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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 11 of 11. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by jms600 on October 31, 2003, at 16:01:14
Can anyone offer me any advice on what they have found to be the best anti-anxiety drug?
I know 99% will say Valium or another benzodiazepine, but I have found that when I take Valium I slowly develop a tolerance to it. I am also concerned about its habit-forming potential.
So, any other suggestions??
Posted by falconman on October 31, 2003, at 16:08:28
In reply to Best anti-anxiety drug???, posted by jms600 on October 31, 2003, at 16:01:14
> Can anyone offer me any advice on what they have found to be the best anti-anxiety drug?
>
> I know 99% will say Valium or another benzodiazepine, but I have found that when I take Valium I slowly develop a tolerance to it. I am also concerned about its habit-forming potential.
>
> So, any other suggestions??Can you be more specific about your anxiety...social,GAD,Depersonalization,etc? Is it just anxiety you suffer from or is it accompanied by OCD,depression,etc...? What meds have you tried before?
Peace Mark
Posted by karen_kay on October 31, 2003, at 16:24:51
In reply to Re: Best anti-anxiety drug???, posted by falconman on October 31, 2003, at 16:08:28
Hey, I'll tell you what... I have severe anxiety and stress and have a high potential for addiction so I cannot take valium, xanax, ect. I tried Neurontin and it works like a charm. I used to pace my house all night long and clean like a robot or something. I take 1200 mgs. 3 times a day. When you first start it you feel pretty spacey, but it is fun :) Maybe you should try it if you are worried about the potential for addiction. Just a suggestion, it worked for me when the others didn't. Karen
Posted by krybrahaha on November 1, 2003, at 1:57:31
In reply to Re: Best anti-anxiety drug???, posted by karen_kay on October 31, 2003, at 16:24:51
I have many Social Anxiety Disorder and Luvox works great for me. Dont know how you feel about antidepressants, but some are great for anxiety - especially Luvox
Posted by karen_kay on November 2, 2003, at 11:39:41
In reply to Re: Best anti-anxiety drug???, posted by karen_kay on October 31, 2003, at 16:24:51
Oh, I forgot to mention, my doc says there is no potential for addiction to Neurontin. Karen
Posted by Elle2021 on November 3, 2003, at 4:17:29
In reply to Best anti-anxiety drug???, posted by jms600 on October 31, 2003, at 16:01:14
I have to say Ativan is the best one that I have tried, but I guess it depends on the cause of your anxiety (GAD, OCD, etc.). BuSpar is another you might inquire about.
Elle> Can anyone offer me any advice on what they have found to be the best anti-anxiety drug?
>
> I know 99% will say Valium or another benzodiazepine, but I have found that when I take Valium I slowly develop a tolerance to it. I am also concerned about its habit-forming potential.
>
> So, any other suggestions??
Posted by jms600 on November 3, 2003, at 16:33:32
In reply to Re: Best anti-anxiety drug???, posted by falconman on October 31, 2003, at 16:08:28
> > Can anyone offer me any advice on what they have found to be the best anti-anxiety drug?
> >
> > I know 99% will say Valium or another benzodiazepine, but I have found that when I take Valium I slowly develop a tolerance to it. I am also concerned about its habit-forming potential.
> >
> > So, any other suggestions??
>
> Can you be more specific about your anxiety...social,GAD,Depersonalization,etc? Is it just anxiety you suffer from or is it accompanied by OCD,depression,etc...? What meds have you tried before?
> Peace Mark
Mark,I suffer from GAD, panic attacks, and depression. I am currently on 30mg Seroxat, it does help, however sometimes I still get very anxious and panic.
jms600
Posted by srd1074 on November 3, 2003, at 19:36:49
In reply to Re: Best anti-anxiety drug???, posted by jms600 on November 3, 2003, at 16:33:32
If you liked the effects of ativan, but can't take it because of addictive tendencies, I must say, I have had great results with Paxil. An oldie, it has its ups and downs, but my GAD, panic and social all seemed to stabilize quite a bit. If I forget even one dose, I get reminded by symptoms. It seems to be that sensitive to me.
S.
Posted by RT on November 3, 2003, at 20:25:28
In reply to Re: Best anti-anxiety drug???, posted by srd1074 on November 3, 2003, at 19:36:49
> If you liked the effects of ativan, but can't take it because of addictive tendencies, I must say, I have had great results with Paxil. An oldie, it has its ups and downs, but my GAD, panic and social all seemed to stabilize quite a bit. If I forget even one dose, I get reminded by symptoms. It seems to be that sensitive to me.
>
> S.I get the best anxiety relief from xanax but it does have addicting tendencies , I would try one the ssri's first. If they didnt help I am taking nardi and its working great for my anxiety and easing my withdrawl from xanax too.
Posted by falconman on November 4, 2003, at 10:31:56
In reply to Re: Best anti-anxiety drug???, posted by jms600 on November 3, 2003, at 16:33:32
> > > Can anyone offer me any advice on what they have found to be the best anti-anxiety drug?
