PixieP
21-06-17, 18:07
Hi
I'll try to keep my story as short as possible - had GAD 3 years ago for 6 months and after trial and error on meds finally improved on venlafaxine. Came off last July (big mistake) but stress at work and injury leaving me unable to exercise saw anxiety reach unmanageable levels again (to the point where I could barely get through each day) so GP put me back on same dose of ven in October but anxiety seemed to increase. I had no enjoyment of life at all and husband at a loss what to do with me. Switched to mirtazapine which seemed to be helping but pooped out after 6 weeks (may just have been me enjoying Christmas and nothing to do with meds). Fast forward to April on 30mg mirt (doing little if anything) and I see a psychiatrist who adds Pregabalin to the mirt. Again early promise but stopped having any effect at 400mg (went up to 500mg but felt way too drugged so currently back on 400). So psych says drop mirt (taper off) and reintroduce venlafaxine. Day 2 off mirt and anxiety is off the scale so now I've been told keep taking the mirt and Pregabalin and add in the ven (to be reviewed in 2 weeks).
So.....any experiences of these or any other multiple combinations of meds? As ever in these situations, whilst the stressors that built up the anxiety have now been removed, the anxiety has taken on a life of its own - I'm now scared of everyday life, all day, every day. Tolerance has built up on lorazepam so that even 1mg gives no relief (not a massive dose I know but I don't want to go higher and risk dependency).
Anxiety is now making me think I hate my life (I don't, I'm really very lucky) and I just can't see a way out. Unfortunately, my husband has become less understanding the longer this has gone on (9 months now) and is out "doing his own thing" more than he is home. His attitude now seems to be "you just let me know when you're better again and we'll pick up where we left off." He's said to me on numerous occasions to "just stop thinking about it." I wish!
So.....anyone had success with multiple meds? I'm just so totally fed up with it all. I try not to wallow in self pity but when I see all the success stories on here and think how long I've been fighting and how many meds I've tried, I do feel
pretty despairing. Wish I could just accept the anxiety as all the self help books advocate but every fibre of my being is telling me how wrong it is to feel
this way and I need to find a way to get better.
Sorry for the very long post and apologies for any "poor me"
vibes. Just needed to share in the hope that someone else gets it and may have had success with multiple meds.
Thank you :wacko:
I'll try to keep my story as short as possible - had GAD 3 years ago for 6 months and after trial and error on meds finally improved on venlafaxine. Came off last July (big mistake) but stress at work and injury leaving me unable to exercise saw anxiety reach unmanageable levels again (to the point where I could barely get through each day) so GP put me back on same dose of ven in October but anxiety seemed to increase. I had no enjoyment of life at all and husband at a loss what to do with me. Switched to mirtazapine which seemed to be helping but pooped out after 6 weeks (may just have been me enjoying Christmas and nothing to do with meds). Fast forward to April on 30mg mirt (doing little if anything) and I see a psychiatrist who adds Pregabalin to the mirt. Again early promise but stopped having any effect at 400mg (went up to 500mg but felt way too drugged so currently back on 400). So psych says drop mirt (taper off) and reintroduce venlafaxine. Day 2 off mirt and anxiety is off the scale so now I've been told keep taking the mirt and Pregabalin and add in the ven (to be reviewed in 2 weeks).
So.....any experiences of these or any other multiple combinations of meds? As ever in these situations, whilst the stressors that built up the anxiety have now been removed, the anxiety has taken on a life of its own - I'm now scared of everyday life, all day, every day. Tolerance has built up on lorazepam so that even 1mg gives no relief (not a massive dose I know but I don't want to go higher and risk dependency).
Anxiety is now making me think I hate my life (I don't, I'm really very lucky) and I just can't see a way out. Unfortunately, my husband has become less understanding the longer this has gone on (9 months now) and is out "doing his own thing" more than he is home. His attitude now seems to be "you just let me know when you're better again and we'll pick up where we left off." He's said to me on numerous occasions to "just stop thinking about it." I wish!
So.....anyone had success with multiple meds? I'm just so totally fed up with it all. I try not to wallow in self pity but when I see all the success stories on here and think how long I've been fighting and how many meds I've tried, I do feel
pretty despairing. Wish I could just accept the anxiety as all the self help books advocate but every fibre of my being is telling me how wrong it is to feel
this way and I need to find a way to get better.
Sorry for the very long post and apologies for any "poor me"
vibes. Just needed to share in the hope that someone else gets it and may have had success with multiple meds.
Thank you :wacko: