Hello - My Panic/Anxiety/Depression and Meds. Welcome note and comments!

[jcbaby]

Hi Guys,

This is my first time posting on a forum, I have read them a lot however never really used them. I am a 24 year old male who is suffering from crippling panic attacks, anxiety and insomnia. I do not want to go into specific details regarding why my condition(s) have worsened recently, however I must say - I feel hopeless, and am now under the mental health team's supervision in UK - I suppose it's a first step!

I have a PRN (as and when required) prescription for Diazepam (up to 6mgs up to 3x a day) and my doc has just put me on Pregabalin (Lyrica) 75mg x2 a day (150mg) and Mirtazipine 15mg a night (anti-depressant/anxiolytic).

I am just saying hello, would love to listen to people who really understand how debilitating and painful (mentally AND physically) panic disorder and generalized anxiety and depression can be. Not to mention the sleepless nights. I am also here to share my stories, and hopefully provide useful stories/reviews on techniques and medications used to control my panic attacks/severe anxiety.

My concern is that the valium (Diazepam) no longer feels like it has an effect, and my doctors are looking at taking me off it all-together. If I'm honest this scares the heck out of me, and the Pregabalin was useful at relieving some symptoms of anxiety for the first week/few days at this dose, however now I'm feeling as though it's becoming less effective.

But anyway! Hello guys, I'm Josh!:weep:

Any advice on my medication (perhaps not advice, but personal stories/experience) would be very welcome! I know it's not all about medication - I'm looking at doing CBT therapy and other things, but I'm so scared of what the docs might do! :blush::wacko:

[venusbluejeans]

Hiya jcbaby and welcome to NMP :welcome:

Why not take a look at our articles on our home page, they contain a wealth of information and are a great starting place for your time on the forum.

I hope you find the as site helpful and informative as I have and that you get the help and support you need here and hope that you meet a few friends along the way :yesyes:

[sial72]

Hi Josh and welcome
All I can say is that if they take you off Diazepam to make sure it is done at the proper pace, don't go too quickly.
I'm sure you will find plenty of help here, like we all do xx

[RosieBelle]

Hi Josh :)
I would strongly recommend doing therapy as well as taking medication. I've been following CBT courses online and I've found they've really helped to lessen the anxious thoughts and to stop them from going into high anxiety and panic. You could get your GP to refer you for talking therapies and there's also private therapists, as well as the online courses.
You'll also find lots of support on here, as we all know what it's like. You're not alone Josh :) x

[jcbaby]

Wow...! Thank you to all the above posters, OK I shall have a look at other articles definitely. Wasn't expecting such a warm welcome lol thanks guys :).

And yes thats right I'll definitely try to voice my concerns to my doctor as that is exactly what I thought.

I didnt know you could do CBT online? May I ask is it over skype or similar or simply text/chat?

Thanks guys as I say, didnt expect such a warm welcome, I will start browsing the other forums as I now have a bit of time on my hands as of tomorrow.

:):)

---------- Post added at 20:03 ---------- Previous post was at 20:01 ----------

PS would it perhaps be OK to message you/chat tomorrow rosie regarding the therapies you've found useful? I'm really starting to realise medication alone is not the answer..

[heidi123]

Hi
I have also just started on pregabalin and take diazapam as needed. I just wondered how you were finding the pregabalin. I have read a lot about water retention and things. I am only on 50mgs x 2 at the moment. I am in my 3rd week of CBT for OCD and anxiety and am finding it useful, although it is quite emotional but you have to stick with it as that is part of the process.

[jcbaby]

Hey,

I am finding the pregabalin fantastic... at first... however tolerance develops very fast - so I've got a meds review this week (only into 2nd week of using them) and doc said they will probably put my dose up. At first there were some strange side-effects - such as feeling wobbly, a bit drunk, dizzy, and very, very mild headaches, however they all sub-sided. (I also take oxycodone for pain following surgery relating to a motorcycle crash - I think it interacts with the Pregabalin, and to me it feels quite nice).

I've heard that the higher the dose you get put up to (despite the tolerance), the better the anxiolytic effects (anti anxiety). So, I think they're great for my under-lying anxiety - but they do not stop me having panic attacks. The Diazepam does, however, but now that is losing it's effect too, so I might try and discuss a different benzo like Lorazepam for PRN use (as and when needed) because that interacts less with other meds, and I personally think is a bit better than Diazepam.

So for me the positive effects of Pregabalin/Lyrica definitely out-weigh the negative effects, they went for me after first week of use. Now I just need to look at increasing the dose with my doctor on Thursday (Mental-health doctor).

Hope this helped... How do you personally find pregabalin? I want to ask if I can split my dose into 3x a day because as I dont get much sleep - with 2x a day I find they run out too fast.

Thanks

---------- Post added at 08:25 ---------- Previous post was at 08:18 ----------

Also with regards to CBT - yes I've found it brings up a lot of things that upset me, sometimes I leave in tears, sometimes angry, sometimes calmer than I felt I have ever been! I suppose in time, once everything that needs to be faced IS faced, then things will get better.

---------- Post added at 08:28 ---------- Previous post was at 08:25 ----------

To be honest, I personally think pregabalin (because not many regular GPs know about its benefits for anxiety - its only recently prescribed for that) needs very regular supervision, and that is exactly what my mental health key-worker told me, so perhaps if you're unsure, try to get more regular trips/supervision/dosage increase/decrease with your doc.

I'm seeing mine after week 2 and have been told my dose will go up most likely, which I feel is good, because apparently at lower doses, the anxiolytic effects are mild, only being felt when you get nearer the maximum dose. (I'm not a psychiatrist though so dont take my word on that)!

[RosieBelle]

Hi Josh :)
Yes of course you can message me. www.getselfhelp.co.uk was the website that I went on that has CBT sort of 'do-it-yourself' where you can follow CBT as a guide and they give you worksheets to do. They also have mindfulness on there as well. You can get your GP to refer you to therapy free on the NHS as well. I'm sure I've seen that you can do CBT via skype etc...as well, so might be worth searching for that.
Hope you're doing ok?

[dally]

Hi Josh,
Valium is an excellent anti anxiety med. But is really meant to be taken no longer than a two week course.
I am a person who has been prescribed it for years. But developed tolerance and inter dose withdrawal symptoms.

After a few weeks of taking it many people (not all) feel the need to increase the dosage to achieve the same effect. So it is not an ideal long term med.

CBT and talking therapy is very useful, and I agree with you that it can be very cathartic and also useful to get advice from another perspective.

[MissyMischief]

Hi and welcome!

This forum has been a great comfort to me. There's so much positivity and support--I'm very thankful that I found my way here, and I'm sure you will be too.

Take care and good luck :)