Dear Hope,
I am sorry to hear you are having these problems. I know that each anti-depressant class drug effects each person in a different way for the most part. You may have to try more than a few before you find the one that works for you. Depression and anxiety are closely tied. I can tell you that years ago I suffered from severe depression and anxiety attacks after the death of my Father. After some crazy experiences with other neurotransmitter modifiers, I found the drug Effexor (venlafaxine) to be the one that worked for me. It has the unusual property of affecting not only seratonin levels in the brain, but norepinepherine as well. It is not well understood why, but Effexor has the ability to inhibit panic attacks. I know how bad a panic attack can be, so I sympathize with you. I eventually learned to cope with them "manually" by recognizing the symptoms of an oncoming attack, and "thinking" my way out of it. It's no picnic.
There may be an added benefit to you taking the clonazepam (Klonopin) I believe. It is also used as a seizure preventative. I don't know the current state of your brain mets, but it might not be a bad thing to have an seizure-inhibitor on board just in case.
I believe you may do fine on the Xeloda, as much of what I have read on it is promising. The best news is that you are pursuing lapatinib (Tykerb). It seems to me that it is the best hope for those whose Herceptin therapy has ceased to work. Please keep us informed as to how you are making out. Best wishes for improvement.
Sincerely,
Tom
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