Developing tolerance

[QuietCalamity]

Does anyone else feel like they develop a tolerance to their meds after like a year? I started Viibryd (SSRI) Feb 2013 and it was helping a lot with my social anxiety in particular, but now I feel like I'm more or less back where I started. This happened with the last 2 anti-depressants I was on, too. My Doc thought I was coming back every Feb for a change in meds because I might have Seasonal Affective Disorder so I waited out the (brutal!) winter but I'm still feeling the same. But I can't tell if it's really that the meds aren't working as well or if I'm just used to the feeling and not seeing more progress or if I just like the feeling of a new med or I'm just temporarily stressed out about life changes or what.

Experiences or insights, anyone?

[Keddy]

I think I'm developing a tolerance to Geodon. Geodon is an atypical antipsychotic but it's prescribed off-label for anxiety as well.
At first I wasn't sold on it. I didn't think it was working. A few weeks into it, it really started to work for me and my anxiety lessened considerably. Now I'm an anxious train wreck again. I've been on it since January.
I don't think Paxil works at all, on the other hand. I'm going to stop taking it. It's a waste of money.
I wish I could take Benzos but my psychiatrist won't prescribe them for me because of the tolerance issue- he thinks I'd develop addiction problems because my anxiety is so high. Developing a tolerance to them would cause there to be a need to increase the dose which would eventually lead to addiction.
So yeah, I'm basically hosed when it comes to medications. The only ones I can take are antipsychotics and SSRIs.

[QuietCalamity]

That's interesting that you're on an atyp antipsychotic. I've never heard of it for anxiety but it makes sense. And I'm sure I'm preaching to the choir, but remember to talk to your Dr before quitting a medication. So many suicides happen when people abruptly quit anti-depressants. <3

From what I learned in my classes on drugs, benzos are just not good for anyone to take regularly because of the tolerance, addiction, and misuse issues. They don't really help me anyway, though. I have Xanax and I've tried Valium too, but they just make me sleepy and numb-feeling. I don't even like to take them when I can't sleep because then it's so hard to wake up. I wish I could get prescribed alcohol for my anxiety. Now that helps lol.

[Keddy]

I wish I could get prescribed alcohol for my anxiety. Now that helps lol.

LOL that thought has crossed my mind a couple thousand times

[nothing]

I wish I could get prescribed alcohol for my anxiety. Now that helps lol.

LOL, you'll develop a tolerance to that as well, I know firsthand from years and years of alcohol abuse. It's tempting, but your body can develop a tolerance to just about anything.

[Nightingale]

I developed a tolerance pretty quickly. I was on a boatload of meds at one time, (I suck at remembering names) an antidepressant, Abilify to make it work better, even though I didn't have schizophrenic tendencies, a drug given to veterans suffering from PTSD for nightmares, a slow acting antianxiety, a fast acting antianxiety...a pill to wake me up, and pill to put me asleep. You probably know the drill.

Anyway, it seemed like they worked for the first few months, but then we'd have to up my dosages. I finally decided I was sick of taking pills and they didn't seem to work, anyway. It's not for everyone, but I asked my doctors to wean me off. Xanax was by far the worst one.

Have you tried experimenting with food intake, taking your med at a different time of day (night vs morning and vice versa)? Have you had a weight change that would throw your dosage off? Sometimes the pharmacies get crap drugs in, too. One month my thyroid hormone was completely useless - the pills weren't any good.

[QuietCalamity]

Have you tried experimenting with food intake, taking your med at a different time of day (night vs morning and vice versa)? Have you had a weight change that would throw your dosage off? Sometimes the pharmacies get crap drugs in, too. One month my thyroid hormone was completely useless - the pills weren't any good.

That's good advice. I found out the hard way that my SSRI is fat soluble and what I eat with it makes a huge difference. I was having symptoms of Serotonin Withdrawal (brain zaps. Bleh!) 2hours before it was time to take my pill. That was really scary when I didn't know what it was or why it was happening. I usually make sure to take it with a full meal now. But (and this is partially due to having to eat fatty foods right before bed when I forget to take it with dinner lol) I have been gaining weight and I hadn't considered how that could affect my meds...

I think my problem at the time I posted this was just that I was under a lot of stress, though, because I started feeling better a little later. I'm just bad at recognizing my own negative emotions like that.

P.S. I hate Xanax too! I thought I was the only one.