[drunksunflower]

I'm sorry ... to whinge again about meds ... I decided to stop taking Celexa for what must be the third time in three months .... and try all natural stuff for that and a few stupid stresses I have had lately...

I got a good telling off from a friend as he thought this was stupid ... and after a few days of not taking the ad (after a couple of weeks of half heartedly taking it) i realised i was probably better to take his advice. so unwillingly i went back to the dr to get another prescription as i'd just about run out.

i was still happy to try natural remedies for whatissortofbutnotreally anxiety. the dr kept trying to tell me he thought i might have some anxiety symptoms. yes well, i FREAK at going to the doctor, and i tried to tell him that i just hated doing that. anyway he added in Lorazepam to the prescription saying i should just try and it might help me with sleep (cos celexa makes me not sleep well and he had just upped the dose of that).

soooo i get home and google it and find it's anti anxiety medication - i SO do not need it, i have only had a couple of little stresses when i haven't been able to find things, but that's ALL - no big deal.

i also found out that Celexa can trigger anxiety in some people. so what is the point of it all???? take depression meds ... that cause anxiety ... so you have to take anxiety meds ... where does it stop????

i'm sorry to rant - but i think i would rather be miserable

[ktp]

Well drunksunflower:

I'm not sure we've formally met yet, so I'd just like to say it's nice to meet you. Another thing--answer to your question: It doesn't end.

I was feeling the exact same way. (weird parallel lives in a different realm possibly?) I talked to my doc -- she had me on Prozac for depression and Xanax for anxiety. I tell her the anxiety is worse since quitting smoking in December so she takes me off the Prozac (which also causes anxiety) and puts me on Zoloft and I still keep the Xanax at a low dosage. I do have an anxiety disorder. Sometimes the symptoms of depression and the symptoms of anxiety intermingle. You might have an anxiety disorder as well, you are very lucky that your doctor prescribed you the Ativan. You may very well need it sometime. I get 30 pills a month, to take to sleep and NONE allowed for panic attacks, which I average about 2 or 3 per month WITH the medication. It seems like a neverending thing, and I guess that's just because it is. It's hard, I can totally sympathize with how you're feeling. I feel the same. But I stopped taking my meds and realized after a few days that it just wasn't the smartest thing I'd done in awhile (didn't even have the energy or the initiative to smile when I thought about my children....that's low!)

I know this doesn't help much, if at all, but I just wanted you to know that you're not alone.

Best of luck
Take care,
Kimberly.

[saudade]

((((((((DSF)))))))))))

In my experience, it's been more important that the prescription doctor listens and understands your reactions to each med prescribed. We all have similar bodies, but the reactions to common medicine vary quite a bit from one individual to the next.
If you're gonna have to freak, let it be for a good reason, not? Like, demand your rights from the prescription doctor. Make him listen to the description of your reactions. As I see it, that's the only reliable way to have the dosage adjusted to YOUR specific needs.

In six months, me and my doc+psychiatrist have managed to regulate the anti-d dosage (there's no question, I still need AD), BUT, we also got me unhooked from benzos (Lorazepam is a benzodiazepine; I was heavily on Lexotan) and it feels excellent.

You seem to know what goes on in your body+mind, so I'd reckon you'd benefit from working on it :-)

[drunksunflower]

thank you sooo much ktp and saudade ...

i'm just confused because i never thought i had any sort of anxiety disorder. i have got a bit arrrghh a couple of times lately but in the grand scheme of things i don't think it's ACTUALLY a problem, seeing as i've been a bit stressed with job hunting etc (well it puts you on edge waiting, everything has gone well though).

the doctor was REALLY nice, i just didn't think that i had what he was trying to tell me he thought i had. i get panicky going to drs, i always have and i find it really hard to go let alone saying why i am there. maybe that is anxiety in a form but it's specific to that experience, and i don't think i'm the only one who hates going?

i just don't want to take medication for symptoms caused by other medication, i think that is unnecessary medicating and it is hard enough for me to take ADs. i don't like drugs like that

i have taken the Ativan at night and it DOES help me sleep, but it is apparently quite addictive, i don't want any dependence issues, what do i do???? are there any things that help you sleep that are not addictive?

thank you so much for your posts, i am just frustrated and meh about everything right now.

