Posted by JadeKelly on November 14, 2008, at 0:18:21
In reply to manics hospital appointment HELP, posted by manic666 on November 9, 2008, at 11:15:08
> ok this is were i could do with help, in dec i see my h.doc to ask how things are going. then in jan i start my C.B.therapy.i should now be on 60mg cymbalta an 4mg loz. but to be honest the cym dont really work it adds to anxiety if 60mg an your sex life is a bit slow , well a lot slow.so i dropped myself to 40mg sex ok on 40mg an it does give pain releaf, it must have a slight depressive help. im running 50 .50 at the moment but drop lower say 40.60 so you can see it dont realy help.also i dropped a 1mg loz down to 3 on my own.this is the dilema,after comming out of hospital an being on, an comming of velafaxine,i was running at 30. 70 so bad as you can see. i was like that a year before hospital trying various meds dont ask me what, i was out of it at the time.i want to ask about a new med but scared of the 30 .70 per.cent again. the main problem is anxiety hence the loz troubles so what in anyones opinion shall i ask for an dont forget we only get one med at a time in england. i will get of the loz eventually hopfully, my gp doc said i wont an is happy with the 4 but the hospital doc has other idea,s so if he goes for a new med he may want me of the loz .he has said as much when i start the C.B.T why who can say.that scares me a new med an slowly comming of the loz together.the 50. 50 is the best i have been for atime but its still not living .but it may be better than they can offer.sex is ok an i dont get fat is the best i can say about my meds im on but thats better odds than some.thanks manic666
Hi Manic, I promise I will answer this the best I can, but I'm not familiar with how things are done exactly in England, particularly for mental/emotional issues. I'd first inquire as to whether you HAVE to drop your benzo as they add new med. IMHO, ANY benz w/d symptoms are going to interfere with your response to new A/D. Thats why when I started Parnate, I decided to hold off d/c my Klonopin (3mg day). Next, did you just drop 1/4 of your Benzo in a day? Been feelin a little anxious/irritable? Maybe too fast? I've heard that 10% is a good taper and thats per week. So if you were taking 4mg of Lorazepam, the ideal taper would be .5mg FOR A WEEK. Then, next week, another .5mg for a week, etc. So based on this, it should take you 8 full weeks to stop Lorazepam. And that doesn't mean you wouldn't have some lingering w/d's. Something to ask your Doc about, especially if you've been on the wrong side of 30/70. IF it were me, altering between 30/70 and 50/50, I'd consider going back to 4mg unless you tapered slowly.
Frankly, i'd stay on Lorazapam at DOC RECOMMENDED DOSE :) and Btw, people I know well have said Venlafaxine (Effexor here) is very hard to D/C, w/d symptoms for a while, especially "zaps" did you get those? I haven't heard this one way or the other, but someone close to me recently d/c'd Cymbalta and had similar w/d effects: Brain "zaps" etc. NOTE: These are just my experiences with these three drugs. Reactons/responses vary so widely depending on the person! In fact, I hear a lot of people respond really well to Effexor (no one I know personally so I'll leave it at that)
So,Manic, in answer to your question, I'd stay on the Lorazepam, just until you find an A/D that keeps you at "50/50". W/d from an A/D is hard enough, and maybe something you'll have to expect as you d/c each drug, but the lorazepam sure would help with that. Tell H.Doc (hospital Doc?).
calmly that you need to stay at 50/50 and Lorazepam helps with that. Be firm if its what you believe. Remember, I'm not sure of all the details about whats going on with Hospital treatment. Sounds like they are treating you for depression, if so, do they prescibe MAOI's? Nardil is sedating, so you could wean off Benzo, Parnate is stimulating for many (me) so people with anxiety tend to stay away. So, I'd say request Nardil, if not, tell Docs you want an A/D in new class of meds from ones you've tried. Effexor a difficult one because I believe it hits all 3 transmitters, but I think different A/D's affect us via various mechanisms. What may affect the same transmitter, may work in one A/D but not in another. I'll check around and see if effexor and Cymbalta non responses is clue to what class, or maybe even what med may work. Again, my best geuss? Nardil and Lorazepam, until your ready to taper. Tell ANY Doc, you don't feel comfortable weaning off 4mg Lorazepam in less than 8 weeks (.5 mg per week) A Doc can hardly argue with that. So let me know if you can get MAOI's there.Hope I helped a little Manic, there's so much I don't know, about your history, and the mental health care sytem over there. I'll be of more help to you as I do! Don't forget too let me know about Maoi's, if answer is no, I can look for other logical meds to try. Any other A/D's you have or haven't responded to in past? that would help.
OK....probably more than you wanted, but a promise is a promise hahaCheers~Jade
poster:JadeKelly
thread:861753
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20081106/msgs/862969.html