Someone PLEASE answer me

[jazzmynn]

I am having some weird symptoms. I am taking Zoloft 150 mg that my psyciatrist prescribed about a couple months ago. Before that, I was on Lexapro for years that he believed quit working.

Anyway, I have had some major stressors in my life (my husband had 2 heart surgeries in two months, my stepson came to live with us)
I have been having feelings of moodiness, real emotional in my face like I could cry, fatigue and a whooshing or static sound in my head.

My regular doctor put me on increased blood pressure medicine, but my blood pressure is usuall 100 over something.
I keep thinking my blood pressure is too low, but would that cause my symptoms?

My therapist thinks it's anxiety and wants me to take my prescribed Ativan, but can that even help with emotional feelings like crying??

Anyway, I feel like a mess and don't feel like anyone understands.
I just wish it would go away.


Help!

[kdanielle]

well, i cant really help you much, but i am on ativan .5 MG, ive only been on them for about two weeks tho..so far they have helped me somewhat with the attacks themselves..but today i basically cried for an hour straight for no reason, but i think maybe i havent been on the medicine long enough yet, im not sure, but from what ive been reading ativan is very addictive and hard to get off, so now im scared , and i would look some info on it before you take it

[juliana]

Hi kdanielle. A sudden drop in blood pressure can make you feel dizzy and lightheaded. You should make sure your doctor is monitoring your blood pressure on your new blood pressure medication. You may be going through some physical symptoms because your blood pressure is dropping. This might be a good thing in the long-term, but it takes a while to adjust. I was having some of those symptoms (whooshing in my head when I stood up, "seeing stars", feeling dizzy and lightheaded) for a while after I quit smoking years ago and my doctor said it was just because my body was adjusting and my blood pressure was fluctuating. It eventually levelled off.

Ativan usually isn't prescribed long-term for emotional symptoms. It acts quickly to calm anxiety and then wears off within 4 to 6 hours. That's one of the reasons why it tends to be more addictive than some of the other benzodiazepines. I took Clonazepam (0.5 mg) daily for a couple of years to calm me down and lessen the intensity and frequency of panic attacks. It helped me do things I had been phobic about before, so I gained confidence and eventually needed to take it less often. Clonazepam is prescribed for long-term use more often than Ativan because it tends to be less addictive -- Clonazepam doesn't kick in immediately (you don't get immediate relief) and its effects are longer-lasting. I've been doing a lot of reading about benzodiazepines lately and it turns out that some of them can cause depression as a side effect especially when you're using them long-term. I'm not a doctor, obviously, but it seems to me that an antidepressant and therapy would be much more helpful when you're dealing with emotional stuff and crying a lot. You don't need something that's just going to numb you temporarily and might have the potential to be addictive and make you more depressed.

You have some major stressors in your life right now -- things that would be upsetting for anyone. Worries about a loved one's heart surgery would be enough to make anyone cry. A benzodiazepine might calm you down temporarily (as long as it's in your system) but I think therapy would be much more beneficial for you. Have you talked to your doctor about therapy? You should talk to your doctor about all your concerns -- the blood pressure medication and the Ativan. You need to feel comfortable with your treatment and it sounds like a couple of your medications are just adding to your stress right now -- because you're worrying about their effects.

Hang in there and keep us posted.