Does Prescription Medication Help Your PTSD?

[anthony]

Here is the ultimate question, one of which I am actually going to press release to the world for input once members actively vote and comment upon this. I want to tell the physicians of the world where their going wrong in regards to using prescription medication as a first line defence, believing it will fully treat PTSD and allow the sufferer to live a normal, even semi-normal, life.

Have I already concluded the results? Well, from the above statement, yes. I am basing this from the discussions within the forums, and the issues pertained to people taking their medications with the side effects evolving, and realistically the little help it overall provides to a sufferer of PTSD. Whilst medications might solve some problems, it just does not seem to solve PTSD. Why? In my opinion, I believe it is because of the sheer number of symptoms caused and provoked by PTSD that makes it impossible for medication to even remedy too a point allowing a sufferer to partake within life.

My experience with it, I ended up more suicidal, more depressed, numerous side effects, still locked in my house unless I absolutely needed to go out, still didn't socialise, was still stressed, still anxious, still not living life... prescription medications did me no favours. Started at a small dose, worked for a little while, then needed more to get the same effect, then more, then reached the maximum dose and my body became immune to the medication, doctors response.... you guessed it, lets change medications and dose your body with a new one, one that it isn't used too. Yey... what a great theory (sarcasm).

What is your vote (honestly in regard to your experience with medications) and tell us your story please, so maybe physicians of the world can see positives vs. negatives and those issues surrounding the realistic problems of medications and PTSD. Let’s see if we can make them stand-up and think differently, opposed to walking in their office, doing nothing, prescribing medications and sending us on our way like good little obedient soldiers. If physicians want our money, I think it’s about time they start earning it.

[Beachbum]

haven't tried meds (other than mild sleepers) so can't vote but will watch & learn, was too scared to try meds when offered, then so desperate & asked for them and GP never faxed prescription as he'd promised - maybe i had a lucky escape?! coz that drove me to ask MIND (mental health charity) for help (as was suicidal) & they put me in touch with ASSIST (a PTSD charity) who provide FREE C.B.T. on the phone, i'm sure it helped some, & just talking to somebody who knew what PTSD was - great! here in UK the recommended treatments (by NICE) are SSRi/CBT/EMDR, but as up to 3yr waiting list for non-drug treatment, drugs are only option unless you have the money to pay or enough will to keep searching and lucky enough to stumble across people like ASSIST, big thanks to them.

[veiled]

My list... At least what pill bottles I could find empty around the home and some still full from the last year and a half. Can not find them all and this is not a complete list from over the years. This also does not include medications from ER trips or what was given to me in ER via IVs.

This is one round I was given by a shrink who asked no questions or had me fill out forms beyond address and insurance info. Well, he did ask me why I came. I said I cannot control panic attacks. They were driving me crazy and I could not think straight. He did not know I was home bound, had nightmares, intrusive thoughts, suicidal, he did know I drank to put myself to sleep as he did ask about alcohol consumption, nor any fears or other symptoms associated with PTSD, or my history. He did not ask, and I did not just give it to him. I Just wanted these new stronger panic attacks that triggered the next to go away. My general practitioner told me that this was a regimen for bi-polar. Which I am not. It did stop those attacks at the time though. I went on that day of tapering to get off, one at a time as I was being treated for something I do not have.


Ativan - 2mg 3x a day = 6mg daily
Paxil - 20mg 1x a day
Neurontin - 300 mg 3x a day = 900mg daily




The other drug of choice, by my GP who went back to treating it as he knew bi polar was not the issue either... Xanax. This just kept getting built up in my system and did bring relief again to the attacks. Still getting mixed with alcohol. He later added Buspar to the mix it was not original. After that time he started to figure out there was more to it as this still did not control after time. Suggested female shrink. Leads me to believe he knew at this point what he was dealing with but not one to diagnose. He was later relieved to see me getting diagnosed and being treated "properly". Second list was for severe muscle pains. I did not take second list as I felt it was unsafe to combine. Alcohol was removed during this as I saw the negative effects.


Xanax - Starting point 1.5 mg 3x a day = 4.5 daily - built up to 3mg 3x a day and 1mg when awoke in panic from nightmares = 10 mg daily
Buspar - 10 mg 3x a day = 30 mg a day (cannot remember starting dose, it was built up to this)



Darvon - 65mg 1 or 2 capsules every 4 hours as needed
Relafen - 500mg 2x a day = 1000mg daily


Enter PTSD diagnosis. I was taken off Xanax, except for .5 or 1 mg, can't recall. I was placed on this next list as a result and ended up back in ER a couple times and as ill as I have ever been in my life. She did though spend an hour at a time with me and asked every question she could pull in my opinion. She did not hold back and pulled it all out. New regimen... Resulted in extreme not even being a word close enough to describe the sickness and effects of this sudden switch and a couple hospital stays.


Xanax - .5 or 1mg a day at least a couple hours after Clonazepam drug "if needed"
Buspar - 10 mg 3x a day = 30 mg
Clonazepam - 2mg 1x at night
Effxor - 37.5mg to start a day (did not go beyond initial dose before hospitalized)


Her new regimen - Which had serious withdrawals off of Xanax. And I sought out on my own at that point a therapist for weekly CBT to treat PTSD and addiction and following that found this site to further help. Meditation and relaxing tecniques. Aroma therapy. Also, back to simple chamomile and spearmint teas to ease withdrawals. CBT handbook Feeling Good. Some deep soul searching.


Xanax - 2 mg 3x a day = 6 mg daily
Buspar - 10 mg 3x a day = 30 mg daily
Zoloft - 25 mg a day increased to 100mg a day


The above list... I quit the Buspar cold turkey with no ill effects at all. Did nothing except add drowsiness while taking. Had no effect on or off. Tapered Xanax down to 2mg a day as progressing in CBT and educating myself on all aspects I could find relating to the drugs, the way panic attacks effect the body and why, and PTSD. Zoloft increased depression and making me unable to stay awake hindering my therapy through CBT and my meditating. Currently cutting Zoloft. Stalled cutting Xanax to finish Zoloft withdrawals. Starting exposure aspect of therapy during cuts.

Goal - Zero drugs and continue work to treat properly controlling symptoms with my mind and thinking process rather than drugs to try and numb it or change it.

