Posted by JohnX2 on June 2, 2002, at 14:27:05
In reply to Re: Looking for help on constant worrying » JohnX2, posted by Tommy H on June 2, 2002, at 10:10:14
> John..The doctor I'm dealing with is a psychiatrist. She told me I have a mild case of depression. Most of my situation is anxiety related with the constant worrying + self esteem problems.The anxiety attacks are only centered around buisness meetings with people either one on one or group meetings. I'm in sales so this poses many problems. I did have some side affects with Celexa but nothing severe. Some headaches that went away, dry mouth +some sexual deficiences. You mentioned some possibilities of short term relief..Let me know..Thanks
Tom,Here are a few suggestions.
There's a good chance you may have success with either
Zoloft or Effexor. I wouldn't want to venture a guess as to which
one may be more likely to hit the mark.Effexor is a bit different from Zoloft. It has the ability to work on
two chemicals in the brain (serotonin and norepineprine), whereas Zoloft works
on one (serotonin).Zoloft is in the same class of medicines as Celexa:
SSRI- Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor.Effexor is a SNRI (Serotonin & Norepinepinephrine Reuptake Inhibitor).
(In my viewpoint) The fact that Effexor works on more chemicals doesn't necessarily give it
an edge over Zoloft for the symptoms you are trying to tackle. Some people believe this may
be helpful for deep depressions.Zoloft in terms of side effects trends to be energizing (can vary from individual to individual),
so if you feel agitated and wired already you may want to lean towards Effexor
(Effexor can be energezing too, but its more of a wild card and dose dependant).For most pure anxiety problems, the docs lean towards the serotonin meds. At the lower
doses Effexor specifically works on Serotonin and not Norepinephrine. At higher doses
Norepinephrine kicks in. (Some docs like this dual property).(In my viewpoint) Anyways, for everyone who likes Zoloft and not Effexor, you'll probably find someone
who likes Effexor and not Zoloft.As far as other med choices go, here are quick acting meds:
-Benzodiazepines
"Xanax","Klonopin", etc.
preferably "Klonopin" (Gold Standard).
These medicines work on the "Gaba" system and very quickly relieve stress and anxiety.
Klonopin is the preffered medicine for Generalized Anxiety Disorder and Panic Disorder as
it has a long 1/2 life (lasts in the body for a long while, so no bumps).
The downside here is the potential for the medicines to be habit forming.
A lot of pdocs like to try the Antidepressants before going this route.
Prescribing a benzodiazepine can be controversial to some, but A LOT of people with anxiety
disorders rely on these medicines.- APs (Atypical antipsychotics)
Dont let the name scare you.
At the very low doses these medicines generally aren't antipsychotics, they exert antianxiety and for many antidepressant properties.
They also help many with obsessive thoughts. Very heavily prescribed
These medicines work very quickly (same day, couple days), and don't cause sexual dysfunction. Not habit forming."Zyprexa" (others include "Seroquel", "Geodon", "Risperdal").
- Anticonvulsant
"Neurontin" - This is an antiseizure medicine that many take to help with anxiety. Quick acting, low side effect profile. Not habit forming.
Just a few thoughts.
Any of the medicines I listed after the antidepressants may be taken as adjunctive medicines
to the antidepressants. They are quicker acting and as such you can quickly bail on them if you don't like them.Good luck,
John
poster:JohnX2
thread:108308
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20020602/msgs/108446.html