Anxiety medicine - first time.
Recently I had something like panic attack (I have them a few times a year - during stressing periods such as job interviews: they make me anxious a few days before and after and if I think too much it ends in crying a lot) and I couldn't calm down so I went to psychiatrist. She called it Anxiety NOS(F41.9) for now and gave me some medicine: Spamilan(Buspironi hydrochrolidium) 2ce a day and Pregabalin(name speaks for itself) once a day at first, 2ce a day since Sunday. I am supposed to met the doctor in 2 weeks to talk more(we couldn't talk long) and decide what to do next. She also said she sees anxiety but doesn't see depression.
Today is 3rd day I am taking the medicines.
Yesterday my mood was better (there were some of my usual negative thoughts but I found it easier to get rid of them and I couldn't cry more than a few tears despite feeling like crying) but today I feel bad again.
I still cannot cry and it's easier to think but I am still afraid of looking for a job and that dad will be angry with me for not meting his expectations and last night I couldn't fall asleep because I was thinking about it. It is this way because yesterday he made a phone call to his friend asking if he would have some work for me and the guy asked if I know anything about computer graphic. Sure, I can use a little bit of Gimp and Paint but I can't do a lot and I don't have art talent at all. In school I never liked art class (I found it boring and pointless) and when I made a website in college the teacher said everything is technically good but the whole website is ugly due to my color choice(it was website about thunderstorms so I made it mostly gray with yellow, blue and green details because those are colors of thunderstorm in my opinion). Therefore I doubt I would do well with professional graphic. But when I say it to dad he tells me "its all because you lack confidence due to not going out to met people at all" and "it's because you are depressed and choose gray colors".
I also don't feel too well on the medicine.
Especially Spamilan seems to have bad side affects(I feel uneasy for about 4-5h after taking it and afterwards they stop so it is this one, right?). It's nothing huge - just feeling of "heavy, huge, filled" head especially in forehead area, tinnitus(no big deal), some dizziness and coordination problems - but it interferes with my life more than anxiety did and it makes me anxious because I am afraid of feeling bad outside therefore as long as the pill causes me side effects I won't leave the house without a company and I will avoid places that usually make me feel bad because I am afraid the pill makes sensory overload worse.
Pregabalin had side effects at first - itchy, numb nose then mouth, then hands, then legs - but 30 minutes later they were gone and didn't appear when I took it next day. But I am not sure if there are any other side effects because I take Pregabalin in the evening and go to sleep 2h later. The increased light sensitivity in the morning is probably one of them too though.
Do I really have to take the Spamilan? I don't like the dizziness and heavy head feeling. Are the side effects ever going to go away?
And what exactly each of the medicine does?
Spamilan description only says it is anti-anxiety drug and can be used as short term cure in anxiety disorders and for weakening the symptoms of anxiety with or without depression.
And Pregabalin says it can be used for epilepsy as side-medicine (I don't have epilepsy) or for GAD (generalized anxiety disorder). It doesn't say how it cures GAD but the symptoms of GAD described in the Pregabalin description sound like what I have (hard to control anxiety or uneasiness, irritability, tiredness, feeling of empty head, tense muscles, insomnia).
How do they work? What do they do? Do I have to use both of them? Spamilan seems to be short term cure - is it necessary? Maybe it's there just so I feel better till Pregabalin starts working? And does it even work? I couldn't fall asleep last night due to thinking too much and feeling like crying despite being on both of the medicine...
You should try to keep taking your medicines for at least a few weeks, because it often takes that long for them to start working. Also, I've found that side effects tend to fade after a while as your body gets used to the medications.
I've suffered from anxiety for much of my life and understand your frustration. Starting new things like jobs, etc., can be very frightening and stressful when you're anxious. Perhaps work with your doctor and get your anxiety under control first, and then you will feel more confident .
Good luck.
Surprising a doctor didn't hand out an SSRI. Buspar(buspirone) and Lyrica (pregablin) are are pretty good options to start with if you have anxiety. The side effects should decrease with time. Neither of these drugs are antidepressants so don't expect them to help with any depression not tied to anxiety.
Medications can often be used to treat various conditions. Pregablin is sometimes used to treat generalized anxiety disorder. It is also an effective medication to treat nerve pain/fibromyalgia. Don't worry that it is in the class of medications known as anticonvulsants. It is rarely used for epilepsy.
Buspirone is used to treat various anxiety disorders and requires you to take it every day for several weeks to take effect.
