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[OverAnalyzer]

I am sooooo tired, just tired. Tired of m severe, debilitating anxiety, tired of my compulsive worries and OCD that will not even allow myself to try and SSRI's or SRNIs because of people and their permanent sexual dysfunction bulls*** that has scared me off of the only meds that can probably help me.

I am tired of being housebound, being in physical pain from all the stress, of looking at my life 10 years ago as a distant, happy, motivated, caring, confident individual who seems to have died inside along the way, now I am a shell, but a living corpse going through the motions of life that have me feeling like I have been kicked in the stomach every day.

I have been dealing with this for 7 or 8 years now and am just tired of it. I no longer fear death, but welcome it. I will not **** myself due to anxiety over what is on the other side, if there is another side, where I would be because I took my life and most importantly because it would negatively affect my parents and brother for the rest of their lives.

I have no friends, no life, nothing.

Is there any meds in the pipeline that will soon be released? Any hope?

I have tried almost everything aside from SSRI's with exception to the TCA's and Wellbutrin (I hear is worst thing for anxiety). I may try Trazdone or Elavil next, but wha tis the point really...hope is lost at this point.



I wish I could just fall asleep and not wake up and die a peaceful natiural death. I am 30 years old, male. Sorry for the rant or whatev...

Edited by Forum Admin, 20 April 2010 - 05:20 PM.

[Joyce]

Hi OverAnalyzer, I can really empathize with how you feel. Over the past 35 years or so, I've been on so many different medications and most of the time, not finding anything that anywhere near takes care of anxiety.
To answer your question: As a matter of fact, there may be a new med on the horizon. In February, Science Daily reported that reserchers at Oregon State Univeristy are running animal trials with a SNRI.
iowa

What? They are testing ADs on animals?

I was NOT aware of that!

[Joyce]

I am sooooo tired, just tired. Tired of m severe, debilitating anxiety, tired of my compulsive worries and OCD that will not even allow myself to try and SSRI's or SRNIs because of people and their permanent sexual dysfunction bulls*** that has scared me off of the only meds that can probably help me.

I am tired of being housebound, being in physical pain from all the stress, of looking at my life 10 years ago as a distant, happy, motivated, caring, confident individual who seems to have died inside along the way, now I am a shell, but a living corpse going through the motions of life that have me feeling like I have been kicked in the stomach every day.

I have been dealing with this for 7 or 8 years now and am just tired of it. I no longer fear death, but welcome it. I will not **** myself due to anxiety over what is on the other side, if there is another side, where I would be because I took my life and most importantly because it would negatively affect my parents and brother for the rest of their lives.

I have no friends, no life, nothing.

Is there any meds in the pipeline that will soon be released? Any hope?

I have tried almost everything aside from SSRI's with exception to the TCA's and Wellbutrin (I hear is worst thing for anxiety). I may try Trazdone or Elavil next, but wha tis the point really...hope is lost at this point.



I wish I could just fall asleep and not wake up and die a peaceful natiural death. I am 30 years old, male. Sorry for the rant or whatev...

Hi overanalyzer,

I understand your despair and frustration. I mainly suffer from GAD and the physical symptom I have from it is the worst part for me. I tried many meds also. Effexor has been the only that is ok for me. But i'm not doing that great right now. I'm starting of thinking to change but to which one?

I've been where you are right now. I know how you feel. I also wondered where that person that I was 8 years ago went. I know I will never be like I was but I am trying to just be better. Maybe you need to check with your doctor and see if there is meds you didnt try or maybe a combination.

Hang in there and know you have a place where people are going through the same thing as you or very similar to you.


Joyce

[kenrolf]

I am sooooo tired, just tired. Tired of m severe, debilitating anxiety, tired of my compulsive worries and OCD that will not even allow myself to try and SSRI's or SRNIs because of people and their permanent sexual dysfunction bulls*** that has scared me off of the only meds that can probably help me.

