sevilo Posted August 22, 2014 Share Posted August 22, 2014 I have horrible anxiety, possible bipolar II, ADHD, and depression. I've been given both lorazepam and clonazepam at lose dosages (.5) to help with anxiety when I start to get overwhelmed. The problem is I do feel less anxious but I get very mean, very very angry, and I lose my memory. It's almost like blacking out. This is not mixing it with any drugs or alcohol. For one thing I'm not sure why I'm having this reaction, for another it makes me feel like there's not much available that can help me besides alcohol. When I drink I don't get mean or angry, and as long as I don't drink too much I don't lose my memory. But I don't want to self-medicate like that as addiction runs in my family. I was born addicted to crack-cocaine and with marijuana in my system. I take Lamictal to help with mood stabilization (which has worked very well, sometimes I forget to take it and I do run into problems) and also Zoloft for my depression at a low dose that is helpful. But anxiety really makes it impossible sometimes for me to function and I was curious if anyone is like me in how they react to the benzos and if anything else has worked for someone who might have had a similar reaction, that I could maybe suggest. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tryp Posted August 22, 2014 Share Posted August 22, 2014 Benzos don't work well for me - I get depressed and agitated and dissociated and etc. It's a bad mix. What worked for me was atypical antipsychotics - specifically Seroquel. What worked better for me in the long run was lots of therapy to deal with my overwhelm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evilnessness Posted August 22, 2014 Share Posted August 22, 2014 Benzos do not make me angry but they make my memory problems much worse, too. I had some luck with propranolol, a beta blocker, but I was taken off it because my blood pressure was too low. I had much better luck with AAPs, but paranoia is a big part of my anxiety. CBT for anxiety was really really great for breaking me out of anxious thought cycles, too, which linger even after medication. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KillBytes Posted August 23, 2014 Share Posted August 23, 2014 It's amazing how we all react differently to meds. Benzo's for me help my anxiety and help me stay focused too. At the right dose of course. Too little nothing happens, too much I lose focus. Just right every thing works. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melissaw72 Posted August 23, 2014 Share Posted August 23, 2014 Maybe you can ask your pdoc about trying another one in the same category (another benzo) in place of what you are taking now, because they all work differently for everyone, and maybe your anxiety would be lessened by another type of benzo. I've tried different ones, and have found that xanax and klonopin along with propranolol work the best for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KillBytes Posted August 23, 2014 Share Posted August 23, 2014 I've had them all too, and my favorites in order 1. Valium, 2. Klonopin 3. Xanax. I agree they do have different effects to different people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sras Posted August 23, 2014 Share Posted August 23, 2014 I heart xanax. But for me it just makes me lie down and sleep... on the lowest dose. I don't take it daily though as I get hooked on things very easily. Benzo related anger isn't uncommon, have a google of paradoxical reaction related to benzos. I know there are other drugs that can help with anxiety but aren't specifically for it. I've been on abilify and prozac and they both helped with it so might be worth asking your pdoc if there's another class of drugs that could help if you find benzos don't work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phoenix_Rising Posted August 23, 2014 Share Posted August 23, 2014 If benzos don't work for you, than I agree with tryp; an atypical antipsychotic may be what you're looking for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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