Posted by bassman on May 31, 2006, at 6:41:02
In reply to Re: Are you on more than one antidepressant med?, posted by PeachLovie on May 30, 2006, at 22:57:48
Wow, do I ever know what you are going through-3 nightmarish years of my life in the intense phase. I'm a fellow panic disorder person. Don't worry about taking two SSRI's at the same time in those amounts-maybe worried about "serotonin syndrome" or been reading too many drug insert cautions (they're enough to cause panic in themselves!:>})? Not withdrawing one med until the other has been introduced at a therapeutic level is pretty common-maybe the reasoning is that [1] it is a bad time to find out if the person will show nasty withdrawal symptoms and/or [2] maybe the existing med is providing some degree of relief, no matter how small. I also found that when my panic disorder was the worst, I was most scared/averse to taking meds-I don't know why-well, maybe I do. When you feel awful, you don't need anything to make you feel worse in the short term and also make you feel like your life is even MORE out of control! As terrible as you feel right now, meds can help panic immensely and you'll have your life back. It's just the suffering that goes on while you find the right meds for you. Paxil is a great choice for panic disorder and Lexapro is also a great choice (many people get relief and less chance of sexual side effects)-but if they don't work, they are others. It really sounds like your doc is making reasonable choices; just tell him, "give me some benzos, damn it! I'm anxious and depressed!" :>}
Please have hope, even though you're discouraged (and I'll bet, very scared, maybe even all the time) right now. Very best wishes-it is a horrible affliction-but when it relents, you will be so relieved. Promise.
poster:bassman
thread:650605
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20060530/msgs/650851.html