JennFiction
Well-known member
Have you considered that you might be manic? Have you had your lithium levels tested?
Jen
Jen
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Considering Manic Symptoms? Test Lithium Levels
- Thread starter JennFiction
- Start date
Ok--I rarely poist replies to posts that remeind me of myself a few years ago!---But listen--i was there--i tried EVERY med there is--they were all useless and the side effects were INTOLERABLE----I decided that it was going to have to be me alone against the anxiety--NO meds--So here i am 7 years later-still twitching but thats it--no other side effects--and i do exercise ,yoga, eat right--and one day this twitching WILL stop---Anxiety is a huge monster to beat but you can tame it on your own--calm down and give it a try!!
marie clare
marie clare
I guess I was living in wonderland hoping the meds might help you. Like Marie Clare, I couldn't tolerate any SSRIs. The only thing I've really heard is that it can take a few weeks to get used to them before they start working, and sometimes the side effects can be really nasty until your body adjusts.
Talk to your doctor and see if he can refer you to someone who might be able to help you through the first 'rough' weeks on the Lexapro. Maybe your therapist can schedule daily 10 minute phone calls with you just for a couple weeks. My doctor had also suggested Effexor as a pretty tolerable SSRI, but I have yet to try it. Thankfully I don't need any meds now--like Marie Clare said, I'm taming the anxiety beast on my own. Once you recognize anxiety for what it is and you KNOW it won't kill you--you can start controlling it.
Geez, it's really a dilemma. I hope other folks on this board will have some positive stories about the SSRIs and be able to offer you advice for how to cope until the side effects subside.
If you're not up for riding out the Lexapro...then I'm with Marie Clare. Tackle the anxiety without the SSRIs. Stick with your therapist and get some good cognitive behavioral therapy. If there are other causes for your moods, be sure to have that investigated as well, like Jenn suggested.
I don't know what kind of therapist you have, but if you can find a true psychiatrist, they might be able to help you work though specific medication dosages. I had seen a psychiatrist once who talked about how he had a patient who, like me, couldn't tolerate SSRIs. He ended up ordering her the pediatric prescription which comes in liquid form. From there, she started on the smallest diluted dose possible, and very slowly worked her way up to the normal adult dose--then switched to the pills. It took a while, but she was able to do it with very little side effects. That might be an option for you. Like I said, I hope others here will have some 'light at the end of the tunnel' stories about SSRIs.
Take care--and just take it easy these next couple weeks. Don't expect to do too much....just relax as best you can and let your body adjust.
Amy
Hope you feel better soon!
Amy
Talk to your doctor and see if he can refer you to someone who might be able to help you through the first 'rough' weeks on the Lexapro. Maybe your therapist can schedule daily 10 minute phone calls with you just for a couple weeks. My doctor had also suggested Effexor as a pretty tolerable SSRI, but I have yet to try it. Thankfully I don't need any meds now--like Marie Clare said, I'm taming the anxiety beast on my own. Once you recognize anxiety for what it is and you KNOW it won't kill you--you can start controlling it.
Geez, it's really a dilemma. I hope other folks on this board will have some positive stories about the SSRIs and be able to offer you advice for how to cope until the side effects subside.
If you're not up for riding out the Lexapro...then I'm with Marie Clare. Tackle the anxiety without the SSRIs. Stick with your therapist and get some good cognitive behavioral therapy. If there are other causes for your moods, be sure to have that investigated as well, like Jenn suggested.
I don't know what kind of therapist you have, but if you can find a true psychiatrist, they might be able to help you work though specific medication dosages. I had seen a psychiatrist once who talked about how he had a patient who, like me, couldn't tolerate SSRIs. He ended up ordering her the pediatric prescription which comes in liquid form. From there, she started on the smallest diluted dose possible, and very slowly worked her way up to the normal adult dose--then switched to the pills. It took a while, but she was able to do it with very little side effects. That might be an option for you. Like I said, I hope others here will have some 'light at the end of the tunnel' stories about SSRIs.
Take care--and just take it easy these next couple weeks. Don't expect to do too much....just relax as best you can and let your body adjust.
Amy
Hope you feel better soon!
Amy
alyLeoNCali
Well-known member
Karen:
It's completely up to you whether to "stick it out" for 7-10 days on Lexapro, to get past the unpleasant side effects.
I was lucky with Zoloft. Due to my brand-new BFS symptoms and resultant anxiety, I was ALREADY edgy, shaky, jumpy, and sleepless, so I couldn't definitively blame the side effects on a . But honestly, after maybe 1.5 weeks, 2 weeks tops, I got past all the unpleasant side effects. I don't know whether the Zoloft is HELPING me, but at a $20 copay per month, I figure it isn't hurting. I welcome any lessening of anxiety.
You said you've had bad effects from all SSRI's. Don't judge them on the first few days, because for many of us, those first days really are horrible. And so are the first few days when/if you wean yourself off. But I'm not going to think about that right now!
Good luck, either way.
--alyLeoNCali
It's completely up to you whether to "stick it out" for 7-10 days on Lexapro, to get past the unpleasant side effects.
I was lucky with Zoloft. Due to my brand-new BFS symptoms and resultant anxiety, I was ALREADY edgy, shaky, jumpy, and sleepless, so I couldn't definitively blame the side effects on a . But honestly, after maybe 1.5 weeks, 2 weeks tops, I got past all the unpleasant side effects. I don't know whether the Zoloft is HELPING me, but at a $20 copay per month, I figure it isn't hurting. I welcome any lessening of anxiety.
You said you've had bad effects from all SSRI's. Don't judge them on the first few days, because for many of us, those first days really are horrible. And so are the first few days when/if you wean yourself off. But I'm not going to think about that right now!
Good luck, either way.
--alyLeoNCali
alyLeoNCali
Well-known member
...couldn't definitively blame the side effects on a D R U_G. (Got filtered!)
One small dose of an SSRI almost sent me to the nut house. My symptoms multiplied to the point where I couldn't feel my feet, was violently twitching and shaking, had no muscle strength at all etc etc. I decided no more meds for me. I also feel - why treat a benign condition w/something that could have consequences for me in the future. Of course, a lot of people have no quality of life w/out the drugs so you have to take that into consideration as well.
starginger
Member
I posted previously about my GP and how he recommended I see a hypnotist. He lost a child and was at wits end stress wise and he said the hypnoist helped a great deal. I haven't called yet and was still somewhat skeptical, but I read an article in this week's edition of Newsweek magazine that had some interesting things to say about hyptonism. I think I'm going to give it a try because I don't want to be on Xanax for the rest of my life. The hyptonist he recommended is also a psychologist. I don't think I would try hyptonism alone without therapy.
Jerry
Jerry
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