[InfiniteSadness]

Just want to know if its not just me.. Tried numerous ones over the years. Some even made me worse, problem is i have depression/ocd, so i remain on one still.. with some effect I suppose

[PinkFlamingo99]

I find them weak for everything. They don't do anything for me.

[AncientMelody]

Originally Posted by PinkFlamingo99

I find them weak for everything. They don't do anything for me.

I had better luck with Cymbalta an SNRI for my anxiety

[Miche31]

Yes, SSRIs do not help my anxiety. I am restarting Cymbalta for the 2nd time. It too, did not help my anxiety either; so I have to take Xanax as needed.

[Ocean5]

They helped me first couple weeks...then seriously much worst. Was given mostly for anxiety and depression.

(Have to note learned I'm sensitive to medicines.)

[Sinking Feeling]

Most ssri's are totally useless for anxiety and you can thank big pharm represenative's for selling that idea to pdocs. If you can handle ssri's, statistically speaking, Zoloft is the best for anxiety of clinical tests of hundreds of people and this is done every year. Guess what does the worse or is statistically only marginally better then the placebo? Buspar! LOL again you can thank big pharm for that too.

For anxiety the best for me is klonopin and hydroxypine. Together! Klonopin 2x a day and hydroxyypine 3-4 times a day.

Klonopin is a benzo (controlled substance) and hydroxypine is simply a glorified antihistamine and is not a controlled substance but you need a script for this. Yet I find it about 1/4 as effect as .5mg of xanax. So combined with an actual benzo it works great! Alone it did very little for me but more then buspar ever did.

They say hydroxypine is non addictive and has no euphoria effect so it won't be abused. BS. lol. I can pop them all day! I love them, they really are the closest thing to benzos you can get.

[pinkflower17]

Originally Posted by InfiniteSadness

Just want to know if its not just me.. Tried numerous ones over the years. Some even made me worse, problem is i have depression/ocd, so i remain on one still.. with some effect I suppose

Ive found some success w SSRIs for anxiety. It really depends on the person and the drug. Luvox is great for OCD. Have you tried any of the TCAs? They tend to be a little better for anxiety. Atarax and benzos are not the only effective meds for anxiety. There's also beta blockers, clonidine, atypical antipsychotics and typical antipsychotics. All are effective for anxiety. Sometimes you just have to go through some trial and error. Good luck.

[PinkFlamingo99]

I'm on Parnate for depression and although a lot of people says it makes them anxious (stimulating) it's really helped for me, along with my Seroquel at night.

[-jimi-]

SSRIs still ride the wave from the 90s when they cured everything, including anxiety. Many people, for many many years were prescribed SSRIs for anxiety despite the patient said it didn't work. Even if most said they did not work, all SSRIs were OK'd for treating anxiety. What a scam!

Some people do get help with anxiety with SSRIs, but many do NOT. Whatever the doctor says. Even worse, they sometimes cause more anxiety.

SSRIs are antidepressants, not anti anxiety meds. I wonder when they will learn.

[Sinking Feeling]

Antidepressants are a big market for big pharm, and it's also convenient for pdocs to prescribe then in place of what actually works because of legal concerns over benzos. The biggest scam is not so much AD's, some of them actually do help some people. No, the biggest scam is buspar! Just check out all the independent clinical tests for buspar. It barely beats the placebo

I take Zoloft and it helps with depression but doesn't significantly help my anxiety. I take a benzo (Xanax) if my anxiety gets bad.

[Sinking Feeling]

Zoloft scores the better in the clinical tests I have read. Pretty fair success rate, but of course it is not going to be as good as benzos.

[-jimi-]

Zoloft, Buspar et al did nil for my anxiety.

[ManOfConstantSorrow]

Anxiety much decreased by citalopram @ 20mg per day for depression

[*Laurie*]

For me ssri's not only don't help with anxiety, at the basic clinical dose my anxiety when on an ssri is out of control. I take Lexapro, but have to take less than the clinical dose.

[-jimi-]

I don't know if this is a general thing or personal, but for me, antidepressants only acted on anxiety when there was something causing the anxiety, like obsessions, rumination, bad thoughts. In those cases, sometimes the AD could stop the thought from going round and round and by doing that not trigger so much anxiety.

But for free floating anxiety, general stress, panic attacks, things that sort of comes without a cognitive precursor, in those cases ADs were useless.

Anyone had a similar experience?

[*Laurie*]

-jimi- You put that well. Yes, I have definitely experienced what you described.