IllusionalFate, for informational purposes, could you list what treatments you have tried and what levels of succes you had with them?
SSRIs
-Citalopram: Was on it for 6 weeks, no effects.
-Escitalopram: Gave it a 4-6 week trial, no noticeable difference from
citalopram.
-Sertraline: Was on it for 2-3 weeks, experienced only dry mouth.
-Paroxetine mesylate, 20mg: Made me feel like I had the flu,
experienced headaches, diarrhea, loss of appetite, panic attacks when
falling asleep. Only took 3 doses before I couldn't stand it anymore.
SNRIs
-Venlafaxine, 37.5mg: Was rather sedating, gave me heart palpitations,
panic attacks when falling asleep, and was constantly cold/shivering.
Stopped after 4 doses due to the palpitations.
-Duloxetine, 30mg: Didn't notice any difference from Effexor.
SSREs
-Tianeptine, 12.5mg x3 daily: Might as well be a sugar pill, took it
for 20 days and experienced nothing.
Benzodiazepines
-Clonazepam, doses ranging from .25mg to 4mg: Alleviation of physical
anxiety (which was ever only trivial and seldomly experienced, my
anxiety is purely psychological in nature).
-Alprazolam, 1mg: Similar to clonazepam but shorter-acting.
Nonbenzodiazepines
-Zolpidem, 10mg: Only made me fight to stay awake, no anxiolysis.
Phenyltriazines
-Lamotrigine: Took the entire sample pack my pdoc gave me for about 6
weeks, no anxiety relief but then again I'm not bipolar so I shouldn't
have been prescribed this in the first place.
Opiates/Opioids
-Hydrocodone, 15mg: Great recreational drug, but if anything made me more introverted than I already am.
Dissociatives
-Dextromethorphan, doses ranging from 120mg to 675mg: Was definitely
the most empathogenic drug I've tried, but wouldn't help in a work
environment when I'm too dissociated to do my job correctly or even speak
clearly.
Other
-Cannabis: I find most strains to be very anxiogenic, is great recreationally only when I'm by myself.
I know how severe social anxiety can be as I suffer from it as well, so you are not alone in your daily struggle even though you might feel that way. I myself have ADHD, Asperger's syndrome, PDD-NOS, chronic depression and social anxiety issues / panic attacks. And then I am only talking about my mental problems, not the physical ones. Bottom line is that you shouldn't think that you are alone since there will always be other people suffering from the same problems, maybe there are courses that you can go to that deal with social anxiety and meet some people like you.
I think I would have too much anxiety to go to one of those! Haha, but it would be nice to attend a support group if there was one nearby.
You posted earlier that you wanted to give anything a try, whether it is ADHD medication like Ritalin or Adderall or Opiates like Codeine or Oxycodone, I also read something about Clonazepam which is a Benzodiazepine. So you have mentioned all types of drugs but you don't seem to realize that they would do more harm than good in the long run.
My daily regimen of medications still keeps growing because of both the social anxiety as well as my physical problems (Scheuermann's disease / kyphosis and Fibromyalgia). Medication is a temporarily solution at best and why would you want to risk getting physically addicted to them?
I'm only looking for a very short-term solution. I agree that amphetamines/opioids would most likely be poor long-term treatments, but all I need is something to get me through a few days of work and a couple weeks of school and I'm set. I just need a jump start.
I hope my post is readable since I do not speak English as a first language, if something is not clear please post it here or PM me, maybe try some of the social topics in TDS as I frequently visit that part of the site. I wish you good luck with your anxiety issues since I know how bad they can be.
Wow, English isn't your first language? I would've never guessed from reading your post.
Thanks for the insightful reply.
the term 'sociabilizer" here is, permit me to be so bold as to say, might be misused. the concept [a frightening one in my opinion] of sociabilizers is more veering towards the New Society [not bj;s]where everyone will take 'sociabilizers' and will back in the synergy of love reflected against love that such a junkie environment will provide. But let's not get into ethics. How about basics. Since you can spell, which is exceptionally rare, we'll assume you're of some intelligence and then some...I understand that social phobia can have different etiology and that oddly enough [to those to whom everything seems odd and illogical and monochrome], CNS stimulants make you 'social social', so they take away that anxiety, which then has to be regarded as not quite 'anxiety' to begin with but some sort of new phenomenon for which a word has not yet been coined [anyone?]. Here's the fun catch - you can feel very socially outward bound when you begin amphetamine or MPD/dMPD, however, tolerance builds very quickly and you will need doses exceeding recommended guidelines. You can eat them by the spoonful, but you understand that with amphetamine, going over 60mg QD is not a good idea especially if your condition is chronic. If you were to use it PRN, then you might keep your tolerance down of course, and it might work. But unless you haven't yet been on amphetamines, be duly informed....it's a nasty thing to get into. Cravings arise even in the least addictive of personalities. Even if the drug won't act as a euphoriant, cravings will come and doses will rise - and if the drug isnt a euphoriant....well then, what kind of sociabilizer is it?
