Anxiety Disorders Support Group

Okay here's where I am. I have prescription for Zoloft, Cymbalta, and now Effexor sitting in my room. I do not know which one I should try.

I took Zoloft for a few months last year and when the dr increased the dosage I ended up in the ER with what they said was a panic attack. Since that day I have developed pain issues. All the docs say that the Zoloft didn't cause it but it's kinda weird that it all started THAT day.

Anywho, my dr wants me to try it again and I am SCARED to death to say the least. We tried CYmbalta and it made me shakey and "high" all day. I only tried it for one day though.

My neuro gave me Effexor. I've heard great things about it from ppl that are taking it. But I've also read HORRIBLE things about coming off of it.

I am confused and do not know which route to go.

Any suggestions???? I am making myself crazy trying to figure out which one to try.

Hi

Medication is the necessary evil for all of us. You have to remeber that it takes awhile to find the right dose . You have to be prepared for some adjustments in your body. Think if they symptoms you experience are worse than the symptoms you had originally. Call a pharmisit. They know more about drugs and what they do and don't do, than the Dr. Also it is okay to take more than 1 med for something. They all work on differnt parts of the brain. Best wishes for you.

Thanks. I was going to stop at Rite Aid and talk to the pharmacist on the way out. I am willing to try anything (I think) at this point. I've just so many to choose from I'm a bit overwhelmed. lol

Hi uu80, I took cymbalta for a few months and felt really good on it except I had a sideffect that was wicked and had to quit it. It took about 2 weeks to take effect. Have not been on anything for a month and started to feel stressed out so pdoc has put me on Cipralex (2 days now) so we will see how it goes. Most of these drugs need to be in your system for awhile for them to work (or not work). Its trial and error. Good luck.

OMG! Hun, it depends on the person. I find that Cymbalta has had the best control on my moods whilst I felt a bit irritable on Zoloft. Effexor is absolutely horrible to come off. Been there, done that and did it whild admitted to the hospital. Things is, it may work a treat for you and you may not have to come off. They will give you Lumin as a cross-over med as you wean off and get onto the new one if need be.

Marianne

As lunarovescia said, I have never taken Effexor but everyone that I know who is on it say it is very hard to discontinue after you have been on it awhile. I think it also has a pretty short half-life which always makes for a rougher ride when coming down or coming off. I have been on zoloft. I tolerated it ok but there were numerous bothersome side effects. I tried cymbalta briefly but hated how it made me feel.

I was lucky because I tried Paxil and it worked for me and I've been on it for 10 years But it was a trial and error about the correct dosage. I started with 10.5 but ended up on 25 mg for 4 years and then slowly upped to 30, then 40. I've been on 40 mg for 6 years, but since I'm going tbrough a major depression/anxiety episode right now, I'm beginning to think I might have to go up to the big 5-0 with it; of course - trial and error yet again, right?

So - sorry for rambling -

Maybe you should have your doc run some bloodwork - if you can convince them to do so; also, if you haven't done it recently, get your blood pressure checked and your TSH (when they run your blood tests). That might help determine which medicine could work best for you In any event, if you felt really bad on one medication, it might not be the best bet for you....Good luck.

It really is trial and error with these drugs unfortunatly. So far i've been on Prozac (no help with anxiety, gave me suicidal thoughts), Lexapro (worked great for about 4 months then just stopped), Wellbutrin (constant upset GI system, other than that I felt great), ciprolex (extreme apathy), now I'm on Effexor XR at a small dose. Just started it this week.

So far no side effects at all with the effexor. I discussed with my Dr how I was scared to d/c it eventually. She said there are ways to help with that because it can be rough....Prozac can help with d/c, very slow titration, benzo, etc. But she said she's seen great success with it for anxiety so I'm giving it a try. She said for women its also great for female hormones.

A few ppl that I personally know who were on it for years and went cold turkey off it said their d/c side effects only lasted about 3 days. So its not horrible for everyone. I'm just not going to worry about it until the time comes and who knows I may never go off it.

I'm on 37.5 daily right now and also 1mg klonopin as needed up to 3xs day.

I wish you luck

The benzos are the killers when it comes to withdrawal. Many people are never able to stop them even after becoming tolerant. Many say it is much easier to withdraw from heroin and I believe it. I had to go thru a klonopin w/d several years ago and almost died. It was the worst experience of my life, ever. After saying that, I did have about 10 good years on this drug but the withdrawal was a trip to hell and back for me.