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  • BDD Moderators: Keif’ Richards | negrogesic

Looking for alternative anxiolytics for social fobia

M

Memantine

Bluelighter
Joined
May 16, 2015
Messages
304
What drugs are out there besides benzo's that work acutely for social anxiety (so no SSRI's)?

Does buspirone work well for this?
 
Have you looked at pregabalin?

Its prescribed off label for GAD and I think social phobia (not sure what a fobia is though:))
 
Memantine said:
What drugs are out there besides benzo's that work acutely for social anxiety (so no SSRI's)?

Does buspirone work well for this?
Click to expand...

Buspar is shit and doesn't work.

I like benzos personally so I can't help here.
 
Buspar always gave me bad RLS and never worked for me, it could be your life savor, everyones different. You could try hydroxyzine, ive heard different stories from different people tho, I guess it works fairly well for a non-narcotic alternative, ive used it and I can say the least that its better than buspar

EDIT: I used it for opiate withdrawal for mosty nausea, didnt pay much to any attention to the anti-anxiety properties.
 
BuSpar is a placebo. ALL docs know this but placebo effect is real so it works on some people w/psychosomatic disorders.
I also have social phobia w/ agoraphobia and occasional panic attacks. I was on benzos for years and they are very hard to stop. The contributor who mentioned pregabalin is off base. Pregabalin and it's sister gabapentin both work on the same sites as benzos (the GABA receptor sites). I very highly recommend you talk to your doc about propranolol (brand name Inderal in the US). It blocks adrenaline beta receptors and is a miracle drug for some lucky folks. It's main use is for high blood pressure but is approved for social anxiety. Another one is called clonidine and it works on adrenaline alpha receptors. Problem is it makes you really tired and can't be used w/ anything that may also lower your blood pressure. Since you're in EU, you might talk to doc about moclobemide (brand name aurorix). It too has many drug and some food interactions but not as bad as older MAOI drugs. Can't get it in the US but is commonly prescribed in the EU. Good luck, my friend.
 
Kratom.

Potentially habit forming but anything that actually works will be potentially habit forming, no way around that
 
Okay i must through this out there. Buspirone is NOT a placebo! lol I'm sorry it doesnt work for you, and most others. It's a hit or miss drug for some reason the pharmacology of Buspirone is bizarre as fuk! It works wonders for me, and i am more than capable of telling the difference between a placebo and whats real. When i started taking BuSpar, i got light headed and dizzy then sleepy as well. Once i got used to it tho, it would give me great benefits! My legs, arms, whole body kinda, would feel relaxed and i would get this comfy sort of stimulation in my body. Its ironically a speedy drug, but dont ever compare it to real speed! thats for sure. I dont know why this drug is a hit or miss type, and its a miss for most... :(

If it works for you, awesome! It will increase your serotonin levels!....
I am currently taking Zoloft, with two augments: Abilify and BuSpar. That helps me lots. Also I take Pregabalin (Lyrica), Clonidine, and Hydroxyzine (Vistaril).
Other things you can take is Gabapentin (although there is a trick to getting the most out of it because its Bioavailability is bizarre!)
Also I am not sure what you have against SSRIs? But if you have the patience, i would try getting on one, once it kicks in for you, it can possibly help tons! and im suggesting being on SSRIs in ADDITION to other stuff! definitely not just that...
And then there is Phenibut, thats not a Rx....

I am off of benzos for a while. i abused them and developed a bad relationship with them... Long story, but i've been experimenting with alternative options for a while.
 
buspar is complete shit all it did was get me dizzy

in all honesty anything that lowers your inhibitions is good for social anxiety from benzos to booze to opiates.... yes i said it
 
I have anxiety disorders that led me to take benzos for a very long time. I have since detoxed from them, but they still cause considerable PAWS for me.

Buspar didn't work. Propanalol didn't work. What did work is kratom with zoloft. The zoloft just brings me to a better baseline.
 
Describe your symptoms a bit more, Memantine as social phobia can take many forms (ie are you scared to actually go out in social settings, do you feel awkard in them, or does panic take over while trying to socialize).
 