Benefits - For something as severe panic attacks that cycle out of control for hours on end, I can see something to control them long enough to start education on those and develop a complete understanding from the brain/mind, to the nervous system, to the effects on organs and body parts to lessen/remove fear of them.

Draw-backs- To remain on such drugs long enough to develop addiction and raise tolerance of is counter productive. As now patient has to fight PTSD with addiction. Materials should be provided to educate person and self-help encouraged, if not strongly pushed.

Drugs such as anti-depressants that seem to work at controlling symptoms for some do not put the person in a place where they willingly work through issues. Drug masks the symptoms that can be effectively controlled through a lot of self analysis and work.

For those of us that it does not work, we are forced to learn this the hard way... And do so battling addiction, negative reactions to drugs making PTSD worse, and PTSD symptoms still uncontrolled. The latter group may be lucky in that aspect as we learn because we are forced to. We find we do have the strength to control this when properly treated and educated as it is a do or die. It should be made more than clear suicide that plagues our mind at times will only make those around us as we are now. That seems to be a hell of a deterrent.

I had to select some benefit as it would be easier to start education with immediate relief to symptoms. But that is all and if proper education is provided and pushed.

Had to add now as this thread was bumped up during my move and finding even more pill bottles. Well, add Lexapro and Zyprexa to the list. Zyprexa was years ago when I could not sleep due to intrusive thoughts. I cannot recall who gave now or why I got Lexapro, just remember finding the bottle with my name on it. I really feel like there is not a pill out there they have not put me on. As of the date of the edit I am on 3/4 mg xanax a day. 1/4 mg 3X a day now and the only drug.

[darkskies]

Don't know if you know, but some drug and (obviously) brand names are different in each country when the actual drug itself is the same.

I was prescibed Escitalopram (with berevement counselling) 2 or 3 months before ptsd began.

A week after 'my trauma' it was changed to Venlafaxine (Exfexor XL) 150mg od which was a lot better. For the first two weeks i was also prescribed Lorazapam, which helped at work by taking the edge of anxiety and fear. However ruined my concentration and immediate short term memory. I also felt exhausted - ?combination of medication and trying to cope.


I continued with venlafaxine 150mg od until may 05 then increased to 225mg daily in divided doses for 2 months. I thought at the time they took the edge off things but now ?their benefit as things got worse before they got better.
I was also self-harming, mainly cutting, after my trauma as a way to cope.


Anxiety was a problem so i was prescribed Olanzapine 2.5mg tds. It's an anti-psychotic but worked really well for anxiety. My little 'to feel normal' pill. I loved it, too much, and got psychologically dependant on it, even now i feel happier carrying a few around with me, just in case i need them and won't 'give in' my supply.
I took it, as prescribed, 2.5mg tds for 2mths, then 1 mth prn-usually 1-2 doses a day. I was then advised by psychiatrist to stop taking it.
I told this to my Gp - he said he would give me one last supply of it, to take when you think you need it. He gave me three months supply unstead of the usual 1 mth!
So i continued to take it for another 2 and a half months 0-2 doses at 2.5-5mg during the day but always took 2.5mg to sleep at night. Was this technically self-medicated?
I developed diabetes mellitus in sept 05 as a result of my Olanzapine use.

I was precribed in June 05 diazapam 2mg at night to help with sleep but self medicated 2-16mg, as inital dose didn't work. I would also combine this with Olanzapine 2.5-5mg 2-3 times a week.

I was diagnosed with ptsd end May/early June 05 - no medication change.

The person who caused my trauma had to appear to court on several occasions and sentancing was delayed 4-5 times. With each appearance (i didn't go) and subsequent delay my mental health deteriorated, to the point of being actively suicidal therefore admitted to hospital june 05. My self- harm was on a daily basis by this point. So the anti-depression meds didn't work.

In Hospital my medication was changed from Venlafaxine to Mirtazapine 30mg nocte. I was still having problems sleeping so was prescribed Zopiclone 7.5mg nocte also. I improved so came out of hospital 2 weeks later July 05.

My self harm improved, i was still getting thoughts but learnt not to re-act to them every time. My suicidal thoughts happened a few times, but remained just thoughts. In dec 05 they both were getting out of control again so Mirtazapine was increased to 45mg nocte.

Currently i am prescribed and take mirtazapine 45mg nocte,od Zopiclone 7.5mg nocte od prn up to three times a week, (but usually only take it 2-3 times fortnightly)

Ultimately, i am happy to take this because the increased dose of Mirtazapine controls suicidal and self harm thoughts for me, and enables me to sleep better.
On the depression, anxiety, and other ptsd symptoms i don't think it does anything to improve or hinder.

The head consultant where i have therapy describes mirtazapine as a 'life jacket' keeping a person afloat while therapy helps the waters receed so a person can touch the floor and walk to the shallow end and out the water completly.

[trisha]

cylexa-60 mg
ativan 2 mg
topomax 50 mg
seroquel 25 mg
remeron 30 mg

so far so good, only 3 1/2 weeks out of hospital

[piglet]

OMG! I would just like to say that I'm in awe at the amount of meds some people need to take. I'd never be able to keep track of it all!

[becvan]

My god that's alot of drugs!!

Anthony I can't answer this right now, since I just started and am on baby doses (which I will be kept on, the size thingy). As soon as they stablize the dose and I've had a few weeks, I'll let you know.

Bec

[motorjack]

:loopy: :loopy:

I was on wellbutrin 150 mg pills and effexor 75 mg..

Well let me tell you Effexor was ok until i went above 300 mgs a day or should i say over two pills.The Effexor made my heart feel as if it was clawing its way out of my chest, skin crawl, and someone had parked a jet in my head. The headaches became worse than any migrain...50 fold. Always felt tired even tough i felt wired. They dropped the level back to 150 and it became somewhat ok. I didnt sleep more than 3o mins and the longest up was 21 days striaght. Eating became a none issuse as i was never hungry. I dropped 45 pounds in under 6 weeks.
So the brought down Effexor and added Wellbutrin . It seemed to balance me out but when i started taking 600 mgs a day, after one week the benfits disappeared. My anger became scary, as it became uncontrolable. My heart began to race again and the skin crawled all the time. I felt like i was attached to a power generator. sleep sucked and life became very close to being totally out of control. It was Mr Jecuail and Mr hide...

