[SingDanceRunLife]

Lately (within the last month or so), I've been feeling a bit off -- the kind of off you feel when your meds are starting to not work as well as they used to. So far, it's mainly been anxiety breakthroughs, but times of depression too.

I think my Zyprexa is still doing its job decently; keeping me from having mood swings, though it's kinda hard to tell because my Zoloft definitely isn't so that clouds everything.

Monday I'm gonna try and find a pdoc (a search I've been on for the past month, but my new roommate recommended a place, so we'll see about that), and hopefully I can get thing sorted out soon.

My concern though is that I've tried so many meds I don't even know what other options there are. I'm looking to switch ADs, and in terms of those I've been on most of the major SSRIs which are of course, the main ones used for anxiety and OCD.

Are there any that have come out in the past year or two that I may not know about? Or is it time to try a different type of AD?

I just hate not being myself!!

[CANDC]

Sorry to hear you are feeling a bit off.

Glad you are seeking out a pdoc. That person may be the best resource for evaluating where you are at and where to go from here.

Tell them about what isn't going right and what is. They know what might be an option.

I don't know of any new SSRI meds. Sometimes I have been able to go back to a med that worked really well for me. I've taken Zoloft two times, about two years each time but about five years apart. I've also taken Prozac and Wellbutrin more than once.

[pinkflower17]

I'm on Fetzima and Brintellix, which are the newest anti-depressants on the market. They're doing a decent job. Fetzima is an SNRI, same class as Cymbalta, Effexor but hits the norephinephrine much heavier than serotonin so it's good for motivation, lack of energy etc and Brintellix has a complex serotonin based mechanism of action, but it's claim to fame is it's efficacy with cognition, memory, word recall etc.
Fetzima might not be the best if you're prone to anxiety, but maybe the brintellix is something to ask about.

[SingDanceRunLife]

Thanks for the responses guys. The only SNRI I've tried is Effexor which was complete hell (I lasted all of 3 days on it), but I might not have the same reaction to another one...

I know! Starting Effexor is horrendous. I found a table once showing the relative effects of the SNRI meds on serotonin and norepinephrine and it was something like:

SER NOR
Effexor 30 1
Fetzima 1 2

I take Cymbalta and it's either 1:1 or 2:1 - I can't remember.

[SingDanceRunLife]

The side effects Effexor gave me were so terrible it was actually my doctor who told me to stop taking it!

[SingDanceRunLife]

I called the place that my roommate suggested and they're booking out til June, so that's a no go.

I also called one other place that I had suggested by a doctor I saw here for something else but didn't want to do because they make you see a counselor before you can even make an appointment with a psychiatrist, but I'm in need, ASAP, and their psychiatrists are booking out about 2-4 weeks, and I'm guessing I can get in on the early end considering where I am right now and where I know I'm headed, so that's what I'm gonna do.

Hopefully I get something figured out soon, because I feel a mixed/manic episode coming on, and I can't afford that right now -- I'm in my last 3 weeks of my school semester!

[RisuNeko]

It's pretty standard at least around here to have to see a counselor first and to have to wait 2-4 weeks to see a psychiatrist. That's just the system. Once you're in though you usually don't have to wait as long and you don't have to continue with the therapist if you don't want to.

Also I've tried wellbutrin 3 different times and it's been different according to which meds i was on at the time.

[SingDanceRunLife]

I've seen 2 psychiatrists in 2 different cities, and neither one of them required me to see a counselor first. I get having patients who have no experience with it having to see a counselor, but I was in therapy for 7 years and have been seeing a psychiatrist for 4, so I know what's what.