Any drugs that actually work for GAD?

[LiveAboveIt]

I've been on a bunch of SSRI's, but none of them ever seem to even touch the anxiety. I've been on Zoloft, Celexa, Lexapro, Prozac, Luvox and Wellbutrin. None of them made me feel any better as far as the anxiety goes. Effexor XR was the only medication that seemed to have helped a bit, but I had to quit due to bad RLS at night.

I'm thinking about Cymbalta but I feel like I'm running out of options. I read all these stories about people getting on these drugs for anxiety and how they actually feel so much better and worry less and have better control over their anxiety.. I feel like this HAS to be placebo or that they really didnt have BAD anxiety like I do and the crutch of being on a medication made them feel stronger and better able to deal, because I have never felt this improvement on anything. Not even remotely. I don't need the anxiety GONE, I just want it at a manageable level where I'm not paralyzed by my thoughts.

I don't know, I just feel very down. I feel like I have no control over my thought process and I just don't feel like myself anymore. Constant negative thoughts, low mood, anxiety and worry over EVERYTHING that I feel.. I can't shut my mind off or stop worrying about the anxiety and the past even when I decide that I don't care, the anxiety just keep rolling on through.

The thing that scares me the most is that when I do decide to conquer a fear or I decide to be strong and not let it bother me, I immediately have automatic thoughts rush through my head about how I'm not strong enough and I just can't control my thoughts. And the more I try to control this, the more out of control I get. Sometimes I worry that this is more than just regular anxiety and that because this is so ingrained and I fight against my thoughts, I won't ever get better. So how the hell are pills supposed to help?

Anyway, I'm sorry for the rant.. I just feel so lost currently.. I've been stressed for so long, I feel like I'm living in a constant mental fog.. I can't feel anything around me and when I'm outside it feels like I can't take anything in or process anything. I can't FEEL anything outside of myself and I literally feel like I'm CONSTANTLY trapped inside my own head, like my thoughts are no longer an ally. My memory has decayed and I feel like I'm living moment to moment. I worry that I have to constantly write everything I feel down or I will totally forget it and not be able to work it through it later because I won't remember. Thats how poor my memory has become, alongside not being able to remember names or find the right words. I used to be so articulate and analytical before all of the anxiety set in like it has. Now I just feel stupid and confused all the time.

Has anyone else felt like this, to this degree? Is there hope out there? I'm still searching for a therapist, but I've been through 4-5 now and I can't find any that are worth seeing and it seems to take FOREVER to get appointments scheduled.

[MyNameIsTerry]

As far as meds go, I can't see how you can get an answer to this question. There are recommendations for certain meds for certain conditions, but that's all they are so they don't work for everyone or places like this largely wouldn't exist.

Cit helped me with my GAD when I had the breakdown but the side effects were not easy the first week or so. After a few months things were looking up but it was after a year that things pushed on and that was because I got back to work and rebuilt a lot of my confidence.

In my relapse, where I had been drug free for 6 months, my GP suggested Duloxetine because "it was more for anxiety than Cit was". In reality, that's BS. Cit may be not be licenced in the UK but it is widely used for anxiety and an accepted off label strategy. Duloxetine was a seriously bad move for me. It caused my OCD and I have read that it's not recommended in OCD alone which suggests to me that it could be due to the activation factor BUT how many people use Ven at >150mg too? In my case, I believe it is just too activating and it raises the question as to whether SNRI's in general are but I doubt I will find anyone on this planet who can give me the advice I would want about what is best - so it's all guinea pig time with the meds minefield.

In regards to severity, I know I was bad but I have seen people worse. Do you know how long I was at my most sever for? Easily over 6 months and the next 2 years were a mixture of battling endless OCD compulsions and constant blips. I don't believe this med has helped me much, if at all but I do know I gained symptoms I never had before as well as the OCD. I spent years working on OCD when the med is the likely cause but relied on medical advice, which in my opinion was badly flawed now I've learnt about this stuff.

Certainly the first 6 months I spent every day in constant high anxiety. Any added stress on top and it was worse. Eating was very hard for about a month as it made me panic. Washing, even going to the toilet and drinking water (not at the same time, of course! :biggrin:). I spent the first year or so with thoughts about how there was no chance to get even a bit better.

I could go on. But there are people who have been sectioned or worse out there too. So, I don't know where my severity fits in but I see it as bad due to the height of it and the length of time.

