Need advice pls!

[onebreathatatime]

I haven't been on here in a long time but since I have been gone, I have had a baby (August.10) and was doing great with my anxiety and panic disorder.

Since having my daughter I have been experiencing tight chest/back/neck and along with that I feel like I can't breathe or that I have to make myself. It all starts with me feeling the tightness and then I start to feel like it's hard to breathe so I end up focusing on my breathing and then my head starts to feel "off" and I get tension in my forehead. I also start getting really hot and flushed, really fidgety, excessive yawning and burping.

I get this every day but it tends to be worse when I have to drive somewhere. I feel like I'm holding my breath all the way to where I need to go and once I get there I have a huge sigh of relief.

I have also had 2 echos, 24hr holter monitor, 4 ecgs, lung scan, and chest X-ray. (I have intense ectopic heartbeats as well) everything has come back normal except for the ectopics.

I have been trying to do my relaxation body scan and release the tension when I feel myself tensing which seems to be a constant thing, but I feel stuck and not sure what to do next. I'm on Zoloft and since having my daughter I have upped the dose twice so I'm at 175mg and I'm wondering if I should change meds. I used to be on Paxil but can't when breastfeeding, tried Prozac but it was too stimulating and now I'm thinking about possibly trying lexapro?

I'm so frustrated with this as it makes it difficult to do anything as I feel I will stop breathing and faint. It also screws with my heart beats when I'm not breathing properly. I just want to breathe like normal and not think about it as it is a natural process. Any tips, advice, thoughts, etc.. To help with anything I've mentioned would be greatly appreciated.
Sorry for the long post.

[RealisticTrain]

Hi there,

Sorry for what you're going through. Stay optimistic!
In regards to medication, 175mg of zoloft is a relatively standard dose...relief from anxiety usually happens at the 250-400mg range. Stick with it for a bit longer. Number one mistake patients have is switching meds too soon.
Please let me know if I can help in any other way :)
FYI I am a psychiatric resident

[onebreathatatime]

Hi there,

Sorry for what you're going through. Stay optimistic!
In regards to medication, 175mg of zoloft is a relatively standard dose...relief from anxiety usually happens at the 250-400mg range. Stick with it for a bit longer. Number one mistake patients have is switching meds too soon.
Please let me know if I can help in any other way :)
FYI I am a psychiatric resident

Really?? How come everything I've read on Zoloft says the high end is 200mg? I'm just curious as it would be nice to know you still have wiggle room. I've been on Zoloft for a year so far.

[RealisticTrain]

Really?? How come everything I've read on Zoloft says the high end is 200mg? I'm just curious as it would be nice to know you still have wiggle room. I've been on Zoloft for a year so far.

Don't believe everything you read on the internet. Doctors will almost always give you the lowest dose they can get away with, simply because it minimizes damage to them if you subsequently have a bad reaction. For most of these ssri's, there is a sort of threshold for various psychiatric conditions. Depression usually requires a low dose, but anxiety almost always requires a higher dose. For Schizophrenia and other mood disorders, the sweet spot might be even higher than that!

Just remember, I may be a doctor, but im not your doctor, and that's the person you need to talk to about doses and medications. I am giving you my advice but it's only to keep you informed, and you should in no way follow my advice until your doctor has approved it. Thanks, and good luck to you.