Am I alone? I don't feel like doctors... - Anxiety and Depre...

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Am I alone? I don't feel like doctors understand how serious I am.

Twistedopher profile image
30 Replies

For a year now. Literally a year, I jave been struggling with extreme anxiety and depression. I am just curious if others have these things non stop. And for so long. It starts when I wake up, and doesn't end until I have taken seroquel at night for sleep. So I get about 45 minutes to an hour before I pass out of peace. I can take up to 2 mg of klonopin a day, but I've been taking it for so long it only helps a smidgen. I think I'm just physically addicted to it. My psyc says we will address tapering off that once I find some stability. I have been on lexapro 10mg. This is my 13th day I'm in now. I have become so hopeless. Is it this intense for lots of folks? Can anyone relate. Is there legitimately a chance that lexapro will help me? This is so excruciating. I am sorry to whine. Just desperate.

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Twistedopher
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30 Replies
Agora1 profile image
Agora1

Hi Twistedopher, I've always been surprised that many people who struggle

with Anxiety don't have it on a daily basis. Not me. Mine was every single day

for years. Was on Benzos which eventually no longer worked. Came off Xanax

put on Ativan (didn't work) taken off Ativan and placed on Lexapro. Finally feeling

coherent again, more like myself, no longer tired, more motivated. Started with

10mg and then upped to 15. Took a couple months before it reached full efficacy

but it worked.

Please give Lexapro a chance (4-6 weeks) a couple wks longer if the dosage is

increased. I take mine with lunch which for me has worked out the best.

I wish you well. Work with your doctor with your weaning as well as your Lexapro

This might just be the answer you are looking for. Keep us updated with your progress.

Good Luck :)xx

Twistedopher profile image
Twistedopher in reply toAgora1

Thank you for responding to me. I really appreciate it.

Agora1 profile image
Agora1 in reply toTwistedopher

I'm here along with others who will support you through this.

You are not alone my friend :) xx

Healinggarden profile image
Healinggarden

You're not whining, you are extremely overwhelmed and feeling afraid.I don't have any personal experience with the meds, I just know about ongoing depression and anxiety.

Twistedopher profile image
Twistedopher

Thank you

I'm literally the same exact way on most days. Literally could've written this myself. I too take klonopin daily. I also take Zyprexa which helps a lot. Maybe, you can think about getting on it or try a different med? Are you in therapy? You're not whining btw, you're struggling and that's ok bc, it's ok to not be ok.

I want to suggest tapping bc you can do it yourself and it's free via The Tapping Solution app. It helps me when I'm overwhelmed with anxiety, which is often.

I'm sending hugs and light your way. ✨️✨️✨️✨️ Stay around here, there's a lot of support.

Wishing you the best.

Twistedopher profile image
Twistedopher in reply to

You are very kind ❤️

Lovesdogs2 profile image
Lovesdogs2

Are you doing anything besides meds to ease your anxiety and depression? For me getting out in the sun, exercising, listening to music, being in nature really help me. Take time to breathe deeply ..........you are not alone!!!❤️

Twistedopher profile image
Twistedopher in reply toLovesdogs2

Thank you Lovesdogs

Dadzo profile image
Dadzo

Sorry to hear that you're not doing well. I suffer from Health Anxiety and have definitely gone through phases where it seems I'd never get out (But always do). If these meds don't seem to work, might I recommend trying some type of psychedelic therapy such as psilocybin, Ketamine, MDMA, etc... I have started Ketamine therapy and it seems to be helping. It is designed to get us to look inside, find the abnormal programming that is affecting us, and change it. Anti-anxiety/Depression meds can help but they will not get at the underlying cause of our anxiety. Good luck

Twistedopher profile image
Twistedopher in reply toDadzo

Thank you Dadzo. Today will be my 4th low dose ketamine treatment.

Toddzen profile image
Toddzen

I am taking 200mg Seroquel w/1,5 mg Klonopin. I take 100 mg Seroquel during the day. Also 300mg Venlafaxine. My anxiety is low to moderate depending on life circumstances. I ride my bike everyday. Without the exercise my anxiety would become severe.

