Psycho-Babble Medication Thread 121690

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What are some helpful Meds for Anger/Temper/Irrit?

Posted by McPac on September 30, 2002, at 16:57:25

Zoloft works well for my depression BUT I still have Anger/Temper/Irrit/Agitation problems that can get very bad. I know the anti-convulsants are very good for this but I was wondering if something like Klonopin would be able to help a lot?
Thanks!

 

Re: What are some helpful Meds for Anger/Temper/Irrit?

Posted by Essence on September 30, 2002, at 18:39:06

In reply to What are some helpful Meds for Anger/Temper/Irrit?, posted by McPac on September 30, 2002, at 16:57:25

Hi McPac;

Klonopin (Clonazepam here in Canada) definately solved that problem for me. I didn't have the anger, just irritability associated with my anxiety and the Clon has really levelled that out for me. Although I will say this, even though I'm taking this medication, I'm scared to death of it. But now I feel I've been on it too long to try to come off of it to switch to another Benzo. I'm terrified of having a seizure during withdrawal. I withdrew from Xanax over 2 yrs ago and that was nightmare but at least I didn't have to worry about having a seizure like I will with the Clonazepam. If I had my choice, which I didn't at the time, I would have chosen to go back on the Xanax despite what I went through to get off it.
Take Care.
Ess

 

Re: What are some helpful Meds for Anger/Temper/Irrit?

Posted by pharmer on September 30, 2002, at 18:42:19

In reply to What are some helpful Meds for Anger/Temper/Irrit?, posted by McPac on September 30, 2002, at 16:57:25

Hi McPac, I can relate with the cnstant anger and irritability while I was on Zoloft. Unfortunately I did not try clonazepam when I was on it so it may help somewhat. I've used clonaz.for the past15yrs.with most of my tricyclic A/DS but not with any of the ssri's.I seem to be feeling pretty good at the moment with my current meds.- 15mg.Rem.-37.5mgEffex.and 0.5clonazepam. I believe Depakote is an effective moodstabilizer if used for antidepressant induced irritability

 

Re: What are some helpful Meds for Anger/Temper/Irrit? » Essence

Posted by Phil on September 30, 2002, at 21:40:31

In reply to Re: What are some helpful Meds for Anger/Temper/Irrit?, posted by Essence on September 30, 2002, at 18:39:06

Don't worry about a siezure, just reduce the dose v e r y slowly. Problem solved. It's a good med.

 

Essence Re: What are some helpful Meds for Anger

Posted by McPac on September 30, 2002, at 22:46:50

In reply to Re: What are some helpful Meds for Anger/Temper/Irrit?, posted by pharmer on September 30, 2002, at 18:42:19

Essence,

do you mean that the Zoloft CAUSED your anger?
You didn't have the anger problem on other meds?
I have wondered myself, if the Zoloft was at least contributing to the anger.
Thanks.

 

Re: What are some helpful Meds for Anger/Temper/Irrit?

Posted by oracle on October 1, 2002, at 0:20:59

In reply to What are some helpful Meds for Anger/Temper/Irrit?, posted by McPac on September 30, 2002, at 16:57:25

Are you bi-polar ? I think treating the true
cause and not just x,y or x problem is better.

 

Re: Essence Re: What are some helpful Meds for Anger

Posted by Essence on October 1, 2002, at 4:46:03

In reply to Essence Re: What are some helpful Meds for Anger, posted by McPac on September 30, 2002, at 22:46:50

Hi McPac;

Sorry, I guess I forgot to add that I had that affect when I started Remeron, I have not taken Zoloft but could relate to the agitation upon starting up the Remeron.
Ess

 

Pharmer Re: What are some helpful Meds for Anger

Posted by McPac on October 1, 2002, at 8:02:29

In reply to Re: What are some helpful Meds for Anger/Temper/Irrit?, posted by pharmer on September 30, 2002, at 18:42:19

Do you mean that the Zoloft CAUSED your anger?
You didn't have the anger problem on other meds?
I have wondered myself, if the Zoloft was at least contributing to the anger.
Thanks.