Upon attending the hospital due to feeling out of control, as i wanted it to end . The er doctor advised i was over the daily limit and the Effexor was not a good mix in his opion.:loopy: He suggested the reduction and i went cold turkey. I became so dehydrated it was out in hospital again.

I hate meds
:drugs: not total daily was 600 well and 150 effex dont do it

[Marlene]

I take klonopin to help keep the anxiety under control. When the anxiety goes up, so do my other symptoms.

I was feeling good, anxiety was under control, hadn't had any panic attack in a while so I tried to taper off. I was ok for a few weeks and then everything came roaring back so I'm back onto the full dose the doctor gave me. *sigh* Well, I had to try and see if I could do it. Guess it was too soon. But I hope one day I'll be able to feel like 'me' without the pills

[Jim]

These are a lot of different drugs. Is it typical to take so many? My niece was on one only until 3 weeks ago, was cut off it cold turkey and is now on nothing.

Jim.

[anthony]

Jim, doctors get on a labelling frenzy basically, to help them justify prescribing so many drugs to unsuspecting patients. It is no secret that most doctors get kickbacks from the pharmaceutical companies for their written prescriptions, as its just the business side of being a doctor really. If you read this thread on http://www.ptsdforum.org/thread1097.html, you will see that many off what you see people write here in regard to multiple diagnosis, is actually the lesser professional doctors who rort this system in favour of themselves, by using multiple labels in order to justify medication prescriptions, as that is pretty much the law to cover their arse, in that they couldn't prescribe a medication if they didn't have the label attached to the patient.

When you look in that list linked above, you will see all the labels that people often mention here in regards to PTSD, being diagnosed uniquely, when infact, there are several labels contained within PTSD itself, hence when you are diagnosed with PTSD, you at the worst end of the scale by now, and there is no further basically, as PTSD is not curable once it has formed, though most of the symptoms by themselves are curable with treatment.

Basically, you see people dosed to the hilt mate with medication because doctors are abusing the business side of their practice. Instead of prescribing one or two medications to treat PTSD itself, they prescribe one for anxiety, one for depression, one for OCD, one for sleep, one for social phobia, etc etc... the list goes on. They make more money, the patient gets addicted to a shit tin of drugs, the doctors solution is too simply keep pumping drugs into the patient with no real therapy as such. The same story repeats itself here over and over for most members experience thus far.

Hence why this place exists, to cut the bullshit and get people better, because the very people we rely upon to do that job, have simply failed to do so anymore for nothing more than often personal greed. Within the 100% of physicians available to treat mental health, I estimate less than 10% actually give a shit about their patients enough to treat them properly, and not for capital growth.

[Jim]

Very interesting anthony, thank you. I suspected as much.

The psych doctor at the hospital tried to tell me she has comorbid conditions, diagnoses of major depression, OCD, social anxiety and an eating disorder not otherwise specified (?), plus the PTSD, and that she is non-compliant with regards to her meds. I think it's all bunk. She had none of these before the shooting, that is a fact. I figure all her symptoms stem from the PTSD, and the stomach problems stem from being shot, christ the surgeon told me that directly. Wish these damn doctors would keep their stories straight.

Jim.

[anthony]

She had none of these before the shooting, that is a fact.
And that is the key right there Jim, in that the DSM IV manual in which diagnosis are made, also includes the writing in regard to whether the symptoms where present before the trauma. If the symptoms are present only after the trauma, then PTSD is the desiring condition, not the symptoms and conditions uniquely that makeup PTSD itself.

Basically, there is no money is curing or healing people, only repeat medication and non-productive counselling, ensuring they never get better, regardless that they are too a human being.

The physicians I know that are 110% focused on their patients, are not the rich one's. Sure, they still get paid well, and so they should for their education, but they are often not the one's driving around in $250,000 Merc's, and the typical materialistic list that goes with that lifestyle. They are grounded, focused and their patients come first.

It reminds me of a movie actually, "Evil Woman", where she is a psychiatrist and charges hundreds per hour, doesn't give a shit, drives her BMW, is uptight, snobbish, etc etc... Its a comedy, but the part in which she acts as the psychiatrist who is too important to give anyone her real time, just stands out to me as an example explaining what is happening to our health arena.

I don't see the point in being a doctor if you don't care about your patients. Careing always gets a much better response IMO. Careing gets word of mouth referrals, it gets satisfaction that you have done good, it gets repeat customers.... Greed clouds their minds of real marketing, and being a doctor is about marketing when in private practice. They just haven't learnt it, or they got fed the wrong marketing advice of "be a cold hard shit, charge the earth, have no warmth for your patient in order to protect you from transferance and never heal them fully."

[Jim]

Greed clouds their minds of real marketing, and being a doctor is about marketing when in private practice. They just haven't learnt it, or they got fed the wrong marketing advice of "be a cold hard shit, charge the earth, have no warmth for your patient in order to protect you from transferance and never heal them fully."

Couldn't agree with you more anthony. With all the years of schooling doctors get, you'd think they could squeeze in a course on compassion.

Jim.

[veiled]

Just piping in, I could not agree more with Anthony here. My list of disorders is a mile long. None would be there without PTSD, take PTSD out OK, fine I am scared of creepy crawlies! But if there is a disorder I think my docs say I have it, I have researched enough to know I have one, PTSD.

With Anthony's incredible patience the last 6 or 7 months I am barely on xanax. I will be free of it and learn to cope. I did not not even know what all I took! I found out while packing for my move I found a bottle of lexapro. Only 10 mgs and it did not work so they pulled it but damn the drug trail is unreal.

If she is drug free extra kuddos! It will be a hell of a ride but better I think without addiction to fight too like I am. (Not to knock a break temporarily as I think it is needed, but if pushed to addiction like me... no good)

Anthony has done wonders to light the way, it is just who chooses to listen? Kind of like kids, you tell 'em and tell 'em... some listen, some fall on their face to come back home. I really wish more would follow Anthony's way... He knows what the hell he is talking about.

