Gad: Attempts With Zoloft And Paxil, Now Sjw Posted: 10-04-05 17:33pm
I was recently diagnosed with a mild case
of general anxiety disorder. Recent job
related setbacks combined with me being an
overall "worrying" person got me to the
doctor. I started with zoloft. After
one week I had headaches and shakes with
trembling as well as the sexual side
effects. I was then put on paxil. Same
results after one week. As a male in his
early 30's I was simply unable to achieve
an orgasm after 3 days of paxil. What a
scarry feeling. I play a lot of sports
and felt a bit spacey at times and very
week. My legs and arms felt almost
jelly-like when playing.
I have decided to try st. Johns wort. I
simply cannot live with those side
effects. Not one to try herbal remedies
but thought I would give it a go. My Dr.
Has offered to try the lexapro and one
other but feel the results will be the
same.
Anyone have luck with sjw?
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roomwithaview
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 06 Oct 2005 Posts: 2 Location: Los Angeles
Vitamin X Posted: 10-06-05 00:32am
I have gad and social anxiety as well and
have tried several herbs and plenty of
meds too. My body has bad reactions to
ssris and tricyclics, and st. John's wort
had only mild and unreliable benefits.
Of the herbs, kava kava had the best
effect, though there have been very rare
cases of liver issues. What works the
best by far for me is low-dose xanax,
though deep breathing/meditation help some
too. Some docs are terrified to
prescribe xanax at all, let alone for
regular use, because addiction-prone
people can have to be weaned off it if
they take it for a long time or in high
doses. Most people, though, stablilize
at a certain level and experience no
problems, and plenty of doctors still
prescribe plenty of xanax (it's actually
one of the most prescribed drugs, for a
reason, it actually works . . . Maybe
there's a correlation between getting
results from a drug and wanting to take it
. . . Hmm!). After discarding a doc
who wouldn't prescribe it (though he had
no issue pumping me full of four different
ssris that only gave me awful side
effects), I found a doc who is well
regarded and who jokingly calls xanax,
vitamin x. You have to weigh costs and
benefits for yourself. If you do the
research, the benefits are clearly
established, and for the vast majority of
people, the costs are nonexistent. It's
greatly enriched my life, with no side
effects beyond the first day (i was a
little spacy on the first day). An
alternative is an off-label use of
neurontin, but even at 2400 mg a day of
that (a pretty high dose) it never worked
as well as a tiny dose of xanax.
|
mrp225
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 04 Oct 2005 Posts: 3
Posted: 10-08-05 15:56pm
The sjw is doing pretty well for me. For
one thing I have never slept better in my
life. I sleep all night and never stir
or awake.
Any sexual side effects with the xanax?
How much are you taking?
I am going for a follow up up next week.
I may mention xanax.
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roomwithaview
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 06 Oct 2005 Posts: 2 Location: Los Angeles
Glad It's Working Posted: 10-09-05 17:43pm
Glad you are feeling better. I take 1/2
to 1 mg xanax, anywhere from 0 to 4 times
a day. Because it's so fast acting I
just keep some with me and wait to take it
only if I need it. Many days I take
none; other days I may take 2 mg. Just
depends on what's going on.
|
Kansas
Experienced User , Rather EHEALTHy
Joined: 13 Aug 2005 Posts: 93
Posted: 10-10-05 18:02pm
I am taking buspar for anxiety and panic.
I have only been on it for a month but I
think it is helping a little. The side
effects bothered me at first but then they
stopped after a while. I also take
ativan because I had a reaction with
xanax. I love the ativan. It stops my
panic really well
|
mrp225
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 04 Oct 2005 Posts: 3
Re: Vitamin X Posted: 10-13-05 19:55pm
roomwithaview
wrote:
i have gad and social
anxiety as well and have tried several
herbs and plenty of meds too. My body
has bad reactions to ssris and tricyclics,
and st. John's wort had only mild and
unreliable benefits. Of the herbs, kava
kava had the best effect, though there
have been very rare cases of liver issues.
What works the best by far for me is
low-dose xanax, though deep
breathing/meditation help some too.
Some docs are terrified to prescribe xanax
at all, let alone for regular use, because
addiction-prone people can have to be
weaned off it if they take it for a long
time or in high doses. Most people,
though, stablilize at a certain level and
experience no problems, and plenty of
doctors still prescribe plenty of xanax
(it's actually one of the most prescribed
drugs, for a reason, it actually works .
. . Maybe there's a correlation
between getting results from a drug and
wanting to take it . . . Hmm!).
After discarding a doc who wouldn't
prescribe it (though he had no issue
pumping me full of four different ssris
that only gave me awful side effects), I
found a doc who is well regarded and who
jokingly calls xanax, vitamin x. You
have to weigh costs and benefits for
yourself. If you do the research, the
benefits are clearly established, and for
the vast majority of people, the costs are
nonexistent. It's greatly enriched my
life, with no side effects beyond the
first day (i was a little spacy on the
first day). An alternative is an
off-label use of neurontin, but even at
2400 mg a day of that (a pretty high dose)
it never worked as well as a tiny dose of
xanax.
well I went for my follow up and my Dr.
Prescribed me with xanax. I have a
supply of the 0.25mg pills. Up to 3x a
day if needed. After 3 days on this drug
I am very pleased with it. I only take
(1) of the 0.25 pills per day. One half
in the morning and the other half before
bed. Even though I feel a bit sleepy
after taking it, I feel I can concentrate
much better and actually feel I have more
energy. No side efects like I had with
the ssri's. I actually find food
appealing again as well. It has really
increased my appetite.
It kinda breaks me from the constant
internal churning I have in my mind about
things I have no control over. I'm able
to ignore the issues that get me
frustrated at work or home that make me
angry and depressed. In the end I seem
to be able to cope without things tearing
me apart inside.
|
banjobayou
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 16 Oct 2005 Posts: 1 Location: Seattle
Anxiety/panic Posted: 10-16-05 15:19pm
For the people with anxiety and panic
problems, I (had) anxiety and panic
attacks for years, about 15 years. I
had it very bad. I didn't even like
leaving my house sometimes! I
wouldn't fly or go to family functions, I
was a mess. I tried lots of
different drugs and saw a few
psychiatrists, no help! When the
internet hit the scene I started doing my
own studying. First I thought I
would figure out which drug would cure me!
I found that drugs kept me high; I
was looking to be well, not high! So
I looked in to meditation. That has
really help calm the clutter down in my
indianapolis raceway brain! Now I
can scramble my thoughts at will with no
drugs! It works very well but it
didn't happen over night. It took
about 3 to 4 months. I also keep my
self in much better shape physically and
that helps as well. Breathing
correctly plays a major roll in not
letting panic attacks over take you while
your mind is sprinting to get away!
(i know you know what that means).
So now I meditate, exercise and make sure
I breathe right! Things still stress
me out a bit, but I can handle them very
well now. I haven't had a panic
attack since I started to meditate 7 years
ago, that is really something, because I
had some attacks so bad that I passed out
once. P.S. The meditation I do
is transcendental meditation. It is
very easy to learn and everyone there is
usually there for lifes stresses as well!
I'm sure most any type of meditation
will work, they all have the same
purpose...Its all about not thinking,
clear your mind a couple times a day! I
did'nt think that was possible! It is,
it works wonders. This is your life
here, take it back, its worth every
minute!