 

Re: Pharmer Re: What are some helpful Meds for An » McPac

Posted by viridis on October 1, 2002, at 10:43:28

In reply to Pharmer Re: What are some helpful Meds for Anger, posted by McPac on October 1, 2002, at 8:02:29

Zoloft at a tiny dose (12.5 mg) caused drastic mood swings and frequent periods of intense, irrational anger for me. I'm not normally an angry person, so this was very disturbing. My wife even asked me if I could find something else that didn't turn me into such an a**hole. Needless to say, I got off it, with my pdoc's blessing. That was my worst reaction with a standard AD, although they've all been bad. Now I do fine with a non-SSRI, non-standard-AD combo.

 

Re: What are some helpful Meds for Anger/Temper/Irrit?

Posted by MJC on October 1, 2002, at 10:48:35

In reply to Re: What are some helpful Meds for Anger/Temper/Irrit?, posted by Essence on September 30, 2002, at 18:39:06

First off, I know everybody is different and that medication does different things to different people, but I didn't have a problem getting off of Clonazepam the first time that I quit it. I didn't have a seizure or anything of the sort. I was taking between 1 to 1.5mg every night for about 2 years. Then I went through a period where I wanted to see if I had cleaned my body of all intoxicants for about 2-3 months if my anxiety disorder would still be as strong as it once was. Therefore, I quit taking Paxil cold turkey (which was HORRIBLE but I lived through it and didn't have to be hospitalized or anything) and then once the Paxil withdrawal wore off, I quit taking the Clonazepam also cold turkey. Clonazepam was MUCH easier to quit than any of the SSRIs I had tried to get off of in the past. Only real side effect I had was insomnia and MAD mood swings.

Anyways, you shouldn't be scared of it. I've already decided to go back on it since my anxiety disorder is still just as bad as it was a few years back and Clonazepam seemed to help me deal with it a lot better. I've never had any serious side effects from this Benzo and I sure didn't have a seizure.

> Hi McPac;
>
> Klonopin (Clonazepam here in Canada) definately solved that problem for me. I didn't have the anger, just irritability associated with my anxiety and the Clon has really levelled that out for me. Although I will say this, even though I'm taking this medication, I'm scared to death of it. But now I feel I've been on it too long to try to come off of it to switch to another Benzo. I'm terrified of having a seizure during withdrawal. I withdrew from Xanax over 2 yrs ago and that was nightmare but at least I didn't have to worry about having a seizure like I will with the Clonazepam. If I had my choice, which I didn't at the time, I would have chosen to go back on the Xanax despite what I went through to get off it.
> Take Care.
> Ess

 

VIRIDIS Re: What are some helpful Meds for An

Posted by McPac on October 1, 2002, at 13:28:32

In reply to Re: Pharmer Re: What are some helpful Meds for An » McPac, posted by viridis on October 1, 2002, at 10:43:28

"Zoloft at a tiny dose (12.5 mg) caused drastic mood swings and frequent periods of intense, irrational anger for me. I'm not normally an angry person, so this was very disturbing."

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Viridis, were you constantly angry the entire time on the Zoloft OR was it more like an intermittent anger, which came and went?

 

MJC What are some helpful Meds for Anger

Posted by McPac on October 1, 2002, at 13:32:40

In reply to Re: What are some helpful Meds for Anger/Temper/Irrit?, posted by MJC on October 1, 2002, at 10:48:35

"Clonazepam was MUCH easier to quit than any of the SSRIs I had tried to get off of in the past. Only real side effect I had was insomnia and MAD mood swings."

>>>>>>>>>>>But I thought the Klonopin was supposed to STOP the anger...you mean, for you, it CAUSED it???

 

Re: What are some helpful Meds for Anger/Temper/Irrit?

Posted by JackD on October 1, 2002, at 15:04:32

In reply to What are some helpful Meds for Anger/Temper/Irrit?, posted by McPac on September 30, 2002, at 16:57:25

The most calming, anti-anger med I've ever tried is Lithium. It has been known for years to sooth violent emotions. It makes me docile; hard to anger, gentle and very friendly. I have major anger problems, err... did.

 

Re: MJC What are some helpful Meds for Anger

Posted by MJC on October 1, 2002, at 15:47:08

In reply to MJC What are some helpful Meds for Anger, posted by McPac on October 1, 2002, at 13:32:40

The withdrawal effects from quitting Clonazepam caused it, yes. While I was on it, I don't think I really lost my temper at all.

