to change medictions......

[uklad]

At the moment, well for awhile know the medication im on isent really helping, im under a lot of stress which I cant remove myself from and is only going to get more stressful.... head is like a rollercoaster mostly feeling really low and drained, anxiety is still not good always getting really tense without noticing it and having panic attacks at least once a week...... the thought of changing medication is daunting but the decision is puzzling..... just wondered if anyone else has been in similar circumstances or similar place were it puzzling to decide....... ive tried higher dosage of the medication im on know last year which made me worse so what to do......

[SADnomore]

Hi, uklad, sorry you're having a tough time. Of course your doctor will have his/her own recommendations based on your symptoms, but generally if you have had a trial on at least one med from a particular class of medication, (for example the SSRIs) AND increased the dosage, still with incomplete relief, then there are three logical choices: it may be paired up with another drug from the same class to enhance needed effect, or with one from a different class to add other effects that are felt to be missing. Alternatively, you may withdraw from your medication altogether and swap over to one of a different class.

But you may know all that, sorry if I've just restated ideas you are aware of. In a nutshell, since you have tried this same medication twice without success, it seems it is time to either augment it by pairing it with another drug(s), or to change it altogether. Which med(s) to consider is going to depend very much on which symptoms are at the forefront of your condition at this time. (Anxiety and panic, not resolved by the medication you are on and its class.) Your doctor should be familiar with which class(es) of medication are most likely to help from here, and will be considering your overall health as well. You'll want to discuss side effects (bearing in mind that the symptoms you are currently experiencing may be medication side effects), so that these may be avoided or taken advantage of.

For example, in my case, I began by reviewing with my doctor why it was that I withdrew from the last medication I tried awhile back. (Felt calm and not as depressed as before, but experiencing a flat effect that didn't resolve with an increase.) He decided to switch classes altogether, and I started the new med and increased the dose after one week, as directed. Twelve weeks on and long past the typical side effects, I feel improved and made note of these improvements when I went in to see him last. Still, I am feeling unenergetic and unmotivated to follow through with the things I need to and now even want to do. He has augmented my treatment with a second drug from another class that targets these problems, and, so far so good although it's only been a week I feel okay and am optimistic I will be connecting the dots soon!

Mind you, I had in mind a different alternate drug for the combo than he chose, but he really did know what suited my condition better. As he should. With many doctors, you may be able to discuss a few choices and settle on a course of action that you can get behind. My doctor isn't like that. But, he knows his stuff, and is as sympathetic and caring about mental issues as he is about physical illnesses. So, I do as I'm told, lol! But I do educate myself on these drugs, which side effects to expect etc., (much of it from this forum) and look for the tips and support I need to hang in there! I'm sure if you have any questions about a particular med or combo to consider, somebody here will try to answer it for you!

Marie xx

[uklad]

first of all thanks for the reply ive been of different medications of medicines over the years and have had the same patterns that you described...... still unsure what to do... im trying to make more time to work on myself, so might hold off deciding for a few weeks until I see doctor for medication which is in a few weeks anyway..... will have a good chat with him and see what he thinks, haven't been put on two medications at once before will mention it! it is possible like what im experiencing is symptoms not sure thou :S heads not been 100% for a long time so is hard to tell really.....