Help Tomorrow I have an appointment for a 2nd opinion on antidepressive/anti-anxiety medicine or other treatment, what to say?

[KillingPain267]

Background:

My mental illnesses by order of severity:

I have depression: every day either I cry about my past better life or I am bored to death (no pun intended) and only think ctb is the solution because I'm just tired
I have general anxiety: I overthink, can't fall asleep, freak out about possible futures
I have social anxiety: I can barely pick up a phone without my heart racing, and meeting a new person, even just a therapist I overthink for days before and after the appointment
I have mild OCD: I wipe things many times, avoid touching public things, and when I do, I have twitchings and feel agitates

I tried Sertraline and Agomelatine. Neither worked.

My question is, if I tell them all this apart from ctb plans, what medication else could they give me? I am hoping for something against anxiety especially and extreme melancholic emotions so I can just cope the rest of my useless life. But what should I say for them to give that? I don't want to sound like a drug seeker, even though I have had addiction issues. But I don't actually want something addictive like benzos and get trapped with that shit.

This appointment is my last hope for recovery. If whatever they give doesn't work, well that's that. I just can't anymore. I feel abandoned by the medical industry anyway.

 

[ferrie]

There are tons of different medications for anxiety and depression. Benzos are pretty extreme, and it's doubtful that they would prescribe them after only two other medications. I've personally been on 7 different antidepressants and have still never had a doctor bring up benzos for anxiety. What medications will work for you is really dependent on your biology, so I can't recommend specific medications. There are antidepressants that work better with anxiety though. I'm personally currently on Pristiq which is a SNRI because I have GAD, severe social anxiety, & suspected Pure O OCD (which I don't necessarily agree with, but that's irrelevant) on top of treatment resistant depression. My psych mostly lets me choose my medications but strongly recommended a SNRI for anxiety. There are also medications for acute anxiety which can be especially helpful if you have panic attacks. I took hydroxyzine as needed and found it helpful. There are so many different medications though that it may take some work to find the right one, but going through two that didn't work is a really common experience

 

[KillingPain267]

There are tons of different medications for anxiety and depression. Benzos are pretty extreme, and it's doubtful that they would prescribe them after only two other medications. I've personally been on 7 different antidepressants and have still never had a doctor bring up benzos for anxiety. What medications will work for you is really dependent on your biology, so I can't recommend specific medications. There are antidepressants that work better with anxiety though. I'm personally currently on Pristiq which is a SNRI because I have GAD, severe social anxiety, & suspected Pure O OCD (which I don't necessarily agree with, but that's irrelevant) on top of treatment resistant depression. My psych mostly lets me choose my medications but strongly recommended a SNRI for anxiety. There are also medications for acute anxiety which can be especially helpful if you have panic attacks. I took hydroxyzine as needed and found it helpful. There are so many different medications though that it may take some work to find the right one, but going through two that didn't work is a really common experience

Very informative. Now I just need to resist the urge to hang myself before the appointment tomorrow and hear what they offer of new meds. It's good to hear that benzos are not the only option for GAD and extreme social anxiety.

 

[lost_ange1]

Well I would say just tell them what you're struggling with the most and what you would like to ease with medication. Just be open about it, tell them about the meds you already took and that they didn't help and that you are searching for something that will actually help you and decrease your mental problems/ symptoms.

In general there are so many different antidepressants or mentel health meds from different companies and based on different stuff out there, it's really hard to tell you take a certain one. I think a good doctor will be able to find the right medication for you.

 

[ferrie]

Very informative. Now I just need to resist the urge to hang myself before the appointment tomorrow and hear what they offer of new meds. It's good to hear that benzos are not the only option for GAD and extreme social anxiety.

I hope your appointment goes well. There are a lot of different options, so telling them what symptoms are the hardest to manage & how you felt on the other meds will help find the best fit for you

 

[KillingPain267]

I hope your appointment goes well. There are a lot of different options, so telling them what symptoms are the hardest to manage & how you felt on the other meds will help find the best fit for you

The appointment went well. I will end up getting Duloxetine in a few days. So also an SNRI, and hopefully does something for my social anxiety apart from just the depression. Worried about side effects though. I cannot take anymore problems in life.

