Posted by hildi on August 25, 2002, at 14:13:46
In reply to Re: Thanks All for Replies-Need all help I can get, posted by viridis on August 23, 2002, at 23:23:03
> Just my 2 cents: After many years of trying to deal with anxiety, panic attacks, and serious depression through various kinds of therapy, SSRIs, Wellbutrin, other drugs, herbs and various dietary supplements, lifestyle changes etc. (with limited and short-lived success at best and awful side effects at worst) I found a very skilled and intuitive psychiatrist. He immediately prescribed Klonopin daily, with Xanax PRN, and the relief was dramatic. Clearly (for me) the anxiety was primary, the depression secondary or at least aggravated by the anxiety.
>
> We later added a small dose of Adderall to deal with possible mild ADD, and this pretty much cleared up the remaining low-level depression as well. I'm also taking Neurontin to help maintain stability, but really, I think Klonopin (clonazepam) is the key, with Adderall acting synergistically on the depression/ADD side of things.
>
> So far, I've had no need or desire to increase beyond 1 mg Klonopin/day, and take the Xanax only occasionally for breakthrough anxiety. The initial bzd side effects (clumsiness, sleepiness, short-term memory loss) were mild and subsided in about a week. The increase in quality of life and overall performance offsets any concerns I have about long-term bzd therapy, and my pdoc seems quite comfortable with keeping me on this class of drugs indefinitely.Hi. Thanks for the reply. I printed your reply as a reference because it seems to be hitting on key issues with me.
The more I am finding out from others, I believe that the anxiety may be causing much of my depression. I also believe I am ADD, too.
Have you tried, heard much about adafranil, Provigil, or modafinal for ADD? I am curious about these, or anything else that is mild and easy for me to obtain- my dr. won't prescribe a stimulant for me. He is very close-minded and really only wants me on an SSRI.
I am still awaiting my benzos in the mail and in the meantime I have been taking 25mg zoloft for anxiety/ depression relief (helps a little). I am having an especially hard time today and my moods are scary. I've been yelling alot, being mean, having racing thoughts, hyperness and am shaky, sweaty. I was thinking that maybe I have some sort of borderline personality d/o too, but then I read your post and realized i am especially anxious (besides my GAD I have much upheaval going on in my life right now) and maybe my anxiety is bringing all the rage and other feelings out.I sure hope the benzos help. I hate being me like this. I can't stand another day of acting or feeling like this.
I also want to try a stimulant. The neurontin also would be a good thing to try, but for now (limited funds and no insurance) I'll try the benzos and then add a stimulant.
Hildi
poster:hildi
thread:117297
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20020821/msgs/117726.html