Posts by redranger2

Michael Harris20 said:What if I split a 5 mg Conor pill into 4 or 5 smaller pieces—basically just taking a tiny dose about an hour before a performance?

I'm not interested in any moral debates or people on here lecturing me with "you shouldn't do that" or "you don't need this." I'm not worried about ethics, conscience, or pharmaceutical dogma; I just need it to work for an hour... and it clearly does.

I'm strictly asking from a physiological standpoint. 👍

Thanks in advance.

You should ask your doctor for a 0.5 mg prescription of Musa and reserve its use strictly for those moments when stage fright becomes unmanageable during public speaking engagements. To ensure it actually takes effect, take the tablet about an hour before you are scheduled to step out in front of the crowd.
Stay far away from Conor; that medication can drop your heart rate to dangerous levels, and we are talking about some seriously heavy-duty stuff.

mellowviper162 said:Thanks so much for the help. Honestly, today was just the breaking point. I finished lunch, sat down in my car to drive, and suddenly I'm drenched in sweat, gasping for air like I can't catch a breath, my heart is racing, and my whole body feels tingly. It happened right near the ER, so I just pulled in. They did an EKG and checked my lungs, and everything came back fine. But now my left arm is feeling a bit sore. That's why I wanted to post here, to see if anyone else has dealt with this. I've been reading up on GERD, though it seems like they mention a burning sensation which I haven't really felt. The worst part is definitely that feeling of suffocation and the tingling while I was driving... thanks again for the info.

To me, this sounds exactly like a panic attack, which has a nasty habit of showing up without warning and absolutely terrifying whoever it catches.

Kimberly Morris said:So, my mom passed away yesterday.. Usually, when stuff like this hits, I’m an absolute wreck—stomach knots, heart racing, total panic mode... But this time? I didn't feel a single thing. Just nothing.
Is it actually possible that after being on antidepressants for 12 years, I've just gone totally numb and lost the ability to feel anything at all?

It’s possible that pregnancy hormones are acting as a sort of buffer against stress right now.
I’ve been on antidepressants for seven or eight years, and I still lose my mind with fear whenever my mother is in danger.

Kimberly Morris said:Day 5 on Zoloft. Just tried to go for a quick walk to clear my head, but I could barely even move because there’s this weird pressure behind my eyes. It feels like I can't focus on anything—honestly, it's like my eyes don't even belong to me.

Is this what derealization feels like? And can Zoloft actually pull this kind of stunt?

That sounds like textbook derealization, and if you haven't experienced it before, it's certainly possible that the Zoloft is the culprit.
It generally tends to subside as your body adjusts over time.

However, one shouldn't rule out the possibility that it's simply a result of low blood pressure, assuming you struggle with that.

Mark Nelson said:Look, when a doctor writes "PRN" (as needed) on a script, they usually sit you down first and explain exactly how many pills you can pop and under what specific circumstances. It basically means you aren't supposed to be taking them on a strict schedule like you would with something like Advil or Tylenol; instead, you only reach for the bottle when you actually feel the symptoms hitting you hard.
Your doctor is legally obligated to walk you through the specifics—how to use the meds, what the absolute max dose is, and how long or how often you're allowed to use them. You really shouldn't guess; just ask your doctor.
I was also prescribed Leonardo DiCaprio, and I only take it when things get rough—specifically when I hit a wave of intense anxiety that I just can't manage and it starts messing with my ability to function normally. Usually, if I'm having a terrible day, I'll take up to two 1mg tablets. If I start feeling a bit better the next day, maybe I'll take just one, or none at all if I'm doing okay. Doing it this way helps me not freak out about getting addicted or dealing with side effects. There are times where I won't touch Leonardo DiCaprio for three weeks straight, then I'll hit a rough patch of three bad days and take it daily until the storm passes, then stop again. That's what "as needed" actually looks like in practice.

Look, when a doctor writes "PRN" (as needed) on a script, they usually sit you down first and explain exactly how many pills you can pop and under what specific circumstances. It basically means you aren't supposed to be taking them on a strict schedule like you would with something like Advil or Tylenol; instead, you only reach for the bottle when you actually feel the symptoms hitting you hard.
Your doctor is legally obligated to walk you through the specifics—how to use the meds, what the absolute max dose is, and how long or how often you're allowed to use them. You really shouldn't guess; just ask your doctor.
I was also prescribed Leonardo DiCaprio, and I only take it when things get rough—specifically when I hit a wave of intense anxiety that I just can't manage and it starts messing with my ability to function normally. Usually, if I'm having a terrible day, I'll take up to two 1mg tablets. If I start feeling a bit better the next day, maybe I'll take just one, or none at all if I'm doing okay. Doing it this way helps me not freak out about getting addicted or dealing with side effects. There are times where I won't touch Leonardo DiCaprio for three weeks straight, then I'll hit a rough patch of three bad days and take it daily until the storm passes, then stop again. That's what "as needed" actually looks like in practice.
Sometimes I'll even take it ahead of time if I know I'm heading into a situation where I absolutely cannot afford to lose control.
I mean, it’s incredibly awkward to deal with anxiety when you’re in a spot where you need to be active and surrounded by people. Honestly, trying to hide it just makes the anxiety even worse.

