janice wood

I am on neurontin 1500mg, risperdal 1mg, clonazepam 1.5 mg and have recently
been started on Prozac 10 mg instead of wellbutrin. My mood has greatly
improved since the addition of Prozac. I am no longer sleeping in the
afternoon and I have a lot more energy. The only problem is my anxiety is
still very high. If someone rings the doorbell for our motel my heart starts
to race. I just am not able to answer the door yet. I was hoping Prozac
would be a magic cure but it is not as yet. Has anyone had experience with
Prozac and does it take a long time to kick in. Why did it help my mood but
not my anxiety levels yet. Is the dose too small? I would appreciate some
input as I have been suffering too long with this anxiety problem.
Janice

diane

I have an anxiety problem. I take seroquel and klonapin. The klonapin is
on an "as needed" basis, although I routinely take .5 mg to fall asleep. I
can't take too much seroquel because it leaves me very fogged mentally, but
it does help with anxiety. I took prozac once many years ago, but went off
of it within a few days because I was feeling very tense. I don't know much
about it.

Nonetheless, some of the best anxiety control I've found was through non-med
techniques. I've always been reluctant to take too much klonapin. I took a
class through my health plan that taught "diaghrammatic breathing". I also
picked up a book they recommend called 'The Anxiety and Phobia Workbook",
which discusses various ways of dealing with anxiety and panic disorders.
It's amazing. I can usually fend off an anxiety attack, or get through one
without taking any klonapin, by using breathing techniques combined with
congnitive thinking. I also meditate and exercise regularly to get my
general anxiety level down. The book says that we don't give our brains
enough "down time". Even when we are sleeping, we can be tense, and it
builds up over time until we are constantly anxious. Meditation and
exercise help break the cycle so that we can be less stress free. It's
sounds a bit metaphysical to me, but I know that it works. I have a jaw
clenching problem. When I'm especially stressed, I clench in my sleep.
When I meditate, I don't clench in my sleep. When I meditate, I also fall
asleep more easily and am less anxious the next day. I was having nearly
daily anxiety attacks, but now they are fairly uncommon - with less
klonapin.

Anyway, I wish I could offer more info about meds, but I'm sure someone else
knows about them. Good luck.

Diane

rich

I'd say ask you doctor to up the clonazepam.