> > >
> > > I know 99% will say Valium or another benzodiazepine, but I have found that when I take Valium I slowly develop a tolerance to it. I am also concerned about its habit-forming potential.
> > >
> > > So, any other suggestions??
> >
> > Can you be more specific about your anxiety...social,GAD,Depersonalization,etc? Is it just anxiety you suffer from or is it accompanied by OCD,depression,etc...? What meds have you tried before?
> > Peace Mark
>
>
> Mark,
>
> I suffer from GAD, panic attacks, and depression. I am currently on 30mg Seroxat, it does help, however sometimes I still get very anxious and panic.
>
> jms600
>I tried 5 different ssri's including seroxat. They all made my anxiety worse and gave me terrible side effects. However if you are partially responding, it would be a shame to move on to different drug without giving it a fair chance. You could find at say 50mg it works a treat.
You sound weary of benzodiazepines like valium, but if they are used in the right way, and when and if you decide to come off them you do it slowly, it will be fairly unlikely that they will pose a problem. You could up the seroxat and take small doses of valium on days only when you feel really panicky, this would reduce the chance of tolerance massively.
There are loads of other medication options though.
Buspar(Buspirone) is the trade mark GAD med. I don't have any experience with it so can't really comment except that it is non-addictive. Maybe you could start another post on dr. bob asking people who have tried this to share their experience with you.
Other classes of antidepressants could also provide relief. An MAOi such as Nardil can be an extremely strong anxiety buster. I've just started with this med and haven't given it enough time yet to comment on its efficiency, but there are many on this site that say it works wonders.
I think recent studies have shown the SSNRi Venleflaxine(effexer) to be a very good med specifically for GAD+depression. You could try doing a search for 'GAD and Venleflaxine'.
There are always 'novel' agents to try also. e.g. Karen who posted above said Neurontin really worked for her.
So there's loads of options, you just need a psychiatrist who is willing to try things out. You might live in the UK(you refered to peroxetine as seroxat the european brand name)where it could be difficult to get say Nardil prescribed. If it were me I'd try pushing up the seroxat first, using valium cautiously and making sure I could discuss all this with my psychiatrist.
All the best
Mark
Posted by jms600 on November 4, 2003, at 14:46:20
In reply to Re: Best anti-anxiety drug???, posted by falconman on November 4, 2003, at 10:31:56
> > > > Can anyone offer me any advice on what they have found to be the best anti-anxiety drug?
> > > >
> > > > I know 99% will say Valium or another benzodiazepine, but I have found that when I take Valium I slowly develop a tolerance to it. I am also concerned about its habit-forming potential.
> > > >
> > > > So, any other suggestions??
> > >
> > > Can you be more specific about your anxiety...social,GAD,Depersonalization,etc? Is it just anxiety you suffer from or is it accompanied by OCD,depression,etc...? What meds have you tried before?
> > > Peace Mark
> >
> >
> > Mark,
> >
> > I suffer from GAD, panic attacks, and depression. I am currently on 30mg Seroxat, it does help, however sometimes I still get very anxious and panic.
> >
> > jms600
> >
>
> I tried 5 different ssri's including seroxat. They all made my anxiety worse and gave me terrible side effects. However if you are partially responding, it would be a shame to move on to different drug without giving it a fair chance. You could find at say 50mg it works a treat.
> You sound weary of benzodiazepines like valium, but if they are used in the right way, and when and if you decide to come off them you do it slowly, it will be fairly unlikely that they will pose a problem. You could up the seroxat and take small doses of valium on days only when you feel really panicky, this would reduce the chance of tolerance massively.
> There are loads of other medication options though.
> Buspar(Buspirone) is the trade mark GAD med. I don't have any experience with it so can't really comment except that it is non-addictive. Maybe you could start another post on dr. bob asking people who have tried this to share their experience with you.
> Other classes of antidepressants could also provide relief. An MAOi such as Nardil can be an extremely strong anxiety buster. I've just started with this med and haven't given it enough time yet to comment on its efficiency, but there are many on this site that say it works wonders.
> I think recent studies have shown the SSNRi Venleflaxine(effexer) to be a very good med specifically for GAD+depression. You could try doing a search for 'GAD and Venleflaxine'.
> There are always 'novel' agents to try also. e.g. Karen who posted above said Neurontin really worked for her.
> So there's loads of options, you just need a psychiatrist who is willing to try things out. You might live in the UK(you refered to peroxetine as seroxat the european brand name)where it could be difficult to get say Nardil prescribed. If it were me I'd try pushing up the seroxat first, using valium cautiously and making sure I could discuss all this with my psychiatrist.
> All the best
> MarkThanks for the advice Mark! I'll have a chat with my doctor about putting up the Seroxat. I suppose I'm wary of taking Valium as my Doctor always tells me how addictive it is, and he doesn't like prescribing it. I've also found that I am becoming tolerant to it - I now have to take around 20mg before it really helps, even though I don't take it very often. Still, I have found Valium to be really effective and it has certainly got me through some rough times!
All the best
Jamie
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