Posted by viridis on October 2, 2002, at 2:23:33
In reply to Re: Viridis, I think you're right on the money. » viridis, posted by MattDDS on October 1, 2002, at 13:22:53
Hi Matt,
I think YOU'RE "right on the money". For years I dealt with GPs, therapists, and psychiatrists who viewed anxiety as secondary to depression. My (still current, unfortunately) GP even went so far as to tell me that there's no such thing as anxiety disorder -- anxiety is just a byproduct of depression, according to him. So, ADs are always the answer -- supposedly.
Then I found my current pdoc, and told him that I thought my depression (often very severe) was the result of uncontrolled anxiety. His response was that anxiety and depression are inextricably intertwined, and no one really understands the distinction or relationship between the two. But, he agreed that the anxiety component seemed dominant for me, and treated me accordingly, starting with benzos.
The result has been wonderful. He did slip in a low-dose SSRI (Zoloft), to see if that would help, once I was stabilized on Klonopin. Zoloft was a disaster for me, but he agreed that I should stop it as soon as I reported serious side effects, and has declined to try any other SSRIs. The mild depression that remained pretty much disappeared when he added a bit of Adderall to the mix.
So, I strongly agree that anxiety can precipitate depression, and so does my pdoc (at least tentatively). In any case, Klonopin has resulted in the single biggest improvement in my moods that I've ever experienced.
poster:viridis
thread:121617
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20020930/msgs/121917.html