Anxiety addiction and tinnitus

Anxiety runs in my mothers side of the family and is genetic I feel. A very stressful pregnancy for her led to a transmisssion of toxins, hormones, etc through the placenta in additionto the genetic factor. I have been hooked on the adrenaline rush anxiety produces since puberty when my problems started when I started having occasional exceptionally fast palpitations  and abnormal heartbeat after sport which would only cease after a good nights sleep. There was a period in my twenties when I suffered pressure in the forehead and an inability to concentrate for a period of 5 years until I sold my business. I was put on benzodiapines for 3 years which did not help. Coming off these muscle relaxants was purgatory and I have had a type of dystonia ever since. I ruminate continously over worrying topics which induces a satisfying release of cortisol from the adrenal glands I think. After sport or a bout of anxiety I get muscle-lock in my stomach and the base of my throat and sometimes palpitations which only abate very slowly.
Last year after a period of extreme anxiety I woke up to find the room suddenly spinning and tinnitus in both my ears - this was sudden not gradual. I get occasional giddyness and nystagmus now and the tinnitus is constant and so are bad dreams. A CT scan in the 80's produced nothing and the ECG shows nothing as well. Otherwise I am generally in good health and suffer no psychological problems. My worries are: That the dystonia I occasionally have will eventually lead to a stroke and that my brain has virtually   been "pickled" by the excessive release of cortisol and adrenaline over the 60 years of my life. I am currently on atenolol 25mg daily and propanolol 10mg daily. I am extremely sensitive to medicines and only need a fraction of the dose other people have. Can you suggest anything?

[Roger Gould, M.D.]

I think your specific worries about the future of your health are unfounded since your brain will not be pickled nor does dystonia lead to stroke.  On the other hand, you have a very sensitive nervous system that has to be managed, and a high level of stressful symptoms is not health producing.

The beta blockers you are now taking may be your best bet, so I suggest you stay on them, adjusting the dose with your doctor to your sensitivity.