[cherrychapstik]

So… my counselor and I had a talk about the fact that Ambien only works for me for a few hours and then I'm up, and I worry about everything. He suggested anxiety meds for a short term help with my obsessive worrying, specifically SSRIs (more commonly used to treat depression). Basically I am terrified. I'm desperate for anything that may help, but I looked up side effects. I already knew many of them because I'm a psych major, but I saw weight gain, insomnia, decreased libido, etc. Scared the crap out of me, and now I have anxiety about anxiety meds. Has anyone else had any sort of experience with this stuff? If it's a terrible one, please talk about it in a rational manner instead of terrifying me. I've noticed people tend to do this, not realizing the person their talking to is going to go into the situation fearful for their life.

[Martin Reed]

I've dropped a line to Matt as I know he's done the round with a lot of different meds. Hopefully he'll drop by before too long and offer you some advice. Franky might be able to help, too. I'll drop him a message.

If any other members can offer some advice for cherrychapstik, please chime in!

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[cherrychapstik]

Thanks. Been ups since four again this morning (went to bed at almost 1). Just awake with a nervous stomach that never seems to go away. I hope that these work as they are sort of the last chance, aside from the expensive and almighty sleep study.

I feel like so many people handle this much better than me. I've only been doing this for four months, and some people do it for years. I think about doing it for years and want to crash and burn.

[seenafterscene]

Hi cherrychapstik. As Martin mentioned, I have done the rounds on psychiatric and insomnia medicines. I am diagnosed with, among other things, multiple anxiety disorders and I am no stranger to “obsessive worrying.” I also find a lot of my problems overlap, example: insomnia brings on depressive states, anxiety induces insomnia, etc.

SSRIs are one of the more common ways to treat anxiety disorders these days. They have added benefits in many cases in leveling out the brain chemistry, so for example, it might help with depression (obviously.)

I admit, it can be pretty scary looking at side-effects for meds. Even though it in and of itself causes worry for you, I think it is actually good that you go in knowing what to expect, so that if and when you experience those side-effects, you are more prepared and can make the decision of whether or not the benefits outweigh the drawbacks.

I myself found SSRIs weren't that helpful in treating my anxiety. However, they were for a time helpful in treating my depressive states. SSRIs are also used for other mental health problems such as obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Try to keep in mind when reading the list of possible side-effects, that they are only POSSIBLE, and in fact, in my experience and that of most patients you'll probably find most of them subside significantly or go away entirely as treatment goes on. When they do the clinical trials of these medications, something that only happened in say…4% of patients, might end up being listed as a possible side-effect. It could be higher or lower, but remember if you know what to look for, you can try to prepare yourself for it.

For drugs that cause insomnia, that can be one of the scariest ones of all for someone…with insomnia to begin with. I'm on a medicine now that while not an SSRI is known to cause insomnia and be a “stiumating” anti-depressant…so the solution in my case, was to take it first thing in the morning and it usually does not impair my ability to sleep at night. (And it is an extended-release formulation.)

Another option, that I hinted upon earlier, is that there are often medicines that can be added to treat unwanted side-effects. The problem is that you can start to build up a pharmacy worth of medication that you'll “have” to take. But in my case, I found I had a particular medicinally induced condition and the simple addition of another medicine (one with NO side effects, in my case) solved the problem.

I hope I've been helpful. If you have any other questions or specific medicines you want to ask about feel free. I don't always get on Insomnia Land as regularly as I used to, but I will try to check this topic again whenever I do.

For example, one almost everyone including myself fear is weight gain. One of the ways to manage this is through diet and exercise. I'm lazy, so I leave out the exercise part, but I work hard to try to eat smaller, more frequent meals. It's not always easy, but by “forcing” myself to eat at certain times and trying to “avoid” eating at other times and sticking to an eating schedule, I've managed to go from gaining too much weight on a recent medicine to starting to lose said weight on the recent medicine.

