I'll be 48 in February and had my first panic attack around the age of 8 and have since been battling it all my life - in the late 90's it got worse and i was unable to work, but with some CBT, Psychotherapy and Seroxat i moved out of London in 2004 and started a new job - things were pretty good for 6 or 7 years, but then the Panic Attacks started again and i was prescribed Mirtazapin as the Seroxat didnt work anymore - unfortunately though they help me get a few hours sleep the decline of my mental health continued and just before Xmas '13 I collapsed in the midst of a mega panic attack - I lost my job and was on Sertraline for 5 months and came off them to begin taking up to 45mg of Mirtazapin daily but they dont help with the general thoughts of fear, isolation and anxiety - i feel close to breaking point so would welcome any advice or insight, please.
Have you discussed Gabapentin with your GP? Be very careful with the side-effects if you do take it (do not try and drive or anything of the sort), but IMHO almost anything is better than Mirtazapine, especially at 45mg.
Hi Robert - no ive never heard of it - the seroxat used to act as a sort of buffer and allow me to "out think" any anxiousness/panic - when they stopped working and found that i couldnt sleep i was prescribed Mirtazapin - I'm looking for something that could act like the Seroxat originally did and allow me to rationalise my way out of any impending anxiety attacks...which are now far more powerful than id ever experienced.
In my case anxiety is not usualy debilitating in itself. However, when I tried Gabapentin for my restless leg problem, I did find it reduced anxiety at times when I might have tended to an anxious state. I also believe I found such help mostly wore off with the side-effects. I did not find much if any reduction in anxiety with Fluvoxamine which is prescribed in similar circumstances to Paroxetine.
Thanks Robert - this is really useful information and ill definitely ask my GP about it
Hi!
i have general anxiety and also panic disorder. For quite awhile paxil worked for me and pooped out, a little rough going off of it also. I have taken the mirt and that also helped but also pooped out after 8 years. Very difficult to get off from. I'm not sure what medicine I'm going to take next just waiting to see my doctor this week.
im so sorry to hear your not feeling well, this is such a difficult disease and most people don't understand it. Not even some of the doctors. I have been to some doctors that have no compassions and worse yet no brains....
till you find the right medicine be sure and treat yourself right. Be easy on yourself. I hope you write again and let us know what the out come is. I wish you much luck.
Thank you Rose, I really appreciate you taking the time to reply.
Have you heard of Gabapentin which Robert mentioned earlier?