Posted by Vincent_QC on June 12, 2013, at 16:24:17
Hi,
I saw a new PDoc today, after a very long 2 hours diagnostic procedure with him, being asked so many questions about my symptoms, family history, and many other subjects, he made a diagnosis of severe anxiety (Panic disorder, social phobia, general anxiety, simple phobias, somatisation, situational anxiety). Overall my nervous system, mainly the sympathetic branch of my autonomic nervous system, work all the time and the parasympathetic branch don't work at all... (Not new for me since my Cardio Doc said already that I had a dysautonomia problem).The previous diagnosis of passive-agressive personality was remove since I don't meet the criterias and it's a good thing.
We talk about all the meds I tried, almost all the AD, AP, MAOI's, TCA's, Clonidine, beta-blocker, mirtazapine, Topomax, Neurontin, Lyrica, Buspar, just to name a few, he choose the Lamictal for me.
He said that i'm not bi-polar at all, BUT that the Lamictal help some of his patients with extreme anxiety to feel better...he also said that I will be able to add later the only one AD who help me with the panic disorder in the past (Paxil, to boost the anti-anxiety effect.
Anyway, at first he wanted to RX some Depakote but since i'm on a high dose of clonazepam he said that it will increase the side-effects, I will feel more weird and disconected, who will make me feel more anxious overall so he choose the Lamictal.
I explain to him that all my previous PDoc said that the Lamictal wasn't good for anxiety so that's why I never try it before. He said that it can work OR it can also NOT work...
He RX a very low dose of 12.5 mg every 2 days for 2 weeks and then 12.5 mg everyday for 2 weeks and then increase to 25 mg until I reach a dose who will help with my anxiety and stay at this dose. He explain that if it work at 50 mg then I don't need to increase the dose and since i'm not bi-polar, I will probably need a lower dose.
Ok, now I look on older thread about Lamictal on babble and overall most of the peoples who was on the Lamictal had WORSE anxiety... Same if I do a quick research on Google about Lamictal for anxiety.
Someone here was on the Lamictal for some anxiety problem and if so did it work?
I wan't to know that since i'm now questioning myself about returning on the Paxil (liquid one) on a low dose of 1 mg day and increase very slowly OR try the Lamictal first like the PDoc want?
I mean, the Paxil always work, but I have a hard time with meds since my anxiety is in the roof. Maybe the Lamictal will only add more anxiety and stress on my shoulder and that the only one solution for me is to go directly on the Paxil first no?
Also, I ask the PDoc about the cardiovascular side-effects, he said that he never saw or heard about someone who had cardiovascular side-effects from the Lamictal, he talked about the rash but nothing else...but i'm totally afraid about the cardiovascular side-effects since my anxiety is mainly cardiovascular related and my fear about having a heart attack cause of all the chronic symptoms I feel from my heart (pounding heart beat, tachycardia at rest, exercise intolerance, dizziness, orthostatic hypotension, chest pain at rest and also when I do something physical, numbness of the left arm, jaw pain, lack of breath)... I feel like I will die from a heart attack all the time and it's not funny at all when you can't even enjoy simple things like music cause all that you have in your head is all the worries about the chronic cardiovascular symptoms I feel all the time...
What kind of side-effects I should worry about the Lamictal? Stimulation, insomnia, headache seem to be the top rank of side-effects from the Lamictal from the PI sheet...
Thanks for any kind of help and also thanks about sharing your exprience with the Lamictal.
poster:Vincent_QC
thread:1045150
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20130527/msgs/1045150.html