I've seen enough people on here talk about their daily hell and how they can't do much of anything ans live as almost prisoners to recognise myself in them, and I see the same in you. But you are certainly not alone and beyond help or getting better, that's your current state of anxiety talking...I know because I was the same and I know others who have said the same too.

I think you have several concerns to investigate.

1) You have a concern over Bipolar II. That needs assessment because some of these meds can be a problem with this so they need to rule it out rather than keep prescribing if this is a possibility.

2) You need to be careful with your tapers. Your current depressed state is clearly linked to your med withdrawal. I've just seen you have decreased again. This feels like too sharp a taper and if you choose that route, just like cold turkey, you have to take the consequences of withdrawal than may come with it. This also means your current mood state is biased because of this and this may change as you come through withdrawal so I would be wary of that because it will skew your thinking e.g. "there's no way out of this".

3) Fighting thoughts. You haven't explained this enough to understand it properly. Fighing anxiety is seen as bad BUT that's not true because CBT is built on fighting anxiety, just in a positive/neutral way. If your current fighting is negative, you are fighting the wrong way. If you are fighting intrusive thoughts in a negative way, I doubt anyone who's been through all that and come out the other side would tell you it will work, it's a reinforcing strategy, not a recovery one.

[LiveAboveIt]

As far as meds go, I can't see how you can get an answer to this question. There are recommendations for certain meds for certain conditions, but that's all they are so they don't work for everyone or places like this largely wouldn't exist.

Cit helped me with my GAD when I had the breakdown but the side effects were not easy the first week or so. After a few months things were looking up but it was after a year that things pushed on and that was because I got back to work and rebuilt a lot of my confidence.

In my relapse, where I had been drug free for 6 months, my GP suggested Duloxetine because "it was more for anxiety than Cit was". In reality, that's BS. Cit may be not be licenced in the UK but it is widely used for anxiety and an accepted off label strategy. Duloxetine was a seriously bad move for me. It caused my OCD and I have read that it's not recommended in OCD alone which suggests to me that it could be due to the activation factor BUT how many people use Ven at >150mg too? In my case, I believe it is just too activating and it raises the question as to whether SNRI's in general are but I doubt I will find anyone on this planet who can give me the advice I would want about what is best - so it's all guinea pig time with the meds minefield.

In regards to severity, I know I was bad but I have seen people worse. Do you know how long I was at my most sever for? Easily over 6 months and the next 2 years were a mixture of battling endless OCD compulsions and constant blips. I don't believe this med has helped me much, if at all but I do know I gained symptoms I never had before as well as the OCD. I spent years working on OCD when the med is the likely cause but relied on medical advice, which in my opinion was badly flawed now I've learnt about this stuff.

Certainly the first 6 months I spent every day in constant high anxiety. Any added stress on top and it was worse. Eating was very hard for about a month as it made me panic. Washing, even going to the toilet and drinking water (not at the same time, of course! :biggrin:). I spent the first year or so with thoughts about how there was no chance to get even a bit better.

I could go on. But there are people who have been sectioned or worse out there too. So, I don't know where my severity fits in but I see it as bad due to the height of it and the length of time.

I've seen enough people on here talk about their daily hell and how they can't do much of anything ans live as almost prisoners to recognise myself in them, and I see the same in you. But you are certainly not alone and beyond help or getting better, that's your current state of anxiety talking...I know because I was the same and I know others who have said the same too.

I think you have several concerns to investigate.

1) You have a concern over Bipolar II. That needs assessment because some of these meds can be a problem with this so they need to rule it out rather than keep prescribing if this is a possibility.

2) You need to be careful with your tapers. Your current depressed state is clearly linked to your med withdrawal. I've just seen you have decreased again. This feels like too sharp a taper and if you choose that route, just like cold turkey, you have to take the consequences of withdrawal than may come with it. This also means your current mood state is biased because of this and this may change as you come through withdrawal so I would be wary of that because it will skew your thinking e.g. "there's no way out of this".

3) Fighting thoughts. You haven't explained this enough to understand it properly. Fighing anxiety is seen as bad BUT that's not true because CBT is built on fighting anxiety, just in a positive/neutral way. If your current fighting is negative, you are fighting the wrong way. If you are fighting intrusive thoughts in a negative way, I doubt anyone who's been through all that and come out the other side would tell you it will work, it's a reinforcing strategy, not a recovery one.