I am tired of being housebound, being in physical pain from all the stress, of looking at my life 10 years ago as a distant, happy, motivated, caring, confident individual who seems to have died inside along the way, now I am a shell, but a living corpse going through the motions of life that have me feeling like I have been kicked in the stomach every day.

I have been dealing with this for 7 or 8 years now and am just tired of it. I no longer fear death, but welcome it. I will not **** myself due to anxiety over what is on the other side, if there is another side, where I would be because I took my life and most importantly because it would negatively affect my parents and brother for the rest of their lives.

I have no friends, no life, nothing.

Is there any meds in the pipeline that will soon be released? Any hope?

I have tried almost everything aside from SSRI's with exception to the TCA's and Wellbutrin (I hear is worst thing for anxiety). I may try Trazdone or Elavil next, but wha tis the point really...hope is lost at this point.



I wish I could just fall asleep and not wake up and die a peaceful natiural death. I am 30 years old, male. Sorry for the rant or whatev...

Hi OverAnalyzer, I can understand how you feel. The pain of fear, staying home unable to cope. the lack of sleep makeing it that much worse. I too deal with it all the time, and currently on no meds but I have been consitering going on some. Just hang in there and know that on this forum there is people like you who are going though the same thing.

[scarletquill]

I know what it feels like to try so many things and eventually just feel overwhelmed and confused by what's having what effect and which works better etc. And so it goes on. It's not exactly 'new', but Pristiq is working okay for me, certainly better than Effexor. They're both SNRIs, but Effexor had so many more side effects for me. Pristiq really doesn't have any awful side effects for me (hope it continues that way!) perhaps just makes me a little tired when I wouldn't normally have been, but that's about it. I know some people have still had problems with sexual side effects and panic even after they switched over from Effexor XR to Pristiq, but it hasn't caused anything like that for me. It's certainly better than Zoloft and Cipramil/Celexa. I lost far too much weight on Zoloft, it was horrible since I have such a tiny frame and high metabolism anyway...it was terrible.

Cipramil/Celexa was okay, it just didn't give me the relief or boost I needed. Probably because I was on it for too long. So I'm just going to keep going on the Pristiq, I don't really see any other options. I'm very sensitive to meds and experience a hell of a lot of side effects, so I have to be extremely careful and keep the dose as low as possible. I'm only on the 50mg daily dose of Pristiq and I'm scared to increase it because of the bad effects I experienced when I increased the Effexor.

I think I'll just stay where I am right now. My doc tried to add in a tiny bit of Lithium, but gosh, I just couldn't take it...bad, bad, bad! It gave me a terrible reaction, I felt like a zombie, I tried to sit it out and see if it would pass, but I just had to stop. So you could always ask your pdoc about Pristiq if you haven't tried it already, and if you're worried about the sexual side effects etc, just test it out for a while and see if you can tolerate it, and if not, it's probably not for you. Good luck though, I know what the trial & error thing is like, especially when you're prone to bad side effects and such. Hang in there though. :D I wish you luck in finding something better, and if not, hopefully in the next few years there may be some new developments.

[Kathy100]

I am sooooo tired, just tired. Tired of m severe, debilitating anxiety, tired of my compulsive worries and OCD that will not even allow myself to try and SSRI's or SRNIs because of people and their permanent sexual dysfunction bulls*** that has scared me off of the only meds that can probably help me.

I want to start by thanking you. My son has anxiety issues and posts like yours give me a bit more insight into my son so hopefully I can find a way to help him.

As for your worries, I don't know if it will help but try to remember that people that turn to the internet, myself included, are the ones that are having difficulties. Whenever you read stuff on the web remember for every "bad" story there are ten good ones that aren't being posted. If an SSRI is working great for someone, they are out living life not posting on messageboards.

