Hi everyone! I'm new here and I feel like I'm at the end of my rope with medication at this point.
Some background information: (You don't have to read this, but it helps :)) I suffer from Generalized Anxiety Disorder and depression comes secondary to it, as in "anxiety kicks my butt some days." I had been doing very well in managing my anxiety for a few years, didn't go to therapy (big mistake), and got off of my Lexapro (which worked wonders & was god-sent) for the 2nd time last year and had a relapse in December. The reason: I started getting vertigo, which I learned was I byproduct of my migraines after 7 months of ridiculous medical testing. I knew it was nothing serious. I just wanted to know what it was so I could work towards relieving it. And, it passed. My anxiety stuck around, though, mainly because of bad timing and poop circumstances/bad mental habits.
In the past 11 months, I have tried a handful of meds to no avail. Lexapro stopped working for me the 3rd time around and actually made me worse. I stayed on it for 8 weeks before deciding it wasn't working. I tried Prozac for 5 months and, at the same time, starting taking Klonopin (.25mg once daily, which was basically nothing.) It was IMPOSSIBLE to get off of that tiny dose of Klonopin after 2 months on it, which made me realize that the Prozac probably wasn't doing anything for my anxiety. Previously, I have cold-turkeyed (bad idea) off of Klonopin after a few months-a year and was just fine because Lexapro actually worked. I'd get rebound anxiety for a few days-weeks but it'd go away and I usually dealt with it just fine. My max dose ever on it was 2mg. I felt better OFF of both of those meds. I tried Zoloft but started having weird neutral-and-down mood swings on it (not bi-polar styled mood swings by any means.) once I got to the therapeutic dosage, so my psychiatrist said not to even bother with it anymore. 3 SSRIs down, 3 to go.
We decided, next, to try Effexor, which worked really well, but eventually made me feel numb and exacerbated my migraines (which were very well-managed thanks to the preventative medication that I take for it). Instead of having 1-2 a month thanks to my Propranolol, I was having 1-2 a week, and mine typically last for 72 hours. It also disrupted my sleep. I was on Effexor for 6 weeks and we tapered me off of it. WITHDRAWAL WAS HELL, side note. I tried Cymbalta next, but it was giving me the spins SO bad, and the side effect seemed to be getting worse instead of easing up. Did not do a dose increase whatsover. I could barely drive and it was driving me nuts. I laid in bed crying for 2 days because I was too dizzy to function. I'm now off of Cymbalta after 8 days.
To summarize, I've tried: Lexapro, Prozac, Zoloft, Effexor and Cymbalta.
Lexapro the third time around, Zoloft, Effexor and Cymbalta hurt more than they helped.
Prozac didn't do squat. It didn't help, but it didn't hurt.
I'm still on Klonopin: .25mg 3x a day. (.75mg a day). It works wonders, but doesn't eradicate my anxiety. It just makes me feel more separate from it so I can handle it better, which is what Lexapro used to do for me.
I want to get off of the Klonopin so badly, as the tolerance aspect scares the life out of me.
I used to be fine taking .25mg once a day. I'm now up to .25mg three times a day.
I've been working with a phenomenal therapist, as well, and in group therapy 4x a week.
Basically, what I'm getting at here is: What should I try next? I'm at a complete loss. The only 3 SSRIs I haven't tried are Celexa, Paxil and Luvox (which my pdoc told me is mainly used for OCD). He won't put me on Paxil because of the weight gain side effect (I used to struggle with an eating disorder as a teenager.) We're unsure if Celexa would work because it's *closely* related to Lexapro, but not the same. SNRIs are totally out of the question now.
I haven't tried BuSpar but I don't even know if that'll work without the classic "anti-depressant." My neurologist says I can't take TCA because of the type of migraines I am speculated to have. TCAs are used for migraine abortion/prevention, too, and she warned that they may cause stroke. I can't explain why, as I'm not a neurologist. I refuse MAOIs because you basically have to restrict all aspects of life. I've looked into Lyrica and Gabapentin but don't know much. Again, end of my rope. Meds are causing me more anxiety than my anxiety is! What a change.
Has anyone had a similar experience and finally found a medication that WORKS? This is kind of a bummer considering Lexapro worked SO well for me in the past.