post surgery. Now have 24/7 anxiety. AM wakeup the worst!

[jerseyshoregrl]

Hi!My first time here.........60yr old F used to be a sefl sufficient rock!  A few weeks before scheduling colon resection surgery (april/08) to remove infected diverticuli  I started with AM shaking, sweating, tight muscles,rapid heartbeat, nausea. ect Went to GP and he gave me a few Ativan to take prior to surgery. I was terrified of not being pain free and sure enough the nurses neglected to plug in my epidural pain pump for 15 hrs, called me a sissy and to walk it off till the anesthesiologist noticed it and took care of me. After comiing off the painmeds and Ativan I  developed the same sysptoms prior to surgery only worse! I was in the fetal position, crying, trembling, vomiting,sweating etc. My gp and Surgeon both said I was in opiate withdrawl (been 3 weeks since any meds) and they didn't "do rehab" and to go to my ER. What a horror show!  3 drug filled days later discharged, no meds and an appt to see a bcbs dr in one month (earliest they could get) Diagnosis? Surgery mental issues.   Went out of newtwork to a referred psychiatrist who put me on remeron and diagnsed post traumatic stress disorder. Drug worked immediately & ok if you don;t mind eating everything in sight and feeling like you have the emotions of a piece of cardboard and having it **** out on you after about a month. So then she tried Xanax (which from all of the dependence and withdrawl nightmares I read about I am afraid to take but did. Even with it, I experienced daily Morning Panic and was not able to function for work till after noon. Does this sound familiar to anyone?  My GP thought the Xanax was biting back so took me off of 1mg of it a day and switched me to 1 mg of valium a day which in 15 hrs put me back in the ER,,,,(oh yeah, the psyc was not answering our calls),,,,,,,,,,,,,shaking,vomiting,twitching,sweating etc,,,. This all happened the day before yesterday......The ER DR switched me to Ativan and am having the same Morning Horrors,,,,,,,,,,,sweats, no appetite, gagging, shakes, muscle twitches etc , I dread going to bed knowing what awaits me in the morning......it even happens if I take a short afternon nap! I see no end to this and I am getting very very tired of not being able to understand or get help!!!  I just want my life back! Any ideas? Now the DRS are all suggesting different doses of the meds........take 1.5mg of xanax a day  no no  take 1mg ativan every 8 hrs  nono   go back on the light dose of valium!  

HELP!  Is there help out there for me?  I need to get back to my life and to my work!  What is happenig to me?  Any suggestions from you all experienced sufferers would be welcomed........thank you!!!

[toejam_muncher]

my worst time for anxiety is in the morning...i don't know what it is about waking up, but for whatever reason my brain feels like the static on the tv when your cable goes out.

i don't know what's wrong with you...but it does sound like you are experiencing a certain level of anxiety and there are no quick-fixes to that. maybe some sort of morning meditation may help...or ritual...or exercise. try a variety of different things and see if any of them work. one thing to avoid is taking meds the first thing in the morning. give yourself a chance to balance out without them....and then after and hour or two, if you still really need them, take them. but most importantly...keep seeing the doctors untill you get your problem resolved.

[remar]

i think you should be taking the meds several times a day, not just once. that will only help for a short time. you sure have been through alot lately. the best thing for your anxiety is to keep a steady supply of meds in your system. if you take a xanax once a day, it's going to wear off in about 6 hours. i've taken meds a long time for my anxiety and my dr. has never told me to take it just once a day. now if your having panic attacks they work great on an as needed basis. some of the antidepressants work on anxiety also. and they stay in your system longer. i hope you get this worked out soon, i know how anxiety feels. take care. Remar

[jerseyshoregrl]

Thank you for the tips and encouragemennt. its very easy to feel all alone out here.
is it possible to have constant anxiety and then added panic attacks on  top of it? Tha'ts what it feels like.I need to find a good pscy in the Horizon BCBS HMO network who specialies in PSTD. In the Monmouth/Ocean  NJ area. ( I'm not even sure if looking for a referral in this type of forum is proper)
I've tried zoloft,buspar & cymbalta whiich I stopped because they made me feel worse. Right now i am on 1mg of ativan every 8hr and feel groggy and unsteady and still have the shakes.......Ok then..........thanks for getting me this far, my friends do not understand and keep telling me to get over it and to get back to work (realtor). Right!

[jerseyshoregrl]

Thanks for your advice.............I have been trying the breathing for awhile now and it helps a little but not much..............I will get bak to the yoga too.
I am thinking of switching from the ativan and going back to the xanax. My DR. recommends .25 or .5 every 4-6 hrs..............do you have any idea how long after taking the last ativan I can start taking the Xanax? She didn't tell me and tring to get her on the phone is useless.....thaanks

[lynn57]

It sure is possible to have general anxiety and panic attacks.  I think every panic attack just re-enforces the anxiety.  I can't believe that no=one has recommended Klonopin for you.  Xanax and ativan are very short acting and can even give you some re-bound anxiety each time they wear off.  Also they are terribly sedating and your tolerance to them builds up much more quickly.  Most Docs actually prefer Klonopin for panic attacks.  I would try another SSRI for long term help with the anxiety.  Added to the Klonopin, you should get relief.  The klonopin when taken twice daily will take about a week to remain steady enough to give you round the clock relief. You would have to get up in the middle of the night to take ativan if it were to stay in your system for the AM.  Good luck and god bless.  

[jerseyshoregrl]

thanks for the klonopin advice.........I have heard that before but for some reason my Dr. is resistent to it. I do have to wake up in the middle of the night or very early AM to keep the ativan or xanax in my system constantly. I'm going to call her right now ( I should hear back in a week or two) amazing that htere are no Dr;s where i live who are not overloaded. I think it may still be an influx of 911 patients!  Thanks again and my best to all...........I'm praying for us all!