I have also found there is a great deal of variability with SSRI's. If one causes side effects, try another. As for data collection on long term sexual dysfunction, I'd have to ask if they percentages of those that are having trouble are any different than the population that hasn't used an SSRI. There seems to be a market for Viagra which tells me there are a lot of men having trouble with sexual dysfunction they can't all be from SSRI's.

Like I said, I appreciate your post because it gives me a bit of insight into my kid but I will be the first to admit I don't understand the compulsive worry thing so I'll apologize in advance if my post somehow adds to your worries.

[OverAnalyzer]

I am sooooo tired, just tired. Tired of m severe, debilitating anxiety, tired of my compulsive worries and OCD that will not even allow myself to try and SSRI's or SRNIs because of people and their permanent sexual dysfunction bulls*** that has scared me off of the only meds that can probably help me.

I want to start by thanking you. My son has anxiety issues and posts like yours give me a bit more insight into my son so hopefully I can find a way to help him.

As for your worries, I don't know if it will help but try to remember that people that turn to the internet, myself included, are the ones that are having difficulties. Whenever you read stuff on the web remember for every "bad" story there are ten good ones that aren't being posted. If an SSRI is working great for someone, they are out living life not posting on messageboards.

I have also found there is a great deal of variability with SSRI's. If one causes side effects, try another. As for data collection on long term sexual dysfunction, I'd have to ask if they percentages of those that are having trouble are any different than the population that hasn't used an SSRI. There seems to be a market for Viagra which tells me there are a lot of men having trouble with sexual dysfunction they can't all be from SSRI's.

Like I said, I appreciate your post because it gives me a bit of insight into my kid but I will be the first to admit I don't understand the compulsive worry thing so I'll apologize in advance if my post somehow adds to your worries.

Hi, thanks for the words. I realize the internet is a double edged sword in that it causes a lot of people to worry over things that are rare but it's the possibility that erks a lot of people especially those with debilitating anxiety/excessive worrying like myself.

Regarding the SSRI's I may just give into it as living in this hell hole (pardon the language) of a life is no way to live. I am not living and not sexually active anyways and have not been in a relationship for a very long time due to all of my mental issues (too much info I know). I know that depression and anxiety in itself can cause sexual dysfunction (first hand experience there too) so all of these people on that PSSD forum could be dealing with that aspect in relation to their post SSRI sexual problems, I am not dismissing that PSSD can happen just that perhaps there are combinations of contributing factors such as anxiety and depression.

As for the illness, it is so hard for people to understand who do not suffer from it. I was in denial for a long time about it, didn't think of myself as mentally ill but rather just a perfectionist who was a little anxious. Over time it became worse, much worse. I became distant, introverted, rarely going out and only if I had to (ie. to get groceries or run erins).

You get this surge in your brain and body of utter terror and you can't let go mentally, no matter how many times you tell yourself it is silly, there is no reason to worry etc. You just can't let it go. I know how ridiculous my compulsions and worries are, I recognize it, but you can't stop it, the thoughts, the worries. It wasn't until I tried some medication a few years back that I realized how bad things were because these meds at the time gave me almost instant relief. It was like being born again and I then realized how life was suppose to be, suppose to feel like. But ove time these medications began to fail for me and now I am back in a deep hole, desperately trying to climb my way out again. Hopefully this gives you some understanding with your son. All anxiety issues and dperessions are personal and variable in the general sense and the worries are by no means a choice and are also not something anyone can willfully correct or switch off, no matter how hard they try or how much they can recognize the intrusive thoughts and compulsions. It takes over your life in many aspects. Think of it as a disease because that is what it is. Like cancer, you can't just tell it to go away, in many cases it is a physical, chemical imblance within the brain that causes these disorders and the trick is to try and rebalance or normalized the chemicals so you can feel "normal" again but the unfortunate part is that everyone is so different that what works for one may not work for a lot of others due to each person's individual brain chemistry etc. Hope this helps some.

[OverAnalyzer]

Thanks for the words everyone.