Just stick with your meds for 6 to 8 weeks to give them time to work.
Pregablin in some patients can cause changes in mood, depressed mood or thoughts of suicide. So be aware of this and inform your doctor if you experience this side effect.
I went to doctor 1 week to early because I couldn't stand the side effects anymore and they were getting worse and worse instead of getting better. I browsed the net, found information it could be the start of potentially life threatening drug caused condition (Spamilan was in risk drugs) that develops slowly over 2 weeks getting worse and worse.
As soon as she heard "I am feeling bad after Spamilan" the doctor said "Then don't take it, they are both the same anyway".
Virtually all side effects wore off after I stopped taking Spamilan, even the ones I thought are related to Pregabalin. No dizziness, no headache, no funny feelings in the body, no illusions body is bigger or faster, no tinnus, visual snow within the norm... The only thing that is still there is some green tint in shiny stuff as I wake up but it disappears within less than 1 sec so its not bothersome although its ugly because I hate green color. I didn't see it past 2 days so it probably wore off. I also seen double vision a few times but it happened occasionally even before I took the pill (although I didn't see it past few months) so it could be coincidence.
However I am not sure if Pregabalin is helping at all. I don't feel any different than I were before starting the curation. Spamilan despite all it's side effects was helping - it was responsible for the inability to cry and clearer thinking. I actually took Spamilan once last week and it helped me with some anxiety attack, I calmed down within 20 mins (although I regretted it a few hours later - because I was losing control over my muscles and had headache again).
The doctor said I am supposed to increase the Pregabalin dose form 150mg a day to 300mg a day but I am afraid. I checked opinions about Pregabalin in the internet and apparently it is a dangerous drug that makes a mess with your body and cuses bad withdrawal symptoms. So I am freaking out again... The drug is expensive so I cant be taking it my whole life and so what if it helps (doesn't seem to be helping yet) if I won't be able to stop taking it in the future and if I try I will feel so bad I will want to die? Maybe I should stop taking it now, before its too late? But isn't it too late already? Today I forgot to take the pill and 4h later I got a headache. Could it be withdrawal symptom? Well, it's just probably symptom of lack of sleep and being tired after a family trip but...
I don't want to! I am too scared to take the pills! They are expensive, dangerous and don't help, only give more reasons to feel anxious!
As soon as she heard "I am feeling bad after Spamilan" the doctor said "Then don't take it, they are both the same anyway".
Virtually all side effects wore off after I stopped taking Spamilan, even the ones I thought are related to Pregabalin. No dizziness, no headache, no funny feelings in the body, no illusions body is bigger or faster, no tinnus, visual snow within the norm... The only thing that is still there is some green tint in shiny stuff as I wake up but it disappears within less than 1 sec so its not bothersome although its ugly because I hate green color. I didn't see it past 2 days so it probably wore off. I also seen double vision a few times but it happened occasionally even before I took the pill (although I didn't see it past few months) so it could be coincidence.
However I am not sure if Pregabalin is helping at all. I don't feel any different than I were before starting the curation. Spamilan despite all it's side effects was helping - it was responsible for the inability to cry and clearer thinking. I actually took Spamilan once last week and it helped me with some anxiety attack, I calmed down within 20 mins (although I regretted it a few hours later - because I was losing control over my muscles and had headache again).
The doctor said I am supposed to increase the Pregabalin dose form 150mg a day to 300mg a day but I am afraid. I checked opinions about Pregabalin in the internet and apparently it is a dangerous drug that makes a mess with your body and cuses bad withdrawal symptoms. So I am freaking out again... The drug is expensive so I cant be taking it my whole life and so what if it helps (doesn't seem to be helping yet) if I won't be able to stop taking it in the future and if I try I will feel so bad I will want to die? Maybe I should stop taking it now, before its too late? But isn't it too late already? Today I forgot to take the pill and 4h later I got a headache. Could it be withdrawal symptom? Well, it's just probably symptom of lack of sleep and being tired after a family trip but...

I don't want to! I am too scared to take the pills! They are expensive, dangerous and don't help, only give more reasons to feel anxious!

Stick with the Pregablin to see if it can help you at a higher dose. 150mg is too low to help most people. It isn't that hard of a drug to come wean off of if you decide it isn't for you. Gabapentin is very similar to pregablin and is cheaper because it is old, it may be an option your doctor can try in the future if pregablin doesn't work out for you.
