Which one is better for treating anxiety and mild depression? I was on Lexapro for one year, and have been off since July. I had a panic attack on Monday while weight-lifting at the gym. Now, I'm feeling tense again. I took Sam-E yesterday and today, but feel a little out of it now. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
I was only on Lexapro for one year. I had a hormonal imbalance after four years straight of being either pregnant and/or breastfeeding (at one point, I was pregnant AND breastfeeding!). After I was done with it all, I started feeling strange - anxious all the time. In the past, I had had some panic attacks, but was never on medication for them.
Hi- I am also on Lorazepam and I am trying to get pregnant and I am so afraid of being off of it while pregnant, but I absolutely can not take it. I am tyring to find out if there is anything natural that I can take. Being on meds sucks.
You might also want to go to a natural doc or look into orthomolecular medicine. Having hormonal and nurtional panels done to find what is wrong with the body may be helpful as we are not deficient in AD's. Take it from me I was on them 18 years before I found what caused my depression and that is criminal...they almost killed me.
AD's also deplete magnesium, vit c, zinc, glutethione, etc. etc.
For the anxiety you might try supplementing with magnesium and fish oil. 80% of the population is low in magnesium and it can cause anxiety, panic and depression. Fish oil is BRAIN FOOD and is what the brain needs to function properly. Also reduce the consumption of Omega 6's (grains and vet oils).
Magnesium Taurate is the most absorbable but also the most expensive, then come Glycinate, and Citrate. Oxide is not very absorable. I use Glycinate.
You can keep increasing until you get to bowel tolerance and then back off accordingly. The only issue with taking to much mag is diahreea so, when you reach your limit you just back off a bit.
After being on these meds for years, I now realize that we are not deficient in some chemicals.....Took me a lot of years to find that out though.
First if I had to do it over again and knew then what I know now...I would start by going to a natural holistic doctor and having hormonal and nutritional panels done to find out if anything is out of balance or lacking in my diet that could cause my depression or anxiety.
Here's a few of the things that I've learned in very brief terms.
From Dr. Ann Tracy's CD "help I can't get off my antidepressant"
All mental illness is related to blood sugar, so keeping blood sugar levels normal is parimount. This means get off all sugar and foods that turn to sugar quickly and eat a balanced diet. Real food not junk food. Junk food has no nutriton.
Also from Dr. Tracy... AD's are endocrine disruptors. They screw up all your hormones. The mechanism by which they work are flawed causing an increase in the symptoms that you were trying to resolve.
Next, that our modern diets makes us nutrient deficient and cause all kinds of illness. Farming practices today make even the "GOOD" foods low in nutrients. Again 80% of the population is low in mag and low mag can cause depression.
Also, antibiotics can cause depression and other symptoms as they lower immunity, kill your good bacteria, lead to yeast overgrowht. That was my issue. Read my posts to find more on that. Yeast overgrowth is a BIG reason for depression.
Omega 6 to 3 imbalances are causing many illnesses. That coupled with the antibiotics and increase in sugar are I believe the main culprits in depression and all modern illness. This combo causes inflammation thoughout the entire body and can affect the brain. Read my other posts for more on that also.
Aspartame, MGS, and hidden food ingredients in FAST Food and conveniece foods are another. Along with lack of exercise and sunlight.
It is these things that we need to look at when resolving depression and anxiety, not meds.
AD's are an assault on humanity. I heard someone say that, and I now totally agree.
Thanks so much for your posts, Darlene. They have really been helpful. I have spent all morning investigating different options, and I am making an appointment with a naturopathic physician. I think I let the one incidence on Monday get the best of me, and I have been on "watchful alert" since then. I am going to take the fish oil and the magnesium, but most importantly, I am addressing my fearful thinking. I sometimes forget that I really do have the internal resources to deal with the anxiety.
I just reread your first post and found that you have been off the AD since July.
I forgot to mention that I've also learned that the central nervous system can take from 18 months to 2 years are more to rebalance itself. That's how the drug co's keep you hooked...because the doctors tell you that your symptoms are from your original diagnoses. I've actually talked to 3 doctors now that verify this 2 year scenerio. So your symptoms are likely do to withdrawal. Since you were on the drugs only one year, maybe this 2 year window will not affect you but keep it in mind in case you continue to experience problems. And please read the dr tracy thread if you have not done so already.
Since my original panic attack a week and a half ago, things are getting a worse. I had another attack in the park last night, and had to hustle my kids home so I could crawl into bed. Anxiety is the only thing I can think about. I'm sitting here crying as I write this. Is this rebound? I don't want to go back on an SSRI, but this is a horrible way to live. I'm nauseous, anxious, sweaty and weepy. My appetite is poor, and I've stopped going to the gym. I could really use some encouraging words, because the two people that I've always relied upon for support can't be here for me right now.