[batgirl]

The psych doctor at the hospital tried to tell me she has comorbid conditions, diagnoses of major depression, OCD, social anxiety and an eating disorder not otherwise specified (?), plus the PTSD, and that she is non-compliant with regards to her meds. I think it's all bunk. She had none of these before the shooting, that is a fact. I figure all her symptoms stem from the PTSD, and the stomach problems stem from being shot, christ the surgeon told me that directly. Wish these damn doctors would keep their stories straight.


OMG I didn't know this... they never told me. Or maybe I was just so out of it that I wasn't paying attention. Anyways I agree that it's BS. How can anyone have alllll those conditions all at once anyhow?!? Like WTF, are they trying for the Guiness Book of World Records with me?? No wonder they prescribe so many medications, if they think people have 5+ mental illnesses all at once. I thought the purpose of the DSM-IV was to rule out conditions so you're only diagnosed with one or maybe two at a time?? Dumb...

And yeah veiled I am medication free, for 3 weeks I think now, except I occasionally take a sleeping pill. I'm paranoid about taking the sleeping pills though as I don't want to get addicted. My uncle made me take one that night when I freaked out. But I generally only take one once or twice a month. I'm hoping to stay off the meds too, as I don't think they were really helping me. I mean, 3 years ago I started on 5 mg, then suddenly I was on 15, then 20, then 40, and finally 60 mg!!!! Obviously it wasn't working, because they kept increasing it.

I wish you well with getting off the Xanax completely.

[mouse]

I feel that my meds have helped me when the symptoms appear somewhat but I am also afraid that I am only dealing chemically with the issue and not working hard enough to deal without meds cause it is way easier to pop a pill then to feel the hurt and work through it, but I do feel that there is a chemical imbalance in the mind and that the meds can help correct that somewhat - Thus decreasing some of the kinds of symptoms

[becvan]

I forgot about this poll! (glad someone is mucking around in here.. it reminded me too)

My meds have done nothing.. They are adding more meds and will want to up them next month.. so yeah, didn't help in the least. It hasn't made me worse but that is only because I fight the doctors on every little thing about it and refuse to get pushed around so they can't just turn me into a drugged zombie like they would like to.

The meds just add to the finacial drain that is already present and then when I come off them.. I'll have to deal with the withdrawl too which will create more stress.

Not helpful.

bec

[kers]

I'm on Zoloft and Ativan (for sleep several nights a week).

They've both helped. The Zoloft pulled me out of a deep depression so that I could start dealing with the PTSD. And the Ativan is helping me try keep my body in "fighting shape," so to speak, so that I'm not overtired and letting the emotional crap snowball me into a bad place.

[Pitt Bull]

I have been put on Abilify to help with depression and a choice of Remeron or Trazadone for sleep. They seem to be helping with out making feel tired all the time. Have run into issues with depression becoming a bit more strong but I am trying to work my way through it with help of my counselor. He has said if it gets worse he will be asking for me to be hospitalized. I say that they can kiss my Ass :moon: before I go back to the hospital.

[catatonicky]

i think it really depends upon the person and their unique situation as to whether drugs can help or not. I found the Zoloft/Prozac kind aggravated my dissociation, however Effexor worked well and wasnt too sedating (hate older sedating antidepressants as well) until i doubled the dose and got an allergic reaction. Even if you take natural remedies you can still end up living amongst the pill bottles, and it does get a bit tiresome balancing them all out but if it keeps people from suicide then thats a positive in my book. It would be nice if there was a miracle drug/technique for PTSD but obviously thats not going to happen until they invent that Men-In-Black memory zapper (now how useful would THAT be!). I still think the prevalence of prescription drugs in society today is a damning indictment. What i see as the cause of this drugged society is the lack of social support networks and the individualisation of mental illness. As well as the big bucks to be made in meds!

[nov_silence]

I went down hill on Zoloft and Wellbutrin. Effexor helped stabilize me last year. I weened myself off of Seroquil and Paxil. Still on Effexor.

[New Mex Apex]

I was taking 20-30mg of paxil for years. It helped immensely with the panic attacks...I definitely noticed that they are worse since I quit taking it. I tightly control my environment to compensate for the lack of meds, however, when I do have a problem my symptoms run rampant. I like my doctors, even trust them but the bottom line for me is that I do not trust the pharmaceutical companies at all. I watch the news, and it seems that every time I turn around they are finding some sort of new dangerous side effect.

I didn't see anyone in this thread warning of the dangers of suddenly stopping medications, so I will share my experiences. I once had a hard time getting in to see a new doctor to get my prescription refilled and ran out. I began to feel as though I had a tornado in my head, I could not focus and became emotionally unstable. Within days I was in the hospital following an "attempt". The doctors said it was common, and that I should never quit a prescribed medication for my condition without close observation by a psychiatrist. I only took small doses to get off the medication...step down...and never took it again. I am wretched at remembering to take my meds, and I think some of my instability in the earlier years was due to the fact that I kept forgetting to take them when I got busy.

[becvan]

Ugh, that is not good New. I have one more of my pills for tonight, then I am out until Friday because I can't get in to see my doc on time for the next perscription. I'm expecting to be very sick and miserable.. maybe I should make sure someone checks on me... hmmms...

bec

[batgirl]

Bec, do you know what the half life of paxil is? I know when I was on a huge dose (100 mg daily) of prozac I had no withdrawal symptoms even though I quit it cold turkey, because prozac stays in your body for so long. It left my body gradually.

If it doesn't have a long half life then that really sucks for you, in fact that can be dangerous, I think you could even get suicidal ideation from going off too quickly. Friday seems really far away, close to a week. Can you call the pharmacy and get them to call in a prescription to your doc? I've done that before. If not, yeah definitely have someone check on you if you can. I hope you will be all right.

[becvan]

I'm on Zoloft, low dose, only 25 mg a day and no you can't call in prescriptions like that unless you have one to begin with! my doc only gives me two months at a time so, i need a new one as my refills are done. Yeah this might be fun.. not. And I have no idea what the half life of this stuff is

bec

[veiled]

Hell, just being weaned off the Zoloft was ugly. It was cut 25 mg at a time. Last step off of the last 25 mg was when the baseball bat met the walls (Would love to forget that). Having someone keep check may be a very good idea. But after a month of being off I finally was getting my head back straight. Bad bad doctor on that call bec!

