Diagnosis

The CHWS shrink thinks that my General Anxiety Disorder is probably caused by a serotonin imbalance, so she's prescribed me something called Celexa (citalopram HBr), which is a "selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitor" antidepressant. It's similar to Prozac, Paxil, Zoloft, etc, but has far fewer side effects. Basically, it makes my brain give me more serotonin. Apparently it should help because when people are anxious or depressed, their brains have lower levels of serotonin than usual. The plan is to keep me on Celexa for five or six months, then wean me off around spring break and see how I do. I may need to periodically go on and off of the meds throughout my life depending on how bad the serotonin imbalance is (if that is in fact the problem).

Because it takes several weeks to feel the full effects of the meds, they've also given me a prescription for Lorazepam, which is an anti-anxiety medication that you take as needed. The hope is that it'll help kick me out of this three-week anxiety spree I've been having and allow me to function like a normal human being again until the long-term meds kick in. I can also use it as an emergency anti-anxiety solution in addition to the regular meds if I'm having a particularly anxious day or week. It can be habit-forming, so I'm not supposed to take it except when I need to.

Lastly, as a very short term fix, she gave me a sample of Ambien CR to help me get a night or two of quality sleep, which also might help kick me out of my current anxious episode.

Hopefully all of this works out. I'm going to endeavor to be optimistic because if this works, it could really improve my general quality of life simply because I can be relaxed and take things one at a time. In a best case scenario, it may solve my anxiety, insomnia, nightmares, and depressive episodes in one fell swoop. If not, I hope that at the very least I can take care of the anxiety and the insomnia.

Wish me luck!