Meds For Ptsd

[falling_wave]

Hi everyone, I was hoping to get some input, suggestions, or ideas about meds for PTSD. I know it isn't medical advice but sometimes I think hearing it from people who have experienced the effects is helpful. I am on lexapro right now and xanax as needed. The xanax works great but I'm trying not to take it as much as I do. The lexapro worked really fast and did great at first but I think I was actually depressed on top of PTSD when I started and I am not anymore.

Okay so I have a professional job, am in grad school, and self sufficient. I am fine sometimes and if people didn't know me closely they probably wouldn't know that I struggle at all. I do have pretty constant anxiety but it's manageable. About twice a month I think at this point I get triggered by something stressful and can go from happy to suicidal with panic attacks. I usually can feel the down times coming on so I want to take something just at these points not all the time. I am in therapy and giving more credit to that process than meds. The docs don't seem to know of ptsd specific meds for the hard times only. I don't need meds when I'm feeling good and I think taking them when I feel good desensitizes them so they don't work good when I feel bad. Also the down times are just as bad on meds as off so I don't think it's worth it. My two conditions of side effects of meds is they can't can't make me gain weight even a little and I need to have optimal energy and concentration during the day for work and school. Any suggestions would be much appreciated!

 

[Deleted member 1860]

So you're looking for a PRN med you can take when you start to feel bad, once or twice a month?

The truth is that any med can cause weight gain. I'm not sure any med can guarantee optimal energy and concentration . It's very much a trial and error type thing.

 

[Friday]

I'm ADHD so I have atypical reactions to a whole lotta meds (stimulants calm me down, antipsychotics* cause psychotic episodes, mood stabilizers* kick me into bipolar like mood swings, etc.).

The -codones I take for pain, however, have the side effect of also stomping on incipient to full fledged anxiety attacks. Clearly, being an opiate, I can't take them regularly as they're addictive as f*ck. Most of my "stuff" I just ride out. But when things get bad I do have them as an option. Other opiates have varying effects (some work for pain, some don't) but none of them also have the side effect of stopping an episode in its tracks.

I don't at present have Valium/diazepam... But that's another that works for me, yet still leaves me otherwise myself. The other benzos don't, although the others all do cause instant sleep. On any dosage. So I can bite half a tab of the lowest dose of Xanax/alprazolam and be asleep for 12 hours within about 1-5 minutes. Seriously under 60 seconds if I sublingual it. Again, being fiendishly addictive, benzos aren't something I can use on a daily basis. But I can use Valium as a few times a year safety net, and Xanax if I'm in a dangerous insomnia jag. Not just my normal annoying ones, and want sleep, but when I've been up for days and need it. Again, a few times a year.

The non-addiction is a personal choice. There have been times where living is worth dealing with an addiction later. I'm not at that point, but I would not rather die than be an addict. It's just something I prefer to avoid if at all possible. Kicking sucks.

* Just because a medication is classified as something, doesn't mean that's what it's best use is for. A med might actually be an antipsychotic, but labeled as an antidepressant. That usually happens when the company that develops it already has a best selling drug in Drug A's class. So instead of competing against themselves with 2 Drug As, they look at what else it can do and end up with Drug A & Drug B. Even though they're both As. So while I shorthand antipsychotics & mood stabilizers as 2 classes I can't take... That actually includes many drugs labeled for other things, and doesn't include a few things labeled as those things. Strattera, for example, is labeled for ADHD... But it's being used off label more and more for Anorexia here in the States (it doesn't make you hungry, one of its major & common side effects is removing self loathing for most people), and I wonder at its possible effectiveness for PTSD. Especially the guilt-based PTSD a lot of vets have, and especially because it's one of those instant-drugs with short half lives. So you can go on it for a few weeks/months/years, and there's no ramp up time & no taper off time. It works well for anorexia because you look in he mirror & don't hate yourself, aren't disgusted. Real mirror or mental one. Which is a thought... @anthony & and others up on med uses not in the States... I know this is a little off-topic but does anyone know if Strattera is being used for PTSD elsewhere?

 

[Ronin]

@FridayJones, at least in here, no. For ADHD, yes (and specifically commonly with children, not even at later time in life). Not for PTSD, though.

 

[JEKBreatheandBelieve]

When I went through the partial hospitalization program recently, that was my first major step towards finding the right medications to help me. I have for the most part been anti-medication (for myself, for PTSD related stuff). Anyway, I had reached a pretty low point to be there, so I decided to listen and take their suggestions. I tried three different anti-depressants while there because I kept getting weird side effects. I am no longer trying any anti-depressants at the recommendation of the people in the program. Their idea was that a lot of anti-depressants will help in the long term with anxiety as well. I was never on one long enough to know if that is true or not. I have had good luck with Klonopin for anxiety- Xanax and Ativan never touched my anxiety when I was given those. They also tried a blood pressure medication which was supposed to help prevent me from waking from nightmares so I could sleep more. That was a disaster- insomnia some nights and increased nightmares others.

I think the best thing when seeking out medication advice is to seek out a professional and one that you feel you can trust and is actually willing to work with you. People react differently to the same medications and a professional would know the different options the best for you and be able to monitor how it is effecting you.