I don't find them very effective and have told my psychiatrist that I'd really like to be off antidepressants since my depression is related to whether I'm having panic attacks or not. I'm also on Klonopin which so far seems to be the most effective med. However, now I'm on two new anti depressants and tapering the Klonopin. Doesn't seem to make sense. I'd like to hear your experiences please.
Anyone have success with antidepressants for Panic Disorder symptoms?
- Posted:
- 13 Sep 2009 by buddhaslight
- Topics:
- klonopin, depression, panic disorder
Details:
Responses (38)
pattishan6114 Sep 2009
I have not but my wife has and what works best for her is Klonopin as needed. She can usually feel it coming or when she is really stressed out. I have used anti-depressants lexapro, effexor, cymbalta, seraquil, prosac, etc I did the whole gambit and it made things worse for me with thoughts of exiting. To me depression was looking for a medication to solve my problems and after four years I figured that out. sorry to ramble best of luck.
dave
jaypee
27 Apr 2011
Yea me too dave.i just like my clons or my xanaxs.all that other stuff is not neccassary and just makes u more outta space and more depressed and theese stupisd drs always want to go up on phsc meds.then if u dont want to take them they tper u off the clons or xanxas and make u take more phhysc meds.ive taken seraquel too.its a joke.makes u eat and they takeu up to such a high dossage!!! ill never take that unless i just need it @ the time..all that stuff is just not nec.to me people have too manny mood swings off that stuff.
MinaTarie8221 Sep 2009
I am having the same problem. I told my psychiatrist the same thing and she got upset because she told me that I was depressed which is causing my panic attacks. I explained to her that I am far from depressed however, there is another underlining issue wich I have yet to find out. She wrote me another prescription for Xanax and I fired her. Antidepressants don't work if you are not depressed, with or without panic!!!
clonedorange
20 Mar 2010
Amen to that. I'm tired of my doc's beating around the bush trying the 'easy' way out by prescribing anti-depressant after anti-depressant. The issue is clearly (and now diagnosed as) panic disorder. So please just cut to the chase, throw me all your "it's addictive, habit forming, "people want to just take a pill and be fiiiiiiine" propaganda ASAP and then realize the weight of the pros of having an anti-anxiety medication does outweight the risk of addiction. At least that's how I've come to feel. For sure. Help me instead of preaching to me like a 3rd grade teacher. I definitely relate to this post.
sunshine31
29 Mar 2010
Thank god you fired her!! I can't believe how prescription-happy so many doctors seem to be. Isn't a psychiatrist supposed to LISTEN?
looking4a...16 Oct 2009
My doctor put me on Prestiq last year when it first came out. (you couldn't even buy it in the pharmacy yet). It worked wonderfully along with Ativan. I had no side effects and the only interaction is Tramadol. Try it. I have been where you are before, and this was the only thing that worked for me. Good Luck!
Stephanie...16 Oct 2009
I have been to 6 psychiatrists over 7 years, trying to find the right combination of therapy and medication. I have Panic Disorder w/Agoraphobia, along w/Severe Depression. Besides the chronic pain I have experienced, the medications I am taking right now have really put the panic disorder to rest (for the most part. I don't think it is fair to expect to be "cured", just to feel the best way possible). I am taking Wellbutrin SR 150mg, once a day (I stumbled upon this when trying to quit smoking and it has kept the depression at a minimum), Ativan 1mg, up to 3 times per day (it is the safest benzodiazapine and remarkably the strongest in terms of quickness and duration of medication), and Seroquel 25mg at night (helps me sleep even though I'm in a lot of pain at night). I have been on Celexa, Paxil, Zoloft, Lexapro, Xanax, Valium, and different strengths of Seroquel.
kathy999
18 Jan 2010
Unfortunately, you are absolutely. What we have is just like diabetes, heart disease, liver disease, ect... only it is a chemical inbalance in a different organ system in our body... the brain. There is no cure... just medications to try correct the chemical imbalance and then medicines to relieve the symptoms. Aren't we lucky... I like what you are one. It sounds like a good combination. I too, suffer from severe chronic pain, but due to a previous addiction history I will not take anything stronger than Vicodin. I do take Klonipin as well as Prstiq. It helps some, but I still have the panic and contant worrying.
kathy99917 Oct 2009
I know that Zoloft works. One of its uses is actually listed as panic disorder. I wake up in a paniced condition every morning. Now I take a Klonipin and wait for it to work and it helps somewhat. Still I am constantly worrying and always have a feeling like something bad is about to happen. I did take Zoloft for a very short time, and it worked really well. Unfortunately, I could not handle the side effects and had to come off of them. Good luck
StephanieAlice
17 Oct 2009
Zoloft IS amazing, and I too had to stop taking it due to side effects :(
CHICCO
2 Nov 2009
Im like you. I havent taken any depressant medicine that ever helped. I have always been thinking like Kathy that something bad will happen. I'm on klonopin 1 mg. 2 times a day, but don't take them as prescribed. I take 1 at bed time if I cant sleep, maybe one half of one in the morning if I feel really nervous. I was put on loratab for back pain a few years back , do you no I hardly ever have the thoughts any more, that makes me think of unusual things. My doctor put me on Paxil a few years ago and I took one and I felt silly in my head, so that was the end of them. Then he put me on venlafaxine, started me out at 35 mg. 2 times a day then 75 mg. After I took them for about a month. So I took them for almost a month and nothing but a real bad upset stomach. So I quit taking those too. When I went back to my doctor he ask me how I was doing on them I told him I had stopped taking them.
