u/taco13eater

I have been on klonopin a long time 1mg a day and buspar 20mg total a day and my psychiatrist just added gabapentin 100mg at bedtime and increased klonopin to 1.5 mg a day. I’m having a lot of anxiety and like nervous system is like super overstimulated. Having dpdr and stuff. Anyway. I have always had med anxiety. Can I take all three of these drugs together safely? Psych says I can but I don’t trust drs fully. If it is safe or if you have taken it do you space them out. I’m just so terrified of starting gabapentin. As bad as I’m feeling I’m still terrified to try and help myself.

My PCP started me on Lamictal because I started having DPDR about 3 weeks ago. I’m only on my 3rd dose. She started me on 25mg every other day for 2 weeks, then 25mg daily for 2 weeks, then eventually 50mg.
I take it at night, and the day after I take it I feel increased panic. It also feels like my breathing is heavier and like I’m in slow motion the morning after taking it. I don’t know if it’s helping the DPDR because I was gradually getting better before I started it, but I thought it couldn’t hurt.
Some days, for most of the day, I feel almost normal. Then I get bad waves of being super detached and I can’t even look at myself in the mirror. I KNOW who I am and I know all my surroundings, they just don’t feel like mine. It’s like somebody put me into another person’s body with another person’s memories. I KNOW everything is mine and this is just my brain, but it’s terrifying.
On top of it all, I’ve had vestibular issues from a concussion from a wreck 6 months ago. I just started vestibular therapy again yesterday because I never finished it 6 months ago like I was supposed to because I had to work and honestly wasn’t having many issues at the time.
Now everything is bright and loud and my ear constantly rings. I’m detached/DPDR, get overstimulated very easily, anxious and scared. I get headaches and head pressure. I don’t know if vestibular issues can cause DPDR.
Yesterday at my appointment she did the Epley maneuver on me. She said I didn’t have the eye movements people usually have if that was the issue, but after she raised me back to sitting position I could suddenly hear sounds clearly again. It was like I could hear sounds individually again instead of everything being jumbled together and stabbing me in the brain. It immediately felt quieter in my head. My ear also stopped ringing. After leaving I felt so well, almost normal for the first time in weeks.
But it didn’t last. I tried to go into multiple stores that I had been avoiding because everything is overwhelming right now, and I had a panic attack. I think I reintroduced too much too fast. After the panic attack when I was home the dpdr hit again. After not having it most the day it was excruciating.
Last night wasn’t a night I was supposed to take Lamictal, and today I woke up crying because I felt so detached and sad about missing my normal life. I have this like cloud of depression or lost or something. I can’t explain. Maybe it was from doing too much yesterday, or because I didn’t take Lamictal last night. I honestly don’t know. I don’t know if it’s helping or if my brain was already correcting itself. Or maybe yesterday wasn’t just the vestibular therapy maybe it was partly because I had taken Lamictal the night before.
I don’t have bipolar disorder, but I do have a strong family history of it (brother, sister, dad). My family members with bipolar all take Lamictal. I’ve seen several therapists and psychiatrists who said they do not think I have bipolar disorder. I do have anxiety with panic attacks and OCD. I take klonopin and buspar.
I’ve also been getting pretty depressed lately, which started before the Lamictal. I think it’s because my life doesn’t feel the same anymore. I basically can’t do anything I used to enjoy. It does get better some days, but I always feel like I have this cloud of depressed anxiety and detachment following me. Even on days I feel almost normal, I still feel it in the background.
This has been happening for about 3.5 weeks now with some slow improvement. I have to distract myself most of the time. I just want my life back and I don’t know if Lamictal is helping, if it could help eventually if I ignore the side effects, or if it’s making things worse.
I see my psychiatrist Wednesday. And I do weekly therapy. I had to go on leave from work. It’s hard to play with my kids or do anything I used to like doing. I don’t want to do anything or go anywhere. I have to force myself out when the depression gets really bad. I hate all of this. I just want my life back. Could lamictal help with any of this or anything else that could help?

Hey, I’m trying to figure out what’s going on with me and I’m honestly pretty overwhelmed, so I’m hoping someone here has been through something similar.

About 2 weeks ago I started having really intense symptoms that feel like a mix of anxiety, ear problems, and something neurological or vestibular. The biggest thing has been this depersonalization/derealization feeling where I feel detached, like I’m in a dream, or not fully here. Sometimes I feel like I’m only partially present. Along with that, sounds have been really weird. Normal noises feel too loud or sharp, and if there are multiple sounds going on at once it overwhelms me. Sometimes it even feels like sounds are distorted or echoing in a strange way. I’ve also been more sensitive to light, and I’ve noticed visual snow and floaters more than usual.

At the same time, I’ve been dealing with ear symptoms. I have constant ringing in my ear and a feeling of fullness or pressure, like it needs to pop but won’t. The ear that was supposed to have the infection hurts when I chew. A doctor told me I had an ear infection and fluid in both ears, and I took a Z-pack and have been using Flonase for about a week now. The thing that really messes with me is that one time I popped my ear and I felt almost completely normal for like a day and a half, which makes me feel like all of this could be connected to my ear somehow.

I also have this pain in the back of my head at the base of my skull that can shoot up one side into my temple and forehead. It doesn’t feel like a normal headache, more like a sick or heavy feeling. It gets worse when I’m sitting or standing and feels a little better when I’m laying down. My neck is really tense too.

I’ve noticed some patterns like mornings being the worst, especially before I eat. The DPDR and weird feeling are way stronger then, and I usually feel a little better after eating. Noise and busy environments seem to trigger things too. For example, being outside with my kids playing basketball pushed me into a really bad episode. But if I leave the situation early, it doesn’t spiral as much. Laying down in a dark room helps the most when it gets bad.

For background, I had a concussion about 6 months ago and was supposed to do vestibular therapy but didn’t keep up with it. I do have anxiety, but this feels very different and way more physical than anything I’ve had before.

I’ve got a psych appointment scheduled but it’s not until the 8th, and a neuro appointment but not until August. So I feel kind of stuck right now trying to figure this out on my own.

I guess what I’m wondering is if something like inner ear or vestibular dysfunction could cause all of this, including the DPDR. Has anyone had ear issues trigger these kinds of symptoms? I’ve seen things like vestibular migraine or PPPD mentioned and didn’t know if this sounds similar to anyone.

This has been really hard. Some days I feel almost normal and then it all comes back again. The combination of the ear symptoms and the disconnected feeling is what’s scaring me the most.

If anyone has experienced anything like this or has any insight, I’d really appreciate it.
It’s been pretty constant for like 2 weeks now. I can’t work or play with the kids or even really go anywhere. It’s causing depression.
My pcp has did all the labs. I’m low on b12 and iron. Recently started taking b12 1000mcg daily and multivitamin with iron every other day. Started this like 5 days ago cause my pcp wanted. She also wanted to give me lamictal to help the dpdr but hesitant to take it because i hate meds. This has taken over my life.