depression medication makeing anxiety worse

Hello, I've been on antidepressants for about ten years and also for most of that time in long-term therapy. I haven't used any of the meds you listed, so I can't comment on them. In the very beginning, I took prozac and then moved on to paxxil. For the last year I have been taking efexor. For the first year or two, when I was starting out with both the meds and therapy, I used xannax when I needed it--feeling quite anxious. Eventually, I was able to discontinue needing it--even when I was facing very anxiety-producing situations. Still, it was nice to know it was available should I need it. I had one panic attack when my psychiatrist was switching me from one med to another. It was another med she was trying to start me on--not the paxxil or prozac. I called her right away and she told me to stop it immediately and to resume taking what I had been using before. I also had one panic attack related to something that was going on in my life. I was able to call my therapist who suggested taking the xannax. That brought relief. In therapy, I learned the basic principles of cognitive therapy. This method involves challenging the anxious/depressive thoughts with alternatives. It is possible that learning this method could aid in reducing the anxious thoughts you are having. The theory is that the anxious thoughts produce the anxious feelings which produce more anxious thoughts which produce more anxious feelings, etc. Finding alternative possibilities to these troubling thoughts breaks the back-and-forth cycle. Once positive thoughts occur, positive feelings follow and one's mood improves. Relaxation is something I've also done. I had a friend who told me that relaxation just made her more anxious, because when she was relaxed, all the anxious thoughts would come up. There is always an exception to every rule. So, although relaxation generally is calming, perhaps it doesn't work for you, just like it didn't work for my friend. Is this a possibility? Also, for it to really work, one has to relax for about 15 minutes. Are you doing this long enough for it to be effective? It is true that these meds affect the brain. Some people don't respond well to them, although most people can take them safely and without side effects. It's helpful to have a doctor who is open-minded about these kinds of medications. I have read that sometimes combining meds can help, whereas each med by itself doesn't produce the desired effect. Although this isn't done often, it might be the solution. The only other thing that might be contributing to your reaction is the fact that depression often "masks" the anxiety. Once the depression lifts, the underlying anxiety becomes more dominant. As long as the depression is felt, the anxiety isn't noticeable. Once yu start to get relief from the depression, then you notice the anxiety more--feel it more. Do you think this is possible? This is where cognitive therapy can help. I have had this kind of thing and learning to respond to my depressive/anxious mood has helped. There are a lot of self-help books which teach the basics of cognitive therapy. Personally, I found having the help of a therapist very beneficial in the early stages when I was learning the method. I hope this helps and that you'll write again. The women in this community are really great--very supportive. Tziporah

Hi Everyone, It seems to me, from reading what everyone has said here, the same meds react differently for different people. For example, Karen said she prefers prozac--for me it didn't do much of anything, which is why my psych.doc put me on paxxil. Then, someone else here said that paxxil almost killed her, and for me it worked very well for many years. The only reason my new doctor put me on efexor last summer was because the paxxil didn't seem to be helping anymore and she thought efexor would have a more powerful effect. I was starting to get deeply depressed again and she felt this new med could short circuit that. A lot of things have happened since last summer--things that would make any normal human being upset--and yet I've been able to remain okay most of the time. So I guess the doc was right. The question of classes of medications: It is true that different meds are used for different things. i.e. buspar is for anxiety, and prozac is used for depression. However, I've also read that some of the newer ssri class of meds target both anxiety and depression because both conditions involve changes in the same neurotransmitters. So the doctor prescribes a particular med that will work on both of these things--that is what my doctors have done. You can see this by reading the insert paper in the medication package under the item: "therapeutic effects", which tells you what conditions the medication is meant to target. Basically, the reactions of the meds and the reasons for the anxiety and the depression, and for which one of the two is dominant, are so individual, it is impossible to use any of our experiences as more than annecdotes. I think this comes through from our messages. If you've been with the same doc for awhile and feel he/she is not helping you adequately, or that all the attempts have failed, you might ask the doc to have a consultation with another physician. Or, you yourself could go to another doctor, not one connected with your treatment, on your own and ask that individual to study your file. A new face may see something an old familiar face is overlooking, or might think ofsomething not tried as yet. It's very acceptable in the medical world to make such requests, so there is no reason to hesitate. As Jack Goreman says in his book, "If your doctor isn't open to a second opinion or a consultation, find another doctor." I agree. Finally, I agree with Karen about therapy. It has really helped me quite a lot. If you haven't tried that option yet, and can obtain it, that may be the missing link--the difference between failure and success. I would encourage you to explore the therapy option. Your doctor should be able to recommend therapists. Tziporah

Hi, I agree. I think people were more optimistic in the past. In her book, Reviving Ophelia, Mary Pfeifer compares what it was like growing up in the 1950s-1960s to what it was like in the 1990s--when this book was written. Things weren't ideal: there was bigotry and prejudice, but there was more freedom to move around safely. There was more innocence. Much less outright violence on TV and in the music. More community and family togetherness. I was born in the fifties and felt the sixties and seventies was a very idealistic time. The teens I see today seem much more materialistic. We were more spiritual and idealistic. I assume you were around during the Depression and WWII. My parents were growing up then and they rarely talk about it. So it was interesting to hear what you had to say about it. Remembering TV and songs from the early and mid-sixties, the content was definitely more joyful. I think it started to change in the seventies. People started to be more open about everything. In some ways that has been good--less bigotry. But it has led to more depression and anxiety. I went out to eat with my husband the other day. The music was so fast-paced and loud, I couldn't even relax enough to eat and had a headache by the time lunch was over. Yesterday we ate out again--this time there was no music on in the restaurant at all. Another restaurant--not the same one we ate at previously. Such a pleasure. I think the loud music, etc. reflects the unsettled and anxious state and depressed mood the general population seem to be in. Brodcast some joy and inspiration. I agree. Tziporah

You can't imagine eating in them? Well, sometimes you have no choice when they don't have take-out. Anyway, you can't imagine eating in them? I can't imagine WORKING in them! Ditto for those huge malls. I can't imagine being cooped up in some of those stores, like clothing stores, for ten hours at a time, working in places like that. Get very claustraphobic in them--not that I have to get out immediately, just feel like I'[m being squeezed in and want relief. Ditto for some of those open spaces in the malls where different music can be coming from several stores at one time, with those loud echoy open spaces, and tons of noise. How can people work in them, I don't know either. Ditto for loud parties with loud music where you can't even carry on a decent conversation with the person next to you, let alone anyone else. Avoid them unless it's absolutely necessary that I attend. Maybe that's why the waiters retreat to the kitchen--to get some relief. lol. Tziporah