After some thought I think I will ask teh Dr. about try the following (seperately):

- Amitriptyline (been 3 days not good so far), if that fails then...

- Trazadone, if that fails then...

- Cymbalta or Luvox (suppose to be less sexual side effects with these 2).

- If those fail, I dunno what I will do at this point...hopefully one of these will have me thinking a little more straight but for now, I am willing to give each at least a month or so, so it buys me some time and a glimmer of hope.

Edited by OverAnalyzer, 22 April 2010 - 01:51 PM.

[Joyce]

Thanks for the words everyone.

After some thought I think I will ask teh Dr. about try the following (seperately):

- Amitriptyline (been 3 days not good so far), if that fails then...

- Trazadone, if that fails then...

- Cymbalta or Luvox (suppose to be less sexual side effects with these 2).

- If those fail, I dunno what I will do at this point...hopefully one of these will have me thinking a little more straight but for now, I am willing to give each at least a month or so, so it buys me some time and a glimmer of hope.

Hi overanalyzer,

I like your posts. They are so insightful and true...unfortunately. I think you understand the sarcasm of 'unfortunately'?

I understand the roller coasters of meds. I also been on an AD for awhile and was doing well and than bang, I had problems with it. Had to stop than the trial and error process started. Now I'm back to my first love (the first AD) but at the lowest dosage so I dont get the problems I got in the first place. Thing is, its not enough so every other day or so I have to take a higher dosage. So, its a yoyo between 37.5mg and 75mg of effexor. Plus the klonopin. Right now I'm also kind of desperate. So, I know how you feel.

I cant handle any SSRIs so those are out of the question for me. and I tried many believe me. I also tried cymbalta which is an SNRI like Effexor (which I take right now) and it was BAD. I dont dare take pristiq since i'M med sensitive and since 50mg of pristiq is like around 150mg of effexor and i can even take 75mg every day I dont even want to go there.

One thing I was thinking. ADs are mostly for despression. When we have an anxiety issue, its the opposite of depression. We are wired! Everything goes 100 miles an hour. When we are depressed, its the opposite, barely able to do anything, etc....
So, it kind of make sense that those that suffer from anxiety disorders have a much more tough time with the ADs. They say i'm med sensitive. I think its just that its not quite the kind of med I need.

Benzos are pretty much the only med that help us but they are short lived. Except for Buspar but somehow it is like never prescried for those with an anxiety disorder. I know where I live, most doctors just wont prescribe it because they say it doesnt work or are reluctant to do so. Although it is a mild med. Much more mild than the ADs. Than we have the benzos which are addictive. So, doctors are reluctant to prescribe them too much. What choices do we have? Kind of limited!

I pray that there will be something for people like us soon. So many people think that anxiety is not a big issue. If only they knew...



Joyce

[Deepster]

overanalyzer-

I just wantt to add my two cents worth. SSRIs were killers for me in the sexual dysfunction arena. Not only that they made my any where from hypomanic to experiencing pshychotic hallucinations.
My pdoc offered Pristiq(a SNRI), and I must say I had hardly any SEs when starting up on the med(first time that's every happened). As for sexual dysfunction, I must say that on Pristiq I am about 90% normal in functionality.

This med has been the best AD that has ever happened to me! YMMV!

Warmest Regards,
Deepster

Edited by Deepster, 22 April 2010 - 04:09 PM.

[OverAnalyzer]

I am currently on Buspar, Remeron, Ativan...not much results, it may dull the anxiety some days at best.

I don't dare drop the Remeron because it is the ONLY thing that helps me get a few hours sleep, I take just 15mg and originally it cured my anxiety and depression for 2 months when I first started it a couple years back.

Buspar I just started a couple months ago, helped for the first few weeks then a drop off, I take 30mg daily.

Ativan I just take 0.5's as needed, usually 2 per day but same story, helped a lot at first now the results are very minimal at best.