Please, Please, Please go to http://www.paxilprogress.org and register and post your story. You can also just read awhile before you post. But if you chose to post, which I hope you will, you will recieve lots of replys that say...yes you are going through withdrawal.
However you did not say how long you took to wean off the Lexapro. Did you go cold turkey, or did you wean down over 3 to 6 months or more. Cold Turkey is difficult, and if you did that you might have to go back on a dose of your lexapro and stablize and wean slowly down from there. Please go to paxil progress. The amount of support and information you will get from these very caring people is amazing. This alone with give you the strength to continue.
I took 6 months to wean off my AD's but I had been on the for many years. For the first 6 months it was possible to think I would not make it. The next 6 were not much better.
The only thing that helped, was that I was ARMED with information and I knew that if I continued on the same path that I had been on for the last years that I would not survive. I also knew that I could not judge my journey (withdrawal) for at least a year. I gave myself that permission.
And when I got to the year I gave myself permission to not judge for another 6 months. Now things are much, much better but I know in my heart when I get to 2 years, that I will see a world of difference again. This is key to recovery in my opinion and not being stuck on the drug merry go round.
But you have to have support, I hope you have that with your family. You have little ones and this makes it more difficult for you than it was for me, since you have others looking to you for many things. And you have been through a lot due to the stresses on your body with having the babies. Support yourself at home, support yourself with the people at Paxil progress, and with the good natural doc who will help you balance your body. If it were me, that's what I'd do.
If there is anything I can do, let me know. I'm here to support you as well. We all need help going through this because it is not easy. But you can do it.
Also, using other serotonin boosters like 5htp, is not recommended when using AD's or shortly after, as it can cause serotonin syndrome (which is an agitated state).
Please let me know how you are doing. And please join Paxilprogress.
I forgot to mention that when I was first coming off the AD's that I was in a hyper anxious state as well. I wreaked of the smell of the drugs from all the years of use. I also would sit and shake and sweat and cry and then sit in stuper. I couldn't even read and comprehend a childs story book.
I now believe that the insomnia was induced by the AD's, due to the fact that they screw up your hormones. I had been dealing with insomnia for about 8 years. With the stressful job, no sleep and the AD's depleting vital nutrients from my body, while it screwed up my hormones, my body went ballistic.
I also got to the point where I could not eat and the adrenaline surges caused me to lose weight rapidly. But I did not know then what I know now. And I also was in a fight for my life. So I don't know if I could taken longer to weaned off the drugs. But considering all I had gone through and the years I was on the drugs maybe I should have.
Again, if you took very little time to wean off the drugs or went cold turkey, going back on them may be your best bet with a long wean time, as you support your body with what it needs.
I hope you are doing better, I so wish you were on here now so that we could chat live, (well, sort of live).
Thinking of you and hoping your doing better,
Darlene
Thank you SO much for writing back. Boy, what a difference a day makes! I am doing better today. I put myself to bed early last night. I went to the gym this morning, and that helped. I am really working on changing my fearful thinking.
I went off the Lexapro fairly quickly. I think it took me about five weeks, total. I cut the dose in half, then went to every other day, then to every second day. Finally I stopped. The withdrawal wasn't great, but it was nowhere near as bad as when I took Paxil. I was on that for six months before the Lexapro. That's why I'm resonating with your rebound theory. I was off that for about three months, and I felt so lousy that I started on the Lexapro. Now I've been off the Lexapro for three months, and same thing... I refuse to go back on an SSRI.
Thanks again for your help, and for all of your knowledge. I'm learning a lot from you.
When you say rebound theory. That sounds like you are saying you are having rebound of your original diagnoses of depression. Based on what you've told me how your withdrawed and the time in between it sound like you are having withdrawal symptoms.
Did you read the antidepressant facts about the 18 month window. Again, your's may not be that long, but based on what you've been though it may be possible. I'm like you I refuse to go back on the drugs. They are wicked, and cause the same symtoms that you are trying to alleviate, so you end up in a cycle of what came first the chicken or the egg, and bamm they've got you hooked for live.
I mean the AD's do not even help the body to produce serotonin, if they could do that, well maybe we have something. But the just cause your body to recycle what you do have, while the shut down receptor sites that are not being used.
If you want to produce serotonin, that takes, the amino acid tryptophan to get to the brain, some sunlight, exercise, etc.
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