Seriously, can someone give me a solid answer to why i keep living? I am being treated by a psychiatrist (NP) who doesnt give two shits about me. I told her that ive been under care of psychiatrist in FL x 20 years. Hes given me xanax 4x day, seroquel at night with a xanax to sleep and prozaac daily. I have no problems with that. He and i have had a longstanding patient-doctor relationship. I kinda miss him.
This new NP in psychiatry office stopped my xanax 4x day. Replaced it with klonopin 2x day and added a BP med to deal with physical symptoms like heart racing and shakes....i saw her again and told her i feel like a zombie-i feel flat anf lifeless. So she added buspar. Now im taking prozaac 40mg in am, buspar 2x day, propanolol 2x day, klonopin 2x day, in addition to my prilosec daily and Advil. It doesnt seem right to be on all these pills and i STILL have anxiety and panic attacks even tho i feel like im drugged out. I sleep all damn day. I told my psychiatrist that! I need to feel normal again but i gueess docs dont rx xanax here in VA which is fine but the klonopin (i think) is too heavy.
Im self pay now...i will see her again end of month but...i dont want to keep up with all these drugs when i KNOW xanax, seroquel and ptozaac are the right combo...it works but now, on these meds...im either sleeping or stressing/panicking. I cant get my thoughts to calm down!
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Nkdillon
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I was in your place years ago and it really was the end I thought
But I finally found the right one and he was a life saver
Every road has its bumps and sometimes giant pot holes
But we just need to find the right vehicle to get us through it
Stay strong
NKDillon -- It sometimes takes awhile to find a psychiatrist who will actually listen to us, and not just prescribe more medications.
The Klonopin will stay in your system longer than the Xanax -- I had a doctor also switch me from Xanax to Klonopin. Did your doctor warn you that you probably have a physical dependency on diazepams now? If you've taken these drugs longer than a few weeks, your brain has adapted to them, and it will be very difficult if you have to come off of them.
Buspar didn't help me at all. I've heard that it is not effective on people who've taken diazepams for longer periods of time. I wonder why the doctor gave it to you, but it is supposed to help with anxiety. She may be worried about increasing your dosage of Klonopin, which might not be right for you. I hope you have a good enough relationship to your doctor to ask her why she is prescribing the medications that she wants you to take.
I also had the "zombie experience" of feeling flat, lifeless, and just wanting to sleep all the time. After a couple of episodes in the hospital, I found a doctor who was willing to help me get off all of these medications, which weren't helping.
Currently I'm only taking gabapentin, which is a drug that sometimes works for people who are "treatment resistant" to the regular drugs that treat anxiety/bipolar disorder. I still have a few episodes of panic during the day, but I use cognitive therapy to cope with them and get past them. If they are really bad and of longer duration, I will take a .5 tablet of Klonopin, but I do this as only a last resort.
You need to feel like you're alive again, and not just heavily medicated. I can understand your despair because you feel doped up and want to sleep all the time. That's not living. Why should you go on living? Because you are here and there is a purpose for you being here. You have a gift to share with humanity, and hopefully you can get beyond the zombie-zone so that you can share your gift with the world.
Are you also seeing a therapist? Have you been able to identify the things that trigger your panic attacks? I know they seem to come out of nowhere, but I'm learning more and more to see how something I think about will seemingly precipitate an attack.
I wish you well, NK, and I hope you will continue to post and let us know how you are doing. This is a caring and supportive community, so please know that you aren't along in your struggles.
Hello again. Think I responded to your other post last night or maybe early this morning about changing psychiatrists and moving from Florida to Virginia. Had suggested you contact your doctor in Florida and see if he was up to a phone conference with your current doctor in Virginia. It takes patience to set up this sort of doctor to doctor conference call, but well be worth it. My doctor relationship in Florida sounds like the one you had. I trust my doctor and he has me stable, but not on the same meds or dose as yours did.
But you don't say how long it's been since the change in your meds and was it all at once, or gradually. One med that stood out for me is Xanax and you were on it 4 times a day in Florida, but not the dose. If I am not eased off my daily 2-3 mg of Xanax carefully, I have a seizure.
If I were your sister, I'd be on that phone for you now leaving messages for your Florida doctor about your situation. Maybe he won't get involved, but "Hail Marys" in football games sometime really save the game.
Usually with medications regimens most good psychiatrist would not change medications that were working for your anxiety and depression. I have found that you really have to be an advocate for your self when it comes to working with doctors. It's too bad that you have had to have all these medications changes when you had a regimen that was working. I understand the concerns around Xanax with regards to addiction issues. My psychiatrist had me on Xanax as a PRN (as needed) 1 mg up to 3 times a day. I finally was just taking 1 mg at night to help me go to sleep but then decided to come off Xanax after I had a car accident. Because at the accident, I mentioned to the police officer that I took Xanax, I was arrested for a DUI of a controlled substance.(my BAC was 0). What a nightmare that was so I advise anyone taking any meds that cause drowsiness to be aware of the ramifications since you're treated just like a drunk driver.
Hope you can find another caring Dr. I would ask for the medicine that worked for you . don't stick with anyone that does not treat you will respect and care. Is she willing to contact the Dr. you saw in Fl.? Give that a try. Ask around for good Psychiatrists in your area. I wish you well.
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