Dear Dr. Archer,I have had a long term battle with anxiety and depression. I have questions regarding my medications.
I have been on medications for almost eleven years. Presently I am on the following daily meds: Effexor XR 150mg, Prozac 50mg, Xanax 1mg four times a day and Seroquel 150mg. This represents my medication lineup after recently changing psychiatrists after ten years with my previous one. I needed a new beginning because I was feeling so badly.
I am a homebody and fear everything. It's difficult for me to get appointments, and my doctor was aware of this. After I missed three appointments she called me to tell me her office was too busy to help me, even though she knew my issues.
Yesterday I met with another new doctor, and he was not very happy with the medications I was taking. He wants me to start taking Effexor XR 150mg every other day; Prozac every other day for four days and then stop it, change the Xanax to Klonopin and the Seroquel to Trazadone. He’s tapering me off the current meds and replacing them with new ones.
I am scared to death with all these prescription changes. Can I have some input? I'm already fearing life and now I fear the medicine. Thank you so much for your time.
Tee
Dear Tee,
Obviously your case is very complex and without evaluating you there is no way I can comment on your meds or the changes suggested by your new doctor. All of the meds you bring up are reasonable depending on the patient, the symptoms and the actual diagnosis.
My advice is to find a doctor you like and trust, and to stick with him/her through thick and thin. Medication treatment is trial and error much of the time and it takes a long term strategy to find a medication or combo that works.
In light of this, rather than trying to decide what meds are best for you, focus all you energy on finding the best possible psychiatrist for you.
Dr Archer
