Posted by MB on October 14, 2001, at 11:39:42
In reply to Re: GAD/Social anxiety----What works?? » MB, posted by Mitch on October 11, 2001, at 23:14:00
> Hi MB,
>
> Long time no hear.
Hey Mitch...I've been out of town for a while. At the suggestion of friends I went on a road trip to see some buddies. With the depression and anxiety, I didn't want to go, but once I got on the road, I felt better. Sometimes when I'm depressed, getting out is like going to the gym: I never want to do it, but once I'm done I feel better. Maybe that's why the anxiety has been better? For the first time in two years I went out and did something fun and enjoyed it like a normal person. The first few days were a struggle, but after a while it was like I forgot I was depressed. When I got back home I crashed hard depression-wise, but the anxiety never came back.
>I wonder if it is the *other* meds you are taking that could be preventing the panic, but making you drowsy, leading to your coffee consumption?
Well, right now I'm not on meds. I've made an appointment to go to the Amen Clinic in California in December. That's where they do the SPECT scans of the brain and then medicate based on the scan. I've heard both good things and bad things about the place. I'll give you guys a full report when I get back. If *they* can't find a med that doesn't actually make me feel worse, then I'm going to give up on psychopharmacology (at least until it evolves past the guinnea pig merry-go-round stage of its developement; I can't take trying one wrong med after another...worse than no meds).But I know what you mean about drinking more coffee on meds. When I take SSRIs, I need to drink about 6-7 shots of espresso/day to counter the fatigue and sleepiness. After a while the caffeine stops working. Now that I'm off Paxil, I'm down to 1-2 cups a day (and down from 180lbs to 158 lbs--yea!!). But guess what? You're right! When I was on Paxil, I drank enormous amounts of caffeine, but didn't have one panic attack!!
poster:MB
thread:80564
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20011007/msgs/81268.html