not that stupid surely. I'm not able to leave my house or socialize with anyone outside my family. I'm even struggling to socialize here. I smoke pot and I can......I smoke pot and I'd likely be able to hold down a job or some kind (not that anyplace would hire me mind you). Doctors should care about functioning but instead they want to control and judge me for having mental illness. I'm rather sick and tired of it.

[BiPolarJoe]

Originally Posted by ElsaMars

The LAST thing I want is a doctor deciding how much cannabis I'd need. My doctor actually said that when I told him I was using it. Like he should have a right. LOL. Can he compare my level of functioning on different dosages somehow or am I smart enough to figure it out for myself? Imagine if we needed to run to the doctor each time we needed a fever reducer or had a headache. Good gawd! I'm not that stupid surely. I'm not able to leave my house or socialize with anyone outside my family. I'm even struggling to socialize here. I smoke pot and I can......I smoke pot and I'd likely be able to hold down a job or some kind (not that anyplace would hire me mind you). Doctors should care about functioning but instead they want to control and judge me for having mental illness. I'm rather sick and tired of it.

You make very sound points ElsaMars - I was and still am a fan of cannabis and know it can help a lot of people live more productive lives. That fact that the breeders have joined the scientific community and are now developing strains with various chemical compound makeups (various ratios of THC, CBD, CBN, etc) is great to see. It's just not something I want in the mix if my pdoc can't officially endorse it. I wouldn't have said that when I was 25 but at 40+ I feel its best

The reason I'm so frustrated with society is I "know" how most of them think. I use to be one of them. LOL I experimented mildly with drugs in my teens but was very Nancy Reagan (just say no) in my 20's and most of my 30's. Even prescription drugs or Tylenol. That was all well and good when I wasn't CRIPPLED. Then I needed them and changed my mind (funny how that works). Cannabis was suggested to me for YEARS and I did a LOT of research before actually trying it. It's not perfect.....it had some side effects but they were less debilitating than most of the drugs I've been prescribed by "well meaning" doctors. I'm sorry I was so pissy about doctors.....I KNOW they mean well most of the time. I just wish my doctors would stop dismissing me and REALLY start listening to me. The LAST thing I'm willing to do is trade my current problems for drug addiction but I cannot function without help and for me personally, cannabis really helped. I just get judged and part of my mental illness problems is I care too much what people think and I'm a little too smart for my own good .....so when someone judges me, I pick up on it.....even if they don't outright say it. I need to get over this and get on with my life but if it were as easy as all that I'd be cured. I need therapy more than antipsychotics but I only get 6 therapy sessions a year and it's more cost effective for my insurance providers to push hard core medications. I'm sorry I'm so frustrated......I just want to be cured and see very little chance of that happening....but cannabis helps and I thank you for starting this thread .....it's helped me see that my husband is right and I need to get over caring about being judged and just get back on "The weed". Lol

[Unrigged64072835]

I take Neurontin and Vistaril for anxiety. Zyprexa and Geodon are good too, but I can't take them due to heart concerns.

I used to take benzos, but my tolerance went up quickly. My pnurse's office doesn't allow dispensing them because they also work substance abuse cases.

[BiPolarJoe]

Originally Posted by Fharraige

I take Neurontin and Vistaril for anxiety. Zyprexa and Geodon are good too, but I can't take them due to heart concerns.

I used to take benzos, but my tolerance went up quickly. My pnurse's office doesn't allow dispensing them because they also work substance abuse cases.

Thanks Fharraige, I am surprised an office in general will not allow a particular class of medicine. Just because they are also seeing patients of addiction shouldn't negate a class of drugs even if they can be addictive. Kinda sad in my opinion.

[BiPolarJoe]

Originally Posted by ElsaMars

The reason I'm so frustrated with society is I "know" how most of them think. I use to be one of them. LOL I experimented mildly with drugs in my teens but was very Nancy Reagan (just say no) in my 20's and most of my 30's. Even prescription drugs or Tylenol. That was all well and good when I wasn't CRIPPLED. Then I needed them and changed my mind (funny how that works). Cannabis was suggested to me for YEARS and I did a LOT of research before actually trying it. It's not perfect.....it had some side effects but they were less debilitating than most of the drugs I've been prescribed by "well meaning" doctors. I'm sorry I was so pissy about doctors.....I KNOW they mean well most of the time. I just wish my doctors would stop dismissing me and REALLY start listening to me. The LAST thing I'm willing to do is trade my current problems for drug addiction but I cannot function without help and for me personally, cannabis really helped. I just get judged and part of my mental illness problems is I care too much what people think and I'm a little too smart for my own good .....so when someone judges me, I pick up on it.....even if they don't outright say it. I need to get over this and get on with my life but if it were as easy as all that I'd be cured. I need therapy more than antipsychotics but I only get 6 therapy sessions a year and it's more cost effective for my insurance providers to push hard core medications. I'm sorry I'm so frustrated......I just want to be cured and see very little chance of that happening....but cannabis helps and I thank you for starting this thread .....it's helped me see that my husband is right and I need to get over caring about being judged and just get back on "The weed". Lol

Everyone's walk through this life is different, with it's own share of ups and downs and everything in between. I hold this thought very close to my chest every day...I feel it helps me not to judge others as it is a 100% indisputable true statement. Hang tough ElsaMars and keep on with what is working for you.