[batgirl]

And I have no idea what the half life of this stuff is


I looked up Zoloft. It has a 26 hour half life, which means it takes about 5-6 days to get out of your system. So, it might not be so bad for you in that case, bec. It's about 5 days now until you can see the doctor. So you might be able to manage, although it's obviously not an ideal situation!

Can you call the doctor for a new prescription and then get him/her to send it to the pharmacy? Again, my doctor will do this. Your doctor must suck, god...

Paxil on the other hand has a significantly shorter half life by comparison, which is probably why it feels worse for people coming off of that drug.

[Desiderata]

Many years .... many meds ... found out there was no such thing as the magic pill ... But if others are getting a benefit then how can I judge their value on my experience alone. ... There is currently a lot of study being done right now on a drug called propranalol ... it's been in use for years for heart medication but they are seriously looking at the properties it has to suppress memory ... please google it ... and read what seems to be a miracle drug for PTSD .... maybe it really is a magic pill .... but I am understandably cynical after all the meds I've tried ... Meds only ended up being a great danger to my existance , which is proof enough how benificial they were in my case ... Thanks for welcome , Thanks for the Forum .... It's a good thing ... Mate

[veiled]

Hey Desi, we had chatted a little on this a while back, may be worth a read if you like. http://www.ptsdforum.org/thread1048.html?highlight=propranalol

[becvan]

No I am not allowed to call the doctor. It's severly screwed up here because the one clinic is privately owned, which I don't go to, so they won't allow my calls to go through and the clinic I go to, I see the doc on the day he is in. So yeah screwed..

However, I have pills to knock myself out so if I start freaking I will do that. if I have to really resort. LOL I'll go find a pot head and ask for a drag.. that'd knock me loopy for about 18 hours..

gotta love sensitivity to drugs...heheh

bec

[batgirl]

Blah that really sucks... I hope you get through it all okay.

[TScorpio1]

I finally went to the hospital after two days of not catching my breath. . . Was trying for a long time to ease my anxiety naturally, but apparently was not working. Got shot in the hip with some Ativan and that helped me breath normally and relax. Have a few pills left, but have been cutting them in 1/2 and using them with my panic/anxiety has been kicking in again. . . don't want to be dependant on these babies tho. But they sure are nice to me for now :dont-know Just know, I've never gone thru that before. Funny (Not ha ha) thing is I had a pretty severe session when all this started. Maybe going to look into Yogic Breathing Excercises. Who knows. . . . But I am appreciating the quick relief for now.

[Nam]

When symptoms first began I was on Prozac, Seroquel, Ambien, and Xanax. Then I quit the seroquel and was put on Wellbutrin along with the Prozac. The prozac made my sucidal ideation worse and I really didn't feel it worked well (besides the absolute inability to orgasm). The Xanax worked great for anxiety, but is highly addictive. Eventually, I was only prescribed Wellbutrin at 300mgs and I take Melatonin at night for sleep. For now, that is where I am at. I tried to quit the Wellbutrin and slid back into depression and I have no adverse side effects from taking it, so I will continue to do so until doctor says to get off. For right now, it works for me.

[becvan]

I would like to change my answer to this poll to NO!

Freaking stupid meds were almost the end of me.. I will NOT take any more from any doctor, under any circumstances!

bec

[Kathy]

I agree with you bec. I've never believed meds were a long term solution for emotional problems. It seems from my reading here, that they aren't a good short term solution in a lot of cases, either. I am glad you are off zoloft, just as I am glad Evie is off prozac. I hope you continue to do well.

[Loathe]

I did Paxil and zoloft when I first got home from Afghanistan prior to my diagnosis. I'd say it was the best/stabalist I have been in a long time.

After that I was put on Effexor and Wellbutron which messed me up.

After that I was on Seroqul and zoloft during which I didn't notcie any difference.

After that I was (and am) on Lithium, which I don't think is doin gnaything. At the same time I was prescribed Clonzopine which ws seriously the worst thing I have ever been on in my life. I became violent and irrational at the drop of a hat, and did a couple thousand dollars in damage to stuff in my basement. Needless to say I'm not taking that anymore.

[Thornbird]

I have never been given meds for the PTSD. I was given antidepressants before I was diagnosed with PTSD and then my doctor thought that Ritalin would help me think better. I have to admit, neither drug does a think for me. My doctor does not believe I have PTSD, but the psychiatrist I say does.

[doobie]

my doc starts me on different drugs for one day one dose while in hospital and stops or i say frantacly neva again..
he has to stay away from lots cause having my mum punish me growing up and being drugged in early teens and they did their thing with me so taking a vitamin tablet triggers.
..xanax has helped in a way but i gave them up last year for 3 months felt better in one way but struggled so badly...and now its as if damned if i do damned if i don't....

[maus]

everybody wanted me to shut the hell up
I finally agreed to try; they gave me 1 pill I can't remember (alprazolam? 5 mg)
I had an awful headache for 3 or 5 days, couldn't move
I think after that ordeal they prescribed diazepam 5 mg but I wouldn't touch it. Once I finally did I collapsed within 20-30 minutes or so they had to literally drag me away.
Then some moron told me Zyprexa was used as a mood stabiliser, they tried to sell that to me before. I am not stupid but so helpless and in total panic I accepted. 5,10,15,20 mg I think finally for a few weeks (?) It did absolutely nothing for my rage and mood swings, I was in a cloud all the time, zombie like, but functioning. I quit. Oh and I ate and ate and gained weight you wouldn't believe.
I was given benzo's, oxa up to 80 mg, I used wine with it, which helped, I was so tired I could finally sit down, was a super zombie. I used something else also; I can't remember also a benzo. I quit after a few weeks.
I am now on wine that helps with cigarettes and coffee. The coffee however is driving me nuts lately, and the wine can cause the opposite effect of sedation in to large quantities (don't we know that).
The cigarettes are something quite common in ptsd, as it relaxes, it does did also in some other psychiatric disorders. So there is probably something useful but not known what exactly. (Maybe an idea for a new thread? Pro's and con's of cigarettes in ptsd, science and effective substance).
I am thinking of meds for my outburst of anger, my yelling and screaming. It's wearing me down. I am thinking of propanolol (but I have asthma, but I have meds for that :-) and prozac, maybe a low doses of trazodon as a sleep medication (non addictive).
I am opposed to meds, but if I can't handle it anymore these are my choices I will discuss with a psychiatrist.
Since I have been on this forum I postponed my request for a medication consultation ;-)

[starshine]

It helps the worst of the depression. I wouldn't say it does much for the pure PTSD. [flashbacks, nightmares, anxiety, hyper-vigilance etc] Only therapy helps with that.

