It's Just Me Posted January 11, 2017 Share Posted January 11, 2017 (edited) So I am currently on 300mg of Lamictal and I take 0.5mg of Xanax as needed up to 2x a day. My Dr. wanted to add in an Celexa because my anxiety is so severe but I'm sooooo scared to add anything I feel like starting meds in the first place messed me up even more than I was. I'm super worried that they won't be effective one day and I'm just gonna lose my shit and end up dead no matter what. Is there anyone that has tried this combo and liked it? I know that it's my anxiety fighting me but I am freaked out by the meds that haven't worked. I just want to feel "normal" just like I'm sure everyone does. Side note I've been on it and I think it was ok, however the sexual side effects made me just feel worse than my depression did so I was taken off of it. And I want to be better than ok. Ok isn't how I want to go through life. Ive been on Wellbutrin 2x (not sure of the dosage) and made me want to kill everyone-literally. Zoloft- anger issues Lexapro- sexual side effects I think Latuda- I was given this when I ended up in the mental hospital and they couldn't have picked a worse drug for me to be on. It made me zonk out and when it really started "working" I just wanted to kill myself. Paxil-can't even remember the effects so it didn't work out. I'm diagnosed bipolar 2, panic disorder and severe anxiety. Like I said I just want to feel better. Any ideas, thoughts, advice are all very welcome. Edited January 11, 2017 by It's Just Me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cloudmonger Posted January 11, 2017 Share Posted January 11, 2017 (edited) 1 hour ago, It's Just Me said: So I am currently on 300mg of Lamictal and I take 0.5mg of Xanax as needed up to 2x a day. My Dr. wanted to add in an Celexa because my anxiety is so severe but I'm sooooo scared to add anything I feel like starting meds in the first place messed me up even more than I was. I'm super worried that they won't be effective one day and I'm just gonna lose my shit and end up dead no matter what. Is there anyone that has tried this combo and liked it? I know that it's my anxiety fighting me but I am freaked out by the meds that haven't worked. I just want to feel "normal" just like I'm sure everyone does. Side note I've been on it and I think it was ok, however the sexual side effects made me just feel worse than my depression did so I was taken off of it. And I want to be better than ok. Ok isn't how I want to go through life. Ive been on Wellbutrin 2x (not sure of the dosage) and made me want to kill everyone-literally. Zoloft- anger issues Lexapro- sexual side effects I think Latuda- I was given this when I ended up in the mental hospital and they couldn't have picked a worse drug for me to be on. It made me zonk out and when it really started "working" I just wanted to kill myself. Paxil-can't even remember the effects so it didn't work out. I'm diagnosed bipolar 2, panic disorder and severe anxiety. Like I said I just want to feel better. Any ideas, thoughts, advice are all very welcome. I'm sorry you are going through this - I am in the exact same boat (have been riding this Hell for 20 years & tried 20 different medications). My anxiety has been increasing now (because of situational issues). I am starting up on Celexa again, actually. The Lamictal is helping with mood stabilization, but it is not enough unfortunately. I am also scared sh**tless, to say the least, about adding more meds because I've reacted badly to all of them in some way & I also worry about withdrawals if i need to go off for some reason. Lamictal has had the least amount of side effects so I will stay on it. Celexa also had the least for me (except for the sexual side effect) I found that it helped the most with Anxiety (I do not like Benzos because of the tolerance issue then I couldn't wean off of them without having a nervous breakdown). The higher dose (60mg) of Celexa caused too much fatigue for me, however, a dose of 10-20mg has less side effects. I am told that sometimes the sexual side effects eventually go away (I'm not sure if this is true)? Just want to say hang in there - there are other things to try...I know how difficult it is on the medication merry-go-round, but eventually the depression/anxiety gets so severe, that I'm willing to put up with adding a medication (even if temporary) If it's any consolation, Celexa was fairly easy to get off of. Have you tried Prozac? Paxil is another "tried & true" med for anxiety. Or Abilify (some super great reviews - but not sure how it is for anxiety), Perhaps you can increase the PRN Xanax, or try Klonopin or something to take for emergency/panic moments? Edited January 11, 2017 by cloudmonger Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cloudmonger Posted January 11, 2017 Share Posted January 11, 2017 There are also meds like Remeron, Zyprexa, Seroquel that help with Anxiety - however, they all made me way too sedated/hungover feeling the next day and they all increased my appetite, made me gain weight. Soooo...I'd prefer the sexual side effects to that! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melissaw72 Posted January 11, 2017 Share Posted January 11, 2017 (edited) Have you ever tried another/different mood stabilizer? ie lithium, tegretol, depakote. Edited January 11, 2017 by melissaw72 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikl_pls Posted January 11, 2017 Share Posted January 11, 2017 This medicine has a bad rep for its liver toxicity issues (but other meds have liver toxicity issues too), but have you tried nefazodone? It's a mild antidepressant with no sexual side effects and actually may help sexual ability. Trazodone is the same way, but it's so sedating at therapeutic doses it's next to impossible to tolerate. They make an extended release trazodone called Oleptro that you take at night and it's supposed to reduce the sedation associated with it and maintain steady blood plasma levels. Celexa is a "milder" version of Lexapro. It's racemic in that it includes the (S) and (R) enantiomers (the (S) enantiomer being Lexapro). It has some binding affinity to the H1 histamine receptor, so will be somewhat sedating. Prozac was already mentioned. Have you tried any of the SNRIs? Effexor, Pristiq, Cymbalta, Fetzimia? Any of the tricyclics? Secondary amines: desipramine, protriptyline, nortriptyline (generally have less side effects and are more stimulating and generally cause less weight gain if any), tertiary amines: amitriptyline, imipramine, doxepin, clomipramine, trimipramine (generally have more side effects and are more sedating and can cause more weight gain). Any of the tetracyclics? Amoxapine, maprotiline? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
It's Just Me Posted January 11, 2017 Author Share Posted January 11, 2017 Thank you guys for the replies! @cloudmonger I'm sorry you're in this boat too! I have tried Paxil but I cannot for the life of me remember why I came off of it. I didn't add in my post that I'm scared shitless about gaining weight. I am already 40 pounds over what I should be and adding more will make me feel even worse than I already do. I don't think I've tried Prozac and I'm not sure why I wouldn't have been prescribed it unless it had a super weight gain side effect. I'm clear about that with all of my doctors. Superficial but how can I be okay when I hate myself ya know? @melissaw72 I have never been put on a different mood stabilizer and I'm not sure why but the fact that I'm on Lamictal has come up but never with the option to change that. Not sure why. Something to definitely ask. Thank you for that suggestion, I also have never thought to ask that. @mikrw33 I have never tried or heard of the medications you listed and I have no idea why that is either. I like doing my research before trying anything that has been recommended so thank you for the list. If any work I will definitely ask my doctor about it. Seriously I appreciate the feedback guys. Thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mediconvert Posted March 29, 2018 Share Posted March 29, 2018 (edited) I take Lamictal 150 mg., Latuda 60 mg. xanax 2mg and my doctor just added Seroquel 150mg. The Seroquel crushed my anxiety, however, it took around 2 weeks to deal with the sedation it caused but it was well worth it. The only thing I have to watch out for is when I take it at night (which I do all my medication except Adderall) if I do not go right to bed I have cravings to eat sweet carbs like cereal. This medication is known to cause weight gain so I am careful to eat a healthy diet and not eat at bedtime. PTSD, Dissociative Disorder, BPII Edited March 29, 2018 by Mediconvert Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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