Help...major anxiety...

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Help...major anxiety...
3
Mon, 11-08-2004 - 1:45pm
Hello everyone,

I am going through such a hard time right now and just found this board. I am really hoping someone out there might have some advice for me, because I have been to so many doctors and talked to so many friends, etc. - and nothing seems to be helping.

My background: I have always been a pretty stable person - no major depression or anxiety to speak of. One instance in college during a particularly stressful time, but it resolved eventually and I went on leading a normal, happy life. After I had my first baby, I had a pretty bad case of "baby blues" - maybe it was more like PPD, I don't know. I had major anxiety, depression, and physical symptoms - shaky, nauseous, couldn't sleep, etc. It went away after about a month with no medication. Then I was fine again until my second baby was born. Same thing happened, but this time it didn't go away after a month so I ended up taking 50mg of Zoloft which worked like a charm. I felt so much better. I took it for about 8 months, weaned off slowly, and felt great. That was about 6 months ago.

Then all of a sudden, about a month ago, I started having anxiety again. Mild at first - just worrying about things. Then the physical symptoms started in - feeling shaky, nauseous, can't eat, can't sleep. My doctor thought it was maybe due to weaning the baby, so another hormonal episode. I started taking the Zoloft again and started feeling better after a couple of weeks. Felt really good for two weeks. Then all of a sudden, last week - the anxiety was back - even while on Zoloft! My doctor thinks maybe 50 mg is not enough, but I don't know because it worked great before. Plus I can't take 100 mg because it makes me very sick.

I am so at the end of my rope. I can't go on feeling like this. I am so sick and weak. So overwhelmed by everything. I have two little kids to take care of and am lucky to have family around to help. But I can tell they are starting to get frustrated. They don't understand why this is happening and why I'm not getting better. And neither do I. I don't know why this is happening to me! Is this just going to go on and on? Will I get better? Is this still some weird kind of hormonal thing? Will it happen again? Will this be something I sufer with my whole life? It can't happen again...I just cannot go through this again. These are the questions that are haunting me.

I just feel like screaming "Somebody, please help me!!!" And it's not like no one has tried. I have been to see my midwife, psychiatrist, even a Chinese medicine doctor. Nothing is working. My shrink wants me to switch to Lexapro, but I don't know what to do. I'm so afraid of having side effects on that too. For me the side effects on the higher dosage of Zoloft were as bad or worse as the anxiety itself. It gave me more anxiety, nausea, insomnia, etc!

Wow, this is a long post. Sorry to go on and on. If anyone actually made it to the end of this message - I appreciate you're taking the time to try and help!

TIA...

- Adrienne

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-07-2003
Mon, 11-08-2004 - 2:03pm

Adrienne,


Welcome to the board.

iVillage Member
Registered: 11-01-2004
Mon, 11-08-2004 - 2:26pm
Adrienne,

I am in kind of a simular situation. I am pregnant with my first child, I just got married, and my mother previousily disowned me for the third time. (That was a very long story made short!) Not to mention that I am only 18. About the lexapro, that's what I am taking right now. I've been on every other kind of depression pill you could ever think of but this one has made me feel alot better than what I was feeling. The only bad side effect that I am getting is weight gain. (Even though I am pregnant, I am gaining to much than the recommended weight,) I often find myself wondering if I will ever get better and why is this happening to me. The best advice I can give to you is to hang in there. Trust me, I know that's easier said then done! But sometimes you have to make yourself look at all the positive things around you. That's the only thing that's keeping me around right now. I know that I have a loving husband who cares for me deeply, and a baby that is on the way; a little one that will love me no matter what... I'm not for sure if I helped you any but I just want you to know that you are not the only one who is having these wild variety of emotions. Hang in there!

Things can only go down so Far until they have to come back up.....

*Fighting for a Reason..

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-03-2004
Mon, 11-08-2004 - 4:33pm
Hi there,

First, I just want to just give you a hug. I have had major anxiety, panic and depression for a year. I think I am finally getting better. I have had five days where I feel normal again. This morning I woke up without anxiety and couldn't believe it. I had tried about every single anti depressant there is to try. Prozac was the one that kept me stable for years and years. It quit working. Finally, about two weeks ago I started on Effexor xr. I was so reluctant to do that, another drug...... in the meantime, my pulserate kept getting real high for a while, as well as my blood pressure, from the anxiety. I went to an internest and he put me on a beta blocker. My next appt, he upped it and put me on another one too. The second one is fast acting. They help blood pressure,' pulse and anxiety. I can take that one every six hours as needed. I an also on larazapam, which is supposed to be a temporary anxiety medication. I have been on it since April and now the Dr. is wanting me off of it. He cut me back to 3 instead of four. I am doing fine. I will have to keep cutting back on the larazapam until I am off of it, but I am not too worried about it now. I have felt better before and then fell back in to it again, I hope and pray that isn't what happens. I just came off of Paxil. It made me more anxious. But it really helps some people. everyone is different.

Good Luck!!!!!!!!!!!! I hope this can help you in some way.

Lyndic