Bipolar and Social Anxiety Meds

I was diagnosed with Bipolar as well as social anxiety.. while I was prescribed meds for Bipolar, I didnt get anything for social anxiety sense I cant take any SSRI's .. My Pdoc threw Latuda at me saying that it will help me with social anxiety and general anxiety but its not working that well...So im wondering what can I take for social anxiety, I was prescribed Buspar few days ago, its ok i guess but I need something more, so im wondering if there is anyone with Bipolar and social anxiety and what meds are you taking for social anxiety

I don't have bipolar, but I have an "undiagnosed mood disorder" - that came from a pdoc. I cannot take SSRIs either. Seroquel does wonders for anxiety but it is heavily sedating and causes weight gain. I had to get off of it because of the sedation, but that is an option as it works so well. I have been on abilify (both are anti psychotics) for about 2 months, it has done WONDERS for my anger control as well as my anxiety. I have bad anxiety but it isn't situational, it doesn't get worse in public, I'm just a mom and full time student and get overwhelmed way to easily. The abilify works great and I take klonopin at night and sometimes during the day as needed, but all these meds make you sleepy, so it's hard to take klonopin during the day but I can if I really need it. Good luck!! (I'm not depressed but abilify also helps with depression well I have heard.) It has made me go from a ticking time bomb to a normal happy wife and person.

I have bipolar and anxiety and the abilify does the same for me as afink87. Although I am kind of dull. I also take klonopin as needed at night and some days.

I was in the same situation as you. My Pdoc would not give me anything for anxiety, but said that the Latuda would help with both my bipolar and social phobia. It works well enough for the bipolar, however it did not do anything for me. After ending up at the ER during a bad panic attack, my primary doctor gave me klonopin. I take .5mg twice daily, and while it has not completely resolved my anxiety - it has done a lot in the way of calming me down. I can at least function at work now.

Is is just me or does medication sound like a really odd solution to social anxiety?

LittleHelper13 wrote:I was in the same situation as you. My Pdoc would not give me anything for anxiety, but said that the Latuda would help with both my bipolar and social phobia. It works well enough for the bipolar, however it did not do anything for me. After ending up at the ER during a bad panic attack, my primary doctor gave me klonopin. I take .5mg twice daily, and while it has not completely resolved my anxiety - it has done a lot in the way of calming me down. I can at least function at work now.

My Pdoc refuses to prescribe me anything that is habit forming, so klonopin would be out of the question... Even when I was at the hospital for a few days I had to beg them to give me Ativan for anxiety, they gave it to me the first time but not the second time lol...

-- Mon Nov 18, 2013 7:52 pm --

katana wrote:Is is just me or does medication sound like a really odd solution to social anxiety?

Yea i know it does sound odd, I think i have more of anxiety issue that leads to social anxiety when im in public... it seems that, i just get anxiety for no reason then when im in a public place it makes it worse because I dont want others to see that im anxious... so when I have no anxiety I have no social anxiety

I was initially on sertraline and it gave me migraines.. Depending on how severe the social anxiety and how debilitating it is.. I would probably pass on meds.

My antipsychotic (ziprasidone/geodon) helps me with my anxiety and paranoia. Sorry to hear you can't get antianxiety meds, klonopin has worked wonders for me. My anxiety is through the roof when I'm in a mixed episode, where I frequently fall.

Hope you're doing okay, V. And I hope your living arrangements get sorted out soon, that has to be adding to your anxiety.

Wishing you peace,
brainy