Posted by LightShifter on November 4, 2003, at 15:49:47
In reply to Re: Inattentive ADD help, posted by BackOfClass on October 31, 2003, at 17:44:39
The below post states that the person "guarantees" that "any ADD will make your Social Anxiety worse".... This has not been my expereince with Strattera (a norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor that work differently than Ritilin, Dexadrine or other stimulant meds.).
In 1 day of trying 40mg of Strattera alone - without any other meds -my social anxiety virtually disaappeared. I feel calm and focused and don't have any "brain fog" like I got when I was using Effexor (which also has Serotonin reuptake).
Multiple drugs confuse the whole thing because who knows what's causing what. I found Effexor which I was taking for the anxiety that my ADD caused "brain fog" and I coudn't think straight. So I decided to try Strattera alone instead which only reuptakes norepinephrine and NOT serotonin and it is working wonderfully.. I think we innattentive type of ADDers have a problem with either too much serotonin and/or not being able to process it properly.... Serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs like paxil and zoloft)seem to CAUSE the "brainfog" which cause doctors to think they need to add stimulamt medication... My belief is that it isn't that we need stimulant medication so much as dropping of the serotonin reuptake (which is exactly what Strattera does).
I believe we ADD Innatentive types have high serotonin and low norepinephrine (and perhaps dopamine) levels which is why Strattera works so well... at least for me.
Antianxiety meds like klonopin (benzodiazipines)are highly addictive and hard to get off of without reexpereincing high levels of anxiety again. Strattera poses none of these problems so far as I've read and is much safer.
Hope this helps,
Blessings,...Dan
> I can relate to everything you experience. I have debilitating social anxiety and the same type of ADD. I also take 150 mg of Zoloft, in addition to Zyprexa, Adderall and Klonopin. I suggest you talk to your doctor about this. I would not ask him directly for a stimulant, although that is what you may eventually need, but suggest you mention you may have this problem and stress the family history. If the Zoloft is helping with the social phobia then I suggest you stick with that, if not you should demand a low dose of Klonopin to augment it. I can guarantee you that any ADD medication will make your social anxiety worse, so it is ideal to experiment with the Klonopin and stimulant until you find the right dose. This can be almost impossible, since both of these meds are addictive, so most docs prevent this flexibility. I take the Zyprexa to help take the edge off the Adderall, but if you can get your doctor to prescribe Dexadrine there would be a less increase in social anxiety.
poster:LightShifter
thread:275320
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20031030/msgs/276559.html