what to take for Anxiety?

[DanaW]

Hi everyone, Can any of you tell me if you have been prescribed anything for anxiety? I have been on Prozac for years which helps for depression but, I need to find something for this tension that I almost alway feel...I get real impatient too and feel stressed out easily.....thanks, Dana

[vm]

Of course, ask you doc about it :) , but I am on Lexapro, which is another SSRI, like Prozac. It helps me with both my depression and my anxiety. And it has actually been the missing piece in my IC puzzle. When I added it a few months ago I felt even better than I had been. I think the lessened anxiety has helped me a lot bladder-wise.

[DanaW]

I am thinking I might call my dr. to see if he will prescribe Lexapro. I tried it in the past but, didn't give it time to work...like I said, I am very impatient!! lmao Thanks for the advice

[songbird7]

My doctor prescribed Klonopin, it is a good long lasting med (I'm not a doctor), from my experience for anxiety and also relaxes my bladder. However, it is one of those meds that if you want to get off, you must do so slowly with doctor's supervision. I am on a low dose of this and for me it helps both anxiety and IC.
Hope this helps,
(((((( )))))
Songbird

[dminton]

A little bit of alprazolam works great for me on an "as-needed" basis.

[mayray518]

I took xanax for awhile and it worked for anxiety. Had no trouble going off it either; it is not addicting.

[vm]

Some people (not all) do become addicted to Xanax (alprazolam), so be careful if you have a history of drug dependence. :)

[ICNJess]

I love my Lexapro...ran out, but when I was taking it I felt so much better. And I med-sensitive but I didn't have any side effects!!!

Hugs and love,
Jess

[Dixiefireball]

i was taking lexipro it was very good medicine but i weaned my self off of it and only take Klonopins 1 mg now.

[queenbeemig]

Klonopin works wonders for my bladder and my anxiety/worry. I only use it on an as needed basis. So rare, in fact, my 30 pill rx from March is still 3/4 full!! It really takes the edge off and relaxes the muscles.

[photomom]

I took Ativan when I had A facial and nerve palsy this summer......... worked well and had no problems coming off of it 2 months later :)

[marsha24]

I have a depressive/anxiety disorder also. I take Effexor XR and have for about 5 years. Works wonders...I feel like a normal human being for the the first time in my life. If I am under extreme stress(like when I was battling for custody of my daughter with my ex), I took Ativan on an as needed basis due to my panic/anxiety attacks. All that was settled in Feb and I no longer need the Ativan. The Effexor I will be on all my life. It is also non-addicting..which is a good thing because I am a recovered drug addict of 4 1/2 yrs.

[liz2]

Neurontin, which helped my nerve ending pain, caused me to have anxiety attacks. A friend of mine had the same thing happen. Has anyone else experienced this?

[scootermom]

I took Ativan when I was having panic/anxiety attacks when I was being diagnosed with IC back in January, but I wanted to get off it quickly because it would really knock me out and make me barely functional during the day. I took it once more when I flew this September since I am afraid of flying and it worked wonders- I was very calm with it but I personally wouldn't use it on an everyday basis for me.

I take Paxil CR every day which has helped my anxiety hugely. This is a new formulation of Paxil which is supposed to have few side effects, unlike the original Paxil (I haven't experienced any).

[tcbc1989]

Liz, I am on Neuroting (for 7 months) and have not experienced what you described. I was taking 1200 mg, three tmes a day. I developed tunnel vision, extreme fatigue and blurred vision. I am slowly decreasing it and now I am down to 800mg 3 times a day. I drove my car for the first time yesterday!!! Good luck to you...Tina C. hi

[liz2]

I realize that Neurontin helps many people. I wish I could have stayed with it because of the nerve ending pain relief. I also have an irritated nerve in my neck from lymph gland surgery. The Neurontin helped that nerve as well as my bladder. It was a low dose--100 mg 2 to 3 times daily that gave me the anxiety attacks. I hate to think what would have happened in my case with a higher dose.

My body does weird things with medications, so please consider my reaction unusual.

Thanks for the response.

[rita45]

Does anyone have any comments on effexor and the bladder. I am on 25mg zoloft and klonipin 2mg 4x a day. I get diahrea on it but I have bad panic and anxiety attacks.

