Posted by desolationrower on April 23, 2010, at 17:50:53
In reply to Re: Severe anxiety and other problems, posted by Lisa2712 on April 23, 2010, at 15:41:19
that sounds quite familiar to me. here are some ideas:
nardil would be the best option for the anxiety aspect.
try a different benzo, you might not have the bad reaction. probably alprazolam, though it can cause more dependance so if you think that is a risk for you, a standard one like lorazapam.
the bad reaction might be from depression not under control - i know from before i was on an antidepressant, i would try drinking large volumes to reduce social anxiety, and it just caused me to get very dysphoric. benzos can be similar, known as 'disinhibition' where the negative feels you were able to control with higher brain functions are unmasked by a drug that 'shuts off' part of your brain. if this is the case, a better antidepressant might help you tolerate a sufficient dose of a benzo to treat the anxiety.
if you have ADD (which is why i stopped taking an maoi, it is common with social anxiety), just adding a stimulant or antidepressant that is similar could help. adderal, dexedrine, ritalin, nortryptaline, bupropion could all help. also nicotine lozenges.
guanfacine also can help with ADD, and it can help reduce anxiety and agitation, so that could be useful to try too.
therapy, maybe group therapy, is helpful for some.
you mentioned mania. do you find your anxiety goes away? is it 'fun' mania or mostly dysphoric?
also, though not usually enough to really 'fix' things, good nutrition/exercise/meditation/sleeep stuff like that probably helps things too.
good luck
-d/r
poster:desolationrower
thread:944443
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20100416/msgs/944772.html