Anxiety Worse--Is It From Medications?

[skyp56]

To explain why I haven't posted in a long time, my anxiety has gotten so out of control, that I don't even know how to explain it, and I get "triggered"(?) easier than ever. And, the physical effects of this anxiety have pretty much disabled me for several weeks.

P-doc has been changing my meds for months now. Some changes have been at my request because I knew I was coming upon my "Coverage Gap" for Medicare (I am on SSDI because of my anxiety, depression, fibromyalgia syndrome, and also menopausal symptoms). I asked my p-doc to get me off Lyrica, Pristiq, and Seroquel, as they are name brands. These used to cost me a copay of $40/month to refill but now are going to be almost twice that, each. We tried to replace Pristiq with Celexa, but the anxiety has increased, not decreased. So I am scared to keep taking it.

Right now, knowing I have reached that "hole" in Medicare coverage seems like a bigger problem than I can handle. I'm still dealing with my husband being unemployed (5 months, now!). And I am sick and tired of being physically and emotionally incapable of doing much, including just basic chores.

Sorry this post is rambling; maybe it becomes clear why I haven't posted in so long. I have read posts by others, and wanted to respond in support, but I can barely think past my own pain and fear right now. I'm sorry, Fellow-PTSD'ers!

Anyway, my question is: Could my anxiety has gotten to this disabling point from medication switches? If so, what can I do to help myself through this. :dontknow:

I'm really working on "Being Positive", but it's been a struggle. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks,
skyp56 (Shelley)

 

[Deleted member 541]

Yes, some meds can cause you to have more anxiety than others.....Some of these meds can cause you to have more depression, and become suicidal....It's different for all of us....I for example, am med sensitive, and meds can have the exact opposite effect on me, or I can have such side effects, that taking it, causes more problems than not taking it....

It can also be just overload from everything that you are going through, but I suspect that it's the meds causing this...How long have you been on Celexa???? It usually takes about 6 weeks before the side effects start calming down.....If it has been longer than 6 weeks, then it probably won't get any better for you, and you will need to change meds again....

 

[skyp56]

Hi SheCat
I had only been on Celexa for about 1 week, at the 80mg dose, when I started having the severe anxiety. P-doc put me on it to help with withdrawals from Pristiq, which I'd been on since December 2008.

I noticed the anxiety came down a slight amount after p-doc reduced me to 40 mg of celexa (after one week at 80 mg). I didn't complain too much at this time because I thought that I was still having withdrawals from Pristiq. But, I haven't taken any Pristiq since 8/7 (23 days ago). So I guess I could even still be going through withdrawals from that, right? P-doc says I should be over the withdrawals of it by now, though.

I had noticed that my anxiety kicked in really high a couple hours after taking celexa, so decided not to take it yesterday. I found I did get to feel calmer little by little throughout the day. When I told p-doc this, he basically gave up; he didn't know what to advise me next.

Now after reading some more posts here; I realize that I could just be having a flare-up of the hypervigilance of PTSD. Probably resulting in the increased stress I've been under for months.

Thanks for your advice, and thank you for taking the time to reply!
{{{{{HUGS}}}}}
skyp56

 

[2quilt]

Have you tried using that plan for low income people to get your meds for free or low cost? Contact the pharmasutical company who makes your different drugs and ask. They have programs for Medicare folks. It's there for you to use! Take advantage of it if they offer it.

 

[sigh]

I believe it might be pristiq. The other meds do not generally cause anxiety. Maybe it's hard to get on and off this med for that reason. Pristiq is a complex drug.

However, I am not a Doctor, just a member of the Peanut Gallery.

s.

 

[cat]

Hi Skyp56

How long have you been on Celexa? (its called Citalopram here in UK) I've been on it for 16wks, my list of reasons much the same as yours, & the extra anxiety kicked in with me so badly during wks 4-8, I began to wonder if it was worth taking. Since then I hardly know I'm taking it other than being thirsty. my anxiety is much reduced & I can control what I do have with deep breathing & self-talk.

I also find the hyper-vigilance & arousal comes back during extra stress, increasing my relaxation & exercise routine a great help as its during those times that I loss focus on what is important for my recovery.

No need to apologise for rambling we've all been there!

Take care

 

[skyp56]

Hi Cat,
So you continued with the citalopram, even with the increased anxiety? I think 4 weeks is a loooooong time to go through that. I admire your determination! How is the citalopram working for you now?

I haven't had any citalopram in 12 days, and it feels like forever because the anxiety has shown no decrease. I haven't been able to make decisions even as simple as what to wear. No one can tell me how long it's supposed totake before medication reactions go away. Maybe I just need to wait it out longer.

My drs want me to go back on Pristiq, and even though it's gonna cost me $220/month, I decided to let them do that; I don't want to let my depression get worse while trying to control my anxiety. I haven't taken Pristiq since August 5. My p-doc says that the anxiety can't be from that, as the withdrawal effects should not have lasted this long. But then he didn't think I should have continued anxiety after he lowered my dose of citalopram from 80mg to 40mg, either.

Hi, 2Quilt!
Thanks for your thoughtful suggestion about programs that offer prescription help. I did get signed on with Wyeth, who makes Pristiq, and they were paying 1/2 my copay. I don't know how that will change now that I'm in the "donut hole" coverage gap of Medicare.