 

[Praestat_Mori]

The appointment went well. I will end up getting Duloxetine in a few days. So also an SNRI, and hopefully does something for my social anxiety apart from just the depression. Worried about side effects though. I cannot take anymore problems in life.

Good luck I hope it works for you this time and you start the recovery path!

 

[KillingPain267]

Good luck I hope it works for you this time and you start the recovery path!

At best I can ask meto from the doctor and save it for possible SN later, since Duloxetine is said to give nausea as a side effect in the beginning.

 

[ferrie]

The appointment went well. I will end up getting Duloxetine in a few days. So also an SNRI, and hopefully does something for my social anxiety apart from just the depression. Worried about side effects though. I cannot take anymore problems in life.

Duloxetine was one of the options I was offered, and my psych said she's seen a lot of success with it for anxiety and OCD. Did your doctor go over what the possible side effects are with you? My mom was on Cymbalta for awhile for fibromyalgia, and it help her anxiety a lot too. It made her feel more angry, but she didn't have any physical side effects from it

 

[KillingPain267]

Duloxetine was one of the options I was offered, and my psych said she's seen a lot of success with it for anxiety and OCD. Did your doctor go over what the possible side effects are with you? My mom was on Cymbalta for awhile for fibromyalgia, and it help her anxiety a lot too. It made her feel more angry, but she didn't have any physical side effects from it

Yes, she did mention side effects, and said they were similar to Sertraline which I tried a year ago. I only had lots of yawning as side effects from that. I hope I don't feel more angry like your mom on this stuff, but that it helps with anxiety.

 

[KillingPain267]

Duloxetine was one of the options I was offered, and my psych said she's seen a lot of success with it for anxiety and OCD. Did your doctor go over what the possible side effects are with you? My mom was on Cymbalta for awhile for fibromyalgia, and it help her anxiety a lot too. It made her feel more angry, but she didn't have any physical side effects from it

Damn! First pill, and I woke up feeling like a panic attack, arms and chest feel both flushed with ice and full speed anxiety. Is this normal? They say first two weeks has side effects, but if this is what I need to endure even 3 days more, I'm going to hang myself brutally. What should I do? Just stop taking it and call the doctor?

 

[ferrie]

Damn! First pill, and I woke up feeling like a panic attack, arms and chest feel both flushed with ice and full speed anxiety. Is this normal? They say first two weeks has side effects, but if this is what I need to endure even 3 days more, I'm going to hang myself brutally. What should I do? Just stop taking it and call the doctor?

Panic attacks can be one of the less common side effects. Definitely call your doctor bc it might not be one that goes away since duloxetine can increase agitation. Make sure you're firm that this isn't a side effect you can tolerate & you can't wait the couple weeks to see if it goes away. There are meds with less side effects that they can have you try instead

 

[Mirrory Me]

This appointment is my last hope for recovery. If whatever they give doesn't work, well that's that. I just can't anymore. I feel abandoned by the medical industry anyway.

I personally work every day to write down things that I would like to take care of and try out (for example. this year I have spent lots of time thinking about my home decorations and layout of my workspace).

I got this idea from the book "Artist Way" by Julian Cameron, which suggested writing approximately 3 pages of free-form of text every day, so people stay on the map every day on how they should act.

They get clarity and ideas for projects and other arrangements. In addition to that, it is quite likely that you will also be able to manifest these envisioned possibilities in your life (For real. You can call it god, creator, the universe- it will respond to you back).

It can be a rather boring task for a beginner, but it usually takes about 60 days to adopt a new habit permanently (or it may depend on how excited you are about the thing). I also tend to smoke pot daily so I won't be bored that often (it gives me vision and lots of inspiration).

Anyway, I hope this helps. Life can be quite uncertain and trying hard at times.

 

[KillingPain267]

Panic attacks can be one of the less common side effects. Definitely call your doctor bc it might not be one that goes away since duloxetine can increase agitation. Make sure you're firm that this isn't a side effect you can tolerate & you can't wait the couple weeks to see if it goes away. There are meds with less side effects that they can have you try instead

Okay, thank you for the advice. I'm definitely calling the doctor first thing in the morning. Do you think I should not take the second pill then until I talk to her?