You're correct, If the word 'sociabilizer' implies a "Let's create a drug-monopolized society so we can achieve a social Utopia" philosophy, then I indeed misused it here. I believe the closest term(s) I could use to describe the effects I'm aiming for would be pro-social/empathogenic.
Thanks for the interesting suggestions. I'll give some of those a try. I'm quite curious how the efficacy of barbiturates compares to benzos.
Let me get boring again and play by the rules. You complain of debilitating social phobia. This includes racing heartbeat, sweating, confusing, sense of 'losing it', basically a panic attack every time something is expected of you and youre being stared at and you think you must 'live up' to whatever expectations...even though you understand theyre ridiculous and youre just paranoid and that the ten thousand worries you have in your head about looking foolish will be overlooked by 99% of the population...and yet you can stop worrying so you withdraw or hit the bar to 'calm yourself', and that ain't good.
There's all different kinds of social phobia. Mine isn't manifested by physical symptoms, rather the inability to contribute anything in a social situation (my mind "goes blank" so to speak) and also a sense of heavy mental discomfort which causes me to become very avoidant.
I assume that your clonazepam probably worked originally (at least to calm you down, maybe not make you more social) but now you have a tolerance etc and its no longer effective at even calming you down.
If I listened to my hack of a psychiatrist, you can bet I'd have quite a high tolerance by now (He recommends 1mg three times daily8(). I don't get out much so I only take it about once a week on average.
I think my main recommendation for you to try... that probably nobody else will suggest... is kratom. Specifically, type in "full spectrum tincture speciosa" in google and its the first item/website on the list. The reason I recommend this is because it completely rids me of any social anxiety, its like a small cup of coffee (but none of the bad affects) ... plus a healthy dose of opioids. This particular extract is a very unique drug, like no other single drug that I have tried before. Start out with 1 1/2 to 2 small droppers full of the liquid per day, and see if it helps you out. Beware though, this stuff is no doubt a strong opiate and IS addictive like any other. If you choose to use this, make sure you are able to use for a week, stop for a couple days, use for a week, stop for a few days etc. or you will pick up a physical addiction. I know an addictive substance doesn't seem like a good option, but if nothing else is working for you I think that this would be the perfect unique substance that could truly help you out. I would compare FST to a light upper plus an opiate of some kind... it could prove to be very therapeutic to you as I know it is for me. Just remember, its like any other opiate and you must take extreme caution if you choose to use it.
I've never heard of kratom being used as an anxiolytic (that's probably because I haven't heard much of anything about kratom in general), but it sounds interesting from your description. I'll try it as a last resort due to the price.
Do you (op) want something for particular situations i.e. uni, work a night out or something more permanent? this is important as addictive drugs may be prescribed prn (as needed I think it means).
This would help with at least beginning social integration for you.
Yes, that's exactly what I need. Something I can use PRN to numb me enough to actually keep a job for more than one week without backing out due to my social ineptness. Once I get to that point, I can switch to a long term treatment because then I will already be integrated into the outside world.
Maybe "numb" wasn't the best word choice there, because that could be interpreted as me ruling out psychoanaleptics. But the same effect could be achieved (numbing of anxious thoughts) through the use of either uppers or downers.
I've given a comprehensive answer to a combo that would work but in all honesty I really recommend Paroxetine- for me it kicked in within 3 days as it does with many. And is one of the best if not the best SSRI for anxiety disorders- at the time it changed my life. Amazing med.
I've heard mixed reviews about Paroxetine. Nevertheless, I would love to give it a lengthier trial, but unfortunately neurotransmitter reuptake inhibitors make me too sick to continue use past a few days.
Anyone else get the feeling this guy is making shit up/exaggerrating his problems to get medication? Asking for opiates for social anxiety? Getting mad and defensive when he's not getting the responses he wants? Getting angry about people downplaying his "illness?" I dunno, but it seems kinda fishy to me.
8) Keep speculating dude.
If my goal was to score some meds for a phantom illness, I would present my case to a psychiatrist instead of being dishonest to a group of people on an internet message board since, you know, it would be impossible to get a script that way.
