Lexapro and Klonopin not taming the beast

[thebaseball2001]

Hi All,

I have a lot of anxiety daily and for the past few months have been taking 20mg of Lexapro and 2 to 3mg of Klonopin daily. It is like clockwork for me that at work I will feel anxious all day and have excessive sweating on my palms, arm-pits, and feet. On the weekends I don't sweat like I do at work but I am lethargic to the point that I am really useless to my family. This is my 2nd time on Lexapro. The first time I got on it for depression and it worked wonders for about 6 years, then one night I had a sudden major panic attack and since then (3 yrs ago) I have been on a rollercoaster ride trying different meds and doctors looking for something to fix me. This current doc put me back on the Lexapro because he says he has never seen a med poop out and he is trying to get me back to where I was before the panic attack. So the last time I saw him he basically said "I don't know what to try next" and suggested I stay on the Lexapro and try weening off the Klonpin because he thinks it is causing the lethargy on the weekends and that it lowers my mood and causes some depression. I feel stuck.

Thanks,
Chad

[RyanMeehan837]

Hi there! Welcome to the forum! Well, first of all I want to say based on your username you are probably in better spirits now that MLB has started! It's going to be a great season.

I'd also like to say you are not in any way alone. A lot of us struggle with the "doctor" thing, and have spent years attempting to get the proper medication for our specific condition. Personally, neither Lexapro or Klonopin have ever worked for me. Lexapro is probably the "placebo-esque" med I've ever taken, and I'm surprised it even worked for you to begin with.

That being said, although it did work at one point, it clearly isn't any longer. Your doctor should take you off of anything that isn't working as opposed to continuing to give you drugs that aren't effective. It can be difficult, but sometimes you just need to be very stern with the individual and remind him it's his job to see what works for you. It sounds like the guy is sort of giving up when there are plenty of other options available. You could try Celexa for a while, but I found that Celexa doesn't really work that well after some time due to your body building up a tolerance to a very light drug.

I would get a second opinion from another doc as well, not just because he won't try any other options, but because you said he said "he had never seen a med poop out before". I think most professionals would agree that's just not true as it happens all the time. So I'd get a second opinion for sure if anything and see what that doctor says.

Either way, we're here for you in the forums. Anything you want to ask feel free...That's what this forum is for.

[thebaseball2001]

Hi Ryan,

Thanks for the encouragement and for the suggestion. I think a second opinion sounds fair and like a smart idea. I am going to give that a shot. I am excited about the baseball season, I hope my Tigers can get things going this year. Thanks again.

Chad

[RyanMeehan837]

They should be able to, it's not like the White Sox are going to make a push in that division. :)

Doctors can be difficult to deal with because obviously they get kickbacks from big pharma for prescribing certain drugs. If Kolonapin is not working, you're still sweating and your mood hasn't improved, you're probably going to want to avoid Xanax as that will likely produce the same results and may even cause a worse reaction.

Did the sweating only start when you began taking the medication, or is this something that has always been a problem? It may be an issue with your glands that is only magnified by the medication...Is this the case?

[thebaseball2001]

Hi Ryan,

The sweating started when I started the Lexapro again. Prior to that I was on Viibryd and I did not sweat like that, but had other problems with that med causing depression. The Clonazapam would probably work better if I took more but I don't want to go down that road and I think it causes me some low mood.

Thanks,
Chad