 

[ferrie]

Okay, thank you for the advice. I'm definitely calling the doctor first thing in the morning. Do you think I should not take the second pill then until I talk to her?

Do you think you could handle it if taking the second pill causes another anxiety attack? It'll be good to have more data for the doctor if the effect is repeated & they'll be more likely to listen to you. It's not worth it if it'll stress you out too much though

 

[KillingPain267]

Do you think you could handle it if taking the second pill causes another anxiety attack? It'll be good to have more data for the doctor if the effect is repeated & they'll be more likely to listen to you. It's not worth it if it'll stress you out too much though

If I wake up again like I did with anxiety attack I wouldn't even be able to go see the doctor 30 minutes away, lol.

 

[ferrie]

If I wake up again like I did with anxiety attack I wouldn't even be able to go see the doctor 30 minutes away, lol.

Definitely don't take the second pill then. Just be prepared for your doctor trying to convince you to stay on it to see if the side effects will go away, but be firm that you can't live like that and want to try a different option. Pristiq is generally the SNRI that has the least side effects from what my psych said, so yours may try you on that or she may go for a completely different drug class. If they offer you Effexor (venlafaxine) ask for Pristiq (desvenlafaxine) instead. Pristiq is newer & has less side effects. I would also refuse bupropion if they offer it to you. It works for some people, but it can make anxiety & OCD worse

 

[KillingPain267]

Do you think you could handle it if taking the second pill causes another anxiety attack? It'll be good to have more data for the doctor if the effect is repeated & they'll be more likely to listen to you. It's not worth it if it'll stress you out too much though

Definitely don't take the second pill then. Just be prepared for your doctor trying to convince you to stay on it to see if the side effects will go away, but be firm that you can't live like that and want to try a different option. Pristiq is generally the SNRI that has the least side effects from what my psych said, so yours may try you on that or she may go for a completely different drug class. If they offer you Effexor (venlafaxine) ask for Pristiq (desvenlafaxine) instead. Pristiq is newer & has less side effects. I would also refuse bupropion if they offer it to you. It works for some people, but it can make anxiety & OCD worse

Hi again. I got my doctor to agree to prescribe low dose Quetiapine like I had temporarily a month ago even though it was just symptom treatment. It seemed to have helped a bit, at least better than nothing and DEFINITELY better compared to the TORTURE of yesterday's Duloxetine initiation trip! I will talk to her in a month again to lay down another plan. She did not offer a range of SNRI brands (doctors here in my country don't usually give many choices to go home and research before choosing) and we don't have desvenlafaxine at all and Bupropion is only given to people who wanna stop smoking cigarettes. Maybe I will try venlafaxine in a month, who knows. Question: But what are the differences? Aren't they all SNRI's and technically should give me the same agitative serotonin flush? I honestly doubt all depressions are even caused by the same neurotransmittal pathway in all patients the same, just like some are chill from weed and others have a bad trip. I tried both weed and LSD a few times and they made me panic almost the same as the Duloxetine.

 

[ferrie]

Oh I'm on quetiapine too! Glad you have that's even the slightest bit helpful in the meantime. To answer your questions, not every medication in the same drug class will give the same reaction because their chemical formulas are different. They all act on serotonin & norepinephrine, but their ingredients are different. That's why there's so many different kinds of antidepressants

 

[KillingPain267]

Oh I'm on quetiapine too! Glad you have that's even the slightest bit helpful in the meantime. To answer your questions, not every medication in the same drug class will give the same reaction because their chemical formulas are different. They all act on serotonin & norepinephrine, but their ingredients are different. That's why there's so many different kinds of antidepressants

Okay, I think I've looked at it too simplistically and broadly then. Thank you, by the way. Your answers were very reassuring and helpful while I was freaking out in panic yesterday.

 

[ferrie]

Okay, I think I've looked at it too simplistically and broadly then. Thank you, by the way. Your answers were very reassuring and helpful while I was freaking out in panic yesterday.

I'm glad I was able to help!! I hope you're able to find the right balance of meds to help you