Rhetoric
09-07-2011, 11:56 AM
Hey folks. Just wanted to give an update on my situation. I saw a psychiatrist a couple times who once again had me try an SSRI (Celexa). Wonderful. It was more of the same near vertigo sickening experience. This feeling when taking the SSRI utterly destroys my ability to concentrate at work.. let alone trying to troubleshoot problems on company computers. I had to discontinue.
He also scripted me Trazodone low dose to help quiet my mind at night when needed for sleep, which is almost every night now. It helps a bit, but not without a horrendous case of mucous coated dry mouth in the morning with a bit of a "hangover" feeling. It works a bit, but I'm not sure the Traz is worth it the morning after effects. He also scripted me propranolol as needed for times that I know I'll be going into a situation which will probably trigger a panic attack. It helps a little. I tried discussing xanax / ativan / klonopin on an as-needed basis for sleep with him.. he didn't seem completely adverse to scripting them to me, but gave me his russian shruggery look and simply said "yes, that would probably work.. but.. there are many much better sleep medications out there".
When I heard this, I thought "There may be 'better' sleep meds out there, but I don't want to deal with the morning hangover, either." I'm going to try calling his office to see if he'd reconsider and at least let me try a benzo for sleep and see for myself if it works better without the nasty hangover.
For those who may reply to my posting and suggest that I try CBT... I wish CBT methods would work for me. Unfortunately, my mind is one of those "autopilot ultra-busy" minds. No amount of conscious effort is successful in quieting my brain. Part of it I'm sure is caused by my having ADD (not ADHD).. part of it is my brain simply will not quiet down for anything. This has caused the loss of a lot of sleep.. which in turn sets me up for a rather miserable day of tiredness and low stress / anxiety tolerance. It's rather a vicious cycle. I've certainly tried mental relaxation / meditation, but my busy mind refuses to allow me to concentrate on said exercise, rendering my efforts useless.
Being here on AnxietyForum does help a bit though. It's good to know that I'm not alone in my situation for sure.
He also scripted me Trazodone low dose to help quiet my mind at night when needed for sleep, which is almost every night now. It helps a bit, but not without a horrendous case of mucous coated dry mouth in the morning with a bit of a "hangover" feeling. It works a bit, but I'm not sure the Traz is worth it the morning after effects. He also scripted me propranolol as needed for times that I know I'll be going into a situation which will probably trigger a panic attack. It helps a little. I tried discussing xanax / ativan / klonopin on an as-needed basis for sleep with him.. he didn't seem completely adverse to scripting them to me, but gave me his russian shruggery look and simply said "yes, that would probably work.. but.. there are many much better sleep medications out there".
When I heard this, I thought "There may be 'better' sleep meds out there, but I don't want to deal with the morning hangover, either." I'm going to try calling his office to see if he'd reconsider and at least let me try a benzo for sleep and see for myself if it works better without the nasty hangover.
For those who may reply to my posting and suggest that I try CBT... I wish CBT methods would work for me. Unfortunately, my mind is one of those "autopilot ultra-busy" minds. No amount of conscious effort is successful in quieting my brain. Part of it I'm sure is caused by my having ADD (not ADHD).. part of it is my brain simply will not quiet down for anything. This has caused the loss of a lot of sleep.. which in turn sets me up for a rather miserable day of tiredness and low stress / anxiety tolerance. It's rather a vicious cycle. I've certainly tried mental relaxation / meditation, but my busy mind refuses to allow me to concentrate on said exercise, rendering my efforts useless.
Being here on AnxietyForum does help a bit though. It's good to know that I'm not alone in my situation for sure.