Do anxiety medications work?

Post Reply New Topic

OK, I probably have AS or similar (never diagnosed because I don't want to be labeled or screwed up by incompetent doctors) and I have had anxiety all my life. Through pure willpower I have gotten by all these years but recently it has gotten really bad. Anxiety attacks, panic attacks, can't sleep, uncontrollable sweating for no reason ("hot flashes"), my throat is so tight all the time that it's hard to eat and it feels like my eyes are going to pop out. I don't know why this has come on so strong for over a year now and I never had a single one of these problems before. I am not depressed. The catch-22 is that I need to see a doctor but I have too much anxiety...

Now assuming this isn't caused by some other medical issue (thyroid problem or something), I'm just curious if anyone has had good experience fixing anxiety? Do the meds work? Do they actually fix the problem or just cover it up while using the meds? Any other ideas?

Combined with shere will to overcome anxiety, yes, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors can be an effective treatment for anxiety and depressive disorders. I was on 20 milligrams of Lexapro (escitalopram oxalate) per day until Thursday, August 25, 2005, when my prescription ran out and I was too lazy to schedule another appointment with a psychiatrist.

If anything, the SSRI was super effective! I became a little too uninhibited sometimes. It worked well against the social phobia and generalized anxiety, but it wasn't as effective against the depressive and vacuous mood.

I second the above. I am also taking Lexapro. I started 10mg about a year ago. Early fall, like right about now, is my most stressful time of year and my doctor and I felt that 20 mg for August and Sept is necessary. Then its back to 10 for as long as I feel it necessary.

My older child suffers very bad anziety and he is also taking Lexapro at 10mg. He started on paxcil but it didn't work for him.

That's one thing about SSRIs, often the first one you try isn't the right match or the dosage needs to be changed a bit. You need a doctor who will work with you. Bear in mind also that there are side effects. Again, if the sign effects are a problem, you might need to try another type.

BeeBee

Yeah me too with the anxiety especcially at nite... other question on this line anybody know any good sleeping medications that work with aspies as I have such a hard time here that even if its dead quiet Ill be in bed for hour+ thinking.

We do not seem to have much of a Medicine Culture in the UK, unless one happens to fit the appropriate profile.

There is a place in London called The Tavistock Clinic where the middle to upper-middle and noisy histrionics can go, but that is rather costly.

My solution to anxiety medication (or lack therefore), is a commercially obtainable product that is sold under the name of Guinness. Unfortunately, thi scan prove inordinately costly from time to time.

Ah yes one of my favorite medications

Y

Thanks for the information. Sounds like they might actually work. This whole subject annoys me so much. It's so imprecise, even the doctors and psychiatrists are guessing at what to do and the results vary wildly. Trying to find information is near impossible. I hate messing around with my health when no one seems to actually know what they are doing. Researching is difficult for me anyway since the more I read the more anxious I get.

I guess the main thing I need to do is figure out a way to get myself into the doctor.

Endersdragon
Currently if I'm having a really bad night I will take 1/4 of an Actifed pill (antihistamine to calm and decongestant to reduce the dizzy feelings). This calms me and helps me sleep. I seem to be fairly sensitive to it so that is why I only take 1/4 of a pill. I don't do that very often though because it tends to make me sleep too deep and I feel like crap when I wake up plus it's not really good for you to take all the time. St. John's Wort helps me sleep also but I don't take that very often because sometimes it triggers an anxiety attack that wakes me up (this is one of the worst experiences for me).

adversarial
I wish I liked alcohol more than I do. It just doesn't "do it" for me and generally it just makes me feel worse. I hate the slushy, slow, down, impaired feeling that alcohol gives you.

So how do I go about obtaining this Luxapro?

There was a time when I would not touch it; the feeling of not quite being in control and so on. I also disliked the cultural collateral around it; the so-called 'pub culture', especially as it stands in the UK at present.