Yeah, I do keep reading that Citalopram works wonders for some.. And even though I had a rough reaction to it, which I'm not certain if it was mainly Citalopram or just anxiety manifestation.. Regardless, I've been considering Lexapro as a medication that might help slow down my thoughts and help me better control my anxiety. I worry about all medications of this type causing worsened memory or cognitive issues, though.. But I'm honestly starting to believe that this is caused by the constant anxiety. So it's almost like I have to somehow lower the anxiety before I can actually WORK on the anxiety.

I'm not entirely sure if I actually have Bipolar, but it certainly fits quite a few of my symptoms.. I've had random occasions where I've felt hypomanic.. more confident than usual, maybe a little bit of a god complex and aggressive ranting.. But I've never felt like I needed less sleep or felt out of my mind.. I moreso just felt a little bit edgy, aggressive, sarcastic, and hyper. But there isn't a pattern to it at all and I can go weeks without feeling anything but a sort of melancholy depression. Zoloft has been the only med to really make me mood-swing like crazy and go through periods of hypomania and suicidal depression. Even the Citalopram didn't do that, just caused a lot of cognitive issues and increased anxiety.

I know that I have a bad tendency to taper much too quickly or cold turkey.. But it's never a matter of finding out that a med just doesn't work for me.. It always ends with the medication causing severe issues after each dose, to the point where I can't find the will to continue ingesting the medication long enough to taper. For example the Zoloft causes me to become incredibly agitated and worsens the racing thoughts/mental fog.. also causes a very low mood that makes me feel overwhelmed and that I can't handle any of this, which then results in intrusive suicidal thoughts that I have to continuously fight and remind myself that I would never do it, nor do I want to.

So it's a catch 22 for me and it's been a rough ride thus far.

[CArl_34_m_UK]

Hi Terry. Is it OK to ask what ocd symptoms you had/have? Also if or not they went away or lessened in intensity? I've been told I have pure O obsessive thinking and wondered if there was any chance of it going away. I always believed that ocd is with someone for life

[MyNameIsTerry]

Hi Terry. Is it OK to ask what ocd symptoms you had/have? Also if or not they went away or lessened in intensity? I've been told I have pure O obsessive thinking and wondered if there was any chance of it going away. I always believed that ocd is with someone for life

Hi Carl,

I think the most I ever typed to explain mine is in post #31 here:

http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=169503&page=4

I'm not sure of all the physical symptoms are in there, probably not, but I'm not sure you are asking about that anyway?

I have no problem talking about any of it, I just don't talk that much other than on other peoples threads since I did most of that at the walk-in groups and therapy before joining.

There's no such thing as can't with anxiety as far as I'm concerned. Mine didn't start until I hit 30 and then the OCD came years later courtesy of a med prescribed for my GAD.

There are people who have beaten their OCD. I've beaten my intrusive thoughts twice and the compulsions. It's the obsessions I'm still struggling with, plus the GAD which was the primary disorder.

You will find people online saying all sorts of stuff. They say depression is lifelong and even if you get out of it, it comes back. My dad had depression for 2 years, was on meds, was in bed for weeks, couldn't work...that was over 40 years and no relapse. So, people say that are wrong.

Chronic doesn't mean lifelong. I don't believe anything is for life, the question is more whether I will break free of it.

The obsessions are not as strong now. Some are badly ingrained in me so are proving hard to deal with but some have greatly lessened. It's learnt behaviour but it's easier to learn survival behaviour (negative-based) than positive/neutral, which is backed by science. So, it's a harder process to change it back as we are removing something put their to protect us from danger. It makes sense it will be harder to remove since we wouldn't normally be removing it when you think about humans as we started off.

---------- Post added at 06:46 ---------- Previous post was at 06:44 ----------


But I'm honestly starting to believe that this is caused by the constant anxiety. So it's almost like I have to somehow lower the anxiety before I can actually WORK on the anxiety.

I found that with mine. Therapy was doing nothing for the OCD, nothing touched it. I switched to working on GAD and found some of the OCD just went (like the tics) and some calmed down. Then I could more easily work on it.

This took me some months to achieve though but I did notice the difference. About around the 6 months of daily Mindfulness stage, I started wanting to tackle my CBT goals.

