FFS does ANYTHING work for anxiety?

[orangeandlemons]

Beacuse it damn well doesn't for me.

In Jan suffered stress and anxiety form work. Have been off since then. Was on 100mg amitriptilene when I went under.

Since then have been on a whole raft of ad's. ALL of which made me worse, much much worse, Crisis team intervention worse.

Failed ad's include: trazadone, imipramine, escitalopram, sertraline: all made anxiety terrible, or made me want to top myself. Even when I managed to get through the start-ups. Am allergic to prozac and lofepramine

Now on Mirtazapine which seems to be doing nothing at all for anxiety. Nothing. Have seen consultant ho suggested Paroxetine or Duloxetine, bith of which are SSRi or simila type drug. My gp thinks would be unwise to take this bearing in mind previous episodes, and I am terrified of taking them

I had high hopes for mirtazapine, but it just seems like an anti-histamine, made little difference to anything. Anybodyoffer any help?

no never tried amitriptyline.

but then i wont be trying any others because im not going to be needing medication in the future cough

right im going to bed now as part of my bid to lead a vaguely healthy lifestyle.

1 in 3 isn't it?

Citalopram has done wonders for DH, after the initial period if getting used to it, I have no idea which family of drugs it belongs to.

Just before i go - completely recognise your situ re. work stress building up and then bang.
Im great in a crisis - its just six months later that i have a problem !!

sardinequeen - lofepramine was a bit like that for me, rushy and wee bit gurny, but generally quite pleasant, I was still able to be me, but me on a good day...SSRIs were horribly speedy and totally uncomforting, plus they made me totally uncreative and I couldn't work on them.

Bizarre business this whole pharma thing. A rather crude hammer with which to fix a delicate problem.

I found the best thing is excercise and crafts. I have escaped from depression and anxiety with nothing but a long walk daily and lots of creativity...if you're not crafty then I suggest joining a choir...it really does wonders.

I'm sorry if I'm repeating anyone here but just wanted to answer quickly as I'm on my way to bed so haven't read the thread.I suffer from generalised anxiety disorder and OCD.

I take citalopram 20mg daily. It sometimes makes me feel very sick so I tend to take it just before I go to bed.

The other things that help massively are:

1. Keeping your blood sugar under control, not having sugars highs and making sure you don't get very low blood sugar, so a lowish carb/wholewheat diet will help as will cutting out refined sugars.

1. Alcohol, makes me feel good at the time but boy oh boy if I have a hangover my anxiety is though the roof. I do drink but try not to have more than 2 glasses at a time. There are times I go mental and have a bottle of wine or several beers/vodka then I remember why I don't do that any more.

Hope that helps.

wildstrawberry I find it very interesting that the terms you use to describe the side effects are the same ones people who take street drugs use...I found nothing worked for me and I was in a bad state at one point....nothing excelt excersise (walking and cycling in my case) and crafty stuff and singing. They worked WONDERS in fact.

CBT worked wonders for me.

Yep. ADs are strong stuff and mindbending stuff imho.

You have been unlucky with Mirtazepine as it usually does help with anxiety, it is often the first choice in very agitated patients. Pregabalin is not widely used for anxiety so you won't hear much from other users but is licensed for it (it is used for nerve pain and so is often used if pain and anxiety co-exist but not that often for anxiety alone).

Benzodiazepines, as mentioned by some others on here (diazepam, clonazepam, chlordiazepoxide, etc) are only suitable for really short term use and withdrawal can increase anxiety! Propranolol is good for physical symptoms of anxiety but can cause bronchospasm so is contra-indicated in asthmatics.

In USA they often use drugs in combination where anxiety persists but I can't remember the combination offhand, will try to dig it out for you.

Good luck, I know from personal experience just how horrible anxiety is.

Diazepam (my fave) but hcps don't like so have to beg and beg . I'm prescribed venlafaxine and quetiapine in combination (though I don't actually take the quetiapine as prefer diazepam as and when). Beta-blockers for physical symptoms?

Tizzy thanks for the Chamomile tea tip...has anyone here ever tried things like excersise and crafts or singing etc to try and combat depression and anxiety?

OP - have not read whole thread but ADs did nothing for my anxiety and turned out it was my hormones. They have been managed for years now and I feel fine. PM me for more details as very specific and don't want to out self!

Agree with watching blood sugars
Propranolol scared me half to death after reading side effects but tbh the anxiety was scaring me more!
I do heavy exercise now, out of breath heart pounding spinning and bootcamp. Works for me as I now associate can't breathe feeling and heart racing with exercise if that makes sense
Being tired also a trigger for me

What would really assist with my MH issues would be the employment of a full time nanny and me getting much more sleep.

Barring those things, drugs it is

I have been reading this thread with much interest.

I have had anxiety since the birth of my first ds 6 years ago...I have managed to now without drugs (mainly because the side effects are terrifying for me). I'm most okay and find distraction is the best think to help me snap out of it. However, in really stressful time like now I just think f&&k it I'm going to get pills as just get really fed up feeling constantly on edge.

I would b really interest to try Pregabalin though. I'm not depressed at all, but terrified of becoming depressed or worse feeling like I want to end it all

I undersatnd why mirtazapine works for anxiety at first becasue it makes you so sleepy. But 10 days in, the sedation has disappeared and left the anxiety behind. Random teeth clenching and breathlessness as I write this. I can only explain it, as all other ad's give you a cushioned feling against anxiety. This doesn't. I think in the USA they use anti-psychotics for anxiety, but they don't seem to here.

Am very art/crafty, but thatis my job, and that's what triggered anxiety. Gardening is my escape

My children are my escape

You need to deal with the root cause of your anxiety. Do you know what it is?

Lots of things trigger mine. The main cause it work...it's wired because my job isn't that stressful I think it's more the hrs I need to work.

When I'm away from work I'm mostly fine

My job, that's what triggered it in the first place. VVV stressful. Cannot leave becasue just cannot afford it, and have been looking for another job for 3years but cannot find one. Believe me, I have looked for everything. Even considered self-employed, but cannot take the rist financially. Have tried to downsize, but house been on market for a year and can't sell it. I have tried everything, and all of that has added to general stress level, then Wham! it just spiralled out of control in January

I work in the public sector, and a lot of public sector jobs have been cut.

for you with work-related stress and anxiety.