Chickenmama

I would go with a lower energy dog that likes to snuggle. The shelter should be able to help you. Another thing I stick to religiously is Epsom salt baths before bed. I do this almost every night it every other night and it helps significantly. I struggled for months with barely any sleep. Tried lots of meds and not much worked well for be other then gabapentin. Which i don’t recommend to anyone now as it’s hard to get off of and requires a really slow taper for most people. If I’d had know that I’d never would have tried it. But then again i was also miserable and very desperate.

Can you message me what brand of CBD you take? Do you take it at a different time of day then your Benzo?

I guess I would only get a dog if you really like dogs. They can be great cuddles and companions, but can also be a lot if work depending on the dog. I have one dog (rescue) that has a lot of energy and anxiety so sometimes she is a handful, but when it come time to get in bed she is so sweet, calm and cuddles up against us. What helps me is using the Insight Timer app. It’s a meditation app. I have a bunch of meditation downloaded on there as i turn my phone on airplane mode at night, and i have soft headband earphones and listen to some meditations. They almost always put me to sleep. I struggled with severe insomnia the past year and that has been the one consistent thing that has made a difference. But now i can’t usually fall asleep without it lol.

Well my pdoc took me off the med due to side effects. She was pretty certain it was causing me akithesia which I was just interpreting as severe anxiety but now that I’m off if it i know she was right. So now I’m just plugging away in therapy and finding Somatic Experiencing is helping me tremendously, although hard at the same time. My depression has gotten much better by making a job change and working through some things in therapy, but now the anxiety and panic attack’s are still present daily. So I also take Ativan once during the day and Gabapentin at night to help sleep. I am also going to be taught Transcendental Meditation in a week and am hopeful that will help me a great deal also. I’m trying to put the pieces of the puzzle in place to heal and am confident that I am headed in the right direction. One day at a time right? Thanks for the responses and suggestions.

Thanks for responding. I’m glad things are still going good. DP/DR is very hard; I deal with that too due to lots of trauma. I hope it continues to improve for you on this med.

How are you? Still taking Gabapentin?

How are you? Still taking Gabapentin?

That is great to hear! I’ve been taking it only at night and it has helped me a lot with getting deep sleep! My pdoc wants be to start it 3x a day as I’m struggling a lot with anxiety especially in the afternoon and don’t want to build dependence on Ativan. How long have you been in it 3x a day for anxiety? Have you had to up your dose as time goes on?

I take Gabapentin and sometime melatonin. I usually sleep 6 hours straight without wake ups since being on Gabapentin. I also get lots of deep sleep. But it unfortunately is a drug that the body becomes dependent on and requires a slow taper to cone off of. Any of the drugs that work on GABA receptors do.

Billy this is a really great forum with really kind and understanding people. We understand your struggles. I hope you stick around and lean on others here. I myself struggle with depression, and pretty severe health anxiety and some PTSD. I have good and bad days and just stared back on a medication a few weeks ago. Regretting ever going off of it as it did be very well for several years. My husband and supports keep me a float and remind me I am getting better but it is nice to check in here with others who have been through or are experiencing similar situations to myself.

That flat feeling generally goes away for most people. I get that feeling when starting up on Celexa too. A dulling in your anxiety is great! Most people have increased anxiety for the first few weeks when starting an Antidepressant. For me I start to notice those first few weeks I begin to cry less, I start to feel less brain fog and better ability to concentrate on a task. I start spending more time on hobbies that I enjoy. I start to feel a small amount of excitement for some things and a small amount of my creativity showing up. Eventually my old happy, creative, focused self fully comes back after 3 months. Give it 8 weeks before you give up unless you start to have unbearable side effects. By week 8 people are usually feeling most benefit and by 3 months things should feel pretty “normal”. Hang in there!!!

Grounded can you share how you are doing now? And what dose you’re on?

Hi does anyone only take 5mg or 10mg of citalopram??? I’m finding I’m much more sensitive to meds than I used to be and my pdoc and I are thinking I only need to be on 5-10mg. I’m nervous to up my dose as I get such bad side effects but the anxiety is taking a long time to get better it seems. Depression is much improved already. I’m currently on 5mg for the past 2 weeks, 2.5mg for 3 prior to that. Appreciate any input. Thanks.

How are things now? Hoping you are continuing to do well.

I'm sorry to hear it hasn't helped with your nerve pain as much as you had hoped. Have you tried going to a higher dosage? I did have a huge increase in appetite the first few weeks I was on Gabapentin. I was craving food like mad! But that was OK because I had lost my appetite completely and had lost a lot of weight due to insomnia/depression/anxiety cycle I couldn't get out of. So I was sort of excited to be eating and actually CRAVING certain foods. But now that I've been on it for more than a few weeks I don't seem to crave food or carbs like I did those first 2 weeks of the med and my appetite has normalized. whew! Also, something to seriously consider is Lion's Mane Mushroom. It's really beneficial for cognitive improvements, nerve pain, and MS. I highly recommend the brand Host Defense created by Paul Stamets (he's like a mushroom guru). Also, St John's Wort Oil works amazing on nerve pain. Apply the oil topically to the areas that are affected by nerve pain. It' works wonders. I've given it to several people of the horrific nerve pain that accompanies shingles (including myself) and they all say it works amazingly well. You can find it easily on Amazon or a lot of natural food stores carry it. Easiest brand to find is HerbPharm.