Anxiety Meds/SSRIs, questions

[MajorSky1]

This condition has caused me horrible anxiety, and panic attacks. I've used relaxation tapes, and methods and it helps, but there are times when I'm just sick of feeling broken from all this, and I want to feel like my old self and get back into the world. I've all but cloistered myself away from most social events, with the intent that I'll just wait until this heals and resolves to get back out into the world of normalcy when I feel good again.

But it's taking SO long - and some days I wonder if there's any improvement at all. I feel very stuck, and I'm sick of suffering.

I'm a single 47 year old guy who was in great shape before this hit me last fall. I miss being able to have the frame of mind that I could flirt with a woman at a grocery store if I wanted to (not that I did that very often, but it would be nice to know I could) without pain, and that sick feeling that I'm broken and undesirable because with the anxiety nausea, and groin pain my social skills and desire to attempt to be social have been snuffed out.

I'm lonely, often depressed, and I worry a lot about my future because I can't see it anymore.

I have so far shunned SSRIs. But I'm reconsidering them now. I have tried them three times and hated the way they made me feel after 2 or 3 days, so I quit. Also, I have a lot of anxiety from the stories I've read online about weening nightmares, and the brain zaps and pain they cause. I'm terrified of them, and I can't find a doctor I trust to properly ween me off when the time comes. On rare occasions, I take a half of a Xanax if I have an anxiety attack that I can't get through on my own, or if I'm having an extended period of pain with anxiety. I try to do this no more than 1 time in a three week period because I don't want to become dependent on Xanax. Also, I'm wondering if I need something to get me up where I have a "floor", so I can function and not feel so low so often.

But I want my life back, so I have these questions. If you are someone who has CPPS and has tried antidepressants, I would appreciate your input. I'm looking for the candid truth about SSRIs and experiences on them, and how they may have affected your CPPS in good or bad ways.

Antidepressants:

1. Do they make CPPS symptoms worse?
2. Did your symptoms get better?
3. Were you able to get off them and find that your CPPS symptoms had resolved while you were on them?
4. Do you still feel CPPS pains while on them, and if so, do antidepressants actually help you handle the pain so you can still talk to people and accomplish tasks like working a job?
5. I've heard that doctors tell you that your body builds up more serotonin while you're on an SSRI, but I've read that actually the body slows down serotonin production while you're on an SSRI because since the serotonin can't leave the nerve receptor, the body figures it doesn't need to make fresh serotonin. So, which is true???
6. Is weening off an SSRI after being on it for 4 or 6 months that big of a deal?
7. Are there any light SSRIs that don't kick your ass, like cymbalta can?

Thanks much for any information. I appreciate it, and I hope anyone else who might have the same questions will benefit. I understand everyone reacts differently to different drugs, but I'm just trying to decide if it's worth the risk, and to see if it might help CPPS.

[webslave]

Just a general comment from me: I cannot take SSRIs at all. I tried them a few years ago (long after my CPPS symptoms had vanished, so I cannot comment on the effect on CPPS, although there are a lot of accounts here about them, if you do some reading, most of which seem to be neutral) and found that Lexapro, for instance, gave me general muscle pain (myalgia), arthralgia, laryngitis, decreased libido and flatulence. I really can't take it. I found that a single 10mg weekly dose boosted energy and subdued depression, but gave it up completely when new symptoms like diarrhoea, urticarial vasculitis on chest, and skin boils appeared (yes, these are all known but rare complications of using Lexapro).

But my case could be fairly rare, your mileage may vary

Regarding the tiredness and depression I was having a few years back, I recently had a kidney stone and, on doctor's orders, began drinking much more fluid each day, so that my urine has a straw color (not the orange color it had before). This was a huge help to me, boosting my mood and giving me much more energy. I now no longer nap during the day, or do so only rarely.

[MajorSky1]

I suspect that most people with CPPS will have a tendency to be extra sensitive to SSRIs, maybe because our systems are predisposed to being sensitive. I'm just wondering if being on something for 4 months or so, just to reset, would be worth it. I'm not sure I could handle it either, and I'm weighing the risks. But sometimes I really feel like I've got to do SOMETHING.

Of course I've had several friends, and a cousin try to talk me into trying it, and staying on it. I would only do it with guidance of a psychiatrist, and the soonest I can see one is in October. Thanks for your input.

[webslave]

There are many different types of antidepressants, not just SSRIs. Try the different types through your family doctor.

[MajorSky1]

I understand your side effects from Lexapro - believe me, I'm terrified of those kinds of drugs. But I'm at a point where I'd like to find some relief from this horrible anxiety that I have that seems to last for a week sometimes. I know SSRIs are not a cure for CPPS, but if I were a person who tolerated Lexapro OK (which I have no idea yet), is it possible it could prevent the anxiety from making things worse?

I'm just wondering if being on it for a couple, few months would help stabilize me so I can handle CPPS duties, and life a little better. Does that make sense? I'm trying to find someone to instruct me on meditation. For some reason, I feel like I'm not comprehending the complexities, or the subtleties of it.
:)

[webslave]

No harm in trying it. In your shoes, I would.

