Posted by superman on April 21, 2005, at 7:49:22
Wow I think this psycho-babble thing is a wonderful resource. Got to be one of the best sources of anecdotal drug information on the net. Also seems like a good place to get some support, and to seek and share knowledge. Kudos to Dr.Bob for setting this up.
I'm not sure how many people use this thing, but I'm planning on taking advantage of it, so just wanted to say hello to all that I might get to know.
Now, for my first post I'll just ramble on about my problems and experiences (to save some reading: atypical depression, social anxiety. celexa, effexor, trazodone, buspirone - all failed).
Anyway, also looking for any other newbies out there who want to share their experiences with social anxiety or atypical depression (or any symptoms associated with these). Also, tell us about any meds you've tried that worked or didn't work, or any meds you want to try.
My Situation:
My dx of social anxiety is pretty clear. I also have a lot of atypical depression symptoms. My biggest problem I would say is the constant sadness and weariness I experience, which leads to dysthymic thought and obsession, breaking commitments, guilt, self-medication through sleep, eating, and sex, and low-self esteem (from over-eating, being lazy, and so on). These things usually unfold in this order (i.e. sadness leads to thought/self-medicating, which leads to breaking comittments (school,etc.), which leads to guilt/low-self-esteem, and the cycle continues). I can never get enough sleep (14hrs/night average), nor enough carbohydrates. Nor can I stop thinking sometimes.
I'm afraid my doc doesn't know enough about pyschiatric problems... So far I've been on Celexa, Effexor, Trazodone, and Buspirone. I feel like they may have done what they were suppose to, but didn't help me with the symptoms that are problems for me. Each of these probably had some very mild mood-brightening effects, but nothing to overcome the state I'm in. Trazodone is useful for giving me some control over when I want to sleep (but I sleep waaay to much anyway, so it may have even been counter-productive). Celexa had very few side-effects, except for a long-lasting head-ache when I stopped staking it. Effexor was the worst out of all of them, although that may be biased since I took it during a particularily dark period in my life. I experienced nausea while on effexor that never went away, I this certainly had a impact on my quality of life. And of course when I quit taking effexor, the withrawl was horrible. Buspirone may have toned down the amount of anxiety I experienced in social situation, but not enough to make a difference, and I don't think this is a particualrily useful drug for the atypical depression symtoms anyway.
I'm actually really desperate here. I don't have much to live for except for the hope that I'll be able to alter my brain chemistry with the right drug. I think it's time I try a MAOI... parnate or nardil. I know nardil seems to have the best record for treating Socialy Anxiety, but I'm scared of some of the side-effects (weight gain-> already have low self-esteem, and a few others). I'm also going to try some clonazepam which I've just got my hands on, although I'm not sure how I should use it ("as needed", or daily dosage, or what) and I'm scared it will be too sedating.
I've kind of rambled here, but this was good for myself to vent if nothing else. I wish I could find a knowledgeable doctor to discuss this stuff with (my doctor thinks in terms of depression?-take prozac. anxiety?-take buspirone. whats social anxiety?). I don't blame him though. Damn natural selection for allowing people to feel like this! I wish we could all just be happy. Goodluck to all.
-superman (i wish i was)
poster:superman
thread:487361
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/newbs/20041227/msgs/487361.html