Most of the other programs I've looked into have restrictions on eligiblity because they are only for people who made less than certain $ amounts the previous year. Last year, my husband was working and making good money, plus I got my SSDI windfall payment and finally started getting monthly benefits. So we made way too much money for most of these programs. I am still looking into other programs.

Anyway, thank you all for your support, and your thoughtful and kind replies.

Bless you all!
{{{{{Hugs}}}}}
Skyp56 (Shelley)

 

[cat]

Hi Shelley

As much as I don't like being on meds at least I don't have the added complications with paying for them as you do, that must make for some very hard decisions.

I don't know if the mg of Celexa is different from Citalopram but I'm taking 20mg & dread to think what my side effects would have been like if I was taking 80mg! It's usual here to start on 10mg & gradually build up the dose. My psychologist has just suggested that I increase the dose to try & reduce my nightmares but as I'm back at work I don't feel that I can cope with being any more tired in the afternoon ( my gp tells me this is a side effect that won't change)

Did you gradually decrease your dose when you stopped taking them ? My GP tells me that when I come off Cit I will need to reduce the dose by 5mg per week over a period of 4wks & that I shouldn't feel any withdraw side effects.

I hope you find something to help with your anxiety soon, are you having therapy? I'm sure weekly appointments with my psychologist have helped been the biggest help.

Take care
Annette

 

[skyp56]

Hi Annette,
I am actually taking citalopram, not the name brand celexa, sorry for the confusion.

And, no, I tapered up from 40mg to 80 within one week, took that for 12 days. That was when the anxiety got out of hand, so I called my p-doc, and he had me go back down to 40 mg. I did this for another 10 days, but then stopped totally because the agitation was still so strong, in fact maybe worse.

All this along with the fact that, though I'd been on Pristiq for 8 months, my p-doc had me taper off it in the same 2 weeks I was tapering onto the citalopram. Maybe too many changes within the same time frame. So all this could be from Pristiq withdrawal, maybe? If so, then it has been just over a month since I've been off it, and maybe could still be experiencing that.

I do have a good therapist, but in order to save money, I cut back visits to every other week. Last visit, 2 days ago, he had strongly suggested that I was doing better while on the Pristiq and for me to go back on it. I asked my p-doc and he said ok. So I did take 50 mg of Pristiq this morning (my regular dr was so kind and gave me a huge box of samples!) Now I'm wondering if that was a mistake, and I should not take any more of it until I get better. Kind of tired of waiting for THAT to happen, though. :wall:

Also I wonder if I should I go back on celexa to withdraw more slowly. I haven't had any at all for 12 days.

I will ask my p-doc all this, but he is not in on Fridays, and weekends seem to be big stressors for me, anyway. So I HAVE to make it through today and the next 2 days before I can even call him again.

Annette, I appreciate you so much for talking this out with me. Lately it seems even the simplest decisions are way too hard for me. I surely feel inadequate for these larger ones, in the midst of extreme agitation as I am. Just having a sounding board has helped me so very much today!

God Bless your dear soul!

:Hug_emoticon:
Shelley

 

[cat]

Hi Shelley
I'm only too pleased to help, sometimes it's easier to talk on here than to family or friends isn't it. When it was suggested I took meds like you it was such a hard decision, at the time I couldn't even decide what to eat or wear without taking hours over it!

Getting better will come, be strong & know that we're all here for you. Please PM me if you'd like to, after my first full week at work for 18 mths I'm shattered, so I'm doing nothing over the weekend but sitting in my hot tub & garden, I'll be here if you want to talk.

Annette x

 

[Pam]

I don't know the names of all the drugs C takes but this year has been trying for him. He has had several changes. The last change made his aggression worse (he threatened to kill several people and once or twice to their face) but at least he didn't feel zombied out. It helps that his doc knows about the threats and has given him a list of descriptive words so that he can say how he is feeling and everyone has the same definition of the word. Anyway, they decided to schedule a brain scan to see if scar tissue was causing problems (or maybe even a tumor). He hasn't had the scan yet. However, he and his doc decided to give his new med another month. And guess what? It works better for him now! Plus it has far fewer uh...um..."side affects". So much so that I find myself catching up to him now:wink:.

 

[PurdueJaime]

Skyp,

Pristiq works on both your norepinephrine and Seritonin receptors and Celexa only works on Seritonin. For one thing, you are supposed to taper off of Pristiq because it is not a medication you can just stop or it can cause anxiety and other symptoms. Also, just from my own experience EVERY SSRI (seritonin antidepressant) caused me hugely INCREASED anxiety. Only the SSNRI's (NorEpi and Seritonin) caused me to not be as depressed and not get increased anxiety.

What I would strongly recommend is that if the increased anxiety doesn't quit you ask your doctor about Cymbalta. It is also an SSNRI (like Pristiq) but isn't as new. I switched from Pristiq to Cymbalta with no issues. Because Cymbalta has been on the market for a longer time, it may be much less expensive. For me I went from paying $75 a month for Pristiq to only $25 a month for Cymbalta.

I hope you get this worked out. It can be a horrible thing to realize a medication that is supposed to be helping you is causing you more problems as well as not being able to pay for a medication that you know worked.

Hope this helps! Jaime