[NoPoet]

In addition to Terry's posts, the right medication can make a significant difference. I've tried citalopram, sertraline and mirtazapine. None of these were very useful and the first two were downright counter-productive. I got diagnosed with aspergers and ADHD, and eventually started on strattera (atomoxetine) which reduced my general anxiety levels by 90% almost straight away with initial side effects only lasting around 3 days.

In this case it was having the correct diagnosis which made the difference, because then they could tailor my treatment to fix the real problems.

I'd also consider doing a lot of self help work: repeating positive affirmations to yourself until you're sick of them, then repeating them some more, every day.

[LiveAboveIt]

In addition to Terry's posts, the right medication can make a significant difference. I've tried citalopram, sertraline and mirtazapine. None of these were very useful and the first two were downright counter-productive. I got diagnosed with aspergers and ADHD, and eventually started on strattera (atomoxetine) which reduced my general anxiety levels by 90% almost straight away with initial side effects only lasting around 3 days.

In this case it was having the correct diagnosis which made the difference, because then they could tailor my treatment to fix the real problems.

I'd also consider doing a lot of self help work: repeating positive affirmations to yourself until you're sick of them, then repeating them some more, every day.

Thank you for the insight. If you dont mind me asking, what are the common symptoms of Aspergers? Ive always been curious because I know it can be very mild and subtle. I wish there was an easy way for them to diagnose things. I worry that anything I might have is overshadowed by the anxiety.

[bcalm]

Hi Live above it, my name's Andreas.

You may wish to read this article on discontinuing Xanax by the National Anxiety Foundation (http://www.nationalanxietyfoundation.org/discontinuing-xanax.html) which is based in the US.

I'm new so I can't give you the link proper.

In any case, you may wish to try a drug free medically proven device known as bcalm which is available from their website bcalm.co



Thank you for the insight. If you dont mind me asking, what are the common symptoms of Aspergers? Ive always been curious because I know it can be very mild and subtle. I wish there was an easy way for them to diagnose things. I worry that anything I might have is overshadowed by the anxiety.

[MyNameIsTerry]

Hi Live above it, my name's Andreas.

You may wish to read this article by the National Anxiety Foundation which is based in the US: nationalanxietyfoundation.org/discontinuing-xanax.html

I'm new so I can't give you the link proper.

In any case, you may wish to try a drug free medically proven device known as bcalm which is available from their website bcalm.co

Ignore the spammer. It won't be long before Admin catch on. :D

[Colicab85]

I'm on Sertraline at the mo, I believe its called Zoloft in the US and its sorting me right out!

Feeling a lot better and didn't have many of the known side effects, I've had a few "personal" issues and it's given me a VERY SLIGHT tremor.

I feel so much better though, a lot less anxious and a lot more positive.

[bcalm]

Nothing to ignore, feel free to read the article written by the medical doctor with over 20 years experience in treating patients diagnosed with panic disorder.

I mentioned bcalm because it's relevant. Thanks Terry :hugs:


Ignore the spammer. It won't be long before Admin catch on. :D

[MyNameIsTerry]

Hi Live above it, my name's Andreas.

You may wish to read this article by the National Anxiety Foundation which is based in the US: nationalanxietyfoundation.org/discontinuing-xanax.html

I'm new so I can't give you the link proper.

In any case, you may wish to try a drug free medically proven device known as bcalm which is available from their website bcalm.co


Nothing to ignore, feel free to read the article written by the medical doctor with over 20 years experience in treating patients diagnosed with panic disorder.

I mentioned bcalm because it's relevant. Thanks Terry :hugs:

Everything you need to know about this guy:

http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?p=1570681#post1570681

He just wants our cash. :doh:

Medically proven...not according to the inventor:

Two clinical trials have been done that show benefit of clinical panic disorder pathology with prototypes of the bcalm device, one in the US and one in Finland. The Finnish study was not published due to imperfect (partially active) placebos but the trend was useful nonetheless. bcalm is not FDA approved for any disorder. However, the two doctors who were awarded the patent for the device relate that the FDA looked it over and gave it their safest safety rating for medical devices and stated at a face to face meeting with the inventors that if just one more study of 100 panic disorder patients was completed and showed any improvement at all that they would approve it.