I was on efexor a year. Bad news. Then coming off it? Don't ask. I survived efexor withdrawal...

I'm on remeron [mirtazapine] and have been for a year and a bit.

I'm supposed to take propranolol prn for panic attacks [read flashbacks] but have pretty much weaned myself off it, as it just suppressed the feelings and made my depression worse the next day.

I use Bach flower remedies a lot. They're great.

[fanny]

I suffer from DESNOS (chronic ptsd) (more from the panic/psychosomatic and dissociative side of the symptom spectrum than the depression or lack of anger control side) and have tried lots of SSRI and one NASSA (fluoxetine, sertraline, mirtazapin, citalopram), from a few days to 2-3 weeks, and felt so much worse than before, I really thought "this is the end" a lot of times, side effects, panic, pains, dissocative symptoms increased a lot and a became very aggressive and near-suicidal (which I both wasn`t beforehand) so I ceased taking them.

I tried St.John Wort (600mg/day for 2 months), which worked ok and had no side effects on me but increased insomnia and aggression, but even those effects made me want to taper off, which I did subsequently.

I have to add that I do hours of training (dancer) every day, and with the meds this was no longer possible.

And the dance training, relaxation and Body-Centering techniques (Body-Mind-Centering, Ideokinesis, Dance - Imagination) and T'ai Chi Ch'uan, which I all do daily (mostly), does more to help my symptoms than anything else I ever heard or did - I can only recommend these, although it may be difficult at first, but it does more in creating your own (not traumatized) body image, to replace the traumatized one, that you can possibly imagine.

So I only had a very short med experience and now use the above training and techniques, together with a DBT group (Dialectic-behavioral-therapy,invented by Marsha Linehan, only empirically validated successful therapy for individuals diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder, very much recommended for DESNOS/complex PTSD fyi http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dialectical_behavioral_therapy), which I can also not recommend enough, and am looking forward to starting cognitive behavioral (1-one-1) therapy soon.

[Grama-Herc]

As far as meds helping with PTSD. I don't think so cuz the "pros" give use meds to control the symtoms of PTSD not the actual PTSD. For myself at least all my "mental junk" has 2 parts. #1-it is genetic. My depression and the off spring of it ARE genetic. My mother's side has almost all of the family with this, then add unknown cause of PTSD and the "PROS" have no idea how to drug me up. So I take 200mg of Zoloft daily for depress ion and 0.5 mg of Xanax 3xdaily to control the anxiety/panic attacks. I am a zombie most of the time because of the drugs, but the other option is not a place I care to go again. Tryed no meds for a while on my own----NOT A WISE IDEA. EVER! ! So do the drugs help with PTSD--yes is you want to control the symptoms. Do the drugs make PTSD go away--- no, the drugs only mask the feelings

[Monarch]

Guess I am lucky in a sense, I only take Paxil 25mg CR once a day. TheDr. gave me some Xanex for the bad times and I have taken it maybe twice and it didn't really do anything. I still go up and down on the Paxil mood wise, sometimes I get depressed but I don't go ask for changes to my meds I just weather the storm and everything usually evens out again.

[Claire]

In the words of The Verve, the drugs dont work!

Well in my opinion anyway! but I have been adament since the beginning. When I first started getting ill I pleaded with my friend that I shouldn't go to the doctor because they would just prescribe me pills and that would be it. I'd get reliant on them and possibly addicted. I needed to be better without drugs. Then I would know it was me getting well and not the drugs. Exactly as I'd feared when I first tried to explain to the doctor what was happening to me (I didn't know anything about PTSD at the time) sure enough she wanted to write me a prescription. When I saw a psychiatrist he wanted to do the same. There's been times that I really wanted to accept but I feel very lucky that I haven't espeically after reading peoples experiences on here. I cant see how it would do anything other than add to my problems and confuse things even more.

[Jim]

Believe my family are better off without the damn drugs.

Drugs Evie has taken have either masked her feelings entirely, or made her suicidal. Despite recent difficulties, she does much better on her own, unmedicated. She has been virtually drug free since December, weathered many storms in that time, all on her own efforts. She has much to be proud of in that regard.

Brian was on Lexapro when he died, having only started taking it within days of his death. Can not help but wonder if the Lexapro helped to bring about his tragic end.

Jim.

[cactus_jack]

Jim, I'm sorry for your loss. I understand all too well the emotions one experiences with some of those drugs. I remember how Paxil, Depakote and Risperidal almost killed me. It was destroying my liver and made me suicidal.

[Jim]

Much appreciated cactus jack, thank you.

Jim.

[Grama-Herc]

Hey guys. While I appreciate your experiences with the different meds in your lives, some of us would not even exist without them. Meds DO NOT cure us. Along with therapy the drugs HELP manage our symptoms. Some times it takes some trial and error to find the one that works for your situation. The key is to incorparate therapy with meds. One without the other is like baking a cake without all the ingredients, the outcome is somewhat disappointing AND it doesn't taste very good either. So there it is-----My opinon HERC

[batgirl]

Hey guys. While I appreciate your experiences with the different meds in your lives, some of us would not even exist without them.

You're forgetting though herc that the whole point of this poll/thread IS for people to share their personal experiences with medication, not to have a debate on whether or not medication is effective.

[Grama-Herc]

Batgirl Sorry didn't mean to step on any toes AND you are absolutely correct

[responsiblek9]

It was a Band-Aid approach and it did not work for me. The side effects almost killed me though. Internal bleeding on three SSRI's I almost bled out when some of the lining of my intestine sloughed off from the Paxil. That put me in the hospital for a while and they forbade me from ever using that class of meds again.

[sparta21]

I am in awe of what I'm reading here. I know that meds have helped some, but they were an awful experience for me. I've tried most ssri's; they made every symptom worse and added some new ones. I loved the benzo's best because they went great with my alcohol abuse. Doc's even suggested ect because the meds failed. Great, meds don't work, let's zap his brain. I did not go along for that ride. I'm so glad to have come across this site. Reading the posts is far more helpful than any antidepressant I've taken. Thanks.

