Possible Poop-Out...HELP!

[acleme1]

Hopefully someone here will be able to help me out. I am a 32 year-old male, and I have had anxiety/panic for about 12 years. I have been on 40mg of Paxil, in one form or another (CR, generic, name-brand), for 6 years. Ultimately I have found that I have to use the name-brand form of Paxil because none of the others have worked. For about the last month or so, my anxiety symptoms feel like they are returning. Granted, I have been under more stress at home and work, but I have had stress in my life before. I am feeling overwhelmed and scared...again. Just to get up and get the mail seems like an overwhelming task. Paxil really changed my life...for the better, but now I am afraid it is not going to work any longer. I am scared to death that the other SSRI's or SNRI's or "whatever's" aren't going to work the same as Paxil, and I will have to be stuck feeling this way for the rest of my life. HAS ANYONE OUT THERE HAD A SIMILAR EXPERIENCE? And if so, did anything else work for you. The fear of not finding a medication is what is fueling my anxiety. And, as any of you reading this post who has anxiety knows, it is a vicious cycle. I am miserable. I have an appointment with a new psychiatrist at the end of this month, but who knows if he will be able to help. If anyone has had a similar experience, please let me know. Any light you could shed would be much appreciated. Thanks so much for reading through this "Titanic" post. Kind regards, AC.

[randyttp]

Sorry to hear things have been down for you lately.

about the meds, I have never been on them before so I cant give to good of advice.
But a possibility might be to get off them altogether? That might sound impossible... and as bad as it would get, maybe its the best thing for you. Eventually you will learn how to cope and your anxiety will start to go down naturally.
You wont have these scared feelings forever.. trust me. your supposed to grow past this. I'm sure the meds have helped you grow past many trials already. I think the final battle is between you and the anxiety. The meds are just a crutch.

But like I said, I never got on the meds in the first place, so my opinion could be extremly niave.

I for over two years have suffered severe panic attacks and from the beginning I knew I couldnt get on meds and just face the fear.

two years later I have a pretty firm grip on myself, its been harder then hard.. in the beginning i didnt think i was gonnna make it (i thought i was gonna die.. completly convinced) it was so bad that I honestly was fighting for my life (or so I thought) like i said, severe panic attacks.
But now I realise how good it was for me to just get over with it and learn my lessons.
Since you are already a seasoned veteran i wouldnt expect your come off period to be as bad.


Either way I really hope things start working out for you.

Get enough sleep. Exercise. Try and cut back on caffiene and smoking if you have those habits. all these things will help balance your body to help you through this transition time (in case you cant find a med that works)


Good luck.. sincerly hope things work out. let us know how things are going.