The other thing I wanted to add was that Lamictal is more commonly prescribed for Bipolar Depression. I feel confused because I do not believe I suffer from Bipolar Depression. I feel that I suffer from anxiety and OCD.. I do not like that my Psychiatrist is trying to treat me for Bipolar Depression.

Erica,
No you are not alone. I comepletely understand. With the anxiety everybody's body is different and we are used as freaks to see which medicine is gonna work for who. Trial and error they say. I have been on Lexapro, Zoloft, and now Lamictal. I have always used the Klonopin with these. I don't know how long you have been on the zoloft, but from what I understand it takes time. Try when you go home at night to meditate or do some stretching. Go to a quiet, dark, cool place and just calm yourself down.

ok - this is a scary topic - are we just lab mice? - my blood starts to boil just thinking about it - but then when was the last time my doc wanted to see how my meds were working - quite some time ago - too busy? - can't get emotionally involved? - patient needs to want it more than the doc? - whatever the case, it simply doesn't matter, for all he knows I could be in some psychotic state right now because of meds that don't mix with me.

Point: you have to be your own advocate in your recovery - you know, tell them, and take take no mumble jumble

deep breathing excercizes reallllly help. ask your therapist to teach you some and if he resists than find a new one! also try a hypnotist, ive been wanting to try one, i hear they can really help if you are open to it.

wow, that's a lot of dosage.
i agree with wease, sound like you need to get busy with researching about your conditions as well.

i personally don't let the doctor prescribe me anything until i look it up myself, then i will let them know if i'm willing or not. after all their humans PRACTICES your meds.

At first, I wanted nothing to do with medications. But, when a trusted therapist wanted me to try them I did. For a year, I switched between different things without success. Finally, I felt better off than on them, so I stopped.

Then a crisis put me over the edge and in the hospital and the psychiatrist there threw me onto 3 different meds at once. You don't really have much of a choice when you're in a psych ward for being suicidal. You have to try them, so they know you are taking care of yourself and will be okay. Anyway, the psychiatrist I saw after that was really good - he listened to what I wanted and answered my questions well. At first I felt like I had to convince him that I didn't want to be on an anti-depressant, so I was listing all the reasons I thought it was making things worse rather than helping and he just said, "So you don't want to be on an antidepressant? Ok." And then I asked about xanax, and he went ahead aned prescribed it.

Atleast two of the three anti-anxiety meds are helping. And I think it is defniitely worth it. But the ones I had tried before hadn't helped, and I'd felt hopeless about trying others. So now I say what others had said to me - it takes time to find the right one for you, don't give up. And tell your doctor when they aren't working.

Now, I still hope that I'm not on these for life. I know there are some issues behind my anxiety that I'm hoping I can deal with through therapy and someday be off meds. Maybe I'm over-ambitious, but other people have done it! Why not me?

A psychiatrist's focus is chemistry and medications so it's not surprising he wants to use you as a test tube. There are plenty of coping techniques that can supplement the medications you're already using. Exercise is a great help for me. It reduces stress and nervous energy. It also lifts my mood. I also see a therapist who practices CBT.

I have been doing some research on horomone replacement therepy. Look into it.

I wont take anything for my anxiety even though its very bad, I refuse. I hate that with doctors! You end up replacing or adding another problem to what you have already and when you go back they give you something else to deal with that. I do yoga and meditation for my anxiety which seems to reduce the amount and severity of my attacks as I practice every day. You could try hypnotherapy - they teach a rapid self hypnosis but I end up with panic attacks when I do it.

No medication is not the only option. I found that CBT and Breathworks actually helped me more than medications. I feel that phsychiatrists perscribe medications too easily instead of actually dealing with reason why a person is suffering from anxiety. I have not taken medications for my anxiety and OCD for over a year now and feel a lot better without them. I still suffer from anxiety and OCD but have found other ways of dealing with them.

Be your own advocate like someone previously said. I always do my research on meds before i take the first pill, if i dont like the way it sounds, i say no, try again. Also i found Hypnotherapy to be very relaxing. I don't really go for anxiety, more for phobia. But, for the 1 1/2 hours your in there it is so peaceful! So i could see how it would help anxiety. Also try listening to some calming music (Ocean sounds, ect) Meditation, Breathing Ex's, Self talk is excellent- but don't get discouraged- It took months of practice for it to work on me. Also try not to take to many E-Pills (Like Klonopin, Xanax) They're highly addicting and can give you a major problem trying to get off of them. I found with them they didn't really work, by the time i would have calmed myself down anyways was when they would kick in. Try the Anxiety and Phobia workbook 4 Edition, Its a great tool!