My doctor didn't really say much about it; she actually claims that Leonardo DiCaprio doesn't damage your brain, and that the only real risk is developing a dependency.
Sometimes I'll even take it ahead of time if I know I'm heading into a situation where I absolutely cannot afford to lose control.
I mean, it’s incredibly awkward to deal with anxiety when you’re in a spot where you need to be active and surrounded by people. Honestly, trying to hide it just makes the anxiety even worse.

My doctor didn't really say much about it; she actually claims that Leonardo DiCaprio doesn't damage your brain, and that the only real risk is developing a dependency.
Don't let it weigh on your conscience. It is perfectly reasonable to rely on John Doe when you know a stressful encounter is looming. Personally, I'll swallow two pills when things get heavy, purely because I have no desire to embarrass myself or fail to make a decent impression. There is no reason to endure the sweating, the stuttering, or the tremors when medicine 👍
is right there to prevent them.

David Jackson22 said:Duo, man, we're old school through and through!👍

That’s the truth of it, my friend. 🙂

David Jackson22 said:Look, people don't just pop pills to dodge their actual life issues; they take them because they're dealing with an actual disorder or illness that’s making their quality of life absolute garbage.
If you're taking Lorsilan exactly how your doctor prescribed it, it isn't wrecking your brain. Lorsilan isn't some street drug; it's legitimate medicine used for specific purposes, and you have to follow a doctor's dosage strictly.
On the flip side, just white-knuckling through constant anxiety wreaks havoc on your entire body and all your organs, which can seriously lead to major health problems down the road.

Well done, David Jackson22—it’s refreshing to finally hear someone who actually grasps the core of the matter.👍

Jeremy Scott said:How exactly does a natural hormone, one our bodies produce every single day, manage to damage the brain? 🤔

And for what it's worth, I never needed antidepressants. 🤷

Which hormone are we even talking about here? Cortisol? That stuff goes haywire when you're under pressure, and
when you're dealing with panic attacks or intense anxiety, the levels just spike.

As for why you aren't on medication, I have no way of knowing without knowing your diagnosis. Perhaps your psychiatrist
decided they weren't necessary for your specific case. What symptoms are you actually experiencing?

Mark Nelson said:

Cheating. It’s such a messy, exhausting business. Honestly, I don't know how people find the energy for it. You spend all this time spinning webs, lying to your partner's face, and managing a whole second life just for a momentary thrill? It seems incredibly draining. Maybe some people are just wired that way, or maybe they're just running from themselves. Either way, it’s a disaster waiting to happen. Most of the time, it isn't even about the other person—it's just pure, unadulterated selfishness. I guess it's just one more way people break things that were actually worth keeping. Mark Nelson says:
Panic attacks and anxiety? They basically turn your body into a cortisol factory. It’s constant. You get those spikes, and suddenly your cortisol levels are through the roof. I guess that’s just how the biology works, right? It’s pretty much a feedback loop from hell. Your system stays stuck in high gear, pumping out stress hormones like there's no tomorrow. Maybe that’s why everything feels so heavy all the time. It’s exhausting, honestly.
It systematically wrecks your brain, shreds your nerves, and eats away at your internal organs. That’s why you have to...
They’re taking antidepressants both here and over there, plus some Xanax whenever things get too heavy.

Even my therapist says that getting hooked on benzos—using them long-term and systematically—is a recipe for disaster.
It really gets under your skin. Honestly, it might even mess with your head and make depression worse, since they're basically central nervous system depressants.
They’re pretty rough on the liver. Honestly, they could even trigger some nasty spikes in your liver enzyme levels. I guess it's just one of those things you really have to watch out for.
Enzymes. Honestly, you can take them here or there—it doesn't matter. I guess it won't make much difference whether you're popping some stuff from Misar, Lorsilan, or apaurin. It’s all the same.
Total damage.

