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Do you prefer Seroquel or Lithium for treatment of anxiety
Gender: FemaleAge: 52 Already Tried: Seroquel 25mg po prn. Have taken up to 100mg on some days and get very tired which I hate. I was prescribed Seroquel several years ago for a 2-3 yr. period and gained 40 lbs and got very very tired, but it did stop the anxiety....but I was fat and tired. My normal weight is 135-140 lbs and I am 5'6" so I worked very hard to take the weight off but I'm very anxious and suffer from panick attacks and daily GAD. I'm seeing a new health care professional on Monday and want as much info as I can get .
Hello,
Welcome to Just Answer and thanks for your question. I never prescribe lithium for anxiety. It is not a first line treatment for that but is used more frequently in bipolar disorder for treating both the depression and mania of bipolar.
Seroquel is also used in addition to an anti-anxiety drug i.e. effexor for treatment of anxiety yet it is formerly classified for use to treat bipolar and yet it worked.
Seroquel has some history of being used off-label for anxiety, and is a much more benign drug to use. Lithium also has significant side effects and a narrow therapeutic range (the difference between what works and what is toxic). It also can contribute to significant weight gain.
http://www.drugs.com/pro/lithium-carbonate.html
Lithium is in and of itself an element so I thought it would be the middle ground between holistic drugs that have no effect on my anxiety and synthetic drugs e.g. seroquel. It appears from reading the side effects on both drugs can cause weight gain and weight loss along with a miriad of side effects. What would you prescribe generally for aniety and panick attacks which have not stopped for 21/2 years now. I've taken 54 holistic pills, seroquel, effexor, paxil, clonopin, buspar, depakot(not sure if I'm spelling all of these correctly) xanex, valium and I'm probably leaving out some. I haven't taXXXXX XXXXXthium but was going to talk to this new professional about this because I determined that it is the middle-ground between medical and holistic but I agree, it does seem to have a barrage of side effects.
When I've tried a patient on three or four drugs and they aren't having success, it is something that shouldn't be treated in primary care and I send them to a psychiatrist for both medication and counseling. Anxiety is something that responds to the double approach of cognitive behavioral therapy plus medication. Since mental problems are all that psychiatrists handle, they are more comfortable prescribing off label and at higher doses than we would ever deem appropriate in primary care. I don't know what kind of professionals you've seen, but a psychiatrist would be my recommendation.
Nurse Practitioner
Board Certified Nurse Practitioner, MS, RN. Private practice and hospitalist experience.