[jenniy122]

I have general/situational anxiety. I'm currently on buspar 30 twice daily, lexapro 20mg, pristiq 50mg (may be making it worse?),, geodon 40 twice, topamax 100, ambien cr 12.5 and klonopin 1 for bedtime. The doses of everything except the lexapro and klonopin can't be changed for various reaction reasons. I need something non-sedating but effective for anxiety. My main trigger right now is driving, I just got my permit and have started driving and I feel like I'm having a heart attack when I'm behind the wheel and get so tense that I have to stop after maybe 5-10 minutes because I hurt. So it really can't be sedating, I have to learn to drive kinda right now. I've just hit that stage in life that I can't progress any further without doing it. I am in therapy and work on it there too, but still need the meds boost right now.

[sewerrats]

You are taking to many meds now , there is no point in adding another , you have anxiety cover with the ones you have . I ditched near all AD and went big benzo cover, not everyone wants this and not many docs will script it , but if you illness is anxiety no amount of different ADs will hit the spot your after

[Altered Moment]

Anxiety is new to me in the last 4 years. I have had severe depression my whole life and then all of a sudden this horrible anxiety came out of the blue. It took me a year of begging my pdoc to get klonopin. I take .5mg in the morning and .5mg at night. It has totally knocked it out. the morning dose is not sedating for me. I am having some situational lately but not bad.

Unfortunately there isn't much out there that works. Sounds like Buspar isn't cutting it for you. The only thing that works in my view are the benzo's and they create a whole bunch of potential problems. I don't understand the klonopin for bedtime. You are taking ambien. Can't you take klonopin as needed during the day for situational and not at night. That is what I would do. Hard to recommend benzo's to someone so young but they haven't come up with anything else. Maybe there are a few things in the works based on new research.

[Altered Moment]

Here is a thread with some info on it.

http://forums.psychcentral.com/psych...iety-meds.html

[sewerrats]

Originally Posted by zinco14532323

Here is a thread with some info on it.

http://forums.psychcentral.com/psych...iety-meds.html

zinco
maybe one of you meds has a anxiety side effect , did it start at the same time has a med change

[Altered Moment]

Originally Posted by sewerrats

zinco
maybe one of you meds has a anxiety side effect , did it start at the same time has a med change

Not really. I have been on meds for twenty years and never had anxiety until about 3 or 4 years ago. It started slowly and kept getting worse. I have been on three or four med combos since it started. I don't think it has anything to do with my meds. I can't explain it though. It could be situational stuff, but it seems like always in the past I could deal with a lot of stress without anxiety. I have been through the wringer enough times without getting anxiety. I think it is getting older and somehow depression and anxiety go hand in hand. There are some theories about things getting worse when you get older. Both have gotten much worse in recent years. It all started happening the same time the construction economy totally crashed in CA. And I mean bad and it still hasn't recovered after 8 years. I had never been laid off before then. So it probably has a whole lot to do with employment and unemployment and financial issues.

[Nightside of Eden]

I see on your profile that you have Bipolar Disorder. For many people with Bipolar Disorder (including me) anti-depressants can make anxiety much worse. Lexapro had that effect on me.

Stelazine is an old anti-psychotic which is FDA approved for treating acute anxiety and doesn't make me too drowsy when I take it. As others have said, you could try taking your Klonopin during the day instead of at bedtime. You could also try replacing or supplementing the Geodon with one of the AAPs that's more aggressively effective against anxiety, like Seroquel or Zyprexa.

[sewerrats]

Originally Posted by zinco14532323

Not really. I have been on meds for twenty years and never had anxiety until about 3 or 4 years ago. It started slowly and kept getting worse. I have been on three or four med combos since it started. I don't think it has anything to do with my meds. I can't explain it though. It could be situational stuff, but it seems like always in the past I could deal with a lot of stress without anxiety. I have been through the wringer enough times without getting anxiety. I think it is getting older and somehow depression and anxiety go hand in hand. There are some theories about things getting worse when you get older. Both have gotten much worse in recent years. It all started happening the same time the construction economy totally crashed in CA. And I mean bad and it still hasn't recovered after 8 years. I had never been laid off before then. So it probably has a whole lot to do with employment and unemployment and financial issues.