[bcalm]

Hi Terry, I see you're engaging in slander again. I have already stated that I'm not part of the bcalm organisation therefore let me know when the cash arrives.

The fact that the MHRA (https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/medicines-and-healthcare-products-regulatory-agency) which knows far more about the efficacy of medicines than you (and most of us for that matter), means that the UK Government and the EU approve of bcalm being provided in the healthcare market to treat panic attacks.


Everything you need to know about this guy:

http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?p=1570681#post1570681

He just wants our cash. :doh:

Medically proven...not according to the inventor:

Two clinical trials have been done that show benefit of clinical panic disorder pathology with prototypes of the bcalm device, one in the US and one in Finland. The Finnish study was not published due to imperfect (partially active) placebos but the trend was useful nonetheless. bcalm is not FDA approved for any disorder. However, the two doctors who were awarded the patent for the device relate that the FDA looked it over and gave it their safest safety rating for medical devices and stated at a face to face meeting with the inventors that if just one more study of 100 panic disorder patients was completed and showed any improvement at all that they would approve it.

[MyNameIsTerry]

Hi Terry, I see you're engaging in slander again. I have already stated that I'm not part of the bcalm organisation therefore let me know when the cash arrives.

The fact that the MHRA (https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/medicines-and-healthcare-products-regulatory-agency) which knows far more about the efficacy of medicines than you (and most of us for that matter), means that the UK Government and the EU approve of bcalm being provided in the healthcare market to treat panic attacks.

Proof?

Slander? Funny, that particular passage comes off the inventors own website. He seems at odds with you over proof. Are you now saying he is wrong? Is he slandering you?

[bcalm]

You really should do your research Terry.

Dr Cox, is not legally allowed to say it's medically proven in the US because it has not been granted FDA Approval.

Your reply is rather selective, by bleating on about the FDA with no reference to the MHRA, are you now accepting that it is medically proven, especially given that you're based in the UK?


Proof?

Slander? Funny, that particular passage comes off the inventors own website. He seems at odds with you over proof. Are you now saying he is wrong? Is he slandering you?

[MyNameIsTerry]

You really should do your research Terry.

Dr Cox, is not legally allowed to say it's medically proven in the US because it has not been granted FDA Approval.

Your reply is rather selective, by bleating on about the FDA with no reference to the MHRA, are you now accepting that it is medically proven, especially given that you're based in the UK?

No, try reading the thread in order.

I said the FDA didn't approve it. You replied the MHRA are happy. I asked for proof of the MHRA being happy.

A licencing document would be nice.

Or you can avoid the question again. Do I take it that the MHRA have not licenced Bcalm? Is it classed as a medical device?

Just because the MHRA licence medicines and are the people who know about them doesn't mean you have their agreement on the product. Very evasive, as usual.

Let's not forget the National Anxiety Foundation. The head honcho being? Oh yes, the inventor.

[bcalm]

Terry, you're more than welcome to contact the MHRA yourself.

The founders would not be risking jail and public liability to release a product if they didn't.


No, try reading the thread in order.

I said the FDA didn't approve it. You replied the MHRA are happy. I asked for proof of the MHRA being happy.

A licencing document would be nice.

Or you can avoid the question again. Do I take it that the MHRA have not licenced Bcalm? Is it classed as a medical device?

Just because the MHRA licence medicines and are the people who know about them doesn't mean you have their agreement on the product. Very evasive, as usual.

Let's not forget the National Anxiety Foundation. The head honcho being? Oh yes, the inventor.

[MyNameIsTerry]

Terry, you're more than welcome to contact the MHRA yourself.

The founders would not be risking jail and public liability to release a product if they didn't.

No, you would have proof. If the MHRA licence it, there is usually a document online to show it. Or perhaps some reference of it on the whole Internet.

I have no need to prove anything. The seller does.

There is a lot on the Internet that is unproven. It doesn't even have to be about the founder, many a seller creates their own facts and they won't face jail at all, possibly the ASA telling them to take it down but they have no power.

[bcalm]

Change the record, the MHRA have granted approval, end of story.


No, you would have proof. If the MHRA licence it, there is usually a document online to show it. Or perhaps some reference of it on the whole Internet.

I have no need to prove anything. The seller does.

There is a lot on the Internet that is unproven. It doesn't even have to be about the founder, many a seller creates their own facts and they won't face jail at all, possibly the ASA telling them to take it down but they have no power.