Originally Posted by BiPolarJoe

Everyone's walk through this life is different, with it's own share of ups and downs and everything in between. I hold this thought very close to my chest every day...I feel it helps me not to judge others as it is a 100% indisputable true statement. Hang tough ElsaMars and keep on with what is working for you.

All I know is that what I'm currently doing is not working for me. It seems I'm in a situation of deciding which of the bad choices I have are the least bad and that isn't a good feeling. I just have to hope that something will work....eventually.....it has to. I hope you find what works for you too. (((Hugs)))

[UpDownAround]

My issue is that I used drugs in what I thought of as purely recreational and over did it. So I am branded as an abuser in the minds of some important people close to me and to some degree my own mind. Now pdoc and tdoc tell me I self medicated and it wasn't all bad. But being branded as an abuser, if I were to use weed (not legal in my state) or some other euphoric I would be judged as abusing again. A lot of the classic signs of abuse don't apply to me - it never interfered with my job, never got arrested, never had money trouble from spending too much (I "dosed" - taking what did the trick and stopping). It interfered in my relationship only because my wife asked me to stop drinking and so I snuck drinks when I was depressed; never getting falling down drunk, just taking my dose. It turns out that if you are depressed a lot, taking something for symptomatic relief sometimes helps.

Here is something interesting - I have likely been BP for 40+ years, based on incidents from way back. From about 45 years ago to about 25 years ago, I smoked pot. Heavily for the first 10 of those years and then less frequently for the last 10. After stopping about 25 years ago, my cycle of ups and downs got bad enough that I sought treatment and received my first official diagnosis of BP 23 years ago. I have had bouts of trouble with it since. Some of the time it was partly my fault for diagnosis denial. I would ask for help with moderate to severe depression and not reveal the BP diagnosis. Anyway, the point of this is it may not be just coincidence that I dealt with what was likely BP for 20 years without a diagnosis while I was a cannabis user. Once I quit, I had enough trouble to get diagnosed and have continued to have trouble with it off and on since.

Hmmm...

[Sunflower123]

I used to take Xanax ER and Klonopin for anxiety. Now I take Valium and Xanax ER for anxiety and panic. I take the extended release Xanax to keep a baseline and Valium .prn although lately that's been every day although I've noticed Abilify has helped a lot. I've tried other things but they don't work for me. Good luck getting something that helps you out. Sending big hugs.

[99fairies]

I too have an addictive personality but have been on benos for the last five years. For the first year I had ativan which I did abuse but I was then put on klonopin which I don't feel any kind of high on so I don't abuse it. I only take it when my anxiety is affecting my life. I only feel a lack of anxiety on it. Most times I need to take one before I drive because my anxiety is more unsafe than driving while on benzos.

[BiPolarJoe]

So my pdoc did put me on Klonopin 0.5mg twice a day starting 8/21. I gave it about a week and a half and have stopped taking it. All it did for me was make me tired all day and had me sleeping excessively hard throughout the night. Given that these benzos can become highly addictive and it wasn't doing much for me, I don't think it was the right move in my medicine cabinet. I am seeing my pdoc again this coming Wednesday and we will be discussing lithium most likely. We have danced around that topic for a few months now and I'm gonna push to give it a try. I'm sure most of you can relate...I am just aching to find some kind of normal and consistent mood. Been down in the dumps now for about 6 weeks and it's getting exhausting!

[Shazerac]

I'm in my sixties and I'm seriously considering trying cannabis again for chronic pain and anxiety. While I was working I had to stop because of drug testing. Big pharma pain management sucks. But I'm retired now I can do whatever the hell I want !

[Buzzy Z]

Hi BiPolarJoe I've been in pretty much a depression since March.The reason-chronic pain.I just started doing self hypnosis(found good ones on youtube) for depression,pain.& anxiety.I don't know if its all in my head or what but I haven't taken an anti anxiety med(1/2 mg klonpin) for a few days.My depressed state is better.I'll be getting surgery on my back next yr. in Jan.
That made me feel better too.You have nothing to lose by checking youtube out. Hope your pdr will give you something to help.Best of luck

[GoingInside]

I'm so afraid of taking anti anxiety medication because of my bad history w/antidepressants...have any of you had antidepressants triggering mania in the past and then eventually found one that could help? I'm really afraid of trying again and things getting out of control.