Posted by Elizabeth on February 2, 2002, at 14:24:28
In reply to GABITRIL- a substitute for benzos like Klonopin?, posted by 3 Beer Effect on February 2, 2002, at 3:31:42
> I was recently taking Neurontin 900 mg/day but it hasn't done anything for my social phobia, only seems to make it worse.
Is it really making your SP worse, or is it just making you so tired that you don't have the energy to go out? My idea would be to decrease the dose to something more tolerable, then increase it again *gradually* as needed.
> Does Gabitril (tiagabine) function as a mood-stabilizer or an anxiolytic/anti-anxiety drug?
I've been wondering that myself, but I haven't gotten any answers. I'm interested in Sabril (vigabatrin) too; it's been looked at a bit for panic disorder as well as in some animal models of anxiety.
> On paper, it looks like it would help with Social Phobia since it potentiates GABA like alcohol (which I still think is the best social phobia/anxiolytic drug ever), which the benzos also do but through a different mechanism.
Gabitril is a GABA reuptake inhibitor. I don't think that it potentiates GABA, but rather increases the amount available.
Anyway, here's a citation for an article that might address the issue:
Ketter TA, Post RM, Theodore WH.
Positive and negative psychiatric effects of antiepileptic drugs in patients with seizure disorders.
Neurology 1999; 53(5 Suppl 2): S53-67.(The abstract didn't go into much detail.)
-elizabeth
poster:Elizabeth
thread:92589
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20020131/msgs/92625.html