[jaeyw]

Hi all,

I have a Pdoc appt tomorrow and was wondering if anyone had any recommendations to talk with my doctor about. I have tried all the SSRIs and Effexor.

I hear a combo of SSRI and Welbutrin might work, but I am open to anything to help.

Currently on 40mg Celexa + 2mg Beta Blocker.

[Lemon]

I take 300mg of Welbutrin and 20mg of Lexepro along with Ativan as needed. So far it is working pretty well for me.

[jaeyw]

THanks for the post. Does the Wellbutrin give you energy or make you anxious at all?

[Lemon]

It does give me more energy, especially the first couple months that I was on it. If you try it give it a couple weeks to see how you're going to do. I had a panic attack my 1st or 2nd week and did feel increased anxiety, but that calmed down and I'm glad I stuck it out. I feel better than I ever did on Lexapro alone. Both my pdoc and the pharmacist said to make sure to take it in the morning and the 2nd dose before 2pm or it would effect my sleep.

[sunrise]

jaeyw, if you are looking for meds for anxiety, have you tried any meds developed especially for anxiety instead of the anti-depressants you have tried? Some anti-depressants help some people with anxiety (e.g. Lexapro, Paxil) but you should also try anti-anxiety drugs if depression is not the issue.

Wellbutrin is usually added to an SSRI for depession not for anxiety. Sometimes people on an SSRI need to more activated and Wellbutrin is usually added for this effect.

In general, Wellbutrin is not prescribed on its own for Anxiety as it is considered an "activating" anti-depressant. I take Wellbutrin and it does tend to increase activation, anxiety, etc., but my PNP told me we can't handle all issues with just one drug, so if I wanted pharmacological help with anxiety, she said we would need another drug too, but I decided just to handle the anxiety by non-drug means. (I like the Wellbutrin a lot for its anti-depressant properties and it also helps with ADHD.) My XH tried Wellbutrin to help with depression when Lexapro on its own was failing him and he could not stand the anxiety it caused and quit after only 3 days. I think if he had stuck with it for a couple of weeks, it might have helped his depression, but those first few days can be tough.

The drugs usually prescribed for anxiety are in the benzodiazipene class, e.g. Xanax, Klonopin, Ativan, etc. I wonder if you have GAD why you would not have tried one of these (as they are a typical thing to try). I tried an anti-anxiety med in a different class, called Buspar. It was not helpful to me for anxiety. What beta blocker are you on? Is it propranolol? This is supposed to be helpful for anxiety. I have a prescription for it to use on a spot basis, when I know a stressful event is coming up. I can take it right before the event. It is often prescribed for stage fright. Supposedly the benzos can be used on a spot basis too, but I found Xanax way too strong for me (puts me to sleep).

Good luck!