Anxiety/depression

[rothwell]

Can anyone advise me on what anti anxiety medication I can take which does not cause or affect arrhythmia. My friend takes Sertraline which she says is very effective but when I look up side effects arrhythmia is one of those so it would seem a no-no for me as I’ve had AF for over 10 years and take Bisoprolol and Apixaban and have AF episodes quite frequently but heart rate doesn’t go too high. . I’ve been for a course of therapy but this didn’t help. I would be grateful to hear if anyone is currently taking a medication which is successful without having unwanted side affects.

[10gingercats]

I take Mirtazopine which was prescribed by hospital but GPcould also prescribe it. It is also a soporific as you take it at night and so it makes you dozy at night but not during the day.

[Ppiman in reply to 10gingercats]

It made me dreadfully zombie-like through the daytime but a friend is taking it and, like you, finds it useful.

Steve

[Teresa156]

Hi Rothwell,

Please can I ask, has your Dr suggested you take this? Are you sure you need it? None of us are really able to advise on medical interactions with other drugs and everyone is different. Your GP is really best to advise.

You don’t say how old you are, but is there a possibility too that you may be experiencing menopausal symptoms, for example?

[Gypsy9270]

Hi,I have been on 50mg Zoloft for around 13 years and am a bad asthmatic, it hasn't affected my asthma at all, takes about 4 to 6 weeks to kick in and for the first two weeks have a anti nausea tablet half an hour before your tablet have it in the morning with or after food.

It helps a lot.

[opal11uk]

Your GP or Pharmacist are the best ones to ask about this, the Pharmacist knows in particular which drugs react to other substances. Most medications indicate this on the information provided, they will list anything and everything to protect themselves so basically the consumer has to decide if the conditions they are experiencing are worth taking the meds for but in may opinion it would be best to ask the medics.

[secondtry]

I take a magnesium skin cream with melatonin - brand Ancient Minerals.

[Silvasava]

I was prescribed Amitriptyline for neuralgia but I believe it can be used for depression too. I took it at night and didn't have any nasty side effects although it didn't do much for the neuralgia HTH

[oscarfox49]

Apart from avoiding those with a contra indication, I think all you can do is try the one which your doctor most recommends. My personal experience when suffering from severe depression and anxiety was Fluoxetine was good and it had no effect on my permanent AF. It is not physically addictive unlike most of the diazepam based ones, and I found it very easy to stop taking it after more than a year.

That worked for me. But obviously it depends on the nature of your depressive illness and anxiety.

[Japaholic]

I take Etizolam on occasion, prescribed by a cardiologist due to my not being able to sleep when in AF or having lots of arrhythmias.

0.5mg knocks me out.

[Karendeena]

I used to take citalopram which really worked for me, but ......my EP advised strongly against any anti-depressant ( not sure if this was because of the AF or the Sotolol, I think the latter). I struggled and struggled and still do but if this ablation is successful and I can get off the meds I will ask again. My EP did say that if I was desperate then he wrote to my doctor and said to prescribe Escitalopram. I haven't had it and taken the odd diazapam when really stressed but this doesn't alleviate depression unfortunately.

[Ppiman]

This is just a personal view, but I would say take care. When I looked, although now some years ago, SSRI drugs like sertraline had a rather poor track record for helping anxiety so your friend might be lucky. What one person calls "anxiety" also differs from what another does, so your friend's might be different. Also, the mechanism of action of these drugs has recently been brought into question and it seems no one knows quite how they work. It's also considered that they are now very heavily over-prescribed and, in my case, although a different SSRI (citalopram), it made my anxiety inordinately worse and gave me side effects that lasted a very long time.

These drugs were first introduced to help with a particular kind of depression, but have mushroomed in popularity and come to be used for anxiety. They can be very difficult to stop using, and take sometimes many weeks before they begin to help, if they help at all. Much of their effect might be a kind of placebo, too.

I know I sound negative but, as you can tell, I had a memorably bad experience with them (they are essentially all similar, btw). A close friend had a similar experience.

So, what to do? I would discuss this with your GP, insisting on a longer consultation and question the idea of being given an SSRI before going that route. I would then - first - try CBT talking therapy. Another thought is to see if your GP might give you a few emergency 5mg diazepam tablets to help when the anxiety peaks. These cannot be given long term as they can be habit forming, but can be a useful emergency tablet. Anxiety isn't easily treated but learning to live with it and control it using CBT is the safest and often best way. There are some excellent books on treating yourself. The older ones by Dr Claire Weekes haven't been bettered in my view. You can still pick these up second hand from Amazon.

Steve

[Auriculaire]

I would second everything that Steve has said about antidepressants. I would urge you to get your vit D level checked out. Very low vit D levels have been associated with depression and anxiety. I have found magnesium supplementation helpful for anxiety.

[Madras1]

Hi Rothwell I have had 2 heart attacks and now have afib , similar to yours, afib for about 5 years , I did suffer badly from anxiety, (how would an ambulance get here?, ooh what was that beat etc , ) I did a lot of research not wanting to take more medication ,I found a therapeutic cd it was called Panic Away, it helped me understand my panic attacks and i worked threw it ,it helps you accept the anxiety and panic ,and the what ifs , I think its free now on the internet , Panic away by Barry somebody or other ,it worked 100% for me , worth a look at , stay positive

[AustinElliot]

Hi Rothwell,

I can appreciate everyone's comments about not getting on unnecessary medication. And I am certainly not giving you medical advice.

I take 1/2 tablet of Xanax when I go into AF. I know I am capable of avoiding getting dependent, I have taken them on and off for 15 years. My first prescription lasted 10 years. So this is just anecdotal, I take them when I am having a particularly rough patch of life. I was probably a week to two from going on daily Lorazepam.

I managed to reduce my anxiety with Yoga, Tai Chi and some other lifestyle changes and the occasional Xanax, but it was really tough.

I hope you can find a balance in your emotional state. Good Fortune.