psychiatrist advised antipsychotic meds as 'heavy anxiety'meds..Need some support ; (

[razordesignz]

Hi so was taking adderall and xanax, went to this psych for a a first time. I explained I want off xanax because of short term. Went in to a long history of my issues (gad, anxiety,add) and after our chat he refered to benzos as mild anxiety meds, claimed I could try "heavy anxiety" meds...meaning abilify seroquel, antipsychotic meds...I told him I'd research and we went with kolonopin. The kolonopin works a little but not much. I truthfully am almost sickened he is trying antipsychotic meds as heavy anxiety meds. Seroquel will destroy my chemical structure...I have used prozac,xoloft buspar welbutrin trazadone Remeron viiybrid, xanax valium ativan kolonopin. I HATE long term meds that restructure your brain after what I have went threw over 10 years. I just am dying for advice I only have anxiety anymore but the fact he recommended antipsychotic meds actually made me depressed...maybe I'll ask to try gabapentin idk I feel so lost on this I love it if anyone who has similar struggles doesn't mind giving me advice....or a hug. Second psych iv tryed in 3 months and running out of options. Thanks for reading ; (

Currently on 0.5 kolonopin twice a day and prescribed 60mg of ir adderall. But I generally only take 7.5 twice a day. More 20mgs max because of my anxiety. But need the adds for school and work balance.

 

[neurotic]

IME, benzodiazepines *are* the most solid anxiety meds out there, it's usually the other way around: antidepressants are the first option for anxiety, and benzos are the last-resort, for hardcore crippling anxiety.

you probably just acquired a tolerance to your Klonopin, and that's why it's not working anymore. how long have you been on that regimen? there isn't anywhere to go further, medication wise, after benzos, really.

if i were you i would tell your psych that you don't want to go on antipsychotic medication, they can't force you to take it. and if you're on a daily regimen of benzos, taking you off without warning is just cruel...

overall, your best bet, IMO, is to stabilize yourself mentally on that dose of clonazepam, with the help of psychological/therapeutic approaches rather than pharmacological ones. it is really important that you do this...

you don't wanna raise your daily benzo dose, believe me... you're just numbing yourself, and it only makes it harder to jump off later, as you'll start needing more and more benzos, and anxiety when sober will get more and more unbearable.

 

[razordesignz]

Ya true I appreciate it . I did kolonopin like 2 years ago then switched to valium and xanax back and forth now on just kolonopin because I need long acting and truthfully in my mind xanax and valium majority of the time are too good of feel good drugs and the half life's suck which leads to over use lol. Only started 0.5 twice daily about 20 something days ago. I wonder if maybe adderall and gabapentin would be good for long term but I figure I'll require a high dose upping often

 

[beniceman]

I had irrational fears and paranoia, abilify cured them quickly. I only took it for 6 months.

 

[RedRum OG]

If you have anxiety adderall is the absolute worst thing to be taking. Stimulants are terrible for anxiety. And adderall is a heavy amphetamine. Even caffeine is nasty for anxiety

Stop the benzos. Longterm they will ruin you. And I mean ruin. I've had years of IV heroin use and yet I still rue the day I started benzos more than anything else in my life. Spend an hour searching blueloght for stories of benzo withdrawal and long term benzo users and you will never touch one again. Their horror stories are like no others, if there is one thing you take away from my post it is this: benzos may not have turned ugly on you yet, but if you use them regularly for years they will take you down further than you ever thought imaginable.

Try gabapentin 300mg 3-4x a day. Did wonders for me. Also exercise ... I can't emphasize that enough. Lift weights 1 hour 4x a week and your life will be absolutely transformed. I am way into weight lifting and it saved me. Helps insomnia, depression, anxiety, pain, restlessness... Everything.

 

[dopamimetic]

The 'major tranquilizers' aka neuroleptics are bad to take for anxiety. They will very certainly make things much worse, only the low-potency sedating ones like quetiapine (Seroquel) can have a calming, sedating effect but this is not due to their main action but just because they are strong H1 histamine antagonists and some also adrenergic antagonists. So, they actually get used widely because of their side effects, depending on your point of view.

If this sort of effect is wanted, using an old-school centrally acting antihistamine like hydroxyzine or diphenhydramine (where actually fluoxetine has been developed off) would be much more reasonable. Clonidine, a centrally acting a2 agonist leading to decreased sympathetic outflow and lowered NE levels, can be alleviating in anxiety / panic / fear situations too and is a good, non-addicting sleep aid as well as it does a good job in helping withdrawal from GABAergics or opioids. But it is very sedating and can exacerbate depression in some individuals. Moxonidine could be promising as it is shorter acting, and guanfacine might have an overall better side effect profile too (but has been discovered to be a 5-HT2B agonist which can be bad to the heart and lead to chest pain / angina pectoris).

It is a shame that tiagabine (Gabitril) is not available in most countries, it's a GABA reuptake inhibitor approved for epilepsy - that has a similar anxiolytic action as benzodiazepines do, but with less sedation and possibly (not sure, but according to studies) it's essentially non-addicting and does not exhibit tolerance!! Can be imported from France though and it's just Rx, not controlled.

