BearInTheAir Posted June 16, 2014 Share Posted June 16, 2014 I was previously on a cocktail for anti anxiety including 100 mg of Zoloft and 10 mg of Abilify. When my grades started dropping in school because I was constantly feeling tired and unable to focus and I started to gain weight, a new doctor decided to lower my Zoloft to 50 mg and Abilify to 5 mg (which is scary because I feel this was really helping me). He added 10 mg of Dexedrine and 300 mg of Gabapentin to supposedly replace the Abilify. He felt that Abilify was what was giving me these negative side effects, but I'm worried about decreasing it...or even getting rid of it entirely. Can anyone put in their two cents on this issue? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dianthus Posted June 16, 2014 Share Posted June 16, 2014 (edited) Welcome to the world of managing mental illness and medication. The only way to see if your meds are too high is to lower and/or change them. You can always go back if the change makes things worse. Constant fatigue and difficulty concentrating can indicate many things-- it can be side effects of meds, the mental illness itself, or something unrelated. I don't think what the new doctor is doing is at all unwise-- it's worth a shot. 10mg of Abilify is a fairly high dose-- that's where I started, but that was for mood stabilization, not as an adjunct to an antidepressant for anxiety treatment. More typical dosages for that are 2.5 to 5mg. With that said, it may be the dose you need, but I wouldn't be surprised if you have more serious side effects at that dosage. I tend to be more cautious when changing meds, so I would personally be unwiling to lower 2 of my current meds and add 2 more meds at the same time. For me, I would want to do things more slowly unless I was in a crisis. Otherwise, it will be hard to tell what's doing what. Dexedrine is a stimulant and is probably going to do what most stimulants do-- help with focus and concentration, but also increase anxiety and decrease appetite. You'll have to see if what it does in your body works for you. My concern is that you're lowering 2 meds that were controlling your anxiety (which may temporarily increase your anxiety as you adjust to the lower dosages) and adding a medication (Dexedrine) that may increase anxiety as well. I would want to make these changes slowly and a step at a time to minimize any possible rebound effects/withdrawal and new side effects. Gabapentin and Abilify are very, very different drugs, but they do both treat anxiety. Gabapentin isn't known for being exactly predictable or universally effective when it comes to treating anxiety, but it works well for some people. It's not widely used for anxiety, but it's not unheard of. It can have its own set of side effects that may or may not effect you in ways that you can manage. It's worth trying if your doctor thinks it's going to be effective. Point is, the only way to see what's going on is to change your meds and see what happens. I personally am a fan, however, of making med changes in a methodical, logical way that may take a few weeks but helps clarify what's doing what. Fortunately, med changes are reversible pretty quickly, so no matter what, you can always go back to where you started if need be. My final question-- is your doctor a psychiatrist or a general practitioner type? Edited June 16, 2014 by dianthus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BearInTheAir Posted June 16, 2014 Author Share Posted June 16, 2014 My doctor is indeed a psychiatrist. Thank you for responding so quickly and so thoroughly! My major concern is that my parents are going to refuse to send me back to college in the Fall unless my medicine is all sorted out due to financial reasons. I've tried dexedrine in the past week, and the only change I've noticed is a decrease in appetite. So really, the only new medication is the Gabapentin. My psychiatrist insisted that it was a very popular drug for anti-anxiety. And after looking searching for information around on the internet, I'm confused as to why he would say that! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crtclms Posted June 16, 2014 Share Posted June 16, 2014 It's an off label use, I'm fairly sure. There are several people on the boards using it for that purpose. And there are some papers researching its effectivess it if you search for "anxiety gabapentin" on Google, and click the link to the scholarly papers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dianthus Posted June 16, 2014 Share Posted June 16, 2014 (edited) Just a comment from an old woman who's been there done that-- taking time off of school to get super stable was so good for me. I took a total of maybe 2 years for various reasons (took classes part time, worked, not all MI related) and though it was terrifying then, when I went back full time and ready, I kicked ass. So don't discount taking some time off if you need it. Gabapentin is used off-label to treat anxiety. I wouldn't say it's a first-line drug by any stretch, but it's definitely not unheard of. It's worth trying, and from what I can recall the side effect profile isn't awful. Glad to hear the dexedrine isn't worsening your anxiety. It should help with focus and fatigue. Edited June 16, 2014 by dianthus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phoenix_Rising Posted June 17, 2014 Share Posted June 17, 2014 I use gabapentin (along with klonopin and a beta blocker) to treat my anxiety. I take 1200 mg of gabapentin. As di and crt said, its not a first-line treatment, nor does it work for everyone, but I have had success with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BearInTheAir Posted June 17, 2014 Author Share Posted June 17, 2014 It's day 2 for me on gabapentin. I took 100 mg Gabapentin and 5 mg Abilify and 50 mg Zoloft last night and 10 mg Dexedrine and 100 mg Gabapentin this morning, as directed. I don't feel any anxiety so far. My appetite's decreased once again. I feel alert and focused. Thanks for all the comments guys. They're very insightful! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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