Can anyone suggest anti-anxiety, antidepressant medication with low side effects?

Question

I have been on Effexor XR for 4 months and am moderately satisfied aside from experiencing hair loss and weight gain due to increased appetite.
I would like to try something more effective without those side effects--maybe there is something that will lessen my appetite as well? I suffer from bipolar disorder, marked significantly with major depression and anxiety disorder. I am looking to try medication that will help control my panic attacks and calm violent manic episodes. I don't want to be a med-dependant zombie, but I need something to "sedate" me enough to live a normal life.
I was on Celexa several years before and it didn't help me at all. I have Xanax but it makes me so sleepy that I refuse to take it unless I am having an unbearable panic attack or feel that I won't be able to control my anger. Please tell me what experiences you have had with antidepressant/anti-anxiety meds so I can suggest something new to my doc.

Answer 1

Effexor works well for me. I also take Wellbutrin, which I started two months ago. It is known to cause at least a five pound weight loss. I've lost five pounds so far.

I'm surprised you are not taking a mood stabilizer for bipolar. I take Lamictal which works wonders & is not known to cause weight gain like so many others. I know many people who are bipolar that take Lamictal and they too are doing great.

The mood stabilizers that I did try & that didn't work were Depakote, Lithium, Tegretol, Abilfy, Risperdal & I can't remember the other one, but it's relatively new.

Depakote caused rapid weight gain of 12 pounds in three weeks and I lost half my hair. Tegretol caused rapid weight gain, Lithium caused dizzieness, weight gain and acne, Abilify caused me to feel really spaced out & trouble keeping my eyes open. Risperdal caused weight gain as well.

It took me a year to find the right combination of drugs to work for me. All drugs work different for different people, so don't rely on what my side-effects are. It's all trial and error.

I take Ativan sometimes if I feel stressed, but I rarely need it. It does not make me sleepy & is not addictive like xanax.

Answer 2

Low Side Effect Antidepressants

Answer 3

Trying to find the right meds can be tricky. I have anxiety disorder and depression ( all my life but wasnt properly diagnosed until 15 years ago) and I tried a whole lot of different meds before finding one that worked with minimal side effects. Side effects don't happen to everyone ( i envy them..lol) and vary from person to person. I myself have gained weight with my current meds but when I step back and see that my anxiety and depression are under control, i would rather have the excess poundage than have a horrible panic attack or relapse of depression.

Of course I recommend asking your doctor and dont be fearful of asking about and suggesting a medication you have heard of. Your doctor is there to support and help you and will address your concerns. A good thing you can do is research different drugs on the internet before you go to the doctor and have the information on hand for your next appointment.

In my experience with anxiety and depression is that no matter what anti depressant I take I always have to have an anti anxiety drug such as a benzodiazepine (valium, xanax, klonopin). I am currently taking 100 mg of zoloft and 1 to 2 mg klonopin as needed. With the way my body is, the anti depressants work on the depression but always make me anxious and the benzos smooth it all out. Some days I take very little klonopin and its all good and on the bad anxiety days I will take a bit more.

It may take some trial and error to discover what works for you. Please dont get discouraged because this happens to alot of people. Working with your doctor you will be able to find the combination that works for you. And what I cant emphasize enough is to never be afraid to suggest or ask about a drug.

I am sure it will all work out for you and things will be fine :)

Answer 4

Hi,

I'll tell you about my situation if it helps. I have had anxiety and depression for a few months it was brought on by some health worries I had, got panic attacks out of the blue which made anxiety worse.

I'm on Fluoxetine, I expect you've already tried this as it is the first drug they will usually try. This is because the drug has a long half life meaning it is easier to get off off when stopping.

The thing is no one drug will be the same for everyone, what might affect you might not affect me and vice versa, its for that reason that you need to consult your doctor who will help you. Many side effects will subside after a few weeks of starting or increasing your dosage. Its therefore worth if you can to ride out the first weeks. If your still uncomfortable they can be changed.

Apart from medication also think about changing your lifestyle as this is what is fuelling your problems. Change your diet, get new hobbies, do new things, make plan, try yoga, read self help such as Cognitive Behaviour Therapy and generally try to understand that your problems can be overcome once you understand them.

Depression is not a disease its purely a habit of thinking, habits can be changed trust me.

Also ignore what people have said about Marijuana, it wont help, it'll make you more anxious and its usually people who regularly use it that are the ones who have such problems.

Wishing you a speedy recovery.

Answer 5

There are plenty of prescription meds out there to treat depression and anxiety, finding the one for you can take a little time. You need to work with your doctor and maybe a psychiatrist. Working with the two will cover more ground in finding the med you need. I have a family member that suffers from mild to moderate depression that was triggered by going through a nasty divorce way back in 1993 and still dealt with issues many years later due to the ex-spouse using the kids against him or messing with his visitation rights. He has taken Paxil for depression since then. Very low side effects, one of the safest meds prescribed, and for panic attacks or anxiety episodes, he takes Alprazolam. Ask your doctor about these two meds. Remember this, do not be embarrassed to ask for help or for taking meds for depression and anxiety. There are millions of people that are taking meds for the same reasons. These are stressful times we live in, and sometimes we are affected by things more than others. Take care and I hope everything turns out alright.

Answer 6

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+) Find food for treating depression.
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Answer 7

You get different types of depression - seasonal depression, hormonal depression and chronic depression.

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Depression a result of continuously repressed thoughts and emotions. You will cure your depression. It is a simple, fast and effective method.

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You can adopt a lifestyle that will minimize the effects of depression problems, resulting in a happier life .

Good Luck and God Bless !

Answer 8

Overcome your Depression Without Medication

Answer 9

I was on antianxiety drugs for years and they only worked for a few weeks and then they stopped working as my body grew tolerant and addicted to the drugs. They destroyed my memory and emotions and I had to go through prolonged mental and physical withdrawal symptoms for months and months on end to get my health back. It was not worth it. I lost 5 years of my life for 5 weeks worth of benefit. It was so bad that I am terrified of psychotropic pharmaceutical drugs now. Read this http://www.benzo.org.uk/manual/

The drugs I took were benzodiazepines. Xanax is a benzodiazepine. There are dozens of different benzodiazepines on the market.

I also was on an antidepressant and had difficulty coming off it. I went manic for a few weeks because I stopped taking it abruptly. I had to go back on it and gradually reduce the dose to ease the withdrawal side effects.

Answer 10

Let your doctor know you're not happy with what you're on now. There's no way of knowing which medications your body will react well to and have few side effects until you try them. The medications effect everyone differently, so what gave me no side effects could totally throw you out of whack. It's for you and your doctor to figure out, but you need to let him know you want to try something else.