Young guy's chronic panic disorder - why nothing is helping me?

Mental health
1

Hey!

I'm glad I found this forum, hope to get some encouraging answers. And sorry for my mistakes in writing, I am a 27 yo guy living in Sweden.

Briefly will tell you about the start of my symptoms: I got my first panic attack when I was 16 yo and started having them in social situtations. Fluoxetine (Prozac) helped me to manage with these symptoms and I also used beta blockers because I just to fet tremors and pounding heart.

Then my Prozac was switched to Venlafaxine 75 mg when I was 22 yo. I remember how well I felt on it: I entered University, got a good job, travelled the world and enjoyed my life. I once stopped taking it and my symptoms returned in few months. This happened few years ago. Then I restarted the drug and felt fine again after a month.

Last Autumn and this winter have been the most difficult period in my life. I started CB-therapy two years ago but I'm pretty sure I had the best benefit from the medicines I used. Well, for some reason, I started feeling pretty bad on Venlafaxine last autumn and it didn't help my symptoms the way it used to. My phychiatrist switched it to Cymbalta (Duloxetine) 60 mg but that made my symptoms even worse: I was extremely nervous, depressed and tired with suicidal thoughts. Then he encouraged me to try once again Venlafaxine. I got back on 75 mg and in few days I felt a great improvement: for 2-3 days I was back to myself but right after that all my anxiety and panic symptoms returned. I had to use Valium almost daily to help with the symptoms. In January 2015 I told my psyc. I want to get off Venlafaxine for good. We did it with the help of Prozac 10 mg and I guess the withdrawal symptoms weren't that bad. After finally stopping Venlafaxine my mood was a little bit better but it didn't help my anxiety.

Last week we decided to double the amount of Prozac and I started taking 20 mg. In few days my depression, fears and anxiety stopped. Wow! I felt so great (normal!) for about 5 days until one morning I woke up with the same old depressive and anxious feelings.

Now I don't know what to do. It seems like I have developed some kind of tolerance to SSRI's since using them for almost 10 years. I have another appointment to another psychiatrist soon but I've lost my trust since already Venlafaxine, Cymbalta and now Prozac seem to fail. I got no idea what to do next, I'm hopeless.

Occasionally I have been off work because of feeling really anxious and depressed, also my studies don't progress and I started having again those suicidal thoughts. Traveling is something I used to love but now everytime I get far away from home I get extremely anxious and feel like I wanna return back home quickly.

Damn I hate this situation. Please tell me some options I could/should try to get my life back.

2

Hi there

I'm quite a bit older than you and female, but I do have some experience of anxiety and depression tha`t might help.  I found that swapping meds, or discont=inuiong them abruptly always threw me into crisis.  I've been on the same meds for my bipolar now for years, and they seem to have stabilised me, they are Citalopram 40mg in the  morning, Risperidone 3mg in thge evening and diazepam 5mg as required.  I did once try Prozac but it didn't help me, I have also tried mood stabilisers but they just made me put on weight :-) so I'm off them now with the citalopram dealing with my depression and risperidone preventing the mania the citalopram might generate.  Anxiety is varaiable but the diazepam really helps.

I've also had Human Givens conselling which was a god send and taught me to deal with stressful situations, might be worth chec king out.  Its  ot cheap but it worked for me.

xxxx

3

Hi michelo

Sorry to hear of your current status

What I would do is this - keep taking the

20mg of Prozac . You mentioned that last week the Prozac went from 10 to 20 mg

And you felt good for 5 days then you felt

Low again

The drug needs time to work,plus the dose

Was upped this may be why you felt great

For 5 days then as the dose increased and started working you felt low I suspect you

Experienced some sort of side effects just like as if you were just starting out on the Prozac

Hope some of that helps

4

Hi there you should probably try to give them more time to work and also with changing around your meds you need time to settle I am just starting to come off venlafaxine else ssri's haven't worked forme I'm starting a tetracylic antidepressant called mirtazipine

Give yourself time and if your still unhappy go back to your doctor I wish you all the best 😊

5

Yes fluoxitine can take a while to work and you may also need a higher dose, I read that up to 80mg can be taken, I am currently taking 40mg as I found that my anxiety had slowly appeared.

I hope you feel much better soon