With regards to the green visual effects you describe, I have experienced that on pregablin once when I intentionally overdosed. I would see all these racing green like show, like lasers at a rave or something in my head when I closed my eyes. I thought it was a rather unique side effect. You probably won't see that when your body gets used to the drug and use the it as prescribed.
I increased the dose to 225mg/day (1-0-2 of 75mg) because I didn't want to increase the dose too fast.
And I don't feel any change from how I were 4 weeks ago.
Today I had another job interwiew and I was able to go there just fine but after I left I was full of worries that the guy wasn't nice to me, that I didn't say enough, thet I come out as uninterested, that I forgot to say that I have Asperger and that I don't want to start the job at 7AM but want to work 3/4 of time (6h) and start at 9AM.
I didn't really understood what was said there(I got overwhelmed by the flow of words and I only nodded, barely getting anything) and I don't understand most of the job requirements. I had trouble keeping eye contact but tried to do so and realized I understand even less of what is being said so I stopped and I am afraid he might think I am rude. I find there was a lot of misunderstandings too.
I also seen the clothes in the company - they all wear formal clothes and I hate formal clothes. I only have one set of comfortable formal clothes that I always wear for job interviews but you are supposed to wear different set of clothes everyday and I don't have that many formal clothes and I don't have money nor patience to search shops for comfortable ones as I hate trying on clothes in shops.
I am afraid they might want to hire me because I was looking good today (even while looking in the mirror I thought "wow, she is pretty, is that really me?"), I have good qualifications and met the requirements (the guy even convinced me that I have all thats needed and everything else I will learn) and so far there are only 3 candidates so the risk of me getting hired is high.
The formal clothes and the rude guy that speaks too long make me not want to work there. But parents say I should work there because the location is good and the company is one of the types where once you get hired you are set for years (government company) and if I don't understand something mom will explain it to me. But I am scared.
I am crying since I got back home and can't stop. I have suicidal thoughts. I don't know if they are caused by Pregabalin or not but I had them even before getting it so it's probably my norm, not medicine side effect.
I want a medicine that can just make me happy or make me unable to feel any emotions. Perhaps I have depression, not anxiety? The crying is very uncomfortable. My eyes get teary and then my nose is running and I cant think of anything else because it causes sensory overload! I don't wan't to cry! Make it stop! Why is there no doctor/medicine that can make it stop, right here and now! I am yelling for help, damn it! I cant stand it anymore. Why the hell am I crying right now! Nothing bad happened! Actually I have real chance go get employed in a company that can make me set and safe for years! WHY AM I SO DEPRESSED RIGHT NOW? Is it just overload? Is it stress? How I get rid of it? I don't want to be overloaded. I don't want to be stressed!
I've been on medication for anxiety and depression for years, recently came off the last (Sertraline) but I went through a lot of ones before that gave me a myriad of unpleasant side-effects. Mirtazapine in particular zombified me. It appears pretty rare though for a patient given these types of drugs not to have to switch a few times, but the down side is that each one can take months to actually begin working properly, so it is unwise to come off them too soon, even if they are causing side effects. Where anxiety and depression are concerned, I was warned that I could be more anxious and depressed in those months before the drug got well and truly in my system. Unpleasant.
If you are worried in any way about dosage or the med itself, get on at them about it, ask about the available options. Honestly, it is a very tough time going through different prescriptions before you find the one that does the job, best wishes.
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On hiatus thanks to someone in real life breaching my privacy here, without my permission! May be back one day. +tips hat+
first off, i just want to say how sorry I am that you are suffering so much. It really sounds like you are suffering. I've got both depression and anxiety myself, and they are the most common diagnoses that go along with Asperger's. Crying and some of the other symptoms you describe may indicate depression as well.
There are many different medications that can and do help, and you should give them a chance. I'd suggest having your symptoms assessed again, because it depression is also an issue then different (or additional) meds could really help. And it's not unusual, at all, that we'll have to try 1 med and see if it helps, and if not then try another, and to change a few times until we find something that really works and that we are comfortable with. So hang in there but get some additional help. Depression can be assessed easily, and you can even do an online assessment as a start if you want (the HAM-D and MADRS as two things you can search and do as simple tests that might help). But you may need additional, and benefit from different meds.
I do OK on buspirone myself, but the side effects are milder for me. I take other meds as well, and together they all are really starting to help my depression and anxiety. So hang in there and get some additional help. And those around you who think they know what's "wrong" with you or whatever might not really know what they're talking about.
I hope you feel better. I'm sure you can.
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Nothing witty here...
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