Andrea - Xanax Vs. Buspar

[kc1216]

Hi Molly,

I heard great things about Ativan - do you have any side effects and how often do you take it?

kc

[ainfante]

Originally Posted by kc1216

I'll Amen that! The way everything is tied together, it is still more confusing. So you are on an antibiotic that can attack the nervous system?! I was on sulfa tabs which made me sick to my stomach but that's about it. The Pyrdium Plus gave me the panic attacks - that was like a prescription Uristat but it had butobarbitol in it and some other thing and I think that was what started my initial attacks.

What is Tequin?
kc

It is similar to Cipro or Levaquin. They are in the same family except Tequin is a gatifloxacin.

[ainfante]

Originally Posted by nornie

Andrea,

I wonder if alot of your problems could be due to your thyroid? Do you ever read the posts on the thyroid board here? There are a lot of people who have hypo symptoms, but whose doctors pronounce their results "normal." Most woman do not feel good if they are in the low range of the "'normal" interval, and need to be in the upper third. Have you recently been tested? Did you doctor do more than just TSH? You need to have your Free T3 and Free T4 tested as well - those are the numbers that will really tell whether you need to be treated. Especially now since you say you throat swells. Too many doctors are severely undereducated about thyroid. If you could get those tests done and post the results, we could help you interpret.

Throwing in a little bit of data on the xanax and buspar debate. Not sure how relevant this is because men's bodies probably react differently to these things. But my DH has suffered for 20 years with generalized anxiety - he got started on xanax and had the most terrible problems getting off of it. He's tolerated buspar much better and has been on it for about 15 years now. Though he did not have panic attacks - more like generalized anxiety, and the other poster did say that xanax is better for panic attacks. But just wanted to share this piece of data since you said you heard negative things about buspar.

Nornie

did I say I heard negative things about buspar? i don't think so, just thought it might not be for me. I did post my results on the thyroid board and someone came back and thought they were low normal. I've been fighting this thyroid thing for a while now and none of the doctors want to listen. I went to a doctor on Mary Shimon's site and she was really negative and she didn't want to listen. So, I don't know what else to do regarding the thyroid. Thanks for your response.
Andrea

[ainfante]

Originally Posted by molly123

In the book, "Wisdom of Menopause" by Christine Northrup, there's a section about thyorid function. She writes about how your thyroid test can show up normal on tests, but the thyroid could not be functioning right during peri-meno and, as a result, you have all the symptoms of hypo-thyroid. So, often you're told your thyroid is fine. I really believe the extreme fatigue I was experiencing was the result of this. (I am hypo, take med, and my tests came back within range.) I also have 6 nodules in my thyroid!

I made copies of what she wrote and gave it to my drs (my GP and Endo dr.) My GP just filed it away and my Endo said there's a lot of controversary over this. The Endo said the same thing when I asked about using progesterone cream. (I don't intend to go back to this Endo dr.). I got really frustrated when I was going to all these drs. trying to find out what was wrong with me.

As for Buspar, a woman dr. (who had peri-meno experience) who works at a de-tox center (friend of my sister) recommended that I take Buspar for anxiety instead of the Ativan. Said it was less addicting and much better than other anxiety meds. but my GP wouldn't prescribe it to me - said for me to continue taking the Ativan b/c I was on it already.

Just wanted to share this bit of info with you guys!

Molly

Hi Molly. I remember you telling me this. Well, I will ask one of the doctors i go to to run the thyroid again. Just don't know what to do with them related to the thyroid. They just don't listen to me.

[molly123]

Hi KC,
Now, I don't know if Ativan is really that great of a thing! All I know is that all benzo drugs may help with anxiety/panic attacks but they are very addicting and with long-term use, you can have bad withdrawal symptoms. I was prescribed Lorazepham 0.5 mg (generic) long time ago (1996) for anxiety - never took a lot of it. Always got 100 pills per prescription too! It worked, calmed me down, helped me sleep BUT I was always afraid of taking any kind of med, esp. one that is suppose to be addicting. I was also afraid I would end up like my father.

My father was on Ativan 1 mg for over 35 years! No dr. ever took him off of it and we never knew he was taking it. Think he took it originally for anxiety, later to help him sleep. When he was diagnosed with congestive heart failure at age 86, the dr. wanted him off of it suddenly (which was a big mistake). He ended up hallucinating big time!

I think the Ativan or Lorazepham is good for situational anxiety but not peri-meno anxiety; in other words, not for long-term use. When I was having peri-meno symptoms (2003), I started to take this med again. I took at most 2 pill a day (which is very little) and not everyday - just when I thought I needed it. My dr. said not to exceed anymore than 4 pills a day. I think I had dry mouth from it but then I don't remember having dry mouth when I took it back in 1996. Because I was feeling so crappy, I got confused whether it was peri-meno symptoms or withdrawal symptoms I was experiencing (even tho realistically I knew I wasn't taking it long enough to get withdrawal). The pill is really tiny and I would cut it in half or in quarters - I took pinches of it. It helped when I had intense internal body shakes in the middle of the night. For long-term use, I was put on the Paxil CR - once I was on that, I didn't need the Lorazepham anymore.

Molly