Medication

[Lucky253]

What meds is everyone on for anxiety and panic attacks? What helps the quickest with least side effects? If thats possible, thanks

[kenster1]

hi on mirtazapine 45mg been on them a while now.never had any side effects short term but long term they have.

[Lucky253 in reply to kenster1]

How well do these work for you? And how long did they take to work in reducing anxiety and panic? Thanks

[kenster1 in reply to Lucky253]

hard to think back it was that long but I became more calm after a couple of months but I had really terrible anxiety for months a couple of years ago this was extreme.last week was pretty bad but with the issues I faced I handled it quite well.

[CharlieOde in reply to kenster1]

I got prescribed this but it made me hallucinate and a severe case of sickness, they've now moved me to Sertraline & Propanolol.

Seem to be having some positive effects from the Sertraline but they're certainly gonna take some getting used too.

[Kkimm]

Hi Lucky

I was diagnosed with GAD and depression in August 2017. My doc had experienced anxiety himself and gave me a choice of two medications. Venlafaxine Effexor, in the USA and Sertaline Zoloft, in the USA. He told me Venlafaxine was the most effective for anxiety. I have subsequently read that it had worked for many people when nothing else had. I therefore chose that one.

I subsequently found out that it is quite a strong one and is not normally the first choice. It is an SNRI and usually you are started on an SSRI.

I am however really pleased I did go for this one as it has been very effective very quickly for me. It has meant I have not had to change to a different stronger one if I was started first of all on a less strong one. I started on 75 mg and needed 3 dose increases over a year that went well and were not difficult. I have no side effects apart from vivid dreams. I am now on 187.5 mg after nearly two years and I feel extremely well and my life overall had changed for the better as I have taken new hobbies and activities I do not think I would have done even before I became ill as I was less sociable than I am now.

I felt I had got myself back after 4 months and felt fully recovered except for minor symptoms after around a year. I was not an anxious person before I became ill and was fairly optimistic but I would say I am even better than I was before I became ill following 2 life traumas.

I was very severely effected and also had depression so that may be why my doctor recommended this med as first option. I would not think it would be recommended unless you have an anxiety or depression which is very severe. I was nauseous all the time, dizzy, felt spaced out, no appetite, lost 2 stones in 2 months, sense of doom, heart pounding all the time etc when I first became ill.

However, and this is a big however.

It is a difficult antidepressant to get used to for alot of people and was for me. It made me feel worse before I felt better for a few weeks. The really difficult bit only went on for about 10 days however. It actually only made me feel sicker than I already felt for the first few days, and it cured my loss of appetite in a few days also. The way in which it made me feel worse at first was that it gave me some very strong feelings of anxiety at times which were very scary. They did not normally last for more than a few minutes however. I began to feel more afraid of everyday situations also after I started it and this lasted about 2 months. I never gave into these feelings however and always did whatever I was going to anyway and tried not to worry about how bad I was feeling. I think it was very important to do this to give the antidepressant opportunity to work.

I also think I could have been started on a lower dose of 37.5 mg and it would have been easier. It is an antidepressant that is said to be very difficult to get off for most people apparently. I think most antidepressants are but I think this is one of the worst. I am in my 60s and do not plan ever coming off it unless I have to if it stops working etc. I would not be able to go through my illness again. I do not plan to increase the dose either as this level is quite high but means that I still have room to go up to 275mg which is usually the maximum dose but I know of people who are on over 300mgs.

I found out later that it was the one my doctor had been on himself and he said he found it easy to come off by tapering slowly. You can also bridge over to Prozac as a good way if coming off apparently.

It is a really difficult decision which antidepressant to go on and you can change if you need to but with any you go for you definitely need to give it time to work, a few months really, and increase the dose if your doctor recommends it or it may not be effective enough.

My very best wishes.

Kim

[Hidden in reply to Kkimm]

3 of my sisters are on Effexor 300mg, and my daughter is on 150mg. They swear by it also.

[Kkimm in reply to Hidden]

Thanks

[TheBlackdog]

Hi Lucky, I take Sertraline 100mg. I used to take Citalopram 20mg then 30mg but for 10 years I kept on having episodes of illness. I took Venlafaxine in the very beginning as I had a bit if a meltdown and was probably the best one but I wouldn't wish anyone on it unless absolutely necessary. I had awful side effects from real tiredness, sickness and at times spontaneous moments of being sick while driving my car for example which was horrendous. Also I yawned like all day everyday never did that before I took them! My eye bags were grey, dark colour and felt like a zombie for a long time x I am much better on Sertraline hope this helps x

[Lucky253 in reply to TheBlackdog]

Oh god im glad you found one that works for you! It does thank you! Did you have any side effects with the sertaline? X

[Bj118]

Hiya Lucky, initially I was on Xanax for a short period. Now am on Venlafaxine, which have no side effects. Other than that I also take magnesium, chamomile tea...hope this little info helps.

[Lucky253 in reply to Bj118]

It does thank you, how well do the venlafaxine work for you?

[Bj118 in reply to Lucky253]

Venlafaxine works very well for me. I went through such a difficult patch, came to a point that I could not leave the house, gave up working .....after being prescribed Venlafaxine, slowly I am regaining normalcy