[MyNameIsTerry]

Change the record, the MHRA have granted approval, end of story.

Where? There is no online evidence. The MHRA provide licencing information for what they approve.

Your inability to provide a simple link is very telling. What are you avoiding?

[bcalm]

Nothing, there is no link to share. If you're so confident that it's not MHRA compliant, then report it to the MHRA. Let's see how far you get.


Where? There is no online evidence. The MHRA provide licencing information for what they approve.

Your inability to provide a simple link is very telling. What are you avoiding?

[Mojo61]

How are you feeling now LiveAboveIt? Are you any better?

[LiveAboveIt]

How are you feeling now LiveAboveIt? Are you any better?

Hey Mojo. Today is Day 4 of 5mg Paroxetine. I'm actually feeling a bit better, though I don't know if it's necessarily in a good way. I feel much more confident and at ease, but it's also because I feel incredibly spaced out and a little bit impulsive/ditzy. Not really sure how to explain the feeling. It does feel like I am living again, albeit a less insightful way of life, almost as though I can't retain any information for more than 10 minutes or so. It's a really weird foggy feeling, but with less anxiety, although I wish it didn't affect my memory so greatly.

I was a little taken back by how quickly I felt the Paroxetine. I literally felt the chemical change the next day I woke up. A little disoriented and fuzzy, but definitely less anxious. I can still worry, but I can't seem to actually PANIC. On one hand that's WHY I'm taking the medication, but on another it feels artificial and I worry about what it's doing to my brain. I still have anxiety and intrusive thoughts, but I can hardly feel them now.. Hell, I can hardly feel ANY thought through this fog.

So yes, I am improving in a sense, but hoping that this is just adjustment and not how I'm actually going to feel the entire time I am on this drug.

Currently in therapy with a Psychologist that I see weekly. I am also having personality/thought disorder testing done and I have a neurology appointment scheduled to see what might be causing all of my memory issues besides the drugs. More for a sense of relief that my brain is physically fine and it's not early onset dementia or something, lol.

I have always had an issue with losing days.. As an example, I will make a comment to someone about something we did yesterday.. They will inform that it wasn't yesterday, it was actually the day before.. But in my mind, I SWEAR we did it yesterday. And a lot of my memories feel so vague it's almost as if they aren't mine and are were actually just told to me. I don't know, I'm trying not to think about it because it's a little bit terrifying.

How are YOU doing, Mojo? I hope you are doing well.

---------- Post added at 17:51 ---------- Previous post was at 17:50 ----------


Nothing, there is no link to share. If you're so confident that it's not MHRA compliant, then report it to the MHRA. Let's see how far you get.

I'm not trying to be an *******, but if you were truly here to just help people, you would be doing more than just trying to push this product on people and telling them to stop all of their other meds.. And you wouldn't go so far as to call someone out for slander and argue about it.

I have to agree with Terry, you sound like you are pitching something. I'm sorry if I'm wrong, that's just how you come off in your approach.

[MyNameIsTerry]

Maybe the Paroxetine is putting a lid on it? And perhaps it's a bit of a sense of euphoria which happens starting some of these meds? You feel stronger in yourself, more self assured. That could even just mean you have hit on a med that is right for you.

It's encouraging to hear. And you were fogged over before so this could be side effects or adjusted from the previous upheaval. It's something to monitor but if you can start a med and say you aren't climbing the walls, that's a good thing to me. Only time will tell.

Thought Disorder covers anxiety & depression too. Personally, I can't see that being a concern as you come across very well and you posts don't veer off at tangents but obviously that testing is complex so there is more to it than that. I just know from reading the test that if they were looking for certain worrying traits, you would be coming across very different to us yet not know it yourself. Have you seen the test? It has a name but I have it saved somewhere so can find out if needed.

The thing about personality disorders is that if you read the criteria's, you will see a little bit of yourself in a lot of them. But it's how they add up, severities, inflexibility or overreaction that matter a lot with them as well as the key criteria's. My therapist thought I had OCPD and said I agreed with the minimum 4 traits so I went away thinking that was a possibility. She did say it was above her expertise to diagnose. But reading about them showed that I didn't demonstrate the mind-set of the OCPD person as I'm flexible and want help.

I guess it's like how you can look at the ASD scale and see parts of yourself if it. But that's a world away from people who struggle with ASD (not that I know much about ASD, very little).

