Posted by Ame Sans Vie on October 10, 2003, at 0:06:29
In reply to What is the best med for ANXIETY?, posted by DoYouKnowHim? on October 9, 2003, at 22:35:32
I'd give BuSpar (buspirone) a try first, if you haven't already... and don't give up on it until you've pushed the dose at least to 60mg/day (unless the side effects become unbearable, of course, though this is rare with BuSpar).
lol, okay, sorry, had to get the joke du jour in there somewhere. I'd forget about BuSpar, unless it's to augment another med sometime down the road. But I'd say go for a benzodiazepine -- preferably Xanax XR or Klonopin -- just don't go in to your doctor's office and ask for an abuseable drug by name... this has "drug-seeking behavior" written all over it. Just say something like, "I've tried Valium before, and it worked great but turned my legs into Jell-O [note: Valium is a powerful muscle relaxer]... anything similar I can try?" Chances are you'll get Klonopin. Klonopin (clonazepam), Xanax (alprazolam), Ativan (lorazepam), Valium (diazepam) and many others... benzodiazepines will usually begin working within an hour of the first dose and have been used safely as psychotherapeutic drugs for over forty years with a great track record.
Beyond that, Vistaril (hydroxyzine pamoate), Equanil (meprobamate) and Solfoton (phenobarbital) can be very useful, though most docs are reluctant to prescribe Solfoton these days (less so than Seconal [secobarbital] or Nembutal [pentobarbital] though). Some doctors are paranoid about prescribing meprobamate, but many of them are no so scared of it these days. Vistaril isn't hard to get at all -- it's just an anti-histamine with some mild anti-anxiety properties.
Or, here's a wild thought -- if Adderall, a CNS stimulant, helped your anxiety, why not try a stimulating monoaminergic reuptake inhibitor, like Wellbutrin (bupropion), Strattera (atomoxetine), or Edronax (reboxetine -- not available in the U.S.)? Or even the "wakefulness promoting" drugs Provigil (modafanil; Alertec in Canada) and Olmifon (adrafanil -- not available in U.S.)?
poster:Ame Sans Vie
thread:267584
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20031004/msgs/267628.html