Atarax / Hydroxyzine / Vistaril

[teej]

Does anyone else have experiences with taking this medication?

I've been prescribed it for anxiety since my doctor is reluctant to prescribe benzodiazepines due to their abuse potential, and this drug does not suffer from that. My doctor has never prescribed it for anxiety before though. I'm currently prescribed 3 x 25mg, not take as needed but have only been given a course of 7 days.

I'm also on 20mg of citalopram which is working okay, but in times of extreme stress I'm still melting down with anxiety - I get very irritable and agitated.

I have found it's either done nothing and then knocked me out completely - or if taken before bedtime has given me lurid nightmares that I clearly remember well into the next day. In this case I feel it's induced panic whilst I've been asleep.

Does anyone have experiences with this drug having a cumulative effect over time? I'm surprised by the take 3 x 25mg every day - some people have said a tolerance has grown to the sleep-inducing effects over time.

My surgery seems happy to keep throwing these things at me but it's just trying to make the best use of them for my anxiety and no one seems to have any answers - the doctor or the pharmacist!

Please note: I'm not looking for medical advice. I will continue to take the dose as prescribed by my doctor until I agree with him something different, but I am looking if anyone has their own experiences with taking these that I can take back to my GP for more help.

Thanks

T

[yenool]

I'm not sure you will find many others with experience of taking that medication is it is generally not recommended for use in the treatment of anxiety in the UK.

Benzos do have 'absue potential' but personally I would feel quite insulted if my doctor wouldn't prescribe something for that reason as it is basically implying he feels I would be likely to abuse them.

I'm surprised he gave you something that is supposedly not addictive with no abuse potential but then limited the prescription to 7 days. If it is safe and it works then why only 7 days?

You can think about alternative antidepressants if the citalopram isn't working, but it sounds like it is except for in the odd situation.....?

Alternative medications that are specifically for anxiety are quite thin on the ground really; basically beta blockers (i.e. propranolol), buspirone (buspar) or a benzo of some kind.

I've tried a lot of stuff and nothing has really helped. Recently I've found some relief from the benzo lorazepam but even that is not full relief.........it is a bit of a last resort medication from my Dr because my anxiety has been so bad I've not been attending university and so I'm may get kicked off the course! For me & my Dr the risk of addiction/dependence is worth the potential benefits.

So I think it depends how bad the anxiety is affecting you - the risk of 'abuse' and 'addiction' may be worth it if your anxiety is ruining your life and you have tried all the other standard medications? Have you had any counselling (CBT, etc) and if so has it helped?

[teej]

Hi yenool,

Thanks for you thoughts. I was going to keep this thread simply to hydroxyzine but seems it doesn't really work for me. My anxiety this morning has been sky high (change in routine and moving to 30mg cit from 20mg) so I've taken 50mg in 25mg steps and all it has done is make me tired. I can't decide whether to take a nap, then bin the tablets, or bin the tablets and then take nap.

The reason my doctor is wary of prescribing me benzos is because I've got the tick in the "Problem Drinking" box. I was a high functioning drunk though - holding down a good job, home owner. I'm still not long enough sober to wade into the benzo addiction risk vs. quality of life argument though...

T

[SarahH]

Ever thought about Pregabalin? It can be taken with Citalopram and is now prescribed for anxiety..................no addiction potential

[teej]

Hi Sarah,

I've been reading of interest with your pregabalin story.

It's certainly been added to my list of possibles but isn't it quite expensive or difficult to be prescribed? I was aware there's a "try this, then try this" flow diagram with pregabalin being pretty much the bottom due to cost, and my fave SSRIs and SRNIs at the top of the list.

I'll mention it to the doctor next review though. He's normally quite receptive to innovative treatments (thus the atarax).

I've still got to "man-up" at some point and up my citalopram dose to 30mg before I can start complaining too loud though. Looking forward to that week. I'll probably get given Vitamin C supplements to help me through.

*sigh*. Could do with a drink right now. *picks up a inositol laced glass of cool lemonade*.

Talking of inositol and citalopram... where's psychopoet when you need him? LOL!

[yenool]

Ever thought about Pregabalin? It can be taken with Citalopram and is now prescribed for anxiety..................no addiction potential

I don't want to start an argument but it is listed as controlled drug in the USA - it is thought to have some dependence and abuse problems although not as severe as benzos.

Also it is hugely expensive and as such GPs may be reluctant to prescribe it.

I'm not saying don't try it I'm just saying be aware - it is another one of those relatively new wonder drugs and it isn't as problem free as it first appeared when it came out.

[teej]

I went to a different doctor this morning.

We discussed my alcohol (ab)use at some length, the situation in that I'm struggling being out of routine, that I was making good progress with the citalopram and other therapies just the next few weeks were really making a dent in my progress. He mentioned propranolol (which gives me hypotension) and discussed atarax.

Then as a fellow Christmas-phobe he pretty much instantly wrote me a script for diazepam to get me through the merry season.

So that's that I guess!

[SarahH]

Hope it works for you Teej.............................................. ..if not the look into Pregabalin. It has been licensed for anxiety since 2007. Was originally used for seizures, then as pain relief...............now anxiety. It's what pyschs are now prescribing to people who cannot take SNRI's,SSRI's and Tricyclics. I found relief within 48hrs of my first dose (2x50mgs a day) then went up to 400mgs over a week. The SE's calmed down after a couple weeks.

Sarah

[teej]

I've got a review on Friday so I'm going to mention Pregabalin and see when they'll consider it for me.

Whilst I think the citalopram has worked for me to an extent, the side effects are still rotten (not sleeping, problems in the bedroom ) and I still seem to go through periods of fairly intense anxiety... more than I've been used to in a long while. I'm open to trying another SSRI if I can have an explanation as to how it will be different but with 2 1/2 months of rotten side effects I can do without more.

I've given up trying to second guess what the doctor will suggest but I'm going to the different doctor so we'll see.

Sadly 2mg of diazepam did little for me... 4mg just about reigned in the SSRI anxiety enough to get me going. Since they'll only give me 2mg's for a week I gave up. I guess I have a tolerance.

I'll see what Friday brings. Thanks for listening guys.

[TooMuchToLiveFor]

Hey Teej-
As far as Vistaril goes, I was prescribed Vistaril every six hours for four months during a very high risk pregnancy to keep preterm labor at a minimum. It would sometimes make me a bit drowsy, but I had no long term effects, and had no trouble stopping it. It might have given me the tiniest bit of anxiety relief, but I wasn't struggling with an anxiety disorder at that time. I doubt it would do very much at all with what I deal with now.

Good luck at the docs on Friday!