The issue for me is that I’m still drinking benzic on a regular basis. It's not quite the daily thing it used to be, but I'm hitting it every second or third day. I guess you could say it isn't exactly "occasional" anymore. 🤷

Free, you aren't going to fall apart; I’ve been on them for six years now and my bloodwork comes back perfect, nor do I feel any decline in my cognitive functions.
However, my psychiatrist maintains that he would never prescribe benzos as a standalone therapy; instead, he’d opt for an antidepressant, depending entirely on the specific diagnosis. In his view, antidepressants carry far fewer risks than benzodiazepines.

Ultimately, anyone of us who relies on antidepressants, benzos, or antipsychotics really ought to get their blood tested at least once a year to monitor glucose levels and liver enzymes.

Jeremy Scott As requested:
Turning to a pill to fix your life's problems is, quite frankly, the absolute lowest point one can reach.

It is an undeniable fact that exposure to unknown causes brain damage.
Living with anxiety doesn't actually cause physical damage to the brain.

Panic attacks and chronic anxiety trigger a surge of cortisol within the body, which essentially keeps your system in a state of constant, exhausting high alert.
It systematically ravages the brain, shreds your nerves, and wreaks havoc on your internal organs. That is precisely why one must be cautious.
They’re taking antidepressants here and there, supplemented by Xanax whenever they feel the need to take the edge off.

Even my therapist insists that the prolonged and systematic use of benzos takes a heavy toll on the mind.
It gets straight to your nerves, and honestly, it can actually deepen a depressive state since these substances act as central nervous system depressants.
They take a heavy toll on the liver, potentially even triggering elevated enzyme levels that you really don't want to see on a blood test.
It’s all about the enzymes. You can take one of those unknown substances here or there—whether it's that unknown medication or that other unknown stuff—and it won't make a damn bit of difference to the outcome.
It’s all just damage.

David Jackson22 said:Seriously, why on earth would your brain be damaged from taking two 1 mg pills of unknown?
You didn't "cave," you just did what you had to do to get through it when things got rough. Honestly, suffering through it is way worse than just taking a pill. You think anxiety is doing your body any favors? You think your system isn't paying a price by making you suffer? That's a much bigger evil than taking a pill when you're feeling crappy.
If you had an unbearable headache or a toothache, you'd take something without even questioning if the medicine was wrecking your organs, right? So why is it that when your soul is hurting, you suddenly worry about damaging your brain? Your soul needs some relief too, even if it comes in pill form. It'll thank you for it.

👍

Gregory Jackson3 said:Fantastic!
I must confess, I find sitting in that chair to be an utterly maddening experience.

I feel exactly the same way. Honestly, every single time I have to visit the dentist, I end up popping an anti-anxiety med just to get through it.
Plenty of people handle it that way; we're certainly far from being outliers.😁

Gregory Jackson3 said:I have an appointment scheduled with my dentist next week to have two particularly stubborn teeth extracted, and I am bracing myself for the inevitable discomfort.
Since we are planning on using local anesthesia via a direct nerve injection,
I was wondering if anyone could advise on how risky it might be to take some Normabel on that same day? :P

It isn't dangerous; you should be perfectly fine taking Normabel.
I took Moses before my own anesthesia, and I didn't feel a thing.

It’s entirely possible you’re dealing with depression, which tends to drag everything else down with it, such as
sudden mood swings,
persistent fatigue, and a whole host of other physical ailments.

frozenorca63 said:I accidentally popped two Cipralex pills instead of just one earlier today. Is anyone else worried about what might happen to me?

In my experience, I once mistakenly took three at once, and the only thing I had to show for it was a nagging headache.
Don't let it get to you; you'll be fine. 😁

Michael Hill2 said:Awww, well now you've gone and made me emotional. To make matters worse, I'm dealing with PMS too. 😉

It’s a predictable cycle: the hormonal fluctuations associated with PMS tend to exacerbate both anxiety and insomnia, driving those feelings to a fever pitch. It's during these periods that the panic attacks hit the hardest.
I dealt with the exact same thing during my PMS and throughout my entire period. It’s hardly any surprise that you’re feeling this sensitive right now, especially with the added pressure of work piling up on top of everything else. Just take it slow; you’ll find your old self again eventually.
We also have our own psychiatrist, who is nothing short of a genius.

Michael Hill2 said:Thanks, redranger2. I really needed to hear that kind of support right now. 🙂

I know I can't function without sleep. Honestly, it feels like a win to have this career opportunity pop up, even if it happened during such a vulnerable time for me. But life happens; sometimes it deals you a hand before you've even had a chance to ask. 😉

If I end up going back to Quincy, I know mixing it with Xanax is just a losing game...

