It’s been a minute since I’ve shared an update on my mental health. I feel like I’ve been chasing the anxiety spectre for a long time, ever since I discovered eight years ago that anxiety was part of my mental health diagnosis. I’ve been hospitalized twice and had numerous runs to the emergency room, looking for medical help to contain and control my anxiety. I’ve seen multiple psychiatrists, and every one has made changes to my medications in an effort to dispel my anxiety. And every change has inched closer to finding a solution.
I started seeing a new psychiatrist last year, who made some minor adjustments to my meds, but the one that really did the trick was adding gabapentin to my regimen. Now gabapentin is traditionally used for bipolar disorder, but apparently it also has an effect on just anxiety, as well, because adding gabapentin to my cocktail finally helped to push my anxiety back into a corner where it belongs. I’ve since been pretty stable for the last handful of months since adding it, and I can honestly say I haven’t had any anxiety or panic attacks in a while.
I also thought I’d take a moment to share what meds I’m on, for the curious or for anyone who might be in a similar place with anxiety and depression.
For depression:
- Effexor
- Buspirone
- Lamictal
For anxiety:
- Latuda
- Buspirone (it targets both anxiety and depression)
- Gabapentin
- Trazadone (for sleep)
This isn’t the complete cocktail of meds I take. I’m also on some others for my thyroid, blood pressure, and heart arrhythmia. But these are the main medications I take to manage my mental health.
This isn’t to say that medication is the only solution for depression and anxiety. But for me, since my depression and anxiety are almost completely chemical, these medications help balance me out and keep me stable. I still go to therapy, and I’ve had a kickass therapist I’ve been seeing for the last couple of years.
I’m happy that I’ve finally found a cocktail of meds that have driven my anxiety away, for the most part. It’s been a long time coming, and it’s been an arduous journey. But it’s been a one day, one step, one breath sort of thing, and it’s been a breath of fresh air to finally feel like I can breathe again and function without anxiety taking complete control over my mind and body.
