I’m on both an ACE inhibitor and beta blocker. The ACE inhibitor I’ve been taking for years to manage blood pressure, and it works great. The beta blocker was added several months ago, when my pulse started racing from anxiety. My blood pressure stayed about the same, but my pulse, as I mentioned before, went down to the 60s and low 70s from the 90s and 100s and, in the meantime, that also eased the anxiety. I started on a 100 mg dose for the first month or so; am now down to 25 mg.
This is off the subject, but, I find you a very engaging and enjoyable writer. Just saying.
What do you mean by CBT? The CBT that I know of is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, obviously not what is meant here.
Psychologists (Psy. D or Ph.D) do not do medication prescribing. That is a licensed medical function, either MD, DO, nurse practitioner or PA.
Again, a psychiatrist (an MD, DO) prescribes. Psychologists do important, critical stuff, but prescribing meds is not among them.
It didn’t for me, I was on the lisinopril for quite some time before the beta blocker was added in and it did nothing for the heart palpitations and rushes of anxious feelings–that was all the beta blocker. Good stuff, that,
It makes sense to go to a psychiatrist when figuring out brain meds because that’s a doctor who specializes in what works best for various mental illnesses. A GP is just throwing stuff at the wall to see what sticks, the psych will have been in contact over time with patients who can report more accurately on how well the meds help their symptoms.
Get used to the idea that you will likely have to tinker with your scrips, mental stuff is not as straightforward as antibiotics for an infection and body chemistry matters a LOT as well as your personal tolerances for various side effects. I’m asexual so a med that grenades libido would be no problem for me but would likely be a nonstarter for someone who operates with their genitals in full gear, for instance.
You’re doing the right thing with exercise, that gives you the best possible baseline to measure effects and side effects against. Be aware of your mood states and likely triggers and maybe keep a symptom diary for a while to help with adjusting your meds. It’s easier to figure out what’s going on when you have a record of having itchy feet 3 out of 5 days on a new med rather than “I think it’s doing something odd to me but can’t really pin it down.”
Yes, I typed psychologist when I meant psychiatrist. It’s easy to write one when you mean the other, especially since I’ve been quite tired lately.
And I did indeed mean Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, which is what the OP had already mentioned as part of their therapy. SSRIs have been reported in the literature to have synergistic effects with CBT, both working better than either therapy alone for depression, OCD, and anxiety disorders.
This is unlike benzodiazepines, where it has been found that CBT or other behavioral therapies have a much more blunted effect for those on those drugs. Unlike SSRIs, they are not good drugs for augmenting CBT.
As someone who was harmed horribly by benzo withdrawal, I do not recommend benzos except in an emergency, and only for very limited time periods. Hence why I was relieved when the OP was talking about SSRIs and not benzos.
Me either. Very nasty to get off of. Months of nasty. Occasionally, when needed for a severe attack. Don’t ever increase the dosage or frequency.
I’ve personally had good luck with them. It did take some trial and error to find the right one, but during periods when I didn’t have one, I never went through withdrawal.
OTOH, I’ve not typically used them except at bedtime. There have been some periods in my life, such as when my mother was in hospice, which was a couple of months, when I took them during the day, but I still very rarely took more than 1/2 dose a day, and many days didn’t take any.
The bedtime dose I am allowed, I usually take 1/2 of, when I do take it, and very often I don’t.
Right now, I’ve had an Rx for clonazepam (Klonopin) for several years, and I really don’t think I’m addicted to it, mainly because I don’t take it every day, and even sometimes go a week without taking it. It just depends. I could have a week when I take it every night, but then the next week not need it.
A couple of things: when I take it, it slows my brain down, but it doesn’t make me “high” in any sense-- I get no feeling of euphoria that makes me want to take it. Also, addiction is not something that’s a problem in my family. Which is not to say that there are no problems in my family. We have more than our share of OCD and anxiety, and probably high-functioning autism, but no addiction.
It’s just another data point. If the OP’s doctor ever suggests trying benzos, I wouldn’t want an automatic rejection just because of one story of one person’s bad experience.
@RivkahChaya I get that about benzos…I’ve been prescribed them in very small amounts as needed on a limited basis some time ago. It was useful for what it was, but I could see the danger. The sense of “relief” was so immediate that the risk is that one relies on it but does not do the long-term things necessary to solve the problems. I don’t think it was a risk for me because I don’t have that kind of personality, but it totally makes sense. I think benzos have a place in the mix.
@BippityBoppityBoo Yes, I meant Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. I’m not informed enough to really know the difference between a psychologist and psychiatrist, but I assume my GP will help with that. I would like to know the distinction and what function it serves.
For those who asked (@BigT and others) - the ACE inhibitor is for an aortic valve leak that was discovered this year.
@SmartAleq I’ve been worried about the sexual side effects, but then again the anxiety itself does a bad number on the libido, so I’m thinking, could it be worse? 
Thank you! I appreciate it. I need to post here more often, and I’ve tried to be more active for years but life starts getting in the way.
The simplified explanation is a psychiatrist is a medical doctor (MD or DO) and thus has prescribing power. Much of a psychiatrist’s work is medication management, but they will also often do psychotherapy. The psychologist has a PhD or PsyD, and does not deal with medication, but rather behavioral intervention. It’s more of am advamced therapist-couselor-type role (unless you’re a research psychologist or something like that.)
Nurse Practitioners (NPs or APRN [advanced practice registered nurse] or PAs (physician’s assistants) also often specialize in psychiatric medication management and can often be more readily accessed. Psychiatrist appts are often in very short supply in many areas and these physician extenders can have much shorter wait times.
When GP is mentioned it makes a difference what specialty the GP is coming from. If it is as a board-certified family practice doctor, that ‘GP’ can be a good first try for psychiatric prescribing. GPS that are out of Internal Medicine or another specialty will have less training and experience in managing psych meds. A close family member who is a psychiatrist told me this and recommends Family Practice board certified provider as a good first one, especially for anti-depressants and anti-anxiety drugs. He says gives that doc at least two tries at finding a med that will work-family practice has at least two comfortably in their training and experience wheelhouse.
Many years ago I was on Lexapro and Welbutrin. I definitely experienced side effects related to sexual function, but not exactly decreased libido. My libido was fine, and I could even get erections, but it was extremely difficult to reach orgasm. Weird and frustrating.
Much more likely the Lexapro. There’s a reason my 32 year shrink son chooses Wellbutrin for himself.