The anxiety causes severe depression in a lot of cases, it's a terrible circle, you are depressed because of the anxiety, because you can't feel normal or do normal things, this leads to more worry, more hopelessness, deeper depression, it's a terrible mess. It honestly feels like a nightmare you cannot wake up from. The compulsions and excessive worrying is at its peak with me. I surf the web for hours looking for success stories, for potential side effects, I get set to think I will try a med then I come across something like that PSSD forum and I start reading it and it feels like I just got punched in the stomach, all hope dwindles as I learn and tell myself this is now not a viable option for me...my compulsiveness and obsessive worrying about all the what if's and the sexual dysfunction leave me empty and broken, hopeless...I can look at it logically and say, I am so messed up psychologically at the moment, who cares about the sexual side effects, it's not like you have a wife or gf, but then I think, I woudl like to one day have a relationship again, so what if I a med works for me and then I find someone and cannot perform due to the med I am on, what if I get permanent sexual dysfunction as a side effect like some of those people report, could I bare to live with it on top of the severe anxiety...these are the intrusive thoughts that will not leave my head.



Is Klonipin better than Ativan? I am reluctant to go Benzo due to the tolearnce and Ativan helps calm me down but it is short acting....does Klonipin cause sexual side effects or no?

[OverAnalyzer]

overanalyzer-

I just wantt to add my two cents worth. SSRIs were killers for me in the sexual dysfunction arena. Not only that they made my any where from hypomanic to experiencing pshychotic hallucinations.
My pdoc offered Pristiq(a SNRI), and I must say I had hardly any SEs when starting up on the med(first time that's every happened). As for sexual dysfunction, I must say that on Pristiq I am about 90% normal in functionality.

This med has been the best AD that has ever happened to me! YMMV!

Warmest Regards,
Deepster

Thanks, I am thinking Cymbalta or maybe Pristiq now even, better the SRNI route I think for me first than the SSRI.

Sexual dysfunction is suppose to be much less on SRNI's so may give it a go...This Amitriptyline is not cutting it and I feel worse since being on it for a few days now.

Hope something will help me...

[Kathy100]

OverAnalyzer,

Thank you again for posting, I'm sure I can't truly understand how my son feels but any little bit of insight I can get does help.

While I don't obsess about it I do understand your worries about SSRI's and sexual dysfunction. As a mom, I often worry about giving my pubescent son this stuff. The flip side of that argument is I have to get him functioning so he can mature into a functioning adult so at the moment we are trying Lexapro. In five or ten years there will be new drugs to treat either the anxiety or the sexual dysfunction if that indeed is a permanent issue. Right now it's not, in fact he's having quite the opposite reaction (yes, I realize TMI). I'm at a loss if it is the SSRI, puberty or possibly the SSRI altering the normal course of puberty. I'll probably never know. All we can do is make the best decision for right now, keep marching forward and take it as it comes.

Good Luck

[ozzietraveller]

I am sooooo tired, just tired. Tired of m severe, debilitating anxiety, tired of my compulsive worries and OCD that will not even allow myself to try and SSRI's or SRNIs because of people and their permanent sexual dysfunction bulls*** that has scared me off of the only meds that can probably help me.

I am tired of being housebound, being in physical pain from all the stress, of looking at my life 10 years ago as a distant, happy, motivated, caring, confident individual who seems to have died inside along the way, now I am a shell, but a living corpse going through the motions of life that have me feeling like I have been kicked in the stomach every day.

I have been dealing with this for 7 or 8 years now and am just tired of it. I no longer fear death, but welcome it. I will not **** myself due to anxiety over what is on the other side, if there is another side, where I would be because I took my life and most importantly because it would negatively affect my parents and brother for the rest of their lives.

I have no friends, no life, nothing.

Is there any meds in the pipeline that will soon be released? Any hope?