[MajorSky1]

After spending the day laying on my bed drifting in and out of sleep because I don't feel like I can handle much of anything, it's a tough decision.

The reason it's tough is because if it doesn't help, or if it makes things worse and if I've been on it for more than a couple days, I'll have to ween off it. All week, my thought process and my mind seem way off because of this anxiety which may even be some depression just from being exhausted from it all.

I can't seem to escape the anxiety, and it hurts to function, to think. I try to read the How to Meditate book, but I get sick to my stomach. I would love nothing more than to just snap out of this horrible mental state. Week before last I was clear headed and felt like I was 75 to 80% better. Now I can barely remember what that felt like as far as mental state goes. It's been like one long anxiety attack. I'm not sure, but I think a stressful call from my ex about our daughter caused this round of anxiety.

I can take the pain levels right now, but perhaps it's those worn paths through the grass that are letting the anxiety run rampant. I'm angry at myself because I know it seems like I should just stop being ridiculous, but it doesn't work like that sometimes. So, I guess an antidepressant is supposed to help with that. The only way to find out is to try it, I guess.

Thing is, according to Dr. Wise, it causes windup (which I take to mean it causes the nervous system to be on high alert), which I don't need right now. I'll figure it out.

[webslave]

Anxiety can be treated with relatively high doses of SSRIs like Lexapro. This can be successful and should be explored. Short term, benzodiazepines can quell anxiety too, for panic attacks, but should not be used long term.

[MajorSky1]

Ok. Thank you.

[MajorSky1]

Sorry for more posts about this, but I'm trying to figure out if there are known best antidepressants for our condition. I know everyone responds differently to different drugs. However, I'm just wondering if there seems to be one or two that stand out as more often successful than not?
Like Lexapro, or Buspar, or any others? If not, I understand.

I don't want to get stuck on one that makes my symptoms worse.

Also, I'd have to wait until October to see a psychiatrist. My PCP has already offered to prescribe me something, but I've been told that it's best to go through a psychiatrist as PCPs don't really have a good grasp on the ins and outs of SSRIs. At the same time, I don't know if I want to wait until October.

[webslave]

It depends on your individual genetics. Some SSRIs work for some people, some work for others. It's a bit hit and miss and a degree of experimentation is obligatory. Only some SSRIs are approved for anxiety, BTW, and some doctors prefer prescribing one or another SSRI for this purpose. Grey area, just go with it and explore.

[MajorSky1]

Just going to keep an occasional update on this as one guy's experience being on an SSRI while fighting CPPS.

Tonight will be dose 6 of Lexapro, 5mg. My second day of medication found me waking up, after what seemed like a good nights sleep, exhausted. No energy, and I felt sedated. Any task stayed as a thought in my head for a long time before it got done. I laid on my bed after going for a walk and getting cleaned up, and fell asleep for a couple hours. I had been feeling anxiety nausea before I started Lexapro, but on day 2 of medication, I notice the nausea was more intense. That is one of the common side effects. For the next couple of days, a repeat of almost the same thing. Yesterday (day 5) I couldn't even do my morning stretches because I was so nauseous and lethargic, in a zombie state. I'd sit up in bed to try to get moving, and I'd just sit and stare.

I woke up this morning for the first 30 seconds, before I moved, I felt almost normal. But then it was like the pain center of my brain woke up and remembered that my tailbone was supposed to be hurting, along with a few other aches, and a little nausea. However, the nausea faded more quickly this morning. I've also noticed that the sedated feeling and nausea wear off at about 4pm. I take my doses around 8pm. I performed my self-PT, and I think I feel well enough to stretch and go for a walk in a little while. I can tell the Lexapro is starting to work. Every day, the anxiety has slightly diminished. I'm not sure if it's masking it, or if it's actually calming that part of the brain. I still get moments where I feel a little anxiety, but it's not so intense.

I'm hoping this will help calm my anxiety to the point where the "grass" can grow over the pain paths, and the anxiety triggers; that it will give me a floor so that I don't fall down in the deep, dark hole of anxiety which feeds the pain (and vice versa). I've noticed a slight bit of urinary hesitancy, but I'm hoping that fades as my body gets used to the drug. I've also noticed a reduction in libido already, but for now, I'm not worried about it. I'm not seeing anyone, and my first priority is to reset, and get well, and get rid of this horrible anxiety so that I don't feel like I'm imploding all the time, or ever. Next update in a few days.

[SoothingSpaces]

Thanks for the update. I am on Lexapro as well. It does help.

[SoothingSpaces]

I need some hope.

[MajorSky1]

Day 7 of Lexapro, and I feel horribly nauseous.
Feel a little weak, and pelvic pain is kicking up in weird ways, hard to explain.
Wake up in the morning and get a wave of nausea and what still feels like an anxiety attack.
Pain in the b-spongiosus is stronger. Tailbone pain keeps flaring all day, more and less - adds to nausea. Feels like my nervous system is all messed up.