Here I am...again

[thephoenix]

Hi, I'd like to introduce myself. My name is Matt and I am a married 30 year old student.

I suppose introductions on this site go much further than that, so let me get to the juicy stuff.

I had my first bout of depression, anxiety, nervous breakdown, general craziness about 10 years ago. Looking back, I realize I may have been dealing with these types of things in my adolescents as well, but that was the first time they became unmanageable.

I was terrified and very ill for approximately a year. As I'm sure is the case with many of you, the wait to see a psychiatrist can be very long and for the first 3 or 4 months of my illness I did it without any medication. I ended up being prescribed Paxil (I don't remember the original dose) and that combined with weekly counseling seemed to pull me from my rut. About a year after that, I stopped taking the medication (with doctors approval) and lived a very happy, fulfilling, adventurous life for about 2 years, then I relapsed.

I developed the same symptoms as my original illness and as such took the same steps to alleviate it, which it eventually did. Since this time (approximately 7 years ago) I have been on Paxil continuously.

I have had two further relapses, one last year, and I am currently battling through another.

I am not aware of any triggers or specific circumstances that seem to bring it on, however all of my "outbreaks" seem to have occurred in early Spring.

I am currently taking 60mg of Paxil daily and very rarely I will take an Adavan (sp?) if the attack is severe. I have really only relapsed in the past couple of days so I'm really trying to get in front of this.

I look forward to sharing our common experience and I hope that we can be of help to one another.

 

[braveheart]

Welcome!

My official diagnosis is Recurrent Depression [its rather more complicated, but I won't go into that here!], so I really do understand what it can be like.

 

[thephoenix]

Welcome!

My official diagnosis is Recurrent Depression [its rather more complicated, but I won't go into that here!], so I really do understand what it can be like.

Thank you braveheart. Although depression is of course a major issue for me, it seems to be more of a bi-product of my anxiety and panic than a cause.(although I am willing to admit I could be completely wrong)

The worrying thing is that I was on a 50mg dose of Paxil when the panic and depression hit which makes me wonder if the attacks are getting stronger or Paxil is not as effective for me as it used to be.

 

[Halo]

Hi Thephoenix and welcome to Psychlinks :welcome2:

I am glad that you decided to join us and I am sure that many of the people on here will be able to relate to you. In the meantime, you may want to take a look at the Depression as well as the Anxiety Forums which have a lot of great useful information.

Hope to see you around :wave:

 

[ladylore]

Welcome Matt:welcome2:

 

[Into The Light]

hi matt, welcome to the forum :welcome: :wave4:

The worrying thing is that I was on a 50mg dose of Paxil when the panic and depression hit which makes me wonder if the attacks are getting stronger or Paxil is not as effective for me as it used to be.

i don't really have any information on this but this would be a good question to ask your doctor and/or therapist.

 

[David Baxter PhD]

Welcome, Matt.

Regarding your question about Paxil, it is possible that the medication is no longer as effective as it was when you first started taking it. Often, the answer is to switch to another SSRI.

 

[thephoenix]

Thank you all for your comments. My medication is something I will be speaking with my MD about when I see her this week.

I have to say that I am slightly disheartened by the possibility of not being able to find another medication that will work for me.

 

[Halo]

Matt, please don't be disheartened. There are so many, many medications out there to try and just because Paxil may not be the right one for you doesn't mean that another one won't work. Trust me, I have been on a lot and it takes a while to find the right one but you WILL find the right one, it just takes time.

 

[David Baxter PhD]

Coincidentally, I just read an article today suggesting that you have a better chance of success by switching to a slightly different kind of medication from an SSRI than Paxil - specifically, the study found better results with Effexor (venlafaxine, an SNRI), Wellbutrin (although that might exacerbate your anxiety), or Remeron (probably a third choice).

I'd suugest you ask your doctor about Effexor.

 

[thephoenix]

I would consider myself to have had excellent results with Paxil, I just think I've built up a resistance to it.

 

[lallieth]

Hi Matt

I was diagnosed with panic disorder 8 years ago,went on Celexa for 7 years and took a break last year...recently started Celexa again and noticed that it took longer to work and had to start at a higher dosage for it to be effective.So I can understand an SSRI being no longer as effective as it once was. I believe our bodies do build a resistance

Let us know what your dr says and welcome

 

[David Baxter PhD]

I would consider myself to have had excellent results with Paxil, I just think I've built up a resistance to it.

That's certainly possible. And if so, increasing the dose may be of limited help. That's why considering a change may be a good idea.

 

[thephoenix]

That's certainly possible. And if so, increasing the dose may be of limited help. That's why considering a change may be a good idea.

Well, I think thats something that I will have to talk to my GP about it. When I saw the doctor yesterday she suggested staying the course until the week after Easter at which time if there is no change I think we would look at switching meds or taking something in addition to the Paxil.

 

[David Baxter PhD]

That sounds like a reasonable plan to me, phoenix.