[Nightside of Eden]

I was wondering what anti-depressant you've found most helpful for anxiety as well as depression. I was on Lexapro for a while but it didn't seem to help. I'm thinking of asking my doctor to try Zoloft next since I've heard good things about it lowering anxiety and the generic is dirt cheap even without insurance. Any other suggestions?

[sewerrats]

Its has good has any to try, but none help anxiety for a long while after taking , depression first hopefully then maybe a little help with anxiety if still present

[Nightside of Eden]

My anxiety gets worse when my depression lifts, though. When I'm depressed I don't care enough to worry about anything. Maybe I just won't be able to use ADs if they're not going to have an equal effect on the anxiety as well as the depression.

[sewerrats]

Originally Posted by Nightside of Eden

My anxiety gets worse when my depression lifts, though. When I'm depressed I don't care enough to worry about anything. Maybe I just won't be able to use ADs if they're not going to have an equal effect on the anxiety as well as the depression.

if you use wellbutrin on its own it will , that's all I can think, but if I had to pick??????? anxiety would be my choise you get to stay slim

I, too, keep hearing about Zoloft being helpful for anxiety. I'm on Zoloft and it sure hasn't helped my anxiety. But I am also bipolar, so it's very possible that any AD would cause anxiety and agitation for me.

[Nightside of Eden]

Originally Posted by Sister Rags

I, too, keep hearing about Zoloft being helpful for anxiety. I'm on Zoloft and it sure hasn't helped my anxiety. But I am also bipolar, so it's very possible that any AD would cause anxiety and agitation for me.

Yeah, that's the problem I had on Lexapro. It intensified anxiety rather than helping it. I was hoping there might be another AD that didn't do that, but it may not work. I'd frankly rather deal with depression than anxiety and mixed episodes. I've spent a lot of my life depressed and can work through it better than anxiety, which is something I rarely had to deal with prior to starting medication.

[NWgirl2013]

Have any of you heard of Timolol (sp?) for anxiety? I think it is a good one with none of the usual side effects...

[-jimi-]

I take luvox and even if it doesn't help a lot with anxiety (it does reduce the thoughts causing anxiety though), it didn't make anxiety worse. Worth a lot!

[Nightside of Eden]

Originally Posted by NWgirl2013

Have any of you heard of Timolol (sp?) for anxiety? I think it is a good one with none of the usual side effects...

That's not one I've heard of, though when I looked it up it looks like it must be an off-label use. Unfortunately I can't take anything that lowers blood pressure because I have chronic hypotension as it is.

I already take Stelazine PRN and it works pretty well, but I was having to use it A LOT when I was on Lexapro.

Originally Posted by jimi...

I take luvox and even if it doesn't help a lot with anxiety (it does reduce the thoughts causing anxiety though), it didn't make anxiety worse. Worth a lot!

That could be a possibility. As long as it doesn't make the anxiety worse, it might be worthwhile for treating the depression.

[NWgirl2013]

Oh yeah, sorry. It is an off label use. Have you tried any of the various cannabis products? My doc has recommended this but I haven't gone to that yet.They do help for sleep....and can calm things down I'm told. With the right one that is.

[Lauliza]

Habe you tried Buspar? I dont know how severe your anxiety is, but it helps some people. Unfortunately, it did not work for me, but I have ADD so my situation's a bit different. I've taken Paxil and it worked ok, so you could try that. So long as the dose is not too high I didnt get depressed. It did cause weight gain and I couldn't concentrate so I ultimately stopped. I also took 20mg Lexapro and it made me depressed. Now I take low dose Prozac along with Adderral and it works well. However, alone 20 mg prozac would not be enough. The SSRIs can make depression much worse for some people if the dose is high, but may not help with anxiety if the dose is too low. It can be tricky to figure out.

[venusss]

Originally Posted by Nightside of Eden

My anxiety gets worse when my depression lifts, though. When I'm depressed I don't care enough to worry about anything. Maybe I just won't be able to use ADs if they're not going to have an equal effect on the anxiety as well as the depression.

I have the same problem, seems I am either anxious or depressed. I have a theory that depressive state slows you down enough to dull the anxiety response.

so it would make sense to treat anxiety separatedly from depression.

[melania]

Antidepressant Amytriptyline helped me not to be so anxious from the first day I started to take it.SSRI never helped me but people are different.
We can't say what is the best med for you because we have different bodies, different brains etc.
Which helps one of us could be the worst med for someone else.

[dillpickle1983]

Paxil is great at killing anxiety and panic, as well as being a potent anti-depressant.

[Nightside of Eden]

Originally Posted by Lauliza

Habe you tried Buspar? I dont know how severe your anxiety is, but it helps some people. Unfortunately, it did not work for me, but I have ADD so my situation's a bit different. I've taken Paxil and it worked ok, so you could try that.

I haven't tried Buspar, but I was told that it's unlikely to help if benzos don't help. My anxiety is definitely very treatment-resistant. My Stelazine PRN does work, but it would be nice to not have to take it so often.

Originally Posted by dillpickle1983

Paxil is great at killing anxiety and panic, as well as being a potent anti-depressant.

Sounds like several people are recommending Paxil. I'll definitely consider that as a possibility.

[atomicc]

Zoloft gave me awful headaches and I was still anxious!

[sewerrats]

Originally Posted by Nightside of Eden

That's not one I've heard of, though when I looked it up it looks like it must be an off-label use. Unfortunately I can't take anything that lowers blood pressure because I have chronic hypotension as it is.

I already take Stelazine PRN and it works pretty well, but I was having to use it A LOT when I was on Lexapro.

That could be a possibility. As long as it doesn't make the anxiety worse, it might be worthwhile for treating the depression.

not used often luvox , not great for depression but good for OCD in a high dose like 60mg

[sewerrats]

Originally Posted by Nightside of Eden

I haven't tried Buspar, but I was told that it's unlikely to help if benzos don't help. My anxiety is definitely very treatment-resistant. My Stelazine PRN does work, but it would be nice to not have to take it so often.

Sounds like several people are recommending Paxil. I'll definitely consider that as a possibility.

biggest weight gain of all ssri,s

[Nightside of Eden]

Originally Posted by sewerrats

biggest weight gain of all ssri,s

I'm not very worried about weight gain. I'm already on one of the worst APs for weight gain and it hasn't had much of an effect on my weight. Plus I'd consider gaining a little weight a small price to pay for feeling better.

[sewerrats]

Originally Posted by Nightside of Eden

I'm not very worried about weight gain. I'm already on one of the worst APs for weight gain and it hasn't had much of an effect on my weight. Plus I'd consider gaining a little weight a small price to pay for feeling better.

go for it then

Prozac and escitalopram have both helped me; I find that Prozac is more helpful though. Wellbutrin created severe hypomanic mood swings for me (I have bipolar disorder, so not surprising). I have to take my ADs with a mood stabilizer.