Posted: 9/12/2007 1:10:47 PM EDT
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I've had a handfull of panic attacks that have landed me in the ER over the past few years. Started a toprol, xanax, and lexapro cocktail about 2 years ago. Hated the Lexapro, got more dependent on the xanax (started at .25mg/day up to 1-2mg/day now) and the toprol has had no side effects. Gained about 60lbs from the Lexapro. Since then have had no panic attacks, but the weight gain sucks. I completely quit the lexapro 2 months ago after a 6 month taper period from 10mg to 7.5 to 5 to 2.5mg then quit. With just the xanax and toprol I have still been having episodes, not panic attacks, at night that are horrible. I go to bed with a tight chest, then wake up to a pounding pulse throughout my body. I also self medicated and upped my 1mg/day dose of xanax to 1.5-2mg day depending on how I feel in the evening. Usually these episodes set in from 4pm-10pm. Dr. put me on 10mg/2xday of Buspar on Monday. What a fucking nightmare. I initially didn't know it was 2x/day. I took the first pill at 8pm monday night. Around 8:30 started feeling messed up like I was on acid or shrooms. Super dizzy, could hardly walk, couldn't even watch TV and had to go lie in a dark room, ended up falling asleep and slept for 12 hours, was in a fog yesterday for a while but the anxiety did not set in like it normally did in the evening. I decided not to take the morning dose as there's no way I could go to work in that condition. I took the 10mg last night and same symptoms including everytime I moved I didn't actually feel me moving for a split second, like time slowed. When I held my head still and moved my eyes around I was getting some brain zaps and could feel my eye muscles in my head moving. VERY WEIRD! I went to bed at 8:30 last night and slept until 10:30 this morning straight through. 14 hours! I put a call into the Dr to see what the hell is going on. I recently switched Dr's because I was so pissed at the chinese dr who initially put me on the xanax, lexapro, toprol without telling me what the hell they were and basically ruining a few years of my life. My new Dr. told me that the Buspar will help me wean off the xanax as it's addictive and the more you take the worse the symptoms are and you snowball and take more. Has anyone else had these side effects with Buspar and did they go away? I'm afraid of 2 things. If I quit, my anxiety will come back in the evenings, and if I don't quit I'll sleep my life away and be a zombie during the day. help! |
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All the anxiety medicines are addictive. They are drugs, just like the drugs your friendly neighborhood drug dealer sells. Just because it's legal doesn't make it any less of a drug. My personal opinion is to deal with your issues and stop depending on drugs. Everyone gets anxious at times. Some worse than others. You have a responsibility to control yourself. |
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I agree with Justa_TXGuy. You should see a therapist and try to find out what is causing the panic attacks. Its always better to eliminate the cause of the problem than to treat the symptoms with addictive drugs. I speak from experience. I had a Dr giving me pain meds for a back problem that I have. I thought since I was getting them from a Dr that everything would be fine. I ended up getting addicted to the drugs and spent 10 days in detox. I eliminated the cause of my back pain (obesity) by loosing weight. (60lbs) |
THERAPY. It worked for my wife, when the drugs just made her live in a dream world. |
You discount the documented fact that mental illness can have a physiological basis? "Everyone" does not have repeated, uncontrollable cycles of runaway fight-or-flight response. |
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Am taking 2 personal days from work to switch Dr's. I'll be going to the same Dr as my parents go to and they both seem to like him. I think another problem I've had with my current and previous Dr is that they do not listen, but just say "take this, you'll feel better". I ended up not taking the buspar tonight, but by 11pm my chest was pounding and blood pressure was 150/90, way up from my normal 120/80 +/- 5 points. Took 1mg xanax and I do feel much better. I hate relying on this shit. For the first 25 years of my life I never took this stuff. I wouldn't even take tylenol for a headache and thought only crazy people take the stuff I'm on. I have a little different perspective of the world now and though I don't know why I'm this way, do understand why some people rely on this stuff for a better quality of life. I would however give anything to be back to normal. |
While I'm not arguing the fact that it can be physiological, I will state the fact that it can be made worse through an inability to control your response to life and the things that make all of us anxious at times. These feelings are normal, but Dr.'s dont tell you it can be managed with proper behavior and thought management, instead they peddle pills to everyone who walks through the door. I'm in no way lecturing the OP, I am just stating an opinion I have myself proven true through personal experience. |
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Toprol is not for anxiety, it is a blood pressure med. I've never heard of it prescribed for anxiety. My husband has been on alot of different meds for anxiety/depression the past 4 or 5 years. He takes a shitload even now - Seroquil is his main one, Buspar, Klonipin and Clominpramine. Also has Xanax to take for the panic attacks. Many, many others he has tried but they don't have any effect. He has tried therapy but it doesn't seem to help. His side effects are constipation, sexual, tiredness, and gaining 60lbs. Besides being like a zombie sometimes. He's not very social even when the grandkids are around.  We are dropping down (was on 10mgx4) on the Buspar since it seems like it increased his anxiety. Oh yeah he also has a side effect in which he gets up from his chair and his knees give out from under him. Not fun either. But nothing like you have described. We have done genetic blood testing at Mayo Clinic for how he metabolizes meds since he can take a enough to put a whole church asleep but doesn't really effect him. But it came back normal?????? Go figure  Sometimes we think the anxiety must be caused by a tumor or something, if he misses his meds, he feels the anxiety coming right on. It's not a fun life to live, for him and for me. We keep trying to find the right combo, someday maybe something will work right........ |
The toprol xl is to help control my heartrate. My resting heartrate at the time I was put on it and had been monitored overnight was about 90. This lowers is about 10 points and helps me feel like it's not going to come through my chest. It also does keep my blood pressure in check even though I've never had high blood pressure, only during the panic attacks. Sorry to hear about your situation as well I'm sure my wife would say the same symptoms affect me. I'm heading out to the dr this afternoon to see about straightening myself out. |
That's much more reasonable, and I mostly agree with you on that point. I don't think /all/ of the problems can be dealt with effectively by therapy alone, but in some cases it does fix the problem, and in most other cases it probably helps. |
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These doctors you see.. Are they general practitioners? If so, have you considered seeking the care of specialists? I'd think a psychiatrist would be my first stop, but not a psychologist. Psychiatrists can use counselling or drugs depending, and since you're already taking medication I'd think you should go with someone who can work with that. While I'm sure a GP is capable, a psychiatrist should have more experience in this area directly than a GP might. You might want to "interview" a few though, and go with the one that you feel most comfortable with. It's not like fixing a car engine, you both need to work together closely on this, and I feel a bond of trust is important to that end. Good luck man. |