I also take trazodone with 2 of the klonopin and I can't sleep and am always is a state of fear. They took me off xanax.
Do you think if I cut down the dose the diahhrea (spelling) would let up as this does really help me.

Even the zolof seems to give me the runs at high doses. I have only been taking the klonipin for about 2 weeks.

I see my doc on wed so I will ask him. Thanks for listening.
Rita

[Mel53H]

Sometimes I take Antivan for anxiety. It seems to help me with my breathing too. It does not make you too sleepy either.

[shennan]

effexor does give some people withdrawls symptoms.
i had a hard time coming off of it.
you have to slowly come off of it. talk to your doctor...
i think it has a short-half life, which means it goes out of your system very fast. prozac, i think, stays in the systems longer...

article about effexor:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,140660,00.html

i took effexor for 1 1/2 years. it elevated my blood pressure so i had to take toprol. it also gave me a terrible headache at first, but then it just became a dull ache. it worked for me for that time-frame.

recently, i tried it again, but i do not want to take toprol for my blood pressure. could not deal with the headache and all these other pains from the bug men in my body poking and jabbing at me inside.

my uro gave me a script for cymbalta, today.

not even sure if i want to take it.

i take klonopin for anxiety and it relaxes me and my bladder.
http://www.ichelp.org/TreatmentAndSelfHelp/OralMedsForIC.html -- go to the bottom of this web site. it mentions klonopin...

you should always ask you doctor and then review the medicine with your mom/dad, husband, or close family member. then you can decide.

i take valium and it relaxes me and takes away some of the muscle spasms.

please always consult your uro/doc.

good luck!!
shenna :)
sometimes :loco: from ic and all the other pain bugs that tag along...
my uro referred me to a pain mgmt spec today.
we don't want the med men coming to take us to sing-sing. lol...

[Tialove]

I started taking buspar slowly and i am on 15 mg three times a day. I used have anxiety attacks where i had trouble breathing. I like it and my anxiety seems to be a lot better.

[mom_in_ma]

Paxil. Love it. Occationally alprazolam (xanax) but that is mostly for occational bladder spasms. I've found that 1/2 a tablet works great. A full tablet puts me to sleep within 10 minutes!

[MakinIT]

Oh boy...just the word effexor makes me sick. I had a horrible time coming off of it. I had to b/c I was dx with type II diabetes before my IC and HAD to lose wieght. I did everything. I was one buff and in shape 230 pounder. It took me literally 9 months to get off the stuff, then I lost the wieght...(I started immediately having migraines daily, like my eyes had a red coloring around the socket I felt like my head was on fire) docs gave me usual rescue drugs, but also had me try Topamax. I had been losing wieght but when I started Topamax, I got down to 145 in about 6 months. I can just remember driving home trying to come off effexor ( and yes we were doing it very slowly, halving the doses) and having to stop to get sick. It was awful.

That being said, if you choose Effexor and decide to stick with it for life Please don't miss a dose or you will get sick. (Well, most folks do...I called 'em brain jumps, I'd stop walking but my brain would smash into the front of my skull causing my entire body to tingle and feel gross)

I now take well butrin :rolleyes: for depression and valium for tension and bladder spasms. I don't do as well as you ladies with the control over my valium usage, but my bladder spasms are nasty. (DuH) and to be honest, I just want to go to sleep often and be out of pain. Yes, I take other much stronger pain relievers (morphine daily, percocet as needed....but the perc is used seldom...except when I mess myself up trying to cath myself...GRRRRR :toilet: ) I also take Zonegran which is simalar to Topamax but doesn't make you as stupid. (Topamax lowers your IQ by about 10 point for every 50 mgs you take! :mad:

It's late...or early for you east coast folks..gotta get some zzzz's

nighty night.

[Ginny Doll]

I use the old tried and true amitriptiline ( Pamelor) with neurontin. I take 2 doses a day. Morning and night. My anxiety is gone. I had burning with Lexapro and Effexor so gave this a shot. It worked very fast. Plus it is a generic so not that expensive. Hoping you find just the right solution. I am in a 98 per cent remission since adding the Pamelor. Hugs to all! Carolyn