New guy saying hello

[Iamgroot]

Hello all. I am 51 yrs old and have had some degree of anxiety most of my life. The past yr has been horrible with much more severe anxiety and panic attacks. It even cost me a good job.I currently take zoloft for depression and have been on it for the better part of 20yrs. I suspect it is the biggest culprit of my current state. I have tried tons of meds for both dep/anx but zoloft has been the most helpful with least side affects. I have definitely lost some cognitive ability from being on the meds for so long.

I am only just back to work after several months and of course the anxiety came back my second day in.

Is it possible to actually recover from this or am I destined to suffer with it the rest of my life.

[venusbluejeans]

Hiya Iamgroot 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:

[fduop]

Morning Iamgroot

I myself have suffered with anxiety, depression, and panic for 20 years. Much like yourself I have lost jobs due to my condition. At the moment I take Fluoxetine 40mg and 30mg of Buspirone daily. But like yourself, I've taken various different combinations, to finally settle on these two.

I'm 55 years old and there are times when i get tried of this shit. There have even been moments when I quit medicating all together and for a time did okay. But you know what, Panic has a way of finding your weak spots. So about five years ago, I had to drag myself back to the mental health clinic and get help.

Iamgroot, I'm not going to tell you this is a life sentence. No more than I'm going to say there's a cure. What I will say is get up each morning and do the best you can. Don't give up on living just because of anxiety and panic. I am more than this mental illness. I am a husband, a father, a grandfather, and a writer.

Is everyday perfect? HELL NO! But we have to learn to forgive our own shortcomings and try. That's all you can ask of yourself. Iamgroot. Best to you on your continuing journey, I hope these words help.

[Iamgroot]

Thank you for the replies. Up until the past year my anxiety was only a problem when I encountered a high degree of stress or when I felt threatened. I am now struggling with it on a pretty regular basis. I have recently been experimenting with different doses of meds. I discovered there is a direct connection between the dose of zoloft and the degree of anxiety. I am normally on 150mg. I cut back to 100mg and there has been a big decrease in the anxiety. It is now much more manageable. If i go back up to 150 the anx goes up considerably.I had suspected that the zoloft maybe the culprit. I have been on it a very long time and considering the changes it has made to my memory and learning ability it seemed logical that it could be to blame for the anxiety. I,m not sure where this leaves me though as 100mg isn't enough to keep my mood up. I get irritated a lot more and sometimes even get strange feelings in my brain at 100mg.

[PatriUCLA]

Hi Iamgroot and welcome to nomorepanic !

Zoloft is a serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI). It works by helping to restore the balance of a certain natural substance (serotonin) in the brain. That being said, Zoloft and Zoloft-like drugs do not come without side effects. A lot of patients may experience anxiety increasing as well as additional different side effects.

Approximately 75 percent of serotonin is located in cells of the gut, where it regulates intestinal movements. The rest is synthesized in neurons of the brain; it's here that serotonin influences mood. High levels are associated with an elevated mood while low levels are associated with depression. Though many neurotransmitters work in harmony to influence mood, serotonin is one of the most important. Its levels are influenced by external factors, such as sunlight, diet and exercise.

You can help your body to increase the serotonin production by adding more exercise to your daily routine. I know that the first steps are the most difficult to do because of the depression status but as soon as you keep exercising the results may positively influence your mood and exercising won't be a drama anymore.

Hope this can help you :)

[Iamgroot]

Thanks for the reply. I suffer from SAD and started using light therapy recently. It seems to help keep my mood from getting too low but not quite enough to counter the dose change. I know once this weather gets nicer and I can be outside more My mood will improve. I do go for walks daily with my dog. Usually more like hikes than just walking and it does help for sure.Truthfully right now the anxiety is not my biggest concern. 20+ yrs of AD's has done serious damage to my brain. My memory is shot along with my ability to focus. I struggle a lot to learn things that would have been a breeze a few years ago.I smoked a lot of dope when I was younger and it did nowhere near the amount of damage that AD meds have done. This is causing me a great deal of frustration as well as anx/dep.