/end grump.

[T_MD]

Sunny - theoretically Celexa could cause anxiety as a side effect, yes. But a vastly more likely effect is a reduction in anxiety. Celexa is an SSRI antidepressant which makes it a first-line anti-anxiety drug in addition to being a great antidepressant - though it takes 2-4 weeks to start decreasing anxiety. Could it be that the anxiety is really being generated by the worsening depression and that once that gets better with the medicine the anxiety will receed?

Celexa has been re-marketed by cleaning it up a bit to reduce side effects as Lexapro. I regard both of these drugs as hands-down the best antidepressants/anit-anxiety drugs ever made. Out of the hundreds of patients I've put on either one of them only 1 or 2 has had increased anxiety and those individuals just happened to be very sensitive to any medications. Celexa and Lexapro are used to treat panic attacks, generalized anxiety disorder, and OCD in addition to depression. They have been used by millions of people with bad anxiety and you can be confident in the meds.

[drunksunflower]

I have been on Celexa for about 3 months ... although i've been a bit inconsistent and forgot to take it for a bit for a week and also sort of decided to stop it and then started it again. so i don't know if i need an increased dose of it ( 30mg up from 20) as my dr suggested the other day.

i just don't see myself as an anxious person, so i find it difficult to deal with being told i have an anxiety problem. i *honestly* only freak out very occasionally (like going to dr, i really really hate it).

i am really worried about the Ativan and its addictive properties. i've got a month's worth to take in the evenings. it does help with my sleep, but is there a better alternative? a friend said a small dose of amitrip can be good for sleep, and not addictive?

thank you so much for your post T_MD

[eliza]

I have taken Ativan for anxiety and it does work well. As a sedative it works fairly well. I take Prozac and Wellbutrin for depression. When on Wellbutrin I don't sleep more than 2 hours a night. My pdoc prescribed Ambien for sleep. I don't think it is suppose to be addictive or with lots of side-effects. "It works like a dream"

[T_MD]

It's true that Ativan and other benzos can be addicting. However in people that do not have addictions in their history there is little risk of becoming addicted. Addiction should be separated from tolerance, which is normal process that a given doseage will sometimes need to be increased to achieve the desired effect. Tolerance can be avoided by taking meds only when needed (couple times a week?). Withdrawal can be experienced in anyone on medium to high doses of benzos and is avoided by decreasing the benzo gradually over time to stop. Withdrawal is a physiological phenonmenon and does not indicate addiction.

There are plenty of meds useful for sleep that are not habit-forming. Amitryptiline like you mentioned, is an older tricyclic antidepressant with sedating properties. Many docs don't like to prescribe tricyclics though because they are so easy to OD on. Benadryll (diphenhydramine) is available in many over the counter sleep aids (Tylenol PM). My favorite is trazodone (Desyrel) which I take. It is also a sedating antidepressant taken in small doses that is safe and in-expensive. In some people it may cause grogginess in the am though. No way to tell for sure unless you try it. I sometimes take clonidine (Catapress) at night as I have difficulty settling my mind due to my ADHD.

[drunksunflower]

wow ... you are all very helpful ...

so rather than take the Ativan every night to help sleep i should just take it a couple of times a week?

maybe i should try something over the counter or herbal? i hate waking up several times a night - makes me feel crap the next day!

i am happy with the Celexa, although it does increase my appetite which is a really poo side effect .... not the worst though i imagine

i'd rather be on no meds at all, sometimes i feel so bad for resorting to them in the first place.

[kimmydawn]

sunflower, how are things going now?

i was actually surprised to read this post, because i've proved really sensitive to AD's and when i took celexa, it actually allowed me to focus enuf to watch t.v. it just goes to show how different meds work for different ppls and maybe that's why it's so hard to find the right AD.

i hope you're doing well now?

How are things now? Sorry I didn't respond sooner. I hope you are well. Take care of yourself.

Ryan

[drunksunflower]

i am just confused, sleeping lots i guess cos of the anxiety stuff, and still kinda meh.

would love to chat on yahoo messenger (jellybabeee@yahoo.com) or MSN (jellybabeee@hotmai.com) or in chat.

xx