Why don’t anxiety meds work for me?

Dr. Josef Witt Doerring founder of Taper Clinic has numerous podcasts on the topics of certain Psychiatric Meds withdrawal, Benzodiazepines withdrawal and Anti-depressants withdrawal and the facts are that sadly the damage these medications do to our central nervous system is largely not understood by medical schools, doctors, etc. much less do Detox Centers or Rehabs know the first thing about how slowly and how small the reductions over long periods of time are best done. Otherwise, these fast taper methods or cold turkey methods actually injure people on these meds trying to get off them. Quite frankly I never knew anything about long-term, protracted or delayed acute withdrawal from especially Benzodiazepines and Many Anti-depressants so LORD knows what damage has been done to my poor brain. I'd love to taper off Klonopin which I know I am absolutely dependent on even though my body has built up a considerable tolerance to and it no longer works for me effectively. Some nights I sleep and some not at all but I must take the medicine each day 1mg to maintain the possibility of tapering off maybe over years if I have the opportunity. At this point I am almost too afraid to try after investigating so many of the testimonies on YouTube of the sufferers of Benzodiazepines acute and protracted withdrawal. It frightens me to death but I may not have a choice but attempt to taper off while I still may have a chance because many doctors will no longer prescribe Benzodiazepines for more than very short periods as more evidence of their dangers are being published and now even certain States like Georgia and Colorado are making State laws restricting tightly doctors from prescribing them. I too am in an awful predicament not knowing and having trusted the medical professionals and the FDA, etc. that deemed them safe. I regret ever having taken these meds but I am already in over my head with dependence issues with my health and I really don't know what to do. Maybe try always while possible to find some who will prescribe them if lawfully or I may start getting ready for a do-it-myself slow gradual micro tapering in case the day comes where I am forced to not have them.

Constant diahrrea sounds serious.
Check for c-Diff? Have you had a colonoscopy?
45 lbs.is also serious.

Let me interject some common sense in to all your concerns.
I am 73 years old and I suffered from depression and anxiety since my Freshman year of college. I didn’t know what it was but instead blindly cycled in and out of it for years.
One day I saw Prozac pill on the cover of an issue of Time magazine and read the article.
Finally I had a name for what I was suffering from and called my primary care physician. She prescribed Prozac and unfortunately it was not the answer. In fact it made me more anxious. She switched me over to Zoloft and my life had changed. After talking with a psychiatrist she recommended I found out more about this terrible disease that had caused such pain for my mother. Yes depression is genetic for those that think Cognitive Talk Therapy is the answer. True depression is genetic genetic like so many things in life and unfortunately anxiety and depression many times come together in a package deal.
SSRI’s changed my life but unfortunately my mother refused to take them and continued to self medicate the rest of her life with alcohol.
I instead learned as much as I could about this terrible disease and with the help of my psychiatrist added Wellbutrin, Buspar and yes Klonopin to complement the Zoloft. Yes Zoloft causes sexual side effects but Wellbutrin helps with that and now I have cut back to 50 milligrams of Zoloft and continue to take Buspar and Klonopin.
I continue to read horror stories about Klonopin but I have never in all these years changed my dosage of 1mg in the morning and 1mg in the evening. These along with my other medications has changed my life and made me a better father and evened out the roller coaster that was my life.
This worked for me and I hope all the people reading this post find that right combination of medications that changes their life. Depression and anxiety are real and just like hearing loss or a myriad of other genetic disorders they can be dealt with if people would just learn as much as they can and find a good Doctor or psychiatrist to help them on that journey.
I was in sales and finally when I had trouble hearing my clients I got my hearing tested and got my first hearing aids. They like antidepressants have continued to get better and hopefully that will also continue.
I wish everyone the best and hope they can find the balance in life that I have found.
Hopefully this post will help some of you finally achieve a balance in your life. Riding a roller coaster is fun but not every day of your life. As an aside I really hated roller coasters and still do.
Good luck to all of you that have through no fault of your own inherited this terrible disease. Just realize there is hope and you can lead a successful and fulfilling life.

I completely understand your view and feelings. I am in the exact same predicament. The medication has turned on me and I essentially used it as prescribed in good faith. I am barely making it through each day with extreme anxiety, insomnia and depression. I too have been on a plethora of medications in my lifetime for mental health conditions and now almost nothing works at all to help me. I take 1mg of Clonezepam twice per day .5mg and it offers a bit of temporary relief from the agony and I don't want to take more in the remote hope that maybe somehow I will make it through this get off of it over time if my body can adjust to the terrible withdrawals I am having still on the medication. I sadly am practically daily housebound and mostly in bed suffering it out. I won't get into the symptoms as I feel you probably already know them. Appetite is gone and I force myself to eat something each day to stay alive. It's very difficult for me to leave my apartment because of how crippled I am with fear, anxiety and all the rest. If the anxiety was tolerable I'd love to live on being off this Clonezepam. I truly don't know what awaits each day in agony and hold on to some hope to somehow take turns of improving but aside from some miracle I don't see options from the medical health field. If I had the resources I would try Dr. Jacob Witt Doerring's Taper Clinic as he seems to be the most knowledgeable about this issue of withdrawal and the best possible way to treat it slow taper over long term which still involves suffering in most cases and then when off at tiny doses after what could be years of tapering their are still devastating consequences of protracted with syndrome for many which never completely resolves but those who have made it that far report significant improvements and the ability to function to a better extent but not as the same as before taking the medication.
Always praying for us in our suffering🙏

Just because something walks like a duck and quacks like a duck does not always mean its a duck.

I would get a referral to internal medicine and ask for a full work up. Anxiety can be a symptom of many other conditions or issues and can easily be dismissed as only a psychological issue.

At least have someone rule out some other causes or factors. Consider CBT cognitive behavioral therapy to help you get control of your anxiety and some better coping skills . Identifying triggers and addressing these can help.
Medication is or should be only one tool in your toolbox for this concern.

As far as why medications arent working this time, again Id investigate possible other causes . Our body chemistry changes as we age too and so many factors can play into why a medication may not work .

If you are medically able to try Propranolol , meaning you have no underlying medical concerns that would prevent that, perhaps inquire about that for anxiety with your providers.

This isnt a one size fits all condition or a one size fits all solution. Be patient with yourself and keep pushing for a solution that works for you and a provider that understands the issues

To @wisfamily

I am unable to take propranolol as I take Bystolic for my heart but thank you for the suggestion. I have just about hit rock bottom. I just came back from a short walk thinking it might help calm me but it didn’t. If I had a ‘stress meter’ my results would be off the charts. I don’t call this living.

@rick98

I have no appetite and if my husband didn’t prepare food for me to eat, I’d be long gone. I don’t even have the incentive to make a cup of coffee for myself. I am somehow maintaining my weight after my drastic 45 pound weight loss brought on by the medication. Every day in addition to my meager meals, I try to drink a protein drink called Premier Protein which has 30 grams of protein, 160 calories and 5 grams of carbs. You can buy it at CVS, Walmart, etc. Wishing better times for us all.

Hi
I Developed anxiety and depression after breast cancer treatment last year. I tried the medication route. It did not work for me . I went to a naturopathic physician. She put me on 5htp it's a supplement that works like an ssri. I fo 100mg at bedtime. Along with passionflower drops. I do a cbd spray during the day if I get anxiety. It's 3.95mg metered dose. It's thru my cannibus physician. I am in canada. It's definitely helping . Also seeing a counselor.