Posted by Aadika on December 11, 2002, at 20:27:28
In reply to Re: follow up to antianxiety meds..., posted by biovsenvio? on December 11, 2002, at 17:19:22
Wow, medications and weight gain.... that's a rather difficult issue for me to address. Over the course of five years that I've been taking psychopharmaceuticals I'd gone from 165 (a perfect weight for me) to 255..... but it's hard for me to discern which meds were the catalysts. All I know is I gained the weight, just started dieting and weight training 3 months ago and have worked my way back to my normal weight, so thank God.
As for Riluzole, it's been available for awhile... not exactly sure how long. But it was touted as the only FDA-approved treatment for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). I wouldn't get my hopes up too high, but its mechanism(s) of action make it sounds extremely promising. Keeping my fingers crossed.
And I know what you mean, it most certainly DOES suck. Myself, I spent approximately the first ten years of my life with severe ADHD, but high-functioning academically. My mother never wanted me on medication, so we just dealt with it... and when it started to somehow work its way into social anxiety disorder during pre-adolescence, my mother STILL didn't want me on drugs, so I toughed it out. But when it became so horrible I had to drop out of high school five years ago and rarely even left my room, let alone the house, that's when I insisted on getting help. It was hell for the first four years. The drugs weren't helping, the side effects were debilitating, and at one point I was hospitalized for two weeks for Xanax addiction... I had worked my way up to around 120mg / day, buying it off the streets and getting it from friends to supplement my prescription, which had gone up to 10mg / day. Three times I stayed in Rusk State Mental Hospital, as my condition was so horrible it seemed to mimic many symptoms of severe schizo-affective disorder in an acute stage. It wasn't until a year ago that I was diagnosed properly with avoidant personality disorder and have been on Klonopin (along with other things at different times) ever since.
And that sort of lends itself to a segue into my personal thoughts as to whether meds are the answer. See, I'm kind of a strange case... I've been through therapy five times with five different, wonderful therapists-- each with their different approach to treating me. I even went through several months of hypnotherapy and acupuncture. None of this worked. This surprised the hell out of me, as it had always been drilled into my head by all the various medical professionals I worked with that a personality disorder basically spelled out "therapy". And by the very nature of my disorder, I am a poor responder to medication (avoidants generally tend to have an incomplete or negative response to anxiolytic medications). So when therapy proved a failure, as well as hypnosis, acupuncture, homeopathy, and even losing 90 lbs., working out every day, and supplementing with brain/body essential nutrients (I suggest you read up on the vitamins inositol and niacinamide in the treatment of anxiety, in particular), my doctor just finally decided that keeping me on this 5mg / day of Klonopin that I've been on for well over a year indefinitely could be the only answer... so that's how it worked out for me. Your mileage may vary. :-)
~ Aadika
poster:Aadika
thread:130363
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20021210/msgs/131404.html