Considering using medication again

[sem3720]

Hi everyone,

I'd like to get some opinions, and see if anybody has had a similar experience to mine. A couple years ago I was diagnosed with depression and anxiety, and was having occasional panick attacks, and I was put on lexapro. Days after I started taking it, my mood was lifted and I felt normal again, but then my mood continued to lift and I went into a hypomanic episode. I've never had any other symptoms of bipolor except for when I was on this medication. I also began to have more frequent panick attacks. To manage my reaction, my doctor then added abilify, klonopin, and seroquil over a period of about 2 months. I know now that this was a serious mismanagement, as I did not need antipsychotics for depression/anxiety. All of this medication simply made things worse, and long story short it was a terrible experience that ended up with me in the hospital for a week for suicidal thoughts.

Since then I've been without medication and in therapy, and have done some serious work to manage my anxiety and depression. I've been depression free and my anxiety has improved alot. But I've recently gone through a bad experience that has seemed to trigger my anxiety, I just haven't felt right in the past few weeks. I've felt nervous, jumpy, anxious around people, and at night I have obsessive thoughts about my recent experience that keep me awake and feeling like I'm going crazy. I'm considering going to medication again, but this time taking measure to make sure that the care I am getting is good.

Does anybody have any suggestions, similar experiences, advice?

[bhamlaxy]

Sounds like a bad psychiatrist- A huge combination of drugs like that does not sound appropriate.

At the absolute most, you should have an SSRI and a benzo. SSRI for daily use to build up in your system and balance you out, and the benzo for as-needed use when things get tough.

I'd give it your best shot to get through this period with therapy, but medication can certainly help. It's pulled me almost completely out of anxiety, and having Ativan on hand has killed the worst panic attacks, and gives me a sense of security knowing things won't get truly out of hand.

[alankay]

It's uncommon to prompt mania via an ssri in a person with no history of it but it can happen. Do you have a parent/sibling that is bipolar? Otherwise I'd abandon the bipolar meds and try another low dose trial of an ssri like zoloft along with a benzo for tough times. Wellbutrin might also be considered as it doesn't touch on serotonin. Your doc might also consider lyrica(pregabalin) for anxiety if they don't want to use the benzo.
Lexapro is the most potent and selective serotonin ssri and might have been just the wrong med for you. If you were just hypomanic and not full blown manic ask your pdoc about some of this. All depends on the pdoc. Ask about wellbutrin and either klonopin or trying the lyrica for anxiety if he has an issue with the klonopin which I like as it is a long acting benzo. PM me any time. Alankay

[sem3720]

Thanks for the replies. To answer your question, I don't have any cases of bipolar in my family, although most of my family has some kind of issue with anxiety/depression. I had full blown depression when I started taking just the lexapro, and within days I was feelings normal, which I'm told is a red flag reaction as antidepressents usually take weeks to take effect. Then my mood continued to lift and from there, and my psychiatrist kept adding medications, and things are a little fuzzy after that.

I've decided to try an antidepressant for anxiety. I have spoken with a therapist about the upsetting situation, and I do feel better about it. But I am still concerned about the fact that it was a trigger, and the effect it ihad. I am used to a moderate level of anxiety, and I function well with it. However, I do have social anxiety, and I am about to move from New Orleans to New York, and make new friends, start graduate school, and I'll know very few people there. I'll be surrounded by a new environment and new social and professional relationships, and I'm worried that all the change will make my threshold for anxiety and social anxiety lower, and will act as a trigger. And to be honest, I'm curious what "normal" might feel like, since I've lived with anxiety for as long as I can remember. (There was a time when I learned that how I felt as a child wasn't typical, it was anxiety/depression).

I've looked into Welbutrin, my brother will begin taking that soon. I see that it is a stimulant, which seems to be more geared for depression. Is it a bad idea to take a stimulant medication when my main issue is anxiety? (including heart racing, racing thoughts, etc)