Have you considered psychotherapy? You may want to find a good psychotherapist or read a good book on cognitive behavioral therapy. This would be another approach to dealing with your emotional discomfort.

designguy profile image
designguy

You might have your testosterone, thyroid and adrenals checked out to make sure they are functioning properly, if not they can cause or contribute to anxiety/depression. It can take up to 4 - 6 weeks for lexapro to make a difference so try to give it time. If you find that it's not helping you, you might see about doing a psychopharmacological test that uses your dna to determine which meds are best suited for you genetically. My test was from Genesight and paid for by my insurance, your psychiatrist can prescribe it for you. It helped me find the right med for me after trying a half dozen that didn't work. Another thing that helps is learning how to constructively deal with anxiety, you might check out the DARE Anxiety youtube videos, they are very informative and helpful.

Twistedopher profile image
Twistedopher in reply todesignguy

Thank you very much. I have done the genesight test. It wasn't much help unfortunately. Everything is in the yellow category as far as antidepressants. But I will check out these dare videos.

designguy profile image
designguy in reply toTwistedopher

You're welcome, thats too bad about the test, did genesight have any explanation as to why? I would think with as many antidepressants as there are anymore something would work for you, hopefully the lexapro will. I've read that anxiety and depression are two sides of the same coin and thats how it was for me.

Late last year I thought my antidepressant had quit working but it turned out that I had changed my weekly testosterone shots and after about 3 weeks I felt like I had hit a wall. I was doing a testosterone shot and a shot of HCG and had quit the HCG and found how much I needed it so I added it back in and felt better in a week. Apparently half the guys doing testosterone shots also need the HCG and i'm one of them. Our hormones do play a big role in balancing our mood way more than I realized.

You might check out TMS therapy if you can't get the meds sorted out. I did it earlier this year and it helped although it was skewed by my dealing with the HCG issue but a number of people have found it helpful.

Twistedopher profile image
Twistedopher in reply todesignguy

I really want to do TMS therapy but because I live in a small town the closest place is an hour and a half away.

designguy profile image
designguy in reply toTwistedopher

I understand, mine was only a half hour away. I had no pain or side affects from the treatments so it did not interfere with my driving.

Twistedopher profile image
Twistedopher in reply todesignguy

If they would let me drive myself home, I'd def drive the hour and a half.

designguy profile image
designguy in reply toTwistedopher

My driving myself was never an issue for my clinic. A few years ago I did four ketamine infusions and they would not let me drive and my wife had to taxi me. I was pretty much knocked out the rest of the day and even part of the next day. I did not find the ketamine helpful and it can be very unsettling and anxiety provoking as it's a psychedelic experience. It could have been that they gave me too high of a dose but I quit after 4 sessions. TMS was a walk in the park compared to it. You might check with the clinic and see what they say about driving.

Twistedopher profile image
Twistedopher in reply todesignguy

Yeah the TMS clinic said I have to do it every day for so many weeks and i have to have a driver for every session. That is really a bummer.

designguy profile image
designguy in reply toTwistedopher

You might check to see if they are confusing it with ketamine treatment, a lot of clinics offer both. My clinic is in a town of 100,000 people and there are four TMS clinics here so you might check to see if there are others there. I also did a check on google and everything that came up said it's fine to drive afterward, wonder why they are different.

Twistedopher profile image
Twistedopher in reply todesignguy

That's messed up. I thought it was odd too. I am going to call them back and double check.

designguy profile image
designguy in reply toTwistedopher

yes, I would, good luck.

Chi1504 profile image
Chi1504 in reply todesignguy

Hi I know how you feel

designguy profile image
designguy in reply toChi1504

Thanks.

TangledUpIn profile image
TangledUpIn in reply todesignguy

I mentioned Genesight in another post because I am using it too to determine the right meds for me. I hope the word gets spread about this psychopharmacological test as so many are struggling to find the right meds.

designguy profile image
designguy in reply toTangledUpIn

I hope it helps you too, mine also showed some gene mutations that supplements helped with that my functional medicine psych person was able to prescribe. I guess it doesn't help everyone, grateful it did me.

Atthepark profile image
Atthepark

Yeah I suffered w severe panick attack s and it was like the Dr didn't believe how bad it was finally everything my mental state got worse not just anxiety and he put me on zoloft 25 MG it was like a drug I had felt so much relief from it but he also added Lexapro I'm schizoeffective been so since I was 26 was hallucinate in hospital and even when in2as out on proper meds for several months mentalnillness is really hard tonliven w on a daily basis I feel your pain

Twistedopher profile image
Twistedopher in reply toAtthepark

Thank you. And I'm sorry my friend.

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