Anxiety / MDD

sugarhighme

I am fairly new to MFP, so I hope that this post is okay. Basically, I've dealt with depression and anxiety since I was in high school. I was on and off meds from age 19 to 31. Then, I had a major crisis and realized how important it is for me to stay on my meds. I gained 40 pounds the first year I was on Paxil and 30 pounds the 2nd year. I'm not blaming the Paxil for my giant gain, but my doctor said that Paxil is notorious for weight gain. She switched me to Lexapro, which I didn't feel was as effective as Paxil. And now, because my insurance wouldn't cover my 40 mg dose of Lexapro, my doc has switched me to Viibryd. I'm on day 6 and I'm hating it. I had a major panic attack today. I've had a headache since I started taking it. I keep getting light headed. And I have very little patience with my kiddo, which is just not acceptable. I almost feel like I just want to get back on the Paxil and deal with the weight. I'd rather be fat than feel like I'm mentally out of control. Does anyone else have any experience with this stuff? I just feel like I don't have anyone to talk to who understands. I called my aunt today to talk me down from my panic attack, but I don't want to make that a habit.

supahstar71

Check with your doctor and see if she thinks you'd be a good candidate for Wellbutrin. It has the least amount of side effects of antidepressants and works on dopamine rather than serotonin, so it works well with depr\anx combo. For the panic attacks a short term option would be a beta blocker like Xanax which has an immediate effect. Obviously a lot depends on other health concerns and meds so see what your doctor thinks. Are these prescribed by your general medical practitioner or a psychiatrist? The latter would be better suited to help you. Good luck.

dr2k12

Look into and ask your Dr. about Citalopram, weight gain potential is there to a degree but that is the extent of the side-effects in my experience. Been taking it for almost 12 years and I can't tell you how much it has done for me on so many levels...

Best of luck all around...

LiviLou2011

I have anxiety really bad, and actually its trying to get at me this very min. i hate panic attacks i have them all the time, and more recently since ive been stressed ugh.
Ive been on tons of stuff when i was younger and ended up hating pills, so ive developed this i will deal with it later thing, were i always tell myself well i already freaked out i will deal with the issue later, and thats just not working anymore..i took prozac and that helped for awhile and then out of the blue are started having major panic attacks and stopped taking the meds, then the dr tried putting me on celexa and that made me feel like my heart was going to beat out of my chest, i go back to the dr soon too see if i can try something different or try the prozac out again.

Have you taken Prozac before? it works really good, and i have friends that have taken it for years, and it works well for them..i think i might try it out again since its been awhile.

lorro

It's an SSRI (as is Paxil and Lexapro). Activation syndrome is a serious side effect of starting on SSRIs, there is a warning for it and doctors are asked to monior for it closely. It involves a big inrease in anxiety at the start of drug treatment. Suicide risk increases too, which is why it is so important to seek medical help. My guess is that the change in meds has caused a fluctuation in serotonin level and triggered this syndrome, leading to increased agitation. Please see your doctor.

It's caused because the body monitors for serotonin levels and when they suddenly increase due to drug treatment, sometimes the natural body production is ceased completely and level drop. Eventually this overcompensation corrects itself and the natural production returns to normal. It takes a few weeks and in that time the dose needs to be tapered and increased very slowly to prevent activation syndrome occuring. It's best not to suddenly stop taking the meds without medical oversight.

sugarhighme

Thank you all for the information and feedback. I left a message with my doctor just now, letting her know about the panic attack and other side-effects I'm experiencing. At the moment I'm feeling okay. I only got about 3 hours of sleep, but I woke up with energy, though still nauseous. I DO see a GP, not a psychiatrist. I hate to say that money is a factor in who I see for medical/mental health, but it is a HUGE factor. My husband and I bought a house over the summer and used our entire savings for a down payment. There have been some surprise expenses and we're going to be SERIOUSLY struggling financially until the end of the year. I stay home with our son and have been looking for a part-time job I could do in the evenings and on weekends, and I'm sure the stress of finances and job searching are making everything 10x worse.

lorro

:frown: I can't imagine how awful it is that your meds depend on your finances. But this may have happened with any SSRI change so just give it time before you make any major changes. What you may be like when stable on this medicine may be nothing like how you are now. Meanwhile, hopefully the Dr will be able to moderate the effect. Hang in there :flowerforyou:

sugarhighme

Just wanted to update. My doctor recommended I half the dosage, even though it is a starter pack, just to give me a little more gradual progression to get used to this medication. I feel like I'm adjusting to the dose I started on. I would move up to the next step in the starter pack and double my dose today, but I'm just going to keep on this low dose for at least a few more days. I have two job interviews over the next couple of days. And I don't feel comfortable taking the higher dose when I'm home alone with my son until I can be sure that it won't affect me negatively. Hanging in there!

lorro

Good news!! Are you feeling any better yet?

SarahAFerguson

Hi there, sorry to hear you are having a hard time. I've never been on anything other then short term (one time) anti-anxiety meds for dealing with my needle phobia. I really hope you can get your meds sorted out. Panic attacks are no fun, I've had plenty of those.

sugarhighme

I am getting used to the meds. Just moved up a dose today. I have to say that I have LOTS of energy on Viibryd. That's a good thing. Also, I have very vivid and somewhat strange dreams. At least when I'm sleeping now, I'm sleeping soundly. And guess what, I got a job! I start Sunday. I think everything is going to come together.

lorro

Wonderful!! Great news, congratulations :flowerforyou:

ilovedeadlifts

I've dealt with some pretty awful anxiety in the past.

A few things that had a dramatic impact for me were avoiding all caffeine, avoiding alcohol and other drugs (most people with anxiety and depression self medicate and this becomes a problem), cleaning up my diet a bit, and excercising regularly.