My comments about Guinness were meant at least partly in jest, because when I am free of stress and anxiety, I feel more myself and in control and there is little need for wanting alcohol. It can cause as many problems as it is claimed to solve. It is a bad habit I picked up from my years in college and continued through working in a bar for far longer than I ever thought possible. I still have yet to shake off the habit entirely.

Having been not exactly a heavy drinker, but not shy of having a few from time to time, I can see the short term effect it has on people (extremes of baseless emotion and false sentiments), as well as the cumulative damage it causes in the long term.

Lexapro is by prescription only. Its a very popular SSRI. The prescription may be prescribed by a psychiatrist or a family doctor or internist.

You need to be seeing a doctor because some SSRIs don't work well for some people. The doctor will probably want to see you every six weeks or so until he or she is sure this is the right med for you and it is at the right dosage. After that its pretty common for adults to be seen annually about it.

BeeBee

I have a prescription for Xanax to take up to 3 times a day as needed. It helps alleviate anxiety, but unless I'm facing some major anxiety (like getting my tooth pulled without nitrous, not something like worrying about fitting in) it makes me extremely tired.

I try not to take it very often, not only because of the tiredness, but because benzodiazepines in general can be very addictive.

I haven't noticed it helping.

Although my family have noticed a big change when i take it.

I'm on clomipramine.

Anyone have experience with using 5-HTP? It is suppose to boost serotonin levels and have an effect similar to an SSRI (so they say). I have tried it once before 4 or 5 years ago but discontinued after only taking it for a couple days because I wasn't sure if it was safe.

OK, here am I after a short absence. A little while ago I managed to force myself into the doctor. Probably one of the hardest things I have ever had to do. Of course there was nothing really to be anxious about but my inability to handle stress cripples me easily. Just to reiterate: I was not depressed or suicidal or anything like that, just crippled with anxiety.

Bloodwork shows normal. Actually I'm incredibly healthy. I was in decent shape a few years ago before the major anxiety hit. Interestingly, when I started having major anxiety problems exercise actually made it worse (!). Any moderate exertion over the course of 2 or 3 days causes major anxiety and panic attacks.

I started off on Cymbalta (an SSNRI). I started at the lowest common dosage of 30 mg. There is a 20 mg but it's really hard to get. This stuff felt really way too high a dosage from the beginning. After about two weeks I got used to it and could take it daily without feeling drugged. Effects:

- The first thing I noticed is that colors and sounds were dulled compared to normal. I literally couldn't hear sounds that I could before (like the computer running in the other room). Colors looked less bright and washed out.

- I had major jaw clenching and leg stimming episodes for a number of days. These mostly went away over time.

- Completely removed all my emotions. This was kinda cool because I could finally watch some TV shows that interest me but usually freak me out too much (Cold Case Files, Medical shows like Mystery Diagnosis, etc). I was making decisions based more on logical thought than emotions. This seemed to help with social anxiety because I could remain in control easier.

- Slowed digestive tract. Not constipation but I never felt "empty" as it were. This eventually led to a serious problem when I ate or drank something that had a diuretic effect and caused a huge "gut blowout" which probably did something to my Vagus Nerve. I blacked out and could not talk right for several hours. My first time ever riding in an ambulance and I don't even remember it

- Suicidal ideation. For absolutely no reason I can explain this image of cutting my throat with a knife appeared. This was followed by a strong impulse to actually carry through with the act. There was no fear or any emotion at all associated with the act. Unnerving but I didn't feel totally out of control. Everyone says this is a very bad sign. This went away completely when I stopped this medication.

- No motivation. It completely killed my motivation. I felt lethargic every day. I would say I was depressed if I had emotions. I didn't get any work done while taking this stuff.

- It did help my sleep a lot. Just good normal sleep finally after years of suffering.

- I attempted to restart my exercising but had exactly the same problem as before. Moderate exertion over 2 or 3 days led to massive anxiety problems.