Sex drive and related side-effects is another scary one. Unfortunately, it is fairly common with SSRIs in both males and females. And while drugs exist for physical symptoms in males, they do not for females, and no real legitimate medicine exists that I know of for inducing sex drive in someone who does not have it.

[cherrychapstik]

Man, thanks. They put my on Cymbalta, and my insomnia has gotten worse since I started 3 days ago. My ambien works until 2 instead of 4 and then poof I am awake and I can't fall asleep. I mean this feels pointless. I went on them to HELP my insomnia, not make it worse. I didn't think it were possible to sleep less. Not to mention the godawful constipation. My intestines are hurting, and I shake constantly. I'd rather go back to the way I was with 4 hours of sleep. I'm supposed to make it through the first 2 weeks or something, but these 3 days have been kind of yucky.

[Dozydame]

Hi Cherrychapstick.

I have tried quite a few antidepressents over the years and quit almost immediately because I hated the side effects. A few years ago I was having panic attacks and the shrink put me on an SSRI called Cipramil (think that's how you spell it). After a few days I was ready to give that up too, but he pleaded with me to stay on it for at least 3 weeks and give it a chance to do some good. I started taking it at night as it seemed to make me nauseous in the morning. Anyway, after 3 weeks nearly all the side effects had gone and I was able to stay on it for an extendeded time. It certainly helped with my depression and panic attacks and the only real side effect I noticed was inability to orgasm.

Since then I have been back on it a few times (or actually Lexapro which is a later version) and I still have the same side effect, but none of the others. I now just keep it on hand to take if I feel I need it and go off it again when I feel better. I don't like the sexual side effects, but I feel it's a small price to pay when I consider the alternative. Especially if I don't stay on it for too long. The doctor initially didn't like me self medicating, but now he accepts that I use drugs responsibly and has no problem with it. As I no longer get the nausea, I can take it in the morning so it's less likely to affect my sleep.

Based on my experience I would reccomend sticking with the drug for at least a couple of weeks unless the side effects are really unbearable. Then if you're not getting a good result from it, perhaps try another type of SSRI. Good luck Cherry x

[aimee]

I took Trazadone, Zoloft, and at least 2 other ones and they did not help me at all. As far as side effects, I remember feeling a little confusion and inability to concentrate. That seems minor, but I was in the middle of working on a big writing assignment for school and could not afford to lose work days to these medications. I have given up on perscription medications. I have alot of experience with Ambien, and am not taking that anymore. It only works temporarily for me, then I take too many, then I have to get off, have rebound insomnia, and its the same rollercoaster ride over and over again. It sounds bad but I'm waiting until some generics to Lunesta come out to try those out (I don't have insurance and Lunesta is too expensive right now). Really, I need to work with the source of the sleeping problem, and not try to cover it up with drugs…but sometimes its exhausting and you just want a quick fix. My new plan is: NO PILLS

[cherrychapstik]

After 2 weeks of Cymbalta I can now honestly I say I feel that it is helping. Monday it was like the song, “I can see clearly now the rain is gone. I can see allll obstacles in my way.” I'm not nearly as anxious, although it's still there. But I feel like I can take a step back and evaluate the situation. Because of this my sleep has gotten much better, not every night. But in the past week and a half I have gotten many nights with five hours of sleep (although not all at the same time) which is a Godsend for me. I started taking the medicine in the morning instead of at night which made it so my medicine didn't worsen my insomnia. I'm still on ambien, but I feel like if this sleep thing continues for a few weeks then I can work on taking myself off of it gradually. I feel like I finally have a little control over it, which has made me feel better all around. My counselor and I are working aggressively on my anxiety now. I'm nervous about the no ambien thing. I know I've probably gotten more tolerant to it, BUT I'm not going to think about it until I come to it. One thing at a time. Right now I'm just enjoying the fact that I can concentrate in school, life doesn't seem so sucky, and I get to graduate in a few months.

Boo. Yah.

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