Anxiety without depression?

[purr]

Just got back from the doc. Gave me some Cymbalta for my anxiety. The more I read about it the more I wonder if he gave me the wrong stuff. First off, I am extremely anxious.. As far as I know I'm NOT depressed.

Are antidepressants/antianxiety drugs the same thing? I dont see how that would work. I need something to slow me down rather than make me feel good.

I was on Xanax before and boy did that make me feel out of it. Celexa gave me really bad heart palpitations, Lexapro didnt do a thing for me.

I usually dont question my doc - hes great, but it just doesnt make sense to me that he prescribed me an anti-depressant.

[ThingsGottaChange]

1. Hi, Purr!

I would think that if you only have anxiety problems that he would have given you something along the lines of benzodiazepine. I have depression and anxiety and have tried alot of ADs. I did try Cymbalta but it didn't do anything for either the depressiion or anxiety. I think it did raise my blood pressure a bit. I didn't stay on long and the withdrawals were very bizarre.

I would ask your doc about trying one of the benzos. Taken in very small amounts they won't necessarily knock you out if taken during the day. I take .5 mg Klonopin at night and it really helps with sleep.

Benzos are addicting so take that into consideration. To read about honest, actual experiences people have had with meds, check out the forums at http://www.crazyboards.org/. They're pretty hilarious people, too!

Hope this helps!

p.s. When I first went on meds it was Prozac and it helped alot with depression AND anxiety. Have you tried that yet?

[purr]

2. crazyboards.org

Was HILARIOUS. It made me feel somewhat better about my anxiety LOL. I havent tried Prozac yet. I thought that was for the more 'severe' cases of anxiety/depression.

My doc told me that the Cymbalta wasnt addictive?? From what I read about this, is like what you said, weird withdrawls.

I'll have to give him a call on monday to see what he says. I always thought anxiety and depression go hand in hand but I dont *THINK* I'm depressed.

[EFerrari]

3. Hey there, purr

My primary deal is anxiety. Anti deps help me by leveling out my mood - or that's the theory. It does seem to work that way for me, I take prozac.

And, I think it's great that you read up on the meds you take and form a team with your doc. You are the world's expert on you.

B.

[purr]

4. I love my doc!

If I wasnt married I'd try my damnest to hook up with him :) lol just kidding.. hes an excellent doc. He listens and does what needs to be done. I've known him for almost 10 years now and we have a really good relationship. If I need anything all I have to do is call him and he'll take care of it even without seeing him.

The more I read about this Cymbalta the more I dont like it. I might have to ask him about prozac. The only thing is, I dont want to be on something addicting. How did it make you feel when you first started it?

[EFerrari]

5. A little hyper. But then I started taking a tiny smidge of

klonopin to take the edge off. That's worked for me really well for years at a time. Klonopin IS addicting so I take as little as possible. And wierdly seem to need less of both drugs every years. No idea why. I'm nearly 50, and am on half the dosage I was on at 30!

Good to hear you've such a good doc. I love mine, too. He's really smart -- even about alternative medicine which amazes me. Whew! Isn't it nice to have a partner and not a dictator?

lol

[ThingsGottaChange]

7. My experiece with Prozac...

I felt a little speedy the first week or so and then that went away. It was a good speedy, though. I started on 10 mg for 6 weeks, then 20 mg for 6 weeks and then up to 40 mg (this is once a day). As with most SSRIs you may experience weight gain. That is very common on these drugs. To me it was totally worth it. If you can start at a low dose and keep it relatively low, that would be a good thing.

Everyone IS different. Side effects are never the same for everyone. Unfortunately for me, SSRIs don't work anymore. After trying a bunch of stuff I did go back to prozac. About the only thing is does now is keep hot flashes at bay! Which I am ever so grateful for!!

Prozac has the longest half-life of the SSRIs. There are virtually no withdrawal symptoms if stopped correctly. Cymbalta is a different drug and has different withdrawal effects. What I experienced going off Cymbalta was the "brain zaps". Very creepy feeling. Personally, I would take something that has been around for a long time. Cymbalta is very new. There's a whole bunch of info on both these meds at http://crazymeds.org/, too.

[Nikia]

6. Those drugs work differently on different people

Sometimes depression drugs do work for anxiety. I didn't have good luck with them though. Zoloft actually made my anxiety worse. You could try the drug though and make note of the side effects and whether they lessen after you have taken it for a while.

[Tab]

8. They're intertwined

I don't know the chemistry, but anti-depressents also can affect anxiety. Not all have the same effect. For instance, Effexor, an anti-depressant, is decent against anxiety; Citalopram (Celexa), particularly combined with a beta blocker is decent against anxiety.

Some people mainly suffer anxiety, with a touch of depression; some are depressive with a touch of anxiety; some have equal measures of both. There's all sorts of meds that can be combined, and if you're honest with your doctor (not saying that you're not) he can work with you to figure out what is best. You might not get it right off the bat.

If you don't think it's working, tell him. Everybody's different, and if you don't tell him it's not cutting it for you, he'll never know. Lety him know, and if he's any good, he'll move you to something else. If he doesn't, maybe you should look for another MD.

But yes, anti-depressants are often used for anti-anxiety; they are intertwined.

[usregimechange]

9. Remember that drugs are only part of the solution to many

of these types of difficulties.