Gabapentin or pregabalin can help, I personally found them to be too cognitively impacting (and they halt the formation of new synapses - afaik the consequences of this aren't established yet, but I feel that it will negatively affect learning and could lead to depression).
Baclofen could possibly be interesting as it is said to not have the dependency issues as phenibut has (I don't see the reason for this though).

--

If you have anxiety adderall is the absolute worst thing to be taking. Stimulants are terrible for anxiety. And adderall is a heavy amphetamine. Even caffeine is nasty for anxiety

Here I don't fully agree. The norepinephrine is bad, yes, so you probably want to avoid amphetamines but it depends on you. For some very low doses are actually anxiolytic. Combining it (or maybe better methylphenidate) in low-dose with 50-75mcg of clonidine could be interesting.
A very interesting candidate is isopropylphenidate which is currently sold as a RC but might become approved for ADHD in the future. It is essentially a much calmer variant of Ritalin / methylphenidate with much more selective dopaminergic action that does not have the stimulatory / anxiogenic effects of MPH or amphetamine.

 

[Johndoedoe.junk]

I used to take Zyprexa which would actually help "calm" me down but the anxiolitic effects were minimal and sort of outweighed by the heavy sedation which would usually last through the next day as it was usually taken at night. I would say if you HAD to take a pill for your anxiety stick with a benzo or even etizolam.

 

[dopamimetic]

Zyprexa (olanzapine) is a fucking dirty drug that messes with a bunch of receptors. You certainly don't want to take such a major tranquilizer just for anxiety ... the docs are crazy these days. Yes, BZDs are highly addictive on the long term but for acute panic attacks they are the gold standard..

But to just calm you down, after a stressful day or even after doing stimulants etc... something like clonidine is a much better choice. Or phenibut, that's actually available without prescription (it can become addictive too, so be cautious & only use it when necessary), but I'd say it's a much better choice than any neuroleptic for the occasional use.

 

[Johndoedoe.junk]

Zyprexa (olanzapine) is a fucking dirty drug that messes with a bunch of receptors. You certainly don't want to take such a major tranquilizer just for anxiety ... the docs are crazy these days. Yes, BZDs are highly addictive on the long term but for acute panic attacks they are the gold standard..

But to just calm you down, after a stressful day or even after doing stimulants etc... something like clonidine is a much better choice. Or phenibut, that's actually available without prescription (it can become addictive too, so be cautious & only use it when necessary), but I'd say it's a much better choice than any neuroleptic for the occasional use.

The olanzapine used to also give me really bad RLS, or more like restless body syndrome. A gnarly pharmaceutical for sure.

 

[doctordetox]

first things first
you need to know whats wrong with you
most of the shrinks and docs shoot arrows hoping they will hit a target
Gabatril is availabe in USA

 

[dopamimetic]

The olanzapine used to also give me really bad RLS, or more like restless body syndrome. A gnarly pharmaceutical for sure.

Yep, that's the true effect of neuroleptics - dopamine antagonism. Drug induced Parkinson's ... for many and with lower doses it's temporarily, but this can become permanent. Tardive dyskinesia. I don't get it why neuroleptics aren't scheduled.

 

[SixBuckets]

I'm on amisulpride (Solian) for bipolar and it is hands down the most effective anti-anxiety medication I have ever tried. I am actually a normal functioning human on this stuff. A couple of weeks ago I gave a presentation to 350 people without even taking Valium (!)

It's non-sedating and doesn't really cause any side effects worth mentioning. I wouldn't recommend antipsychotics as a first line treatment for anxiety, but they're definitely worth considering if nothing else has worked.

 

[Man in the Dark]

As an above poster mentioned benzo's and Adderall are not a good combination especially at the low dosage of klonopin you're on. It's true benzo's are not something that you want to start but for me it is the only thing that has helped and I have some serious anxiety anger and rage issues but if I take my 3 mg of Klonopin per day and my 2 Percs I am able to deal with my family without being a total asshole .

I have been on and off benzo's for many years . I would be on them for a couple months and off for a couple months. Recently I have been on them for over a year and would like to start tapering down to get off for a few months. I would like to be off them completely but I don't see that happening given my current situation it might take a few years. I am the type of person that needs to live alone. While many may disagree Klonopin has been a miracle for me. It has taken many years for me to get to 3 mg a day and I do not abuse them, I take as scripted. Good luck

 

[sonicwhite]

I buy ethylphenidate and use less klonopin than I would without it. Stange because I do have OCD which the theme was so scary that all I could do is lay in my bed and wait to be sent to hell. I thought I was at Gods Judgment and the anxiety was beyond anything I could handle on my own. Klonopin three times a day 1mg has crushed my OCD but the addictive part and getting off them is what scares me the most.

 

[dopamimetic]

I'm on amisulpride (Solian) for bipolar and it is hands down the most effective anti-anxiety medication I have ever tried. I am actually a normal functioning human on this stuff. A couple of weeks ago I gave a presentation to 350 people without even taking Valium (!)

It's non-sedating and doesn't really cause any side effects worth mentioning. I wouldn't recommend antipsychotics as a first line treatment for anxiety, but they're definitely worth considering if nothing else has worked.

(Ami-)Sulpride is exceptional amongst the atypical neuroleptics in that with low doses it preferentially blocks auto receptors -> giving rise to dopaminergic neurotransmission.. that's also why it's used to treat anhedonia in parts of Europe..

 

[jammin83]

Don't, just don't. Please?