chewbacca Posted October 13, 2006 Share Posted October 13, 2006 Hi I am going to try and make my messages more sensible. I was wondering if anyone takes cymbalta for anxiety and obsessing over things but gets sleepy from it? If you do then does anyone take wellbutrin with cymbalta? I ask because I feel like a moron for giving up on cymbalta after a couple weeks when it took my anxiety away. I gave up on it because I was very tired from it and I am tired of being tired from all the crazy meds. i know my problems are not nearly as bad as some peoples or that my side effects are not nearly as bad as what some meds cause. But being tired sucks when you have a demanding job, school, and family. I am able to function but i get tired and take naps which takes time away from my family. I am at my wits end with this and figure I know i need to just take something and keep taking it for months. my med history is prozac - made me tired, sexual issues, and shakiness, stuck with this for a long time and tried it a couple times. serzone - didnt help paxil - terrible for me anafranil - terrible effexor - felt lousy and did not work for me celexa - took for a few months at highest dose and did not work lexapro - trying now for second time but it is making my anxiety worse wellbutrin - ca not even take it for the fucking exhaustion that the lexapro is causing me because I am so anxious, and obsessiong over all of this that has been going on for so long. i hate getting back the comments about not sticking with it but i know that is my problem i have another appointment monday and i am leaning towards going back to the cymbalta and just taking it for a few weeks without wellbutrin to see if the doctor is correct in that the cymbalta does not make you as tired because it works on the N stuff. but it did make me tired so maybe i just quit to soon. they wanted me to take 30mg and then go to 60mg after a couple weeks, after just a few days my anxiety was about gone, not the obsessing but the anxiety was much better. right now I am using more klonopin then I have in a long time. so if the cymbalta works for the anxiety then does anyone have luck with it working for obsessing or ocd? If it makes you tired or sexually messed up does anyone take wellbutrin with it? thaks for all your help Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Velvet Elvis Posted October 14, 2006 Share Posted October 14, 2006 Hi monty. First off, OCD often only responds to SSRIs at the max recommended dose or higher. This means you start at a low dose, wait a month, raise it, wait a month, raise it, wait a month, etc. So really the only ones that had any chance of helping were the ones you were on for six weeks or so at the max dose. The others were just a waste of time. It might also be time to move on to mirco-doses of anti-psychotics. Once you've given a couple SSRIs a good long try at the max dose you should have a pretty good idea if they are going to work or not. The APs can have more side effects, but there isn't all that waiting. Geodon is one I took for a while that helped a lot with intrusive thoughts and wasn't sedating. I don't know what kind of record abilify has with OCD but it's supposed actually be a bit stimulating. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chewbacca Posted October 14, 2006 Author Share Posted October 14, 2006 hi, I think my biggest fault on this place has been that I haven't detailed my real med experiences. Prozac - over a year 120mg - yes worked for anxiety - was emotionless, tired, unmotivated, didn't care about anything, and my hands shook like a blender serzone - several months - did nothing zoloft - 3 trials, not at the highest dose but the doctors all chose to take me off - not my choices paxil - heart issues with it - some skipped beats luvox - no one wants me to try it that i have been to anafranil - a couple weeks and it was hell effexor - 2 trials - 1 for a week and doctor closed down and couldn't get a refill after the sample ran out, 2nd trial was maybe a month or so and felt like shit and didn't do anything for me except make me eat and sleep celexa - 5 months - highest dose, didn't touch the anxiety or O - cd , or concentration shit provigil - just tried a couple months ago for like a week - sent my anxiety through the roof - doctor told me my anxiety was because i had add and after 500.00 for one visit I couldn't afford to go back. that was one visit for 1 hour - FIVE hundred dollars lexapro - on 2nd trial now - 1st trial 10mg for 4 weeks - was very tired - very tired, not helping with anxiety at all - dr was going away for a month and told me to stop because he would not have coverage if I had issues 2nd trial - 4th week coming up and tired and my anxiety is no better and it is probably worse then if I didn't take anything, my obsessing is not even touched by it - yes I know it takes more time cymbalta - took for 3 weeks, anxiety was quieted down within a week or a bit more at 30mg - TIRED tough, went to 60mg for a few days, then back to follow up appt. Doctor gave me a choice of taking that and adding wellbutrin to fix the tiredness or moving to SSRI and adding wellbutrin. I chose ssri - lexapro - I know fucking stupid I guess but I never heard of anyone taking wellbutrin with cymbalta and after the terrible FDA report that just came out about new meds and not enough testing I am very admittedly afraid of taking this drug since it has only been out for 2 years. I have a family and don't want a drug killing me, I can just take klonopin and not be anxious but just obsess and not concentrate - not the answer and stupid thinking I know... Doctor experiences - started 10 years or more ago 1st dr - klonopin - stayed with it and I still use that prn - the only thing that has helped me, I am not afraid of all meds a couple years later went to a dr who gave me serzone - after a few months on it went for my regular appt like I did each month and the doctor closed up shop - NO notice, no warnings gave up for a bit - then went and found a new dr. just told me to take klonopin, tried a couple things, not sure what and stuck with them but he was half retired but a nice guy and I saw him for over 2 years. Next dr. - gave me the 120mg of prozac, saw him for over a year or so and he thought I had every single friggin problem in the book - but he