[pandora]

I take ativan,1mg 2 times per day as needed, immovane 15mg at bedtime and I was taking but have stopped atenolol (much like propanolol a beta blocker as well) effexor xl 300 mg per day. I had no problems coming off either of these but I just can't not use the sleeping meds and ativan. I think I am definately addicted to those.

[Shinigami_Shimai]

From the age of 13 - 17 I was on many different meds. All I remember is there was something to wake me up, something to put me to sleep and something to calm me down. During that period I became this drone that could not talk and had violent flashes of anger. When I was in the Mental Hospital I determined that the meds were what was making me so angry and causing me to black out so I decided to take myself off them. The doctors kept trying to make me take more but I've refused and have been med free since then, it has been 15 years now. I feel a lot better without meds and no longer go near them. The last doctor to give me med I took them to a new doctor and showed him. He took the pills and dropped them into a trash can and told me I did not need meds. What I needed was to focus on what happened in the past and all those meds would do is make me forget. Now when I see a new doctor I first ask them their position on medication. If they try to prescribe me anything I walk away and look for a new doctor. I now only take medication that is for my physical ailments and not for the mental. The only drug I remember the name of was Prozac and they kept uping the dosage on that one. When I found out what Prozac's side effects were I remember getting very angry at my past doctors and even had a few choice words with a couple of them. They still thought I needed to be medicated and did not realize just how much damage they had caused me. It really pisses me off to think that maybe I would not have ended up in the mental hospital if they had not loaded me up with so much crap... Guess that is in the past now and there is little I can do about it.

Well, jaa ne

Kat

[ptsd_cracker]

They made me suicidal and it took forever to convince the doctors that that was the case. 11/2 yrs on med's and I am lucky that I didn't kill myself. 4 months off and life is so much better I can finally think straight again.

[rob4444]

i started on zyprexa,it was my chill pill...my specialist ceased this and i ended up on 2000mg epilim..30mg avanza..10mg endone daily.....i find all meds make me drowsy and its difficult to leave the house as im a zombie....ive since stop taking all meds including pain relief and i am using 30mls 8 herb essiac tea nightly....a very fast and unbelievable improvement in nervous pain relief, health ,attitude and boundless energy ensued....i am now superfit and spend my time outdoors ,in the bush cutting firewood and keeping busy,although i still prefer to do it alone i have more time for people and dont dread meeting new people like i used to...

[nie]

Effexor 150mg
Seroquel 100mg
I also have Xanax and Ambien for emergency use only.

My psychiatrist told me that medication will not cure my PTSD, but will help me as I go through the therapy process. I have found this to be true so far.

[anthony]

My psychiatrist told me that medication will not cure my PTSD, but will help me as I go through the therapy process. I have found this to be true so far.
Keep that doctor nieccole.... an honest one.

[nor]

I have been on 80mg of prozac for a few years now. Initially it was prescribed for depression (at a lower dose), and then progressed to 40 and now 80 to combat OCD symptoms. Supposedly it helps with the ptsd symptoms, but I don't see it. The only thing that it could be assisting, is the numbing feeling (but that is also a symptom of ptsd, so maybe it isn't helping at all!)

The prozac did help my OCD tremendously, but I have been on and off different mood stabilizers for the past few years as well. Right now, I only take prozac and trazadone (at night to sleep). My ptsd is full blown, so I don't see the prozac as beneficial with the illness.

nor

[resurrection]

My medication(citalopram 40mg) has helped in so far as it has lifted my depression and helped me to cocentrate better which in turn helps me have the will to deal with my nervousneess better

[just tina]

Don't forget the drugs to counteract the effects of other drugs, and the diagnoses that go with them. I had a major "atypical" depression in 1994. I had a paradoxical reaction to an antidepressant and was then diagnosed as type II bipolar. They had me convinced that if I didn't take the mood stabilizers (totally debilitating for me) that I would end up being a full-blown manic depressive with psychotic episodes. I went to a bipolar meeting once, and wondered what I was doing there. My life was nothing like theirs'. Finally I got off the mood stabilizers. No hypomanic episodes, just like I never had a hypomanic episode, except for that one time on Desipramine.

In 2003 I had another major "atypical" depression, and after six months of I don't know how many drug therapies, discovered that I had pernicious anemia. The depression that comes with anemia is "atypical" and can be fixed right up in two weeks with high doses of iron and vitamin C. It's hard not to be bitter about the decade I spent straight-jacketed pharmaceutically and convinced I was at risk of becoming manic depressive. I have to wonder how much of the degeneration I've suffered is due to the prescriptions I've been given.

If I can spare anyone that pain, by convincing an anemic person to have their blood tested before seeing a shrinky-dink, it will have been worth it. Look for brittle nails, lots of loose hair, a blood-less feeling, feelings of worthlessness, not being able to remember ever having done anything right, not being able to recall words for things---I could not for the life of me think of the word "table". I just stared at it. Sleeping a lot. And not having any physical energy, which can also include not having the energy to generate a will to live or die.

This might explain one reason why women suffer depression so much more than men, and post-par tum depression after a difficult delivery. It doesn't explain all things called "depression", but I bet it's not uncommon.

Being in such a weakened physical state makes it very difficult to cope with the burdens of PTSD.

[veiled]

That is some very interesting info you provided, Tina. Thank you.

[Marine0311]

Took wellbutron and zoloft mix and trazadone for awhile, ended up in the MH Ward.

Tried some other stuff I cannot say the names, anyways now I just take 200mg Sertralene(Zoloft), 1200mg Gabapenton, 100mg Trazadone.

The VA only has certain drugs and mostly generic stuff. I'm sorta stable, thats what my wife says.

People react different to meds its all chemical in the brain.

[mightsurvive]

I was put on diazapam for a while which only helped a little bit but spacing me out and not makeing me care but the thoughts were still there. Then i went onto Effexor xl also known as venlafaxine and they decreased the frequency of a lot of my worst symptoms like the intrusive thoughts and the flash backs and panic attacks, however they really didnt help long term - it was just a way to hide my issues under the carpet untill i had the strength to deasl with them and they made my sleep and nightmares worse. Now im off all meds and things are worse again but not quite as bad as they were before the meds. I'm one for counselling.