[LiveAboveIt]

Speak of the devil, lol. Today has been horrible. I feel like my brain is jello, having brain zaps and constantly feeling lightheaded as if I am going to faint or have a seizure. I feel so out of it and spacey, can't seem to concentrate or think properly and I can't retain or process information for longer than 5-10 minutes or so it seems, my short term memory is that screwed up right now. Also having random issues with my heart feeling like its going to beat out of my chest and shortness of breath.

I have no idea if this is Paxil startup, Zoloft withdrawal, or my own issues worsening and developing new symptoms. My intrusive thoughts and racing thoughts are also back with a vengeance and I feel as though I am in and out of these aggressive hypomanic states and then sometimes hyper anxiety which eventually falls into depressive low mood.

I'm not having intrusive thoughts about anything specific, it just feels like my mind and thoughts are racing and I feel so disconnected from this whole process, like I don't have control of my mind anymore. This seems to just come and go on its own, without anyway for me to control it.

I wish I knew what the **** was going on or what was causing this. Really in desperate need of a diagnosis, so I can treat this. This is so much more strange and severe than any anxiety I have ever dealt with. It feels as though the anxiety is just a symptom, but not actually the cause. I dont know anymore, I'll leave it to the professionals. It just drives me crazy that I randomly have 3 good days for no reason whatsoever and feel nearly healed.. And then boom, it all comes back with a vengeance as if it never left.

[MyNameIsTerry]

It seems to take about 10 days for this med to reach it's steady-state so it will be building until then. I would see how it goes, one day is too little to judge and maybe the next day or even a few days later, you could see it reduce?

It does seem strange that you start to feel better so early on and then it changes. I would have thought it wouldn't make you feel better to then crash again.

Very very frustrating. I just wish you could find a steady med so you could get some respite and push on with you recovery. You certainly aren't alone, there are others on the med rollercoaster (Shazmataz seems to have a similar experience, for instance) who will understand. I just stuck mine out and battled against it for a long time but in hindsight I wish I had come off it.

Did you stop the Sert and start the Parox the next day? If you have to switch to another SSRI/SNRI after this, I wonder if they will consider a wash out period instead? I know it's not necessary but I wonder whether it might help not to have an overlap if you are having so many problems and they can't be identified as to which may be causing them? The overlap should help with a switch though.

[Shazamataz]

Yep, I can relate. I don't have the same 'symptoms' as you Live, but I have certainly been on a rollercoaster these past months.

I started venlafaxine 12 days ago, did 8 days at 37.5 and now on 75. During that time I've felt a bit better then crashed, felt a bit better and today have crashed again with unbearable physical symptoms, pretty much all of them. I don't think it's side effects per se as I haven't had the gastrointestinal disaster I had with the SSRIs. I just think my anxiety is spiking again.

I'd say you have to give a med a good chance, even keeping it at a low dose for a while to see what happens. I'm supposed to be increasing every 7 days but seeing psychiatrist tomorrow to ask about staying on 75 for a while to see if things settle down. It seems these meds take a while (weeks) to show any benefits.

If you've had some good days then there's no reason you can't have more of them. It's still early days.

[MyNameIsTerry]

Crikey, were you ears burning, Shaz? :biggrin:

[Shazamataz]

Crikey, were you ears burning, Shaz? :biggrin:

Everything's burning at the moment Terry :weep: Hoping it will pass. And hope things improve for Live soon too!

[LiveAboveIt]

Everything's burning at the moment Terry :weep: Hoping it will pass. And hope things improve for Live soon too!

Thanks Shaz. I too, hope you find peace, my friend. Im becoming more and more concerned that I might be struggling with undiagnosed bipolar possibly agitated by all of the AD issues and stress. I keep bouncing from feeling really happy and driven, full of energy and excitable to downright depressed and feeling out of control. These constant negative thoughts that are racing through my mind terrify me and I feel as though I cant ever get rid of them now that this door has been open.

I noticed that during my potentially hypomanic phase, the thoughts becamr nearly nonexistent and thoughts were easy to dismuss. I was unusually confident and slightly apathetic, with insane amounts of physical energy that didnt ever seem to deplete. I felt ontop of the world, albeit slightly aggressive and impulsive.

