You might have to get PharmaGaba online. iherb.com and Amazon have very discounted prices for it.

one other fast-acting anxiety med is hydroxazine. the doc gave that to me when i had a panic attack when i simultaneously cold-turkeyed amatryptaline, started 50mg zoloft and went through a breakup. it's not addictive like benzos.

they described it feeling like a strong anti-histamine and that's what it felt like. not sure it worked really, really well, but it helped me through a few critical days til the meds evened out.

have you considered going back to the state's psychiatrist and asking for an alternative (and thereby saving $500 on a private shrink)? or was he difficult to work with/access?

Hydroxazine has a half-life of only 3 hours so it has limited use for reducing ongoing anxiety issues as it would need to be taken often. It is an anti-histamine too so it has those side effects.

Slower acting longer half-life benzos would be better for taking the edge off a chronic state of anxiety, at least in my opinion.

I found out you're not supposed to take L-tryptophan or 5-HTP while taking an SSRI. I took 5htp for a couple takes before i learned this and had body tremors kinda like i had while adjusting to the lexapro. I stopped the 5hpt and tremors stopped. I attribute it to too much seratonin or just my body trying to get used to more seratonin

one more thought...i remember you said something about "non-therapeutic" dosage. I'm on the child's dosage of lexapro (5mg), and it's helped a good amount. not entirely--a stressful work call and perhaps PMS has made me more anxious & depressed last few days, but not scarily so, just unpleasantly so. been considering upping my dose of lexapro but gonna see if i feel better in a couple days.

anyway, just b/c a doctor says you can cold turkey b/c you were on a low dose, don't necessarily do that. i followed two docs advice and got screwed coming off of amatryptaline cold turkey. and just b/c you're on a low dose doesn't mean more would make it better--my shrink says some of us metabolize drugs slowly (or quickly? can't remember which), which means lower doses are appropriate.

i've been taking pharmagaba for a few weeks, having really noticed a difference. maybe i'll up my dose

one more resource. http://www.lef.org/magazine/mag2011/...of-Calm_02.htm

nice review of all the natural remedies.

You are not supposed to take 5-HTP but L-Tryptophan is OK while taking an SSRI. 5-HTP bypasses the blood brain barrier and metabolizes into serotonin. L-Tryptophan does not pass the blood brain barrier. My Duke trained MD, biochem degree for Harvard doc said they are OK. L-Tryptophan does not have the bio-availability that 5-HTP has. I used L-Tryptophan as I was weaning off Paxil (both at the same time) and took it for a year while taking Celexa, both while under a doctors care. I increased the L-Tryp while I reduced the Paxil.

I just went off the Celexa and may switch to 5-HPT instead of the L-Tryptophan over time. But, with 5-HTP, you need to establish a disciplined dosing regimen or risk roller coaster serotonin.

underwater,

I can't get your link to work.

I actually have the Hydroxazine and I have taken it in the past. I'm calling Monday for another appt thats not 6 weeks out to try another medicine. Or maybe just wean of the 25mg and suggest the pharmagaba?! I know I need to stay on the Mirtazapine at night.

So do you guys think that plan sounds good? And I know this sounds odd, but when you take a daytime AD that "works" are you supposed to feel like yourself, just a calmer version or do you find yourself feeling like you are "medicated"? I'm just asking because this nervous/ jittery feeling is all I've gotten. I have a friend that takes 10mg of Lexapro and loves it. She says it takes the edge off and evens her out.

Thanks again for all the info.

RAllen,

You are not taking a daytime AD. You are taking an AD at the start of the day. Zoloft has a half-life of 26 hours. It stays with you for days once you have been on it for 2 weeks. It peaks 5 to 8 hours after taking a dose When you take the Mirt at night, the SSRI is still at nearly full strength. You may have a small spike in plasma level at first but once you have been taking it for weeks, that spike has leveled out.

Why do you think you need to stay with the Mirt at night ? Even the Mirt is pretty much at an almost constant level throughout the next day. It has a half-life of 20 to 40 hours. This means there is so much overlap between doses that you should have very stable amounts in your blood if you take it every night.

Go ahead and get the PharmaGABA. You can take it at the same time as the other two. GABA does not interfere with serotonin. It is a separate neurotransmitter. There are three that tend to be out of balance. GABA, norepinephrine and serotonin. SSRI's only effect serotonin. GABA should be at a balanced level with the other two for best function and symptom relief.

You could even get some generic GABA at the store while you wait for the PharmaGABA to arrive. I see GABA on the shelves at many stores that carry supplements. I think Krogers carries it.

My best to you.