It's me again doubting my ad

americandancer · 03-12-2005, 12:27 PM

Hi guys! Thanks for being here for me for so long and helping me with my wishywashiness of believing in my ad. I have taken in the past serzone (worked great, but gained weight and was always tired), zoloft (hated it), trazadone, zyprexa(only tried that for a few days) and now on effexor xr. I am supposed to go up to 150mg today. I took 37.5 for a week and 75 for a week. The 37.5 worked great, but I was very tired off of the 75mg. I know some of this may be normal side effects that may go away, but I don't feel very good now. The thread in depression about the withdrawal scares me from what I have read of it. I think I want to give up ad's for now and just try exercise, eating right, no caffeine, and alprazolam as needed. My panic is under control,but still have the constant jittery feeling of anxiety. I am concerned about trying all the ads and then needing to go back on one in the future, in case my plan doesn't work, and not finding one that will work again. Does anyone have any advice? Should I just give in and take it and deal with whatever comes?

bondgrll · 03-12-2005, 12:39 PM

ARRGGHH! I know what you mean. What has helped me tremendously is the Xanax XR (extended release), you can start with a .5MG in the morning. Also, I take 2.5 MG of Prozac (liquid form) at night and everything is normal. I know it's a long road...I'm extremely sensitive to side effects....hence the low dose of prozac...I started at 2 drops a night! Bottom line is that I have been able to slowly taper the Xanax because of the anti-anxiety effects of the Prozac. I've gone from 1.5 Xanax to 1.0 and in the next few weeks will taper to the .5 Xanax...just letting you know what worked for me because I too had that constant jittery, anxious feeling and thats' no way to live. At first I was suspect of Prozac's effect on anxiety because I did try it at the standard 20mg dose for weeks and I felt even worse (panic attacks etc.) I have learned that this amount was an overdose for me. The devil is in the dosing...it's either a poison or a godsend. Don't give up and don't stress about the Xanax...myself and others are living proof that taking this (yes even long term) will NOT put you on Skid Row!

bondgrll · 03-12-2005, 12:41 PM

ANd also, your idea about stopping caffeine is a great one...I have done that also and it has helped tremendously...also elimanated alcohol and exercised more...it's a combination of all three. But ask anybody if just this helped them with their panic attacks and anxiety...no way, don't be afraid to ask for pharmacological (ie. benzo) help!

hry33 · 03-12-2005, 04:06 PM

effexor generally doesnt work at below 75 so it may just have been placebo effect

americandancer · 03-13-2005, 12:18 AM

Thanks for the responses from both of you! Hry33, I can always count on you for a reply! Bondgrll, we've talked before about the xanax xr. Are you now getting off of that? My dr. said we could try that next. I have regular alprazolam to take with the effexor. I don't have a problem taking the alprazolam. I am more concerned with taking the effexor. I am scared about weight gain, and if you've read the post on depression about effexor withdrawals, it is very scary! My dr. won't give me prozac. He said like wellbutrin, it is too stimulating for anxiety. But....my gyn said wellbutrin works just fine for anxiety/panic. It is all so confusing.