Best medication?? Need some advice

[kimin661]

So, I am extremely emetophobic. I am absolutely terrified of vomiting/nausea which has kept me away from medication. I previously tried zoloft and prozac, both of which made me EXTREMELY nauseous. Lately I have been feeling EXTREMELY low and feel like I desperately NEED medication. I am hoping to get some advice on which seems to be the easiest on the stomach. A tiny bit of nausea is not a big deal, but the extreme nausea I had with prozac and zoloft were just unbearable.

Any advice on which seems to be the easiest to tolerate???

[superchick22684]

Medications affect people differently so going on meds is a trial and error process. What works for one person may not work for another person. I've had anxiety and depression for nine years. In that time I have tried Effexor, Paxil, Cymbalta and I just recently started Lexapro. Effexor and Cymbalta were both really helpful to me. Paxil made me sleepy. Lexapro has been okay so far but its only been 2 weeks.
Best of luck to you!

[gypsylee]

Yeah it's very hard to say because they affect everyone differently. However, you can get specific anti-nausea medication (in Australia it's called Maxalon). Perhaps you could talk to your doctor about that?

[Anne1221]

I like the idea of the anti-nausea medication. However, do keep in mind at the beginning you will have side effects that will go away. I found this today about Lexapro (which I recommend to you). (Most side effects, like nausea, indigestion, diarrhea, headache, slight increase in anxiety, do go away within 2 weeks). So, you have to get through those first two weeks until the nausea subsides, at which time you can take the anti-nausea medication. By the time the good feelings kick in, you'll feel better and can tape off that anti nausea medication. All that being said, the second one i would recommend is Wellbutrin, however, i don't know how much it will help your anxiety but a lot of people do like it for an antidepressant. It has an entirely different profile than Prozac, Zoloft, Lexapro, etc and may not cause you the nausea like the others. It's is unique in the realm of antidepressants.

[kimin661]

I like the idea of the anti-nausea medication. However, do keep in mind at the beginning you will have side effects that will go away. I found this today about Lexapro (which I recommend to you). (Most side effects, like nausea, indigestion, diarrhea, headache, slight increase in anxiety, do go away within 2 weeks). So, you have to get through those first two weeks until the nausea subsides, at which time you can take the anti-nausea medication. By the time the good feelings kick in, you'll feel better and can tape off that anti nausea medication. All that being said, the second one i would recommend is Wellbutrin, however, i don't know how much it will help your anxiety but a lot of people do like it for an antidepressant. It has an entirely different profile than Prozac, Zoloft, Lexapro, etc and may not cause you the nausea like the others. It's is unique in the realm of antidepressants.

It's difficult because I have both anxiety AND depression. I literally cried for a good four hours this morning and completely lost it. At first I was wondering if I truly needed medication, bu after this morning, I KNOW I do.

As far as Wellbutrin goes, is it not known to help with anxiety? It would be cool if it helped with both anxiety AND depression. You like Lexapro though?

[Anne1221]

I read up a lot on Wellbutrin and some people said it did help their anxiety and others said it didn't, so it's a mixed bag. I do know people who say it helps a lot with depression. Yes, I like what i take now. I did a lot of asking around and all of the doctors and pharmacists said Lexapro is a "newer, cleaner drug" with less side effects than other drugs. You have to give them time to work and time to let the side effects subside.

[kimin661]

I read up a lot on Wellbutrin and some people said it did help their anxiety and others said it didn't, so it's a mixed bag. I do know people who say it helps a lot with depression. Yes, I like what i take now. I did a lot of asking around and all of the doctors and pharmacists said Lexapro is a "newer, cleaner drug" with less side effects than other drugs. You have to give them time to work and time to let the side effects subside.

The only side effect that stopped it for me was NAUSEA. Since I am phobic about vomiting it was a deal breaker. I realize that I need to give it some time, so I'll definitely mention Lexapro to my doctor and see what they say. I really need it and I'll just have to push through the side effects. I'm at the point to where I desperately need to do something. :(

[Anne1221]

Don't forget you need to work with your doctor to physically control the nausea. I'll tell you what helped me: At the beginning, I was so anxious about taking medication, my doctor gave me a mild tranquilizer to take in addition so that I wouldn't be so anxious about taking medication. So I took Tranxene (he doesn't prescribe Xanax) until the medication kicked in at which time I was able to relax and quit taking the Tranxene. You don't get addicted to Tranxene like you can with Xanax. I think after two months I felt so much better I let go of the Tranxene all together. But be careful if you think you might have problems. I knew I wouldn't because I don't like feeling tired/sedated, but it got me through those rough first weeks.

[Anne1221]

Do not take Celexa. That is the one that has been known to cause nausea. It's an earlier version of Lexapro. But they took Celexa and did a revision of it, and found out they could keep all the good benefits and keep all the side effects to a bare minimum. That's why it's one of the best selling antidepressants.

[Anne1221]

I don't think the Lexapro will give you any nausea at all, but your anxiety might give you some nausea! So keep it under control with the anti-nausea medication and a mild tranquilizer if you need one.

[Dahila]

I wonder how Lexapro works with high blood pressure, it is the only med my doc did not try to put me on..........

[Two One]

I'm a very big emetophobic as well. I find benzodiazepines to be very effective for relieving anxiety induced nausea. If you have depression as well and are prescribed an SSRI or another antidepressant, you could ask your doctor for an antiemetic (Zofran, Phenergan) to take along with the antidepressant until your body adapts to the drug. When I started Lexapro I experienced some nausea but I do believe my anxiety amplified it tremendously. It probably would have been very mild or even nonexistent if I didn't worry about it so much.