Strange Side Effect Maybe?

[Cassie]

Ok

This is going to sound really strange. When I was taking Paroxetine from 2000 to 2006, every now and then I'd get strange thoughts mainly when I was driving - for example - I could just drive my car off the road. I wasn't suicidal - it was simply as if the thought occured to me and then I started over focusing on it. Btw I never did drive my car off the road.

2 days ago I was driving on the A1 when this thought came to me again - this time however, it was a lot stronger, I couldn't shake it off and I started to panic. My whole body tensed and I was scared I was going to lose control of the car - so much so I had to pull up sharply on the hard shoulder and get my mum to take over. The same thing happened again yesterday when i drove 3 miles down the road to a friends. I've never had problems driving, i'm not over keen on motorways and don't drive on them a lot but i've never had to stop (dangerous or what). I'm taking Venlafaxine 225mg at the moment. I'm concerned the medications may be putting these thoughts into my head and because my anxiety isn't as well controlled as it was when I was on Paroxetine i'm panicking.

Before being on medications I never had these thoughts and would drive on motorways apprehensively but still get on with it. Just wondered if anyone else had experienced the same. The last thing I need now is to develop a driving phobia out of no-where.

Cassie

[Nel]

Hi Cassie,

The medication isn’t putting thoughts into your head, the problem with obsessive thoughts is your reaction to them, I don’t know if the medication can affect your reaction but when it happened to me I wasn't on any medication.
You can’t control your thoughts, they just pop into your head but you can control your reaction to them. I’ve spent the last 6 months to a year working on my reactions to these types of thoughts; they’re very difficult to deal with. You mustn’t start avoiding driving – if you do that it will just creep into different areas of your life and you’ll start obsessing about lots of things. The content of your thought isn’t relevant, it just represents your anxiety - when you get a thought that’s scary, like driving off the road, your automatic response is to try and resist the thought – and that only makes it worse. The trick is to allow the thought for what it is – an irrational thought which is part of an anxiety disorder, don’t enter into logic with it – don’t try to reason with yourself that you would never do that as you’ll always find a thread of doubt. Just let it exist in the moment and continue with what you’re doing. I assure you – you would NEVER drive off the road.




Nel xxx

[Southern_Belle]

Hi Cassie,

I'm going to give a different answer to this question. I advise you to tell your doctor about this. I don't know if it is the medication or not but your doctor should know. If these thoughts interrupted you enough for you to want to pull over and have your mom take over driving I think he/she should know. I'm not saying it is the medication but doctors should know these things. I'm also not saying you would act on such a thought, I just think the doctor's should be aware.

I also wonder if you have ever had any type of counseling along with your medication? I too am on medication but have also had counseling with it. Both help but I think one without the other doesn't work as well. Good luck and let me know what your doctor says. Please pm me.

Laura

[Cassie]

Thanks for the replies. I will be phoning my doctor tomorrow. As of yesterday I reduced my Venlafaxine down to 150mg. After doing a bit of research I have decided that I am having intrusive thoughts. Its bizzare as I never experienced them before medication. Normally when the thought does come to me it goe's after a few seconds, but on friday the thought became so intense I was practically frozen with fear - and had no other choice but to pull over.

Have been behind the wheel everyday since and have been better - but only short distances for now until I get my confidence back. Seems stupid as i've been driving 15 years, have 13 years no claims and am a competent and usually condident driver.

Makes me wonder when you hear stories aboput people self harming whilst on meds, the increased suicide risk and even homicidal tendancies, whether intrusive thoughts are behind these.

Am coming off the Venlafaxine and trying Paroxetine again - 6 months on a medication shouldn't have me having a full blown panic attack on the motorway.

Cassie