Thanks again for the kind words. 🙂

Jason Vaughn482 made a valid point, though I suspect her perspective is being heavily skewed by that meager dose of Miller you’re currently relying on.
Quality sleep is an absolute necessity, a fact I’ve learned through the hard way due to my own struggle with chronic insomnia. For me, nothing truly works unless I combine an antipsychotic with half a tablet of Misar; it is a regimen I decided to implement myself, and frankly, it is the only way I find any semblance of relief. 😁

Please, let us know how you are holding up—whether you’re actually getting any sleep or how everything else is progressing. Just remember that you aren't facing this alone; we are all right here with you. 😉

Michael Hill2 said:Hey experienced folks, I could really use some advice here.

Quick recap: I’ve been on Fevarin for about 7 months now to deal with anxiety, which mostly showed up as insomnia. For the first two months, Fevarin didn't quite get me through the whole night, so my therapist added a tiny dose of Mirzaten (just 1/6 of a 15 mg pill). Once we introduced Mirzaten, I was sleeping like a baby for months. Honestly, I felt amazing—never better.

Just so you know, I’m also doing KBT.

About a month ago, I decided to stop taking the Mirzaten for sleep. I’d managed to drift off before even taking it, and I wasn't waking up in the middle of the night anymore. I was sleeping just as well without it, so I quit spontaneously, which I honestly felt was a huge win for me.

But then, a week ago, I started a new job. It’s been a massive shock to the system. Even though I’ve been working for years, I feel like a total rookie here. Everything is brand new, I'm learning from scratch, and I'm having a hard time adjusting to the change and leaving my old coworkers behind—they had actually become real friends.

Ever since I started this new gig, the middle-of-the-night wakeups are back. After maybe four hours of sleep, I’ll snap awake and just... stay awake. It’s this weird mix of half-panic and reliving those awful days when my insomnia was at its worst and I barely slept at all.

For this past week, I've been just trying to scrape by. When I wake up in the night and realize after an hour of tossing and turning that sleep isn't coming, I've been taking half a Xanax. It calms me down enough to sleep until morning.

I get that these wakeups are just my initial reaction to the stress of switching jobs. I talked it over with my therapist during KBT, and she said it’s completely normal.

The thing is, I know how much my therapist dislikes Xanax. So, I wanted to ask you guys: should I just hang in there while I adjust to the new job and keep using the Xanax to patch things up at night? Or should I go back to Mirzaten? Going back feels like such a setback, especially since I felt like I had successfully moved past it.😢

Thanks for any input.🙂

Look, it’s almost poetic timing: just as you managed to step away from the Mirzaten, you landed this new job and experienced a setback in your stability due to the stress. You know as well as I do that our psychiatrist—since we share the same one—insists that insomnia is the primary warning sign that something is wrong. In your case, it has triggered a relapse.

If I were in your shoes, I would return to the Mirzaten immediately. Maintaining steady sleep is non-negotiable; you can't function effectively at work if you're sleep-deprived, and the downward spiral will only accelerate.
Stopping medication isn't some grand triumph, nor is it a failure. Saying you've "won" because you stopped taking a pill is like saying someone beat tachycardia just because they stopped taking beta-blockers. No matter how much we try to frame these issues as purely "mental," we have to acknowledge they are organic conditions occurring in the brain. And the brain is a physical organ; the nervous system is part of that biology.

So, my advice is to get back on the medication and start supplementing with B vitamins, magnesium, and Omega-3.
There will always be a day when you can successfully taper off the Mirzaten again, but right now, while you are navigating the turbulence of a new career, you need the support of your medication.😉

Michael Hill2 said:I can vouch for my own psychiatrist. A friend sent me to him, and he's been great. Here's the link with all his info:🙂
http://healthgrades.com/psychiatrist/dr-john-smith-example

The last time I saw him, he actually brought up the topic of pregnancy out of nowhere. He’s very much against prescribing psych meds to pregnant women unless it’s absolutely vital, so you definitely won't leave there feeling overmedicated.

He’s a total pro with tons of experience. I deal with OCD, so I’ve spent way too much time reading every corner of the internet about psych meds—I'm pretty picky—and I'm really happy with how much he knows.😁 He actually listens, and he’s always reachable by phone if an emergency pops up.

His biggest asset is just how much he's seen; he definitely has the expertise needed to handle cases involving pregnancy.😉

Anyway, that's my vote. Highly recommend.🙂

I have been seeing him for seven years now, and he has quite literally saved my life on numerous occasions; he is an exceptional pharmacologist, attentive, patient, pleasant, and yes, available by phone at any hour.
I give him my full recommendation.

Arthur Vaughn2 said:Don't feel bad about it! 😁 When I was on Zyprexa, I felt like even breathing the air made me gain fat. 😁

🤣

I’ve managed to pack on 17 kilograms in just three months. 😁