Question:
I've suffered for eight years now with anxious depression. The anxiety
portion of the depression is so bad that I have random panic attacks when
not treated with medication. It is most dehabilitating! What do you think of my current meds regime?
All taken nightly:
225Mgs Anafranil
300Mgs Serzone (hope to increase it)
3Mgs Lorazepam
Answer:
Have you tried Clonazepam (Klonopin) instead of Lorazepam? Sounds like what I've been going through for 15 years. You must have had
really bad insomnia as a result. With the amount of meds that your
taking at bedtime you must sleep pretty well. Do you get a severe
hangover the next day or does that particular drug combo cancel out any
negative side effects? Yes, I do suffer from insomnia and getting a good nights sleep is a must.
From time to time I use Tylenol PM in addition to all the meds I take at
night. Sheez, you would think that I wouldn't be able to stay awake the
next day but, I do! Man, what I would give to go back in time and not
suffer like I do! Have you tried Effexor XR? Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) has
recently been added as an approved indication. Remeron has been reported to be especially good for anxiety. That's not
official, though. Organon got a nasty Warning Letter from the FDA because of an
advertisement that made this claim. Have not tried Effexor or Wellbutrin. I guess I shouldn't say that I've
tried just about everything, eh? Tried Remeron and it really worked at first but after about 3 weeks it was
irritating me to no end! Never even heard of Organon. What is it? I had a very similar 'anxious depression', with agoraphobia thrown in with
the panic attacks. Only MAOIs like Nardil really got me back to normal.
Have you tried them? Paxil (paroxetine) is indicated for panic disorder as well as depression.
It might work better with the clonazepam which you said didn't work
previously. (Works for me.) And did you know that Serzone can *bring on*
anxiety and panic attacks in some people (even though it's supposed to help
anxiety)? It happened to me! I flipped out so much I had to leave work and
I got off Serzone the next day. For what it's worth, I'm on 40 mg Paxil, 100 mg Wellbutrin, 0.5-1 mg
clonazepam, 100-200 mg trazodone (for sleep) and occasionally 0.25 mg Xanax.
I was in a state of constant terror before the clonazepam - since I started
that, I've had no major anxiety whatsoever, and that was months ago. I must say that so far the Serzone has had no strange side effects. Of
course, I'm only at 300Mgs.... gonna try to beef it to 600Mgs to see if I
can't start deriving some benefit from it. I have not tried Paxil. Will put it on my list of things to try. Clonazepam had a really negative effect on me. I think it made me more
depressed and thus increased my agitation level. Have not had good luck
with it.
