Do Your Antidepressants Help The Anxiety?

[kalyfician]

I have been on mirtazapine since 2010 they are the only antidepressant that have worked for me after trying numerous others beforehand.

I have been on 30mg since 2010, this year my GP has put me up to the maximum 45mg

Trouble is they don't help at all with the anxiety, last year I was given betablocker propanolol which had adverse affect

Reason being with mirtazapine your appetite increases big time, I eat and eat and eat, although some of that is comfort eating I admit. So I go to the gym so my weight doesn't pile on. No problems there

HOWEVER, because the betablocker was actually lowering my heart rate, I wasn't getting my heart rate up whilst working out on the treadmill, so it became counter productive! The weight started to rise because exercise wasn't working because of the betablocker. Vicious circle!

So I had to stop the betablocker for the gym to work again. Crazy!

I don't want to change my antidepressant because apart from the increased appetite the sedation the side affects are bearable and minimal compared to the others I have tried. But the downside is although they help the depression they do nothing for the anxiety.

Any thoughts, suggestions. Thanks!

[Martin74]

I must be one of the lucky ones. I've been on the same anti (Paroxetine) since I was first diagnosed with SA years ago and I've never had to keep switching. It does definitely help with the anxiety but it's not a silver bullet by any means. Without the meds I'd likely be far more nervous and worrisome than I am. Overall I'm happy with the current regime and will probably continue if not for the rest of my life then for the foreseeable future.

[Caribou]

I'm on Fluoxetine (Prozac). They work really well at easing my depression but don't do anything at all for my anxiety. I have just recently started back on them after the doctor took me off them last year as he wanted me to try and manage without them, but all that happened was that I plunged into a pit of utter despair where I wanted to kill myself. After starting back on them a few weeks ago the despair has eased significantly.

[BritishPeace]

There's no scientific evidence that antidepressants relieve anxiety or depression at any rate that would be alleviated by taking a placebo or not taking anything at all

[Pathetic_Earthling]

Maybe ask you doctor to refer you to a psychiatrist as they have access to medications that GPs are unable to prescrible. I am on antidepressants for my depression and also a med called Olanzapine which does wonders for my anxiety levels.

I was prescribed a beta blocker too at one time but the side effect of constant tiredness was too much of a problem so I had to discontinue their use.

[Ajax Amsterdam]

I've been on Cipralex (Escitalopram) since it was first released onto the market quite a few years ago now. For me it has been a real help with anxiety. I know it's an SSRI primarily for depression but it's licenced for SA too.

I've come off them a couple of times and the increase in anxiety I get is very apparent. Off them my ability to function has been vastly reduced, but on them I've been able to do more to help myself and live my life than I believed possible before. They are enough to make a really big difference to me.

None of the changes I've made whilst on meds have come easy, in fact it's been damn hard, scary and painful at times, but the meds have helped give me a reasonably solid base on which I can build something of a life on, and for that I'm grateful to them. There are drawbacks/side-effects of course, but in the grand scheme of things I and my GP have come to the conclusion the pay-off is worth it in my case.