Anxiety Meds Question

[Shadow girl]

Hi there,

I'm so anxious all the time just now that I feel like I'm going to have a heart attack - the chest pain never goes so I phoned my CPN this morning to ask if there might be some meds to help with this anxiety. Hopefully he'll call back about lunchtime.

I was wondering what anxiety meds other people have tried and what has been effective (or not) for them. At the moment I'm just on lamotrigine for psychiatric stuff. Everything else if for connective tissue disease.

[walker]

lyrica (pregabalin) is meant to be mega good

although mine are still n box !!

but 2 gps said so and pdoc and cpn

[jillv]

A beta blocker such as propanalol can be very effective for anxiety.

It stops that chest pain where you think you are going to have a heart attack.

Hope this helps

[Villan]

propanolol (beta blocker) was quite effective for me, as was a low dose of the tca amitriptyline

but i dunno if they are compatible with what yuo are already taking

[catsmother21]

I used to take propananol for migraines but it did also help with the anxiety because it lowers your blood pressure.

At the moment, I take Stelazine which is an anti-p but used at a low dose it is very good for anxiety and shutting my head up. I also take clonazepam but try to keep this to a bare minimum as I don't want to end up with an addiction to it.

Hope you get some help with this soon because severe anxiety that you are talking about is awful and debilitating. Good luck xxxx

[Shadow girl]

CPN did call me back and I explained what is happening. I think he just thought I was being a nusiance and implied i shouldn't of phoned but gone to my GP instead. Then he basically said that I don't/ought not want to go back on anti depressants again though they can supposedly help with anxiety. He said they aren't really keen on diazipam because of addiction risk and he didn't mention any other options. Just a case of "live with it!" I wasn't able to fully explain how severe it is because i was in the car (pulled over) and my daughter was sat next to me so I had to be a bit vague.

He did say he would talk to the pdoc about it tomorrow - but that was problably just to shut me up, and he did reiterate I could go to my GP instead of hassling him. I don't know what I've done wrong. He used to be ok with me.

[catsmother21]

Well that wasn't very helpful for you was it? If he's always been OK with you before perhaps he's just having a bad day and wrongly took it out on you. Have you got a good GP? and would they be able to help you with this? xx

[lonelyheartemma]

I'm sorry you got that reaction from your cpn, i'm sure most cpns would be happy to help with something like that.

maybe he was having a bad day like catsmother said or maybe he could tell you were being vague and thought that meant it wasnt serious?

maybe its worth going to the gp tho, i'm sure they wouldnt react like your cpn did.

[Myla]

Betablockers for chest pain type anxiety/panic attacks (which I thankfully don't get anymore). I take an anti-depressant (venlafaxine) which helps with my anxiety but when the anxiety is particularly bad I also take diazepam. If you haven't already tried non-drug therapy I'd recommend trying some. Some people say cbt has helped with their anxiety (not mine though) but I do a lot of deep breathing/relaxation and visualisation techniques (taught by a cpn and a counsellor I once saw) which keeps my anxiety at a manageable level most of the time. Hope you find something that helps.

[Lily-Bee]

It depends on the type of anxiety you have but meds that can help are;

SSRI's-a type of anti depressant

An anti psychotic-some of them also have a slight anxiety soothing effect

Beta blockers

Tranqelizers-but those are addictive(!)

Then there are some others like I believe Remeron,not sure.

Therapy can make a difference too.As said above here too.

What the best option is for you,you need to discuss.I think its best if you can discuss it with a p-doc as they have the most knowledge but a GP can help too.

Can you arrange a meeting?

Lily

[Shadow girl]

The stupid cpn never called me back today so I called him just before 5 and he'd already left. I need some relief however temporary and he won't help. I don't want to go to the GP coz hubby is working and I've no one to watch my daughter while I go and I can't explain stuff in front of her - she was worried after the vague conversation I had with my CPN the other day. I don't know what I'm ging to do.

[catsmother21]

Is it possible to have a telephone consultation with your doctor? xx

[Shadow girl]

I got a GP appt anyway this morning and my daughter just sat in the waiting room by herself while I went in. The GP was ok and has given me some propanolol which I've had before for migraines. Still no call back from CPN which is a bit rubbish though. Just have to get myself brave enough to go to the pharmacy and get the prescription next when I'd rather hide under a duvet and watch a film with my wee girl.

[catsmother21]

I hope you managed to get your prescription and that the proprananol kicks in soon and helps you xx

[Shadow girl]

Propanolol is being helpful - and though I am still worried re the meeting I have to manage next Tue the feasr is no longer destroying my capacity to function at all. I even managed to cook some tea last night.

I got a letter from CPN this morning saying he had discussed with pdoc who had said best not to go the medication route as other methods are better and because I "abuse" meds. The envelope contained 2 leaflets re panic attacks and hyperventilation which I put in the bin, and a relaxation cd, It'd be interesting at my meeting next week if I paused the meeting for 20 mins while I did some relaxation exercises - that'd really help the negotiation process!!! Stupid, stupid pdoc and cpn. I told him I only wanted something to tide me over a tricky week. Good thing my GP was listening.

CPN is coming next weds at 11.00. The question is, will I tell him like it is or will I chicken out?

Thanks for all your support, I am a much better Shadow girl today.

[Bonkers101]

Hey Shadowgirl

I have BPD with severe anxiety and depression - I've been taking Cipralex (antidepressant) for the past 2 years which is supposed to be the best anti-d for anxiety.

It does work wonders (as I don't get panic attacks or the crippling anxiety such as what you describe like I used to before) but it still did not work as much as I needed it to. I'd still get the odd pang of major anxiety in certain stressful situations (busy shops/ buses etc) which was causing me lots of problems.

I had an appointment with psychiatrist to reassess my meds situation and he suggested I take Seroquel 50mg (antipsychotic) on top of my anti-ds. I was really reluctant to take any anti-psychotics as I had a really bad experience of Risperidone and didn't like the side effect profile. I had the prescription a few weeks before I had the nerve to take it - I've been taking it a month now and find it really helpful. My anxiety is the lowest its ever been, I have wonderful sleeps and it doesn't make me groggy or sedated at all - if anything I am more productive at work and can focus on important tasks (rather than fretting about silly things).

The only downside is I have put on some weight without changing my diet so I need to try and sort that pronto!

Not sure if there are contraindications with your current meds but maybe do some research online?

I totally sympathise with your situation Shadow-Girl and hope you can get something that works for you

xxx