It took me many different med trials to find one that worked for me....and yes, it takes up to a couple weeks for the levels to become stable in your system. You doc is quite correct. Before one throws in the towel on one med, they need to give it a shot (unless you are having horrid side effects) for a minimum of 2wks.
This is pretty much exactly how I used to feel last year- thinking of every possible outcome and almost ready to call 911 in case something does happen. I also had the heart palpitations then, which made me think I was going to have a heart attack. I had to get my mom to stay with me because I thought when I have a heart attack I wouldn't have anyone to call 911 and I'd just die like that...Lol so stupid b/c i had no reason to think that!! But then suddently it got all better...I hope it doesn't become like that again, then I'd probably be miserable but I still don't think I'd take those meds b/c I'd hate being on meds. Did she give you 10 mg of lexapro? That's what I got but the dose is supposed to increase in 4 weeks. The doctor said it would take time for it to work, but surprisingly she told me to take it at night because she said it might make me sleepy.
Honestly, I understand why your physician and psychiatrist feel that you may suffer from an anxiety disorder. If a client came into my office and described the symptoms that you noted above, I would definitely want to investigate further. In case you're wondering, I work as a psychodiagnostician and will be a psychologist in early January 2010 when I graduate. Nonetheless, nobody should be diagnosing you on the internet. If you are really unhappy with your doctors, go seek another opinion. You don't have to take the medicine if you do not want to. You may want to simply pursue therapy and I think cognitive behavioral would work well because of your tendency to rely on catastrophic thinking. Nonetheless, I think your current doctors may be on to something, in my professional opinion.
Yeah, she gave me 10 mg, and didn't say anything about going back for an increased dose. She just told me I would have to tell my family doctor about it so he could write me another perscription when I run out. It does say on the bottle that it can make you drowsy, but I don't feel drowsy when I take it. I looked it up online and one of the side affects is sleep loss, and I am having a hard time sleeping, which really sucks cuz I already had a hard time sleeping before.
I'm sorry to interject but perhaps you should reconsider taking the lexapro and talk to your doctor about getting a light sleep aid perscribed instead?
This is a really good point. When I was on lexapro, I was also taking trazadone for sleep. Now that I've tapered off of lexapro, I'm still taking the trazadone to help me sleep which is fine.Originally Posted by Nekomania
I'm sorry to interject but perhaps you should reconsider taking the lexapro and talk to your doctor about getting a light sleep aid perscribed instead?
I do know from experience that lack of rest can contribute to high stress levels which can increase your anxiety and rate of panic attacks. I think that getting more restful sleep on a regular basis would help a lot.
That is of course because I'm assuming when you say you have a hard time sleeping you either mean that you can't fall asleep adequately, or you wake up numerous times. Or perhaps you just don't sleep at all.
For me, I don't fall asleep until I literally pass out from exhaustion. But my problem is a fear of sleeping itself.
When I say I have a hard time sleeping, I mean it like I can't fall asleep.. Like, it sometimes takes me 2 or 3 hours to fall asleep. Sometimes, I fall asleep fine, but then I wake up to pee and have a hard time falling back asleep. From what I understand, its pretty common for people who have had a brain injury to have trouble sleeping.Originally Posted by Nekomania
I'm sorry to interject but perhaps you should reconsider taking the lexapro and talk to your doctor about getting a light sleep aid perscribed instead?
I do know from experience that lack of rest can contribute to high stress levels which can increase your anxiety and rate of panic attacks. I think that getting more restful sleep on a regular basis would help a lot.
That is of course because I'm assuming when you say you have a hard time sleeping you either mean that you can't fall asleep adequately, or you wake up numerous times. Or perhaps you just don't sleep at all.
For me, I don't fall asleep until I literally pass out from exhaustion. But my problem is a fear of sleeping itself.
I take Wellbutrin SR. 300 mg a.m. 150 mg p.m.Originally Posted by DarkMavis
Sounds like you need to find a doctor better suited to your way of thinking.....
I agree with the post about seeing a psychologist, if you don't want to take pills, then maybe cognitive therapy or counselling or whatever you want to call it might help. It also seems like the anxiety is really circumstantial, with finals and all that. So sure, you sound 'normal' enough to me. Not that you should listen to what i have to say necessarily..
Me, I'll take a pill for anything pretty much. Which is probably not necessarily a good thing, I know. Just 2 weeks ago I asked my dr. for a Rx for Wellbutrin (i was on it for a few years in early 2000s and it DID help me.) and something anti-anxiety because I've been having really bad anxiety issues lately. Then again, I've had a bunch of big things going on in my life lately too which could mean it's not a chemical imbalance but just normal nerves. Dr. gave me the Rx's but also told me to maybe wait on starting the Wellbutrin cos I might not need it. I haven't felt the need to take any Xanax yet either, I just got that for a 'just in case' thing if i feel like i'm dying. I'm very much leaning towards going back on the Wellbutrin soonish though. I know the feeling of slipping into real clinical depression and I don't want to get there again.
With the way docs so freely prescribe meds these days, I was surprised that, while my dr. gave me the Rx's, she did recommend to hold off.. Sounds like you might want someone like her.. (she does like to steal my blood a lot though. OUCH!)
I hope you feel better soon, in any case. Finals are done, try to relax a bit!
That doesn't sound like OCD, unless you're not mentioning any compulsions you have. With OCD one believes they must perform certain actions or thoughts in order to control or prevent things from happening. BUT it does sound like you have a problem with obsessive thoughts. Meds won't fix this at all - you'll still have those thought patterns and not learn to break them (as you've learned). Cognitive behavioral therapy (which is also what is used to treat OCD) would be something to try.