This slowly turned into rumination and anger. Dismissing thoughts became more difficult and the angry rumination set in. I felt myself becoming anxious as the negative thoughts began to return and my mood began to plummet as I started to feel more and more insecure and hopeless in this depressive anxiety until finally I lose the battle and get stuck in a constant depressive state with mild intrusive suicidal ideation. This all happened in a matter of 6 days.

Im incredibly worrued, sad and at a loss. Im in the process of having psychological testing done, but it doesnt begin until August 3rd and everyday is like walking through quicksand and I feel like Im barely surviving. My only solace is posting here and desperate distraction.

I dont remember the first day that I lost control of my mind, but it certainly doesnt feel as though its going anywhere anytime soon. It feels like my GAD is piggybacking on this potential Bipolar and I have very little say or control. I have never felt like I couldnt control my thoughts before these last few months and my OCD thought repeating is at an all time high, which has been not fun.

Anyway, sorry for the rant. Writing publically feels therapeutic. I hope everyone is doing well. Positive thoughts.

[Canshay]

Cymbalta has been a lifesaver for me. I hope this helps. Good luck and God bless

[ohwell123]

live above it, ive noticed a trend to your posts you dwell on nearly every event in your life, ive tried 5 meds ive tried 5 councillors BUT ...BUT ,
these meds feel like there working BUT im concerned the damaging effect on my brain?

you felt like you were going to faint BUT you didnt faint did you??

its all classic anxiety mate and your feeding it im afraid infact your three coursing it

not remembering if an event was yesterday or the day before , my dads been doing that for years but he doesnt dwell on it he just laughs!!! hes still here hes still healthy,

ive been there done it aswell

the meds arent placebo because i can no longer have a panic attack since meds so somethings happening, do you take benzo's or drink etc?

[LiveAboveIt]

live above it, ive noticed a trend to your posts you dwell on nearly every event in your life, ive tried 5 meds ive tried 5 councillors BUT ...BUT ,
these meds feel like there working BUT im concerned the damaging effect on my brain?

you felt like you were going to faint BUT you didnt faint did you??

its all classic anxiety mate and your feeding it im afraid infact your three coursing it

not remembering if an event was yesterday or the day before , my dads been doing that for years but he doesnt dwell on it he just laughs!!! hes still here hes still healthy,

ive been there done it aswell

the meds arent placebo because i can no longer have a panic attack since meds so somethings happening, do you take benzo's or drink etc?

Yeah, Im currently taking .5mg Clonazepam PRN. I dont take it everyday and I tend to just take one if I do, not 2x daily as I am prescribed.

Im aware of my issues with freaking out and dwelling on my issues. I feel stuck, though. Almost as if it has become a bad habit. I never used to be like this. I wish I could find a way to just forget about all of the things that frighten me about this condition or stupid simple things that I do.

I do believe that the meds work, I just havent had much luck with SSRIs. They dont seem to ever touch my anxiety or OCD symptoms and have a tendency to make me more depressed, even at lower doses.

I dont ever really have full blown panic attacks, just constant obsessive rumination and low mood, but Im not sure how a pill would help me there. I do feel like Im slowly breaking out of this, albeit entirely too slowly for my liking. But I do have moments of solace, just wish I could wake up that way and not have all of this crap enter my head.

Anyway, thank you for the reassurance. This has proven to be a long, difficult battle for me.

---------- Post added at 10:53 ---------- Previous post was at 10:50 ----------


Cymbalta has been a lifesaver for me. I hope this helps. Good luck and God bless

Do you find that SNRIs work better for you than SSRIs? I ask because SSRIs only seem to aggravate my existing conditions and cause side effects, but dont seem to have any impact upon my anxiety or depression.

Currently debating whether or not to try something like Cymbalta or Pristiq. Thank you for the kind words.

[ohwell123]

thank you for replying i hope you didnt take my post personal we have to sometimes say what we see...

since ive been on sertraline my negative thought pattern has calmed down 10 fold,

much like you my mind would great me with utter negative shit infact it would greet me constantly with thoughts totally opposite to the real me or what i wanted

if i saw someone walking towards a spiked fence id picture them impailed on the fence it would actually play out like a video in my head, trouble is anxiety spreads like a disease to all other areas of your life, things you used to enjoy will now bother you

next time you start dwelling remind yourself you are feeding it and in the mean time i wish you well try and go the course with some meds if you can