I was in construction all my life has a bricklayer, last breakdown wiped me out 8 years ago just has the crash in England , plus we had an influx of polish cheap labour that slashed the prices has they worked for half the money , they had no mortgage to pay and all that went with it . I went on disabiltiy and my wife was payed has my carer . ANXIETY usually come before depression , you seem to do it the opposite , anxiety has always dragged my down that why I went for the big benzo intake , its a big risk but im past thinking about bad ****

[Altered Moment]

I have been a plumber my whole life. The Mexicans kind of took over the trades in CA. They are smart and work hard. They didn't stay working for dirt cheap though so didn't force wages down to much. Didn't affect the plumbing trade to much. They are all legal. I worked non union my whole life but when the economy crashed I joined the union. They still had a ton of big commercial work. Excellent pay and benefits. But then that started bottoming out. Work six months, get laid off six months. I was laid off all of 2010 and 2011. Worked almost all of 2012 and had a major break down Nov. 2012. Been off since and am trying to get disability. It all started in 2008 when the company I worked for for 11 years closed up shop. Small shop and I pretty much ran it. All but the financials. He would put up with me missing three months a year due to depression. I don't know how he put up with it. I wouldn't answer the phone or the door for a month. I would let him know I was down and I didn't know how long one time and that was it. He would friggen call everyday. He put up with a lot. The real world won't put up with that.

So yeah the anxiety probably started then in 2008 and kept getting worse. Suicidal depression with anxiety with paranoid delusions for six months straight doesn't make for a good employee and that is how things are now.

Its good to be a brick layer.....maybe you are a free mason...lol

I just saw my p-doc and he told me that klonopin shouldn't be taken at bedtime because while it can make you sleepy, the effect is short-lived and the k-pin screws with deep sleep. He also told me that k-pin can block the effectiveness of BuSpar. And, according to what he said, long-term k-pin can actually cause rebound anxiety (makes anxiety worse). I don't know if I believe anything he said...just passing the info along.

[Altered Moment]

My pdoc told me to take .5 mg before bed along with Remeron thinking it would help. I don't think it does. The Remeron works pretty good. I have enough trouble with getting deep sleep. I take .5 mg in the morning and he gave it to me for anxiety. I think I will move the night dose to the afternoon when it will help more based or your info.

I always thought klonopin was long acting because of its long half live. It is quick acting like all the benzos.

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[Altered Moment]

Oh I see the sleep aspect is short lived. Yeah I am going to move my second dose to the afternoon because I don't think if does anything for my sleep. Unfortunately the Remeron only gets me four hours and I start waking up and missing deep sleep. For me the SSRI's and SSNRI's cause this.

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[sewerrats]

Originally Posted by zinco14532323

I have been a plumber my whole life. The Mexicans kind of took over the trades in CA. They are smart and work hard. They didn't stay working for dirt cheap though so didn't force wages down to much. Didn't affect the plumbing trade to much. They are all legal. I worked non union my whole life but when the economy crashed I joined the union. They still had a ton of big commercial work. Excellent pay and benefits. But then that started bottoming out. Work six months, get laid off six months. I was laid off all of 2010 and 2011. Worked almost all of 2012 and had a major break down Nov. 2012. Been off since and am trying to get disability. It all started in 2008 when the company I worked for for 11 years closed up shop. Small shop and I pretty much ran it. All but the financials. He would put up with me missing three months a year due to depression. I don't know how he put up with it. I wouldn't answer the phone or the door for a month. I would let him know I was down and I didn't know how long one time and that was it. He would friggen call everyday. He put up with a lot. The real world won't put up with that.

So yeah the anxiety probably started then in 2008 and kept getting worse. Suicidal depression with anxiety with paranoid delusions for six months straight doesn't make for a good employee and that is how things are now.

Its good to be a brick layer.....maybe you are a free mason...lol

All our houses are brick built . I noticed in America lots of wooded houses, I worked the only bricklayer for a rich guy who bought land and built 1 off £000,000 houses , in county erea,s for the well off. On his STAFF was me and a labourer the rest brought in when needed. He gave me high wage in cash ,gave me a new truck and paid all the fuel. He bought to much land in the crash has it was cheap, and over stretched himself . I left before it got messy for him

[Altered Moment]

Yeah all our houses are stick built lumber. In CA they mostly all have stucco outside cladding. In the east all vinyl or composite siding. Some times brick or stone is used. My favorite is composite siding mixed with a lot of natural stone.