I have tried almost everything aside from SSRI's with exception to the TCA's and Wellbutrin (I hear is worst thing for anxiety). I may try Trazdone or Elavil next, but wha tis the point really...hope is lost at this point.



I wish I could just fall asleep and not wake up and die a peaceful natiural death. I am 30 years old, male. Sorry for the rant or whatev...

i can understand feelings like that as well ive heard a med called stablon is good and different to all others , if youve tried all the prescriptions and they are no good you might want to try some research chemicals or substituted phenethylamines ..

Edited by ozzietraveller, 23 April 2010 - 04:34 AM.

[ozzietraveller]

Thanks for the words everyone.

After some thought I think I will ask teh Dr. about try the following (seperately):

- Amitriptyline (been 3 days not good so far), if that fails then...

- Trazadone, if that fails then...

- Cymbalta or Luvox (suppose to be less sexual side effects with these 2).

- If those fail, I dunno what I will do at this point...hopefully one of these will have me thinking a little more straight but for now, I am willing to give each at least a month or so, so it buys me some time and a glimmer of hope.

Hi overanalyzer,

I like your posts. They are so insightful and true...unfortunately. I think you understand the sarcasm of 'unfortunately'?

I understand the roller coasters of meds. I also been on an AD for awhile and was doing well and than bang, I had problems with it. Had to stop than the trial and error process started. Now I'm back to my first love (the first AD) but at the lowest dosage so I dont get the problems I got in the first place. Thing is, its not enough so every other day or so I have to take a higher dosage. So, its a yoyo between 37.5mg and 75mg of effexor. Plus the klonopin. Right now I'm also kind of desperate. So, I know how you feel.

I cant handle any SSRIs so those are out of the question for me. and I tried many believe me. I also tried cymbalta which is an SNRI like Effexor (which I take right now) and it was BAD. I dont dare take pristiq since i'M med sensitive and since 50mg of pristiq is like around 150mg of effexor and i can even take 75mg every day I dont even want to go there.

One thing I was thinking. ADs are mostly for despression. When we have an anxiety issue, its the opposite of depression. We are wired! Everything goes 100 miles an hour. When we are depressed, its the opposite, barely able to do anything, etc....
So, it kind of make sense that those that suffer from anxiety disorders have a much more tough time with the ADs. They say i'm med sensitive. I think its just that its not quite the kind of med I need.

Benzos are pretty much the only med that help us but they are short lived. Except for Buspar but somehow it is like never prescried for those with an anxiety disorder. I know where I live, most doctors just wont prescribe it because they say it doesnt work or are reluctant to do so. Although it is a mild med. Much more mild than the ADs. Than we have the benzos which are addictive. So, doctors are reluctant to prescribe them too much. What choices do we have? Kind of limited!

I pray that there will be something for people like us soon. So many people think that anxiety is not a big issue. If only they knew...



Joyce

Edited by Joyce, 26 April 2010 - 08:52 AM.

[pyrodruidess]

Im on buspar...it is great. Just awesome, it slows my anxiety down to just a little flicker here and there through the day. My doc said it likely wouldnt work because i have panic disorder, GAD, and depression. But low an behold I got so much better, but it took two months to really kick in. I added wellbutrin to the order for my depression, so far so good, and it hasnt increased my anxiety that much, oh and it doesnt have the sexual side effects. It is better known to increase your libido and to decrease your apatite, thus losing weight too.

Edited by pyrodruidess, 28 April 2010 - 09:09 PM.

[scottybear]

I emphasize with your overanalyzer. It really sux when you get some relief and then the medication doesn't work as well and you fall back in it, or don't make anymore life progress. Unfortunately most of the medications are not a cure all and only help deal with some of the symptoms. Psychotherapy and CBT is really suppose to help one get better and deal with solutions for life's problems. There are suppose to be some newer medications coming out this year which at least will provide some other options for people. Keep in mind many people get worse anxiety when starting a anti-depressant and you really need to give it several weeks before it can start to help.