Posted by blueberry on September 22, 2005, at 17:57:32
In reply to Panic Attacks - Lexapro withdrawal? Zoloft start?, posted by JohnC2 on September 21, 2005, at 10:11:39
I can sure feel your pain. That anxiety, panic, or akathisia stuff is absolutely the hell of this earth. I'm there myself with that stuff, so at least know that someone else out there is experiencing the same hell as you. It's awful. The worst. I bet more people commit suicide from those things than just pure depression.
Where is it coming from? That's tough. I don't remember the exact doses that I read about, but I believe 40mg lexapro is about the same as 200mg to 300mg of zoloft.
Zoloft also has some dopamine reuptake inhibition to it. The increased dopamine could be it.
But no matter where it is coming from, I think you can find relief. Call your doc and ask if they can call in a prescription for you of 15mg remeron. Tell them it is urgent. Remeron is scored so cut one in half and try 7.5mg before bed. If it's not enough, then try 15mg. Remeron will block those receptors causing the anxiety and it will help you sleep. Its halflife is about a day, so it will help during the day as well. Remeron is tricky though...low doses good for sleep and anxiety by blocking only certain serotonin receptors responsible for anxiety...higher doses get more stimulating by increasing norepinephrine. With remeron in the mix, you can also get away with lower doses of the other med.
If remeron doesn't help, then that would be a strong clue it is a dopamine thing and not a serotonin thing. In which case a low dose of zyprexa 2.5mg can block the excess dopamine activity. Either way...remeron or zyprexa...both are likely to help your depression a lot...more than just zoloft or lexapro alone.
A benzo like xanax can help a lot too, but the problem then is that you may need it for a long time and not be able to go without it.
poster:blueberry
thread:557637
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20050921/msgs/558243.html