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Mental Health (Expert Forum)
Anxiety??
Answered by
Roger Gould, M.D. - Mental Health, Wellness
Questions posted in the Mental Health forum are being answered by Dr. Roger L. Gould, author of the Mastering Stress and Depression program and affiliated with the UCLA. Department of Psychiatry. Topics covered include anger, attention deficit disorder (ADD), bipolar disorder, dementia, electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), learning disabilities, memory, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), panic, personality disorders, phobias, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), schizophrenia, stress, transitions, and work problems.
Anxiety??
by tw27, Jul 22, 2005 12:00AM
Little bit of background...I'm 28 yr. old female. I have a huge fear of cancer due to my grandmother's death a few yrs ago, I was there with her when she died (she was only 59). I suffer from anxiety/panic attacks, OCD and boderline hypocondriac and no depression. I've tried Paxil, Zoloft, Effexor. Last year my GP put me on Xanax .25 mg to take when needed. I did good for a while on taking only every now and then except back in March a lot of things was going on and I started taking it more often. I realized that I was taking too often (like every day). In mid-May I started to ween myself off and I thought that I was doing good, only taking maybe 2-3 times a wk. At the end of May, we flew to Cancun. Once I arrived there, I started getting this periodic feeling of the flooring moving as I walked, as if I was still on the airplane or on a boat or riding a elevator but it only lasted a few seconds and disappeared. Then it started happening again so I took a Xanax and the feeling disappeared only to return the next day. When I got back from Cancun, it seemed like the feeling was lasting longer and longer. I decided to not take anymore Xanax about 3 wks. ago and that feeling of the floor moving stayed with me for about a week and disappeared for about a week. Well it returned about 2 wks ago. I have no fever, no hearing loss, no problems with balance, I do have a little bit of naesea at times (but Tums helps that). The funny thing is that when I wake up in the mornings I feel great except for feeling a little anxious and its like as the morning goes on I start getting that feeling of the floor moving or if I think about it, the feeling returns or if I stay busy and not think about it, I feel fine or if I have a few glasses of wine, I feel fine or like yesterday I finally took a Xanax and the feeling went away. I did start getting very shaky in my hands yesterday & today along with the paniced feeling. I went to my GP last Monday about the flooring moving feeling and she said that I had fluid in my ear w/o infection to use Nasonex and Allegra for sinus/allegries along with popping my ears. She also gave me another refill for Xanax and to try Buspar (which I haven't tried yet). Everything that I have read on the internet about vertigo, or ear fluid talks about it lasting for a few minutes to a few hours along with hearing loss and ringing in ears and I know I shouldn't look on the internet. My problem seems to last from mid-morning til when I go to bed which is around 11:30 pm and I have no ringing in ears or hearing loss. I can't get into to see my ENT dr. until late August and this is driving me crazy. Since I have a huge fear of cancer, this is making me think the very worst (cancer) and I'm only 28. Does this floor moving feeling sound like anxiety? Or something more serious (cancer)? Please offer some insight. Thank you for your time and sorry so lengthy.
Doctor's Answer
by Roger Gould, M.D., Jul 25, 2005 12:00AM
, Jul 25, 2005 12:00AM
First of all, this does not sound like cancer in any way. Secondly, it sounds exactly like anxiety. Instead of medications, I would recommend talk therapy. Your insight about the death of your grandmother is only part of the picture..you have to fill in the other parts to heal this problem.
I'm not a dr.. here.. so .. what I say is only my personal perspective.
FWIW, I went to an ENT a few days ago and she was confident that despite my comment that it doesn't feel like the room is spinning, she diagnosed me with Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo. You can read more about it here:
http://www-surgery.ucsd.edu/ent/PatientInfo/info_bppv.html
She even did the procedure described there (the physical therapy type thing). I'm a little better but am wondering if I'm just getting used to the feeling and not noticing it as much because I've basically had it non-stop for the last 9 days.
I hope that helps. I'd love to talk with you more. I'm feeling better that I'm not the only one that's feeling this way..
Take care!
07/25/2005
That is such wonderful advice we need to hear more of that than just "take a klonopin and chill"
Yes, talk helps more than taking a pill cuz you will be popping em for the rest of your life and what's more the problem is still there and so is the anxiety in due time.
xxxxx