Although it helped with the day-to-day anxiety it didn't really feel like it was working very well. The whole reason I was taking a medication was to try to help my anxiety and this didn't really work all that well. Under stress the anxiety would punch right through the medication. I was never sure if my lack of sleep was causing my anxiety or if the anxiety was causing my sleep problems. Apparently the latter is true.

Anyway, after 6 weeks I gave up on it due to the digestive problems, lethargy, and most importantly the suicidal ideation crap. I was totally surprised at how fast the anxiety and such came back. I figured they would slowly taper back. Not so, the medication had absolutely no effect and was just masking the problems. I had “brain zaps” for about a week after stopping this stuff. It feels like fainting real quick and then coming back... over and over all day (torture).

Now I'm on Lexapro since I read a lot of anxiety suffers were using it and someone on here mentioned it as well. I have 10 mg tabs that I cut in half since I seem to be really sensitive to medications in general. Effects:

- More jaw clenching and leg stimming. I was surprised by this since I figured the Cymbalta would have made me less sensitive. This was not as bad as the Cymbalta, probably due to the low dosage I'm taking.

- Interestingly this stuff does not appear to affect my emotions very much. I feel more like “me” but that's not really that fun either.

- This stuff appears to help the day-to-day anxiety like the Cymbalta but due to my emotions still being present I still have minor anxiety attacks.

- I feel agitated and restless all the time. I would say this is better than being lethargic because I can get work done but it doesn't feel great. This feels almost violent at times, I don't like it.

- I have these headaches all day long. It feels exactly like a migraine except weaker and it never goes away.

- I'm getting these deep pains near the webbing in my hands/fingers.

- I can't sleep on this stuff and I have bizarre almost hallucinogenic dreams. These are very disturbing because they integrate with my real memories. I have these every single night, I can't take it.

- Depression. Ugh, I feel horrible on this stuff. I feel sad, depressed, and starting to show the typical emotional suicidal type thoughts. I did not feel this way before I started taking medications.

And here I am. I don't know what to do. It's so freaking annoying because nobody knows how any of this stuff works. I just want to examine my body and figure out which chemicals, organs, or whatever is screwed up and fix the source of the problem rather that screw around trying to fix symptoms. This is so stupid.

I figure I'll give the Lexapro another week or so but then I don't know what to do. I have been reading that in autistic people norepinephrine tends to run high. In which case taking a norepinephrine inhibitor (like the Cymbalta) is probably a really bad idea. Norepinephrine controls anxiety, impulses, and such so I'm wondering if that is what lead to the suicidal ideation.

I'm thinking that I need to maybe try something that will decrease my norepinephrine and not do anything else. I have no idea what that would be. Researching this stuff is so hard because my problems are so atypical. I mean, most people feel better when they exercise! (but then again, most people don't exercise and are not in shape like I used to be)

I don't know, I'm depressed about the whole situation. I wonder if anything will help. Normally as an aspie I would dive right into this and learn everything I can to solve the problem but I just don't have the time or energy.

My problem is that I don't think my anxiety is primary, and my last conselur (haven't found a doctor just yet) very arrogantly
and condescendingly, jumped to the conclusion that it is.

In simple terms, I want to get things done.

for examplle , she assumed that the reason I have trouble sleeping is that i'm anxious. Wrong.I can lay awake for hours and not feel much at all.

Or that the reason I end up with so many crappy jobs is that I'm nervous at job interviews.Wrong again-I never apply in time
because I'm disorganized.

I there a history of Aspergers being treated primaryly as an anxiety disorder?
And which anxiety meds down you out lower your functioning?

That mirrors my experience with Paroxetine*, although i did experience incresaed hypomania & self-destructive urges.
I tried Sertraline* this year and had a very strong reaction, similar to the physical effects of LSD.

*Im using the 'trade' chemical names for the benefit of international readers eg. me.

Im supposed to start taking mirtazepine, but ive had enough. Cannabis (indica) is, IME a great deal more safe and healthy if used corectly (appropriate strains/dosages). Treated respectfully, it can help apply long term therapy solutions, rather than simple sticking-plaster relief & it wont poison your vital organs either.