has a huge reputation for over medicating. gave up for a bit per my Primary care doc to see how I would do Then over the past 3 years I have seen a few doctors, one guy asked me what I should do, one guy said just take the klonopin, next one told me I didn't need meds, next one rubbed my leg and told me to talk to him, another told me to tell him what I wanted to try, went to a nurse who said tha she wasn't sure what to do, went to 2 doctors in different times - both forgot what meds they gave me - one doctor actually said "that med won't work, why did I give you that". These are no exagerations, I can't find a fucking good doctor. This new doctor seems to at least listen but for someone that has anxiety it makes no logical sense to take 150mg of wellbutrin sr at the same time in the morning, my pharmacist told me that, my primary care told me it was odd, and people on here told me it was odd. so that is the deal, if I had faith in a dr. I would probably eat nails. Hi monty. First off, OCD often only responds to SSRIs at the max recommended dose or higher. This means you start at a low dose, wait a month, raise it, wait a month, raise it, wait a month, etc. So really the only ones that had any chance of helping were the ones you were on for six weeks or so at the max dose. The others were just a waste of time. It might also be time to move on to mirco-doses of anti-psychotics. Once you've given a couple SSRIs a good long try at the max dose you should have a pretty good idea if they are going to work or not. The APs can have more side effects, but there isn't all that waiting. Geodon is one I took for a while that helped a lot with intrusive thoughts and wasn't sedating. I don't know what kind of record abilify has with OCD but it's supposed actually be a bit stimulating. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunshine Posted October 14, 2006 Share Posted October 14, 2006 i hate getting back the comments about not sticking with it but i know that is my problem Sorry... A month isn't long enough - especially to determine whether you're going to adjust to this particular side effect. It totally sucks (believe me, I know how much it sucks), but you've got to give the stuff a) a chance to work, and B) a chance for your body to adjust. Sometimes the side effects go away. Sometimes you get different results with a different dose. Sometimes all you need to do is take it at a different time of day. Sometimes it doesn't work. But you've gotta give it a chance to work. I've never been diagnosed with OCD. I have a few compulsive behaviors, but nothing severe. During my last bout of depression, however, I suffered from severe rumination that borded on obsession. Cymbalta was the only drug that kicked this problem in the ass. Like you, I got relief from that problem almost immediately. It also eventually did a hell of a job at dealing with the depression. I also have issues with the fatigue and sleepiness that comes with most psychiatric meds. The other thing I didn't like about Cymbalta was that it made me feel very "flat." Pdoc added Wellbutrin after about three months and it was a very good combo for me except that the Wellbutrin caused me some physical anxiety (trembling and feeling edgy), so we had to add a bit of Xanax to the mix to deal with that. If anxiety is already a problem for you, Wellbutrin my not be a good choice as anxiety is a common side effect. Hang in there. You'll eventually find the right drug(s) and/or the right dose(s) that work for you. ~Sunshine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chewbacca Posted October 14, 2006 Author Share Posted October 14, 2006 you are completely right. I should have stuck with the cymbalta and now I am going to kiss the doctors ass and talk to him monday. my anxiety is terrible right now and cymbalta kicked its ass in a week. I should have tried the wellbutrin he wanted me to take for the energy because I was very calm on the cymbalta and had just moved to 60mg for about 5 days before he wanted me to take the wellbutrin. If I had that calm feeling but "my" energy I bet I would feel good right now instead of feeling anxious as hell but tired at the same time. This lexapro sucks, I am exhausted and a nervous wreck, fucking wonderful thank god for my klonopin which for the first time in a long time I am taking all of my prescribed dose daily. About 2mg at night to get to sleep, and then 1 or 2 during the day as well they are .5mg pills, I had a script for valium but the pdoc told me that klonopin is better and a "cleaner" drug for anxiety because of how it goes in and out of your system... i hate getting back the comments about not sticking with it but i know that is my problem Sorry... A month isn't long enough - especially to determine whether you're going to adjust to this particular side effect. It totally sucks (believe me, I know how much it sucks), but you've got to give the stuff a) a chance to work, and B) a chance for your body to adjust. Sometimes the side effects go away. Sometimes you get different results with a different dose. Sometimes all you need to do is take it at a different time of day. Sometimes it doesn't work. But you've gotta give it a chance to work. I've never been diagnosed with OCD. I have a few compulsive behaviors, but nothing severe. During my last bout of depression, however, I suffered from severe rumination that borded on obsession. Cymbalta was the only drug that kicked this problem in the ass. Like you, I got relief from that problem almost immediately. It also eventually did a hell of a job at dealing with the depression. I also have issues with the fatigue and sleepiness that comes with most psychiatric meds. The other thing I didn't like about Cymbalta was that it made me feel very "flat." Pdoc added Wellbutrin after about three months and it was a very good combo for me except that the Wellbutrin caused me some physical anxiety (trembling and feeling edgy), so we had to add a bit of Xanax to the mix to deal with that. If anxiety is already a problem for you, Wellbutrin my not be a good choice as anxiety is a common side effect. Hang in there. You'll eventually find the right drug(s) and/or the right dose(s) that work for you. ~Sunshine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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