Posted by Nohope on September 16, 2004, at 4:13:16
In reply to Re: I am so messed up !!, posted by linkadge on September 15, 2004, at 17:57:07
Hi Linkadge.
I understand first hand the pain that a couple of your problems are causing.
Regarding somatic anxiety, I suffer that a great deal and it has been very difficult to treat. (My particular symptoms are chronic breathless sensations and a 'twig' in the throat.)
Although I promised myself when I joined psychobabble that I would remain as anonymous as possible, I will reveal that I am an engineer and that your frustration with 'dumb' drugs is well founded.
I see from the archives that you have tried a great many medications, so please forgive me if you have tried the following (or considered them and rejected them for whatever reason).
For somatic anxiety, only Xanax truly works for me. However, it is well known as a dumb drug; doses >1mg/day noticably impact on my memory. Therefore, I do not use it on a regular basis. However, it can be a very useful emotional 'anaesthetic' when severely depressed. If enough is taken, it can take many people (myself included) from the depths of despair into a rather neutral state ('stoned' some people call it) for a while (for me, a couple of days). This can be of enormous benefit when you hit the wall. It just gives you a bit of a break. YMMV, of course.
Nearly all medications I have tried have been dumb drugs, with Depakote being close to the worst. The following are the only medications that I feel sharp on:
1) Mianserin. People think that because it is the parent molecule of Remeron that it must be just a 'dirty' Remeron. It is not.
2) Milnacipran. Not a very helpful medication for me, but it did leave my intellect(?) intact.
3) Parnate. I'm on 40mg/day at the moment. I am having a few problems with it at the moment, but definitely not in terms of cognitive functioning.
BTW, none of the above made my mind race (like you complain of), although many, many did.
Once again, my apologies if this is old news for you. Best of luck.
Nohope
> I don't think I am bipolar, but I do think that the antidepressants make my mind race.
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> They make it difficult to concentrate and to know whats important.
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> My main problem is physical anxiety. Stomach problems, heart palpitations etc.
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> I just don't think I am fast enough to get through university. I am not dumb, but I just don't think I am fast enough to get through the tests etc.
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> Linkadge
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poster:Nohope
thread:391172
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20040915/msgs/391402.html