[morgan]

I take 60mg paxil, 30mg buspar, 600mg gabapentin, 180mg ziprasidone and they do work very well for me. My life before meds. was unbearable. Now, between meds. and therapy I can manage my symptoms fairly well.

[nightowl52]

The doctor I had at the time , had me try 4 or 5 that I faithfdully stayed on a month, that's long enough to ajust & I never felt better, I felt worse. On top of how bad I felt, I had no desire to be intimate with my husband. Now he has ptsd from my injuries as well. He takes 5 or 6 medications and sleeps very little in the night, takes naps off & on all day. I think I'm in better shape. He has high b/p, colestrial is high, pain, etc. 2 antidepressants that make him a zombie , so I think I'm better off, I think he's worse.

[moog]

Off the top of my head but my memory isn't what it used to be.

Lorazepam
Diazepam
Tazepam
Topiramate (Topamax)
Amitriptyline
Mirtazapine (Remeron)
Venlafaxine XR (Effexor XR)

Most were prescribed for sleep when they didn't realize what was wrong with me. The Remeron made me "crazy", severe serotonin reaction and I had constant sensory overload. Effexor XR is to new to give a review.

[Cindy]

Meds have helped me battle the depression. The rest, well, they work sometimes but figuring out the right combination is very difficult. I think I've been on everything.

One thing I will say, you need to find a psychiatrist that will work with you and listen to you. As a team you can work up combinations based on your responses. Do drugs fix it - no, they just lower the thresholds of tolerance of symptoms.

I had a psychiatrist that was awesome, I weened myself off of all meds over a period of two months. He appreciated it and thought everyone should try it now and then to see what the baseline of symptoms are. I was impressed.
I lasted about 4 months before I hit rock bottom again with the depression.

When I returned to meds we then started with the Effexor and slowly added others as needed. Unfortunately I have a new psychiatrist and am still working on the ground work of the relationship. Some things I fill and others I set aside.

[Murphy's Law]

I have PTSD. I suffer from phantom pain and pain in joints and limbs. Both from amount of surgeries and depth of injuries. I see a psycologist every 2 weeks, a pain specialist every 6-8 weeks, a psyciatrist every 6 months, and my GP every 4-6 weeks. We use a combination of stellate ganglion nerve blocks, CBT, pysio, meditation (deep breathing, visualization), and meds.
Have tried accupressure and accupunture, and electric impulses. All with bad reactions.
I have been on steriods for short term pain relief. Worked, but made me feel REALLY good. One was dexamethasone.
Lyrica was tried for about a year, no noticible improvement.
Celebrex had no noticible affect on pain.
IV treatment, a--- biphosphate, for neurological pain. no pros. Alot of nausea and total hair loss.
I was on a patch for pain, fentanyl. It caused severe apnea, and resulted in prolonged hospital stay.
I now take oxycodone, 30mg x 2, with endocet to up it for bad days.
I was on bupropion, for depression, it caused severe twitches and shakes.
I now take effexor 150 mg/day. I find it effective for depression. only side effect was when they uped the dosage to 225mg, I became very nauseated.
I take ativan sublingual when needed for panic attacks, although that has become almost a non issue thanks to my work with psycologist.
I have taken several things for nausea, metaclopramide, zofram?. I find gravol works best.
Sativex buccal spray works well for nausea and pain. Works very quickly, but is very costly.
I now take cessamet, .5mg x 2/day, which helps for nausea and pain.
I also take desipramine 25mg for sleeping, but this is fairly new, and meant for short term problems I am having.
I find the worse thing with a lot of the meds I take is the cycle. You take something for pain, they cause depression, then I end up taking something for depression. That causes nausea, so I take something for that. Seems like a catch 22.
Anyway, I find that in my years of treatment, a balance of alot of things is needed. Meds are a neccessary evil for some of us, but I do believe that with work alot of them can be replaced by better techniques and methods. One struggle seems to be knowing how much pain is just letting you know you are alive, compared to pain that needs to be medicated. And pain relief compared to the high that accompanies alot of the pain meds. If that makes sense.

[catatonicky]

I've subscribed to this thread but havent visited the forum for a while now.
I was on Effexor a year or two ago and it was great until i got a bad case of the hives. Since then it was Cipramil as there are no other SNRI's available in Australia, max dose. Just last week i got jack of it all and went off everything cold turkey as i was drinking heavily and using valium and sleeping tablets as well and still feeling suicidal. I also ditched the psychiatrist who was no help at all and basically detroyed a supportive and healing relationship that she felt was an "unhealthy" one. But its ok i've been in another one now for a year (and yes its vanilla) but its working atm.

Anyway as i said i've had it with drs of all persuasions they are all full of shit. The drugs kept me alive but they clouded my head and made me live from one crisis to another with surprisingly little actual feeling. Now im feeling again and its great. I get "head rushes" but they'll eventually stop. I also get occasional two-hourly "melancholy" attacks some evenings but they arent really panic more flashbacks to the numbness of the drugs. I've found taking several large teaspoons of organic cold-pressed flaxseed oil when i get head rushes seems to help assuage the sore brain of withdrawal.
Its nice to feel passion again, anger as well.

To sum up the drugs helped keep me alive but they dont cure anything, i see them as a "waiting room" for my ongoing dealing with the ptsd. Its good to know its there but its like sticking your head into a marshmallow. Sometimes you need it, and i think its hould always be an option, but i can tell you from dealing with every sort of doctor under the sun for 10 years they dont know jack. Period. Or theyd really help you deal with and express your pain, which is what this is; pure and simple, pain unexpressed from being ****ed up badly in the past.

[ChrisB]

Great comments!! I agree with everything you have said. Remember they are treating the main aspect of your illness; Anxiety, Depression etc. Not working? just boost the dose. Still not working? just change to a new one.(The more expensive the better) De-realization- De-personalization? No! You must have Epilepsy, take this drug. Stay home and slobber. Can't sleep? You must have Rem Behavior Disorder! Here take Klonipin. That my friend is sarcasim. We have a high degree of tension- Maybe we all need quality Attention. I am starting the weaning process as we speak.
Good Luck