To Shoe.......

[Laura]

I have seen your posts often and am curious as to where allyour expertise comes from ? Is it through your own experience or is it great detective work ? ( ha ha ) . I am at the top of allowed dosage for Effexor and at low for Celexa. My Dr. keeps talking about an anti physicotic med. ( mood stabilizer ) along with what I am already taking. I am concerned this may to much med. I do trust her but in a sense I am afraid. What happens when and if you do have to change meds ( I have been on for almost 3 years !)I know they would decrease slowly but would my body freak out and would they add new meds. while the change is being made ? Have you or anyone you know gone through this ? I know everyone is different, but what could I maybe expect?

Thanks
Laura

[shoe]

Laura,

Well, I'm not exactly an expert on any of this stuff, otherwise I'd probably be in a better spot then I am now hehe. Anyway, as far as where my knowledge of anxiety & depression comes from.. I've read stuff both in books and online, taken a few psychology courses in college, and talked to a number of people who have had experience with these things. I also pull from my own experience as well. By no means am I an expert, I still have yet much more to learn.

As far as going off medication, yes they will ask you to taper it down bit by bit and to try to have you do it at a pace your body can adjust to without 'freaking out'. Some doctors will prescribe benzodiazepines (muscle relaxants) during the transition between medications to make it easier on you.

Me, I've gone off Paxil and Effexor cold turkey, which is NOT recommended due to the side effects you may experience. Quitting Paxil abruptly caused me to have weird painful 'zaps' or 'shocks' in my head for a few weeks after. Effexor wasn't as bad - but I did experience a big increase in anxiety for a while.

Anyway, moving between medications isn't easy and I wish you the best of luck if you decide to do it.

By the way - I just looked at what Celexa is - an SSRI.. this seems very odd to me that your doctor would prescribe you both an SSRI and a multiple reuptake inhibitor such as Effexor. From what I've read it is usually recommended against to have more than one reuptake inhibitor working on the same neurotransmitters. Celexa blocks reuptake of serotonin, Effexor blocks reuptake of serotonin too (as well as norepinephrine). I'd question the doctor as to why he has you on two medications that work on the same neurotransmitters, and would probably ask him to put me on just one unless there's a good reason for it. (Again I'm no expert, but it seems a bit odd to have you on both of those medications.)

Also, the antipsychotic he would put you on would probably be one of the 'atypical antipsychotic' medications that reportedly augment the effect of other medications.. here's a link to a chart which mentions that effect:
http://www.adaa.org/GettingHelp/AnxietyDisorders/chart.htm
There's also some info on antipsychotics on http://www.crazymeds.org. The original use of antipsychotics was for treating psychotic illnesses such as schizophrenia, but they have found these other 'off-label' uses for it in treating anxiety and bipolar disorders.