Mick, it would be really hard for any of us to suggest a particular medication(s) without knowing your diagnosis and how your symptoms manifest themselves, and even then, what works for one person may not work for another.
I would suggest finding a psychiatrist that you have a good rapport with before asking about anti-depressants from a primary care physician or other doctor. Psychiatrists generally have more specific knowledge of the common anti-depressants and anti-anxiety meds, which includes how to "mix and match" to come up with the ideal "cocktail" for your needs.
They also have more knowledge about side effects, titrating dosages, and switching from one med to another or weaning/tapering off a med. Just about every medication used for anxiety/depression can be safely discontinued if a pscyh doc tapers the dose slowly and gradually enough.
In general, the SSRI's like Zoloft, Paxil, Prozac, and Celexa must be weaned off of with extreme caution, very slowly and graudally. The same is true with the newer class of SRNI's such as Effexor and Cymbalta. If not done correctly, there can be severe unpleasant withdrawal symptoms with these meds, especially if one has been taking them for a long term and at a fairly high dose.
The older tri-cyclic anti-depressants like Norpramin do not have such severe withdrawal symptoms, and are easier to wean off of, but in general, they are not as effective for anxiety as the SSRI's and SNRI's.
Wellbutrin is one medication sometimes prescribed alone or in combination with another med for anxiety and depression that doesn't have major withdrawal symptoms if discontinued and generally doesn't require the long weaning and tapering process.
Desyrel is another, although this one is used mainly for problems with falling and staying asleep, or in combination with other anti-depressants.
As for anti-anxiety meds, you are probably aware that ALL of the benzodiazepine family of meds are capable of producing a strong physical addiction if taken in larger doses for long periods of time, and once addiction occurs, it is a very difficult and unpleasant withdrawal process, with major side effecs. This would include Xanax, Valium, Librium, Klonopin, Ativan, Tranxene, as well as some of the sleeping pills such as Restoril.
Buspar is not in the benzo class, and withdrawal is easier, but it isn't always effective in managing anxiety by itself, and is often used in combination with an anti-depressant.
It's important to find a competent psychiatrist who is familiar with addiction and tapering dosages as well as managing symptoms of withdrawal.
Oh, and if I forgot to say it, welcome to the social anxiety group! We have a wide variety of methods used to cope with SA - some do not require medication, and others used in conjunction with medication. From reading your profile, it sounds like your anxiety symptoms are primarily due to the long-standing effects of Lyme Disease, so you may require different types of therapy in addition to treating the Lyme.
Hope I answered your question - but remember, we are not doctors or therapists here, and we can only share our personal knowledge and experience.
Post edited by: hipmama42, at: 05/08/2009 12:43 PM
