Seems I get to pick my meds... O.o

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Well not exactly 'pick' them but apparently my doc is willing to try me on either of these and asked me to look them over.

Zoloft (Sertraline) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sertraline

Wellbutrin (Bupropion) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wellbutrin

Effexor (Venlafaxine) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Effexor

Lexapro (Escitalopram) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lexapro -?

Paxil (Paroxetine) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paxil

I've read quite a bit on all of them but nothing compares to practical experience. If you have taken any of these please let me know how it helped/affected you. My doc seems to think these might help for social anxiety (and mine is weird.. i don't feel anxious as in emotionally but i do have background physical symptoms of it. Kind of like Alexithymia+social anxiety?

I'm leaning more towards Effexor since it has the 'good' side of weight loss (kill two birds with one stone? yay!) but there's little info on its efficacy vs social anxiety. It also seems to be the least worrisome of the lot. Lexapro is my 2nd runner up since lots of literature states its effective for social anxiety but the list of really bad side effects is... spooky.

I used to use venlafaxine a few years ago. It didn't go very well for me, they made me worse rather than better.

Yeah Effexor really messed me up.

I could only take one dose and then I couldn't do it again.

My ex girlfriend was on Effexor and every time she was out she would start to go in withdrawals and that was a mess.

Seems like the drug really affected her personality and moods way more than Prozac or celexa ever effected me, but I know different drugs do different things to people.

I couldn't last past the first dose of Effexor.

Sertraline was okay on a low dose, I just felt a little foggy. Paxil was bad, but it was a much higher dose. I was told that Wellbutrin isn't that great for anxiety, because it can cause restlessness. Good luck.

Zoloft helped my anxiety a lot. I didn't have any side effects. The rest of those meds either didn't do anything or made me feel nuts.

That's funny... I've tried many, many antidepressants over the years and just recently found a combination that seems like it might work for me : Effexor and Lamictal. I tried the Effexor by itself before I was diagnosed as bipolar and it didn't work. But it seems to be working a bit now that I'm on the Lamictal. I'm still tritrating.

I like Wellbutrin. It works pretty quickly, doesn't cause weight gain and it's easy to stop taking without withdrawal. I found it helpful for depression and it didn't cause an increase in anxiety for me. Wellbutrin is my favorite antidepressant for the reasons stated above. If it doesn't work it's so easy to stop and try something else.

I have bipolar I disorder, so antidepressants in general are a bad idea, but Wellbutrin really worked well for me for a while, until it exacerbated my tendency to experience psychosis. My doc took me off of it and things got better. I've had some incredibly deep depressions since then but my doc won't try me on another antidepressant.

I did try Zoloft at one point, and it didn't work, caused some uncomfortable side effects. The withdrawal coming off of it was awful, I've never experienced anything like that before, and don't want to again.

Choose Welbutrin They're awesome meds.

Sex on Wellbutrin is awesome. So choose that one 0.0

Zoloft made me gain weight.

I don't remember how Effexor and Paxil affected me. I think Effexor was OK and Paxil was bad, but I'm not sure.

wellbutrin is the only one without potential permanent sexual side effects (which I have from an SSRI), so wellbutrin would be my choice.

I had a bad reaction to wellbutrin, it made me really hyper and weird feeling and then when it wore off I crashed and spent a few hours crying and feeling really upset. It was pretty scary and my doctor took me off it right away.

However, that was the only antidepressant that ever did anything at all to my mood or personality. The only other medication on your list that I took was lexapro. I took it for years and it didn't do anything to me. I did not have any side effects to any of the medications that I took (other than wellbutrin) except for a lot of weight gain and I took antidepressants for around 10 years total. The thing is, my autism was misdiagnosed as anxiety and depression back then, so maybe they didn't do anything to me because I didn't actually have the conditions they were meant to help. I have seen them help other people. My family member is on effexor right now for depression and it has helped her a little bit, with no side effects at this time (she's been taking it for 2-3 months).

I think the right medication varies from person to person, so you'll probably have to try several to find one that works. I was put on 5-6 different antidepressants and other medications over the years in an effort to try to find one that would help.

I have questions...
Several years ago an autism psychiatrist in SoCal did the same thing with me.
Here are 4 medications, take these brochures home and take your pick!
Is this ethical? Is this correct behavior for a doctor? Is this legal?
Is his judgment trustworthy?
This may not be the kind of information you were seeking, but it I feel compelled to make a statement.

I have to admit, two of the medications did help me, but not like he thought they might, nor for the reasons he thought they might help. He wanted to put the diagnosis' on me that usually go with these medications & we disagreed on this.
I also recently found out he lied to me, on purpose. It was a bold simple lie (no apparent reason for it).
He offered to let me pick my medications more than once, so perhaps he quietly questioned his judgment? I started to!
In the end, he helped me find a way to restore my speech, but other than this he mostly confused me a lot.
Just some things to consider before you...self medicate, and possibly "self-diagnose". And by the looks of the meds, your doctor is aiming for a depression diagnosis & not anxiety.

Looking back, it seems like my doctor was playing some sort of sick complex social game I never did fully comprehend.
So...maybe ask your doctor some non medical questions you can check the answers to. See if his judgement is ok in other areas, please.

I also want to thank Alex for helping us (non-social beings, lol) be able to share when we want to, the way we want to, at our own speed.
Phyrehawke

You're all spooking me on this

I'm on Lexapro,I had some side effects at first but they went away.It made me really sleepy,dry mouth,and a few leg cramps.It didn't effect me in the sex department,so I'm pleased with it.