 

Re: Pharmer Re: What are some helpful Meds for Anger

Posted by pharmer on October 1, 2002, at 18:47:23

In reply to Pharmer Re: What are some helpful Meds for Anger, posted by McPac on October 1, 2002, at 8:02:29

yes, i believe the zoloft certainly caused me to feel extremely angry,i'm talking look at me in the mall and i could just snap.verbally abusive-ready to lock horns with anyone.my wife dragged me back to my pdoc and he switched me to celexa.i tried it for about 4 months at 20mgs. and felt withdrawn to the point suicidal thoughts started to resurface so i was started on effexor.i was having problems at doses above 75mgs.- same feelings as zoloft-irritability,anger outbursts.i was also taking 0.5mgclonazepam to help with the anger.thats how i ended up on my current regime-15mg.rem.,37.5 effex.and 0.5 clonaz,2-3 times/day. rick

 

Neurontin/Mood

Posted by Panic_Attack on October 1, 2002, at 20:16:56

In reply to Re: Essence Re: What are some helpful Meds for Anger, posted by Essence on October 1, 2002, at 4:46:03

I take Nuerontin for my anger/mood issues. I was hospitalized a couple weeks ago cuz i wanted to kill myself. I am always angry and mad. So i wanted to kill myself. Doc gave me 300mg a day of Neurontin which is really for seizures but somehow helps your mood!

 

Pharmer

Posted by McPac on October 1, 2002, at 23:15:39

In reply to Re: Pharmer Re: What are some helpful Meds for Anger, posted by pharmer on October 1, 2002, at 18:47:23

Pharmer,

very, very interesting...sounds a lot like me...I've been wondering if it was the Zoloft...were you ever diagnosed with bipolar disorder(because of the temper)????
Thank you so much! Your response has really helped me!

 

McPac

Posted by pharmer on October 2, 2002, at 0:10:46

In reply to Pharmer , posted by McPac on October 1, 2002, at 23:15:39

it is interesting.since i started reading posts from others'over the past year,i wondered if i was bipolar in one way or another? my first pdoc diagnosed - atypical phycosis?? wrong,i was admitted to the phyc.ward and there began my journey. all the typical a/ds - mellaril,largactil,orap,neuliptil and ect.1 year later i was a mess and was maintained on clomipramine,surmontil and clonazepam for approx.13yrs. i started seeing a new pdoc about 6yrs ago and he rediagnosed - ocd ?? started on the ssris'with mixed results.i asked him on my last visit about bipolar and he kinda shuffled around in his chair and said "hmmm,it's possible but i'm more inclined to stick with your major depression-anxiety disorder." so much for ocd.he did presribe depakote to help combat the anger but i found it to increase my depression. i'm sure theres' a doc out their somewhere that would label me with bipolar. bottom line is finding those magic beans,no matter what i'm diagnosed with.

 

Re: VIRIDIS Re: What are some helpful Meds for A » McPac

Posted by viridis on October 2, 2002, at 1:50:46

In reply to VIRIDIS Re: What are some helpful Meds for An, posted by McPac on October 1, 2002, at 13:28:32

"Zoloft at a tiny dose (12.5 mg) caused drastic mood swings and frequent periods of intense, irrational anger for me. I'm not normally an angry person, so this was very disturbing."

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Viridis, were you constantly angry the entire time on the Zoloft OR was it more like an intermittent anger, which came and went?

**************

Hi McPac,

The anger was intermittent, but very frequent. Really, my moods were all over the place -- very bizarre. I only took Zoloft for a short time, but when I told my pdoc about my reaction, he agreed that I should stop it immediately. Maybe these were just "startup effects", but my (limited) experience with ADs is that if they have negative effects initially, these persist -- I can generally tell pretty quickly if a given drug will be beneficial.

 

Re: What are some helpful Meds for Anger/Temper/Irrit?

Posted by rojosweety on October 10, 2002, at 0:49:55

In reply to What are some helpful Meds for Anger/Temper/Irrit?, posted by McPac on September 30, 2002, at 16:57:25

Another angle to consider is ADD. Some pdocs are linking Intermitttent Rage Disorder with ADD or ADHD in adults. Do you control your temper at work and then blow up at home? If you have some degree of control over your temper, then it might be ADD.

But first you should call your pdoc and discuss the Zoloft--your temper level before the drug and while on it. Always suspect an iatrogenic cause (physician induced) when adding a new drug.


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