After finding out about my WW's affair back in 2002 my doctor prescribed me Effexor XR 75mg. This medicine seemed to work OK for a period of time, but eventually I decided to approach my doctor about other options. He claimed that Effexor was a good choice and upped my dosage to 150mg. After a period of time at 150mg, I began to see an increase in symptoms that indicated I was depressed. I would sleep all of the time and could barely function outside of work. Not to mention the loss of sex drive that came with Effexor. Finally I asked my doctor to put me on Wellbutrin XL 300mg. After one week it seemed as though I had made the right choice in making the switch, but the Wellbutrin left me feeling edgy and punchy. My doctor then added Buspar 15mg to the mix, along with Xanax XR .5mg tablets. I did not like the way that Buspar made me feel, tired and withdrawn all of the time. I only noticed how Buspar worked after the Xanax prescription ran out and my obcessive compulsive behavior returned. I feel angry and moody on Buspar. I also have panic attacks from time to time, in which I have a fear of dying and being around people. I want to ask my doctor to prescribe me the Xanax XR on a long-term basis, but I feel that he may be reluctant to do so because it is addictive. The ironic part of all this is that the same doctor prescribed me Klonopin 1mg for six months when I had trouble sleeping, which is much stronger that the Xanax and is in the same class of drugs. How can I ask my doctor for a prescription of Xanax XR without making him think that I am looking to get hooked on drugs? Is there a better choice than a combination of Wellbutrin and Xanax XR for depression and panic disorder? Thanks for any insight.

I Would say to tell him exactly what you have just stated to us and I would think he will comply. I had a panic attack problem 3 years ago and still have Klonopin left over from it. So you may not even have an addiction to Xanax. you never know. Klonpin was a Godsend though because I could take it when I needed it instead of being on something all the time and feeling like a zombie. Tried Paxil for a while and had a problem about caring too little about things. I was careless on Paxil. Maybe you are better off without meds or with something that you only take when u need it. Just a thought.

That is a toughy.
Someone in my family took Celexa to fight panic attacks for a year. Someone else is taking Celexa to deal with their OCD (he has no libido on any of the meds he tried though!)

Keep searching for a better med.

xanax is good. gotta take ALOT of it for a long period for true addiction problem- ask your doc.

zoloft made me faint and lose my vision

effexor waiting to be picked up and tried....call me wary.

PEACE OUT

Just an update. I visited my doctor this morning and told him how I felt. He wrote me a prescription of Xanax XR 1mg and Wellbutrin XL 150mg. I quit taking Buspar. He was a bit hesitant to give me Xanax XR at first, but after I explained the situation to him he was OK with it. I don't know how he will feel about a long term prescription, but I did tell him that I took Clonezapam 1mg each night for six months to help me sleep and had no issues with withrawal other than a few nights of rebound insomnia. Thanks for your help!

Mfisher,

I know this post is late, but I just want to mention that Celexa (an SRRI-inhibitor) is very effective to treat depression, OCD AND any anxiety deviations (general anxiety, panic attacks etc.) I’m using it chronically for more than a year now and didn’t experience any major side effects from it. During the first 3 months I only recognized a slight change in my sleeping pattern and libido and that was all. Celexa is a very ‘clean’ drug and very safe to use on the long term as well.

It was my experience that Wellbutrin aggravated my anxiety, as it has almost a stimulant effect. It causes weight loss in many people who take it. So, I would ask your doctor about the possibility that your need for the Xanax might be a result of the side effects of the Wellbutrin. I had the same problem with Prozac. It made my anxiety worse, so the Dr. prescribed Buspar. It didn't make any sense to me, so I had him switch me to another drug, that didn't need a drug to counter act the first drug.

Lexapro is probably the most widely used A/D that is also approved for GAD (Generalized Anxiety Disorder). I would check into it.

Also...please be careful with the Xanax. This is probably an emotional response, but I'll add it anyway. My mother was in her sixties, and had to go into Detox for a month because her doctor had given her a year's prescription for Xanax. She took the dosage suggested, and after about nine months was a zombie who didn't want to do anything but sit on the couch, watch movies, and nap. She wasn't on an A/D at the same time, which is a major difference between her case and yours, but still....be careful. Doctors don't know everything...that's why they still call it "practicing" medicine.

Bob

I don't have a lot of experience with the different kinds of anti-Ds...my WW takes Lexapro and Wellbutrin, but I don't believe it's working too well, I finally convinced her to start seeing her doc again and having things "tweaked".

My doc started me on Xanax (only .25mg) and it worked for a little bit, but my situation is pretty nasty where WW is openly seeing OM without real regard for my feelings so I was pretty down, doc just started me on Paxil and told me to keep the Xanax use down to only when necessary.

I haven't taken the Paxil long enough to know how effective it's going to be and I dont' know anybody that's taken it so I can't judge it's effectiveness at all.

Just my story, probably doesn't help much.