teal4 Nov 2009
i also use klonopin for axiety.. at first i was put on a cple different anti depr. but they didnt work for my b/c my problem was not depression! id get bad headaches & no relief for the anxiety.. klonopin is also used for panic attacks, which im sure you know.. if your "mood" alters b/c your worried or nervious, maybe a little to much, about when/where will the next attack come.. an anti dep. might not be for you.. im NO doctor but just a little of my own trial & error! so hope it helps..
Psychmajor22 Nov 2009
anxiety and depression can happen on the same neurotransmiter pathways (seritonin, dopamine to an extent, norepinephrine (which no one has yet to successfully explain to me why Norepinephrin reuptake inhibitors help with anxiety since its alot like adrenaline... ), and for anxiety gaba[there is 1 more i think but i dont remember it... cortisol maybe?]) thats why antidepressants are perscribed but if your problem is on the gaba system then they wont have any effect
theoldhenoftn27
23 Jan 2010
I would like to say thank you to psychmajor for your comment and answers,I have found your info very helpful. keep up the good work!!
28 Nov 2009
I believe for some people they can work for my they havent. I have an agreement with my doctor we will try alternatives(i take up to 4mg of xanax a day for panic) but when its time to come down we slowly taper and i have had some success with a medication for bipolar called trileptal. I believe Panic disorder can be casued by many things I am working on the things that casuedmy panic and thats been helpfull,but the biggest is a doctor who believes that panic disorder is real and is willing to treat it with a medicine that is proven(xanax to work for it) and willing to try other things(ibelieve i have to give a little to) but says i am not going to pull the rug from underneath you. I am starting to feel normal again and function in society again. I was a successfull buisnessman and @%$@ happens and for months i was paralyed by panic attacks, driving to the hospital with what i thought was a brain anyuresum or heart attack. I have people who believe me.
10 Dec 2009
I take 20mg of lexapro daily. It helps me with my panic attacks. I do not take any other type of nerve pill or anything. Every person is different and it may take your doctor several trys to get you on an antidepressant that help. I took zoloft and paxil with no relief. I also started out on celexa which worked for a few years. Then my panic attacks came back. I have been on lexapro for almost 3 years with great results. Trial and error are the only ways you can really find the right med for you. Hope you get it lined out.
10 Dec 2009
I am in the same situation. I have been to so many doctors who prescribe me Paxil and then Effexor. Both which do not help at all. I have had panic attacks so severe that I have had to go to the emergency room several times a year for them.
Finally!! I have found a great psychiatrist who prescribed Klonopin. Which works wonders!!! I also have severe depression where I want to just sleep all day, even though my spirit wants to do so much more. She is going to be prescribing meWellbutrin. So we will see how that works out. Any way good luck on your journey to finding the right Psychiatrist. Seems like you need to change doctors. I find that female md's are more in tune with your medical condition.
420butter...31 Dec 2009
Because the two are so often linked, I think psychiatrists tend to treat them together or think one is caused by the other. Personally, I think if youre having anxiety only, taking antidepressants instead isnt a good idea. The side effects of the antidepressants, in my experience, tend to be pretty substantial... especially the sexual side effects, if noone has mentioned that to you yet!
I dont understand why theyd want to take you off Klonopin. Benzo's are excellent for anxiety... Klonopin being the longer releasing, slower effecting, less powerful... then you go into something like Xanax that's powerful and fast acting but fades quick, so it's better for panic attacks, not so good for generalized anxiety.
kathy999
29 Jan 2010
Unfortunately, due to the mass population that has obtained narcotics that did not need them and sold them to others, the DEA is cracking down on physicians so badly that they are hesitant to prescribe the medication anymore, whether the patient needs it or not. It is unfortunate, but the trend is leading to treat without narcotics. I have chronic pain due to three sources, and I had to beg for Vicodin twice a day. That could be why they want to take away the Klonipin. Thank goodness my Dr. knows me well and knows I really need. I am on medicare so I have to pay for myself because the government and some insurance companies will not pay for benzos.
drkathyday
25 Feb 2010
For those who do not want to take antidepressants or who do not get relief form them there are other options. Beta blockers, many of which are generic drugs and are inexpensive and safe to take, even in pregnancy, work very well. There are also cognitive adn behavioral therapies that are effective in panic disorder. Dr. Kathy Day
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I tip myn hat to u cause i cant do tha t elavil.& zoloft or paxil i wil not take.i have abad reaction to paxil besides they r not good anyway! why the drs keep perscribing them is beyond me! and think they r going to work for anxiety and rasing peoples dosage is the most absub thing i have ever seen! im a xanax or clonipin person myself.elevil makes me feel weird just not right.prozac i took long ago for a very short period of time.now im not on anything but i have an appoitment june 5th im not taking anything except for clonapin or xanx for my panic attacs.so far ms cotin has been keeping me calm.