Well to be honest I am not really scared of the social contact. But when I meet new people I tend to dissociate and just say nothing. Somehow I do not have the motivation to start conversations. Another thing is that social situations are usually very crowded and noisy and I feel like getting an epileptic seizure. My senses are very sensitive. I guess I'm more scared of the enviroment (light, noise, odors) then of the people. And with the people I simply miss the motivation to talk, even though I really want to (lack of activity in my nucleus accumbens?).

The only things that currently can help me to be a social disinhibited person are: Alcohol, benzo's, dextromethorphan, shrooms and dex-amphetamine.
 
deos68 said:
in all honesty anything that lowers your inhibitions is good for social anxiety from benzos to booze to opiates.... yes i said it
Click to expand...

Well said!

My guess towards anxiety:
Anxiety is a form of your brain reacting to an emergency based situation, with adrenaline and fight or flight based reactions. I suppose even preemptive fear, anxiety you get knowing you will be encountering a provoking situation soon might be the beginning initiation of your brain preparing for something dangerous and starting the adrenaline systems and flight or flight is ready or something.....

If anxiety is adrenaline based, then maybe try out something like Clonidine, that might just do the trick, or like deos68 mentioned, your looking for some style of CNS depressant, and i do love the effects of DXM but im not too sure how that compares in a sense.
I dont know! I am just theorizing on stuff.

Here is some info i found explaining the effectiveness for Clonidine, however this text is in reference to using it for Heroin withdrawals. Nonetheless....


http://alcoholrehab.com/drug-addiction-treatment/clonidine-for-heroin-rehabilitation said:
Clonidine Explained

Clonidine belongs to a class of drugs known as central alpha agonists. It is commonly used for treatment of high blood pressure (hypertension). It is also classified as a sympatholytic drug because it inhibits Postganglionic nerve fibers, and thus alters the functioning of the sympathetic nervous system – this is the part of the nervous system that it responsible for fight of flight response.
Click to expand...

As always, anxiety can be a bitch to treat, until you find the right fix. Best of luck!
 
Last edited:
ThatOneDude! said:
Well said!

My guess towards anxiety:
Anxiety is a form of your brain reacting to an emergency based situation, with adrenaline and fight or flight based reactions. I suppose even preemptive fear, anxiety you get knowing you will be encountering a provoking situation soon might be the beginning initiation of your brain preparing for something dangerous and starting the adrenaline systems and flight or flight is ready or something.....

If anxiety is adrenaline based, then maybe try out something like Clonidine, that might just do the trick, or like deos68 mentioned, your looking for some style of CNS depressant, and i do love the effects of DXM but im not too sure how that compares in a sense.
I dont know! I am just theorizing on stuff.
Click to expand...

anxiety in a nutshell is nothing but irrational thoughts as the base of it
after that it turns into a snowball down a hill effect if you will
irrational thoughts->fear>fight or flight response gets activated->panic mode sadly its rinse and repeat for a lot of us

funny thing is i really dont have catastrophic thoughts anymore but i do get the physical symptoms of anxiety which is 50/50 the cause of increased anxiety
some days i can deal with the physical symptoms but other days i let it consume me mehh
seems simple to say, control your thoughts but after awhile its hard to break the cycle and becomes easier to freak out

social anxiety is curable all you have to do it become comfortable in social situations
easiest way to put it its like learning something new the more practice the better you get
i killed my SA not over night but i started small talked to the mail man, went to stores and asked for random shit when i had no reason to and eventually started random convos with people and after a while it became as natural as breathing

the best cliche advice i remembered when i got into awkward social situations was "you win some, you lose some" which is true you cant befriend everyone nor expect everyone to like you
or as my dad would say "grow a pair" lol
 
You might want to take a strong dose of LSD (or other psychedelic hallucinogen). I'm not joking. Psychedelic hallucinogens helped me more in regards to long-term anxiolysis than benzodiapenes ever did (with the added benefit of not having to chain yourself to a drug regiment)
 
Burnt Offerings said:
You might want to take a strong dose of LSD (or other psychedelic hallucinogen). I'm not joking. Psychedelic hallucinogens helped me more in regards to long-term anxiolysis than benzodiapenes ever did (with the added benefit of not having to chain yourself to a drug regiment)
Click to expand...

ive been reading into reports of lsd along with other psychs like ketamine helping depression and anxiety etc
 
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