Okay, I went to a new psychiatrist and he prescribed three meds for.........
anxiety, depression, and depersonalization. I told him that the main problem that scares the most is the depersonalization, and asked him if anything would make this go away. I told him about how I'd smoked pot several years ago and it seemed to start several months after that, and he insisted that that had nothing to do with depersonalization/derealization, and that they're common anxiety symptoms that will go away once the depression and anxiety are fixed.
Anyway, he prescribed Cymbalta, Ativan, and Lunesta. He said that the Cymbalta will help with depression, anxiety, and depersonalization, the Ativan will help immediately with the anxiety, and the Lunesta will help me reach a deeper sleep and stay asleep longer (which he says is important if you have anxiety). I was a little nervous about starting Cymbalta, because the majority of antidepressants I've taken before have SEVERELY increased my anxiety. But he said that if I start at a low dose and take more Ativan in the beginning, the anxiety shouldn't be too bad, and it will get better as my body adjusts to the Cymbalta, and I won't need as much or any Ativan.
The doses I'm starting out at:
Cymbalta 10mg for 1 week, then 20mg for 2 weeks.
Ativan .5mg 4x a day
Lunesta 3mg at bedtime
He also gave me two sample packs of Niravam (0.25 mg), which is a benzodiazepine that rapidly dissolves under the tongue and kicks in in two minutes for emergencies (severe panic attacks).
Wish me luck! I've been feeling terrible for so long, and I really hope this works for me.
Re: Okay, I went to a new psychiatrist and he prescribed three meds for.........
Good luck, pushit!!! I've taken cymbalta before and I liked it fairly well. Did he say what dose he will work you up to? It can be rough in the beginning...the first week I had a stomachache and I lost any desire to eat, but it got much better after that first week. I started out on 30 and moved the next week to 60, so you probably won't have any problems starting out so slowly. Did your psychiatrist feel the cymbalta would definately help the anxiety? That is my main issue and I don't know if it helps that or depression more.
Keep us posted!!!
Re: Okay, I went to a new psychiatrist and he prescribed three meds for.........
It sounds like you have a good doc who understands that the Cymbalta can aggravate your anxiety a bit at first--thus the Ativan. Once the Cymbalta begins to work properly you will need less & less of the Ativan like you were told.
Be patient--this is my first & hopefully last if all gets better- round at trying meds. My doc prescribed Remeron & told me to expect to need Xanax until the Remeron took full effect. In fact she told me to just take the Xanax the first week, not to wait till I felt like I needed it. It's now been a few months & I rarely need to touch the Xanax.
It does take time--that's the hard part. MY doc is still juggeling with my dosage, etc... so it does take quite a bit of patience.
Hoping all goes well for you ~
Re: Okay, I went to a new psychiatrist and he prescribed three meds for.........
Americandancer- Thanks! I'm glad to hear that you had luck with cymbalta. I'm actually starting out at a *very* low dose--10 mgs per day for a week (he's having me empty out half of the 20 mg capsule before taking it), and then 20 mgs for 2 weeks. Then I'll have another appointment with him and we'll decide from there. He told me that the Cymbalta will help both depression and anxiety (and depersonalization, which is one of my main problems).
Anxiousinnj- Thank you! And this doctor wasn't on my insurance but was recommended by my regular doctor and is supposedly only of the best in the area. Hopefully these meds will work out. And I'm glad to hear that the Remeron is working for you.
