Posted by Cindy W on December 27, 1999, at 9:03:25
In reply to Re: Anxiety Medicines: Which One?, posted by Rick on December 26, 1999, at 20:13:28
> I've been singing the praises of Klonopin for Social Phobia on this board for months. (Some regulars probably suspect I work for Roche.) So I'll spare the regular readers, and send you an e-mail...in fact, I already have. But I forgot to mention that as great as Klonopin is for generalized Social Phobia, it is unbelievable for Performance Anxiety. Six months ago I stood up in front of a room of fifty people to give a presentation and struggled just to get one word out. I was on the verge of excusing myself from the room. Two months after starting Klonopin, I stared out at the same crowd, and couldn't believe I was the same person. I expected a big *reduction* in nervousness, but not 99.5%! And my mind didn't draw blanks; I could think so much more clearly. (It was sure a different story when I had tried Xanax in the same setting. That gave me about 33% relief, and I felt drugged.) I should also point out that the tiny (2.5 mg/day) dose of the serotonin-friendly beta blocker Pindolol that I was originally prescribed for mild high blood pressure probably helped a little (beta blockers alone are often used for mild performance anxiety).
>
> Secondly, I should point out that I, too, have mild OCD. (The fact that I feel so compelled to spend time defending and/or extolling the virtues of Klonopin at every opportunity should be a good hint that it's NOT doing anything on that count.)
>
> Finally, like every benzo, Klonopin helps with generalized anxiety. Maybe that's why I never have insomnia any more, even though I take my last Klonopin dose in the late afternoon.
>
> Rick> > I've been diagnosed with mild performance anxiety and just general anxiety. I also have social phobia and mild OCD. The Social Phobia causes me the most stress and is what prompted me to take Paxil.
> > I tried Paxil 10mg for a while, and it did improve my anxiety to some degree. However, I felt sedated and experienced marijuana-like effects: paranoia, dullening of emotions and feelings (that's what decreases my anxiety), cloudy thinking and inability to concentrate, decrease in motivation, oversleeping and fatigue. What medications beside SSRI's might help my condition?For OCD, I've tried Prozac, Serzone, Luvox, and Zoloft...am now trying Effexor. The Luvox was very effective, and Zoloft and Prozac were somewhat effective, but all produced sexual side effects. The Serzone produced no sexual side effects, but didn't help with the OCD (although it did help with social anxiety and depression). Effexor seems to help with OCD and depression, without the sexual side effects (so far!)--Cindy W
poster:Cindy W
thread:17454
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/19991212/msgs/17572.html