Advice of Anti Anxiety Med/Mood Stabilizer

[Finn3106]

I have been taking 60MG of Cymbalta for over 4 years now. This medication has done wonders for my anxiety, but now I do not think it is working as well as it did before. I have been having extreme anxiety for the past 4 months now and I am not sure if I need a change in meds. When my anxiety gets really severe I also take .25mg of Xanax, but again not sure if this combo is the answer.

I was wondering if anyone had any advice of a combination of meds that works for them so I can talk to my doctor about them before thinking about making a switch.

Thank you!

[kaialian]

Hi there!

I can't give you much advice since I'm not a doctor, but I take paxil for anxiety. I'm glad you are talking to your doctor about this, as it is pretty dangerous changing/going off meds without doctor supervision. However, I bet you already know this. :)

[punkgod94]

Hello, my advice...

If you feel that you need to change medicine because the one you're on currently isn't working, then go to your doctors and try another anti-depressant. As it takes some time to wean off these drugs, and get up to speed on a new one (that may not work for you) I'd ask if you could get a prescription for Ativan (Lorazepam generic) or Klonopin (Clonazepam generic) to help you if you experience irritability from withdrawing or if you have an anxiety/panic attack. They'll probably start you on 0.5 mg (anywhere between 1 and 3 times a day) of either of those in combination with the anti-depressant you're trying. Just express your concern to your doctor and see if they agree with combining an anti-depressant with a benzodiazepene during the transition. However, if the doctor does that I'd recommend that you have the doctor wean you off of the Ativan, Klonopin, or other benzo they may prescribe once you've successfully transitioned to the new SSRI to make sure that it works. The benzos can be very addictive, and if you seriously want to get help for your anxiety, it'd be best to stick to just one medicine if it works for you. The combo will help you in the scary transitional period though. Hope that helps!

[fernandogress]

Mood stabilizers are the primary treatment for mania and hypomania, but some also have antidepressant effects. In addition, there are drugs outside this category that also can help reduce the frequency or severity of manic or hypomanic symptoms.Adding multiple herbs and vitamins to stabilize mood swings provides a broad spectrum of action that is more effective than dietary supplementation with single-herb/nutrient preparations alone.Lithium remains the only medication that was approved first for bipolar disorder, rather than being developed for other conditions or symptoms and later found to work as a mood stabilizer.