Advice about anxiety, stress, Meds, etc.

[ShawnJC1]

I'm a first-time user and have never posted before.  I'm here at work in my cubicle so I said, "what the heck".  Brief summary:



When I was 25, I woke up one morning with a stiff neck, throbbing temple, tingling feelings in my head, etc.  Over the next 2 months, my memory and concentration became terrible and there seemed to be a "fogginess" in the left side of my head.  My left eye would seem to stare off into space and my sight seemed to be getting worse.  I also felt light-headed at times, didn't like bright light, and had a "leaking" feeling in my ear.  I was sure this was something physical (especially after I tried Serzone and it didn't help) so I had tons of tests for the next 15 months: MRI's of the head and neck, 2 EEG's, EMG, Vestibular testing, blood work, lyme test, neuro-psych testing, and spinal tap.  Everything came back completely normal except for the EEG's which showed minor slowing in the temporal lobe region.  My neuro. had tried me on dilantin and neurontin because he thought maybe I was having seizures (which I wasn't) but those drugs made me feel worse.  Finally, my psychologist (I started going because the symptoms were driving me crazy...I never felt depressed, except over my symptoms) suggested a seratonin drug.  I tried zoloft and within 2 weeks, I began to feel much better.  My memory and thought process became much better.  So I took zoloft for about 4 months before switching to prozac.  I got pretty much the same results with prozac: memory was better but the eye staring and general anxiety was still there.  I added a stimulant to the prozac hoping it would sort of "jump-start" my head but it simply "jump-started" my body.  I got off that and switched to Effexor, which I have now been on for almost a year.  I'm on 150mg/day.  I exercise 3-4 times a week, don't smoke or do drugs, have a wonderful girlfriend and family, etc.  However, I still have terrible short-term concentration, and a lot of the times have a feeling of unfamiliarity with places I should feel fine in (i.e. work, home, etc.).  In addition, I have a very young daughter.  However, I am not with her mother and I have A LOT of built up anger towards her.  She plays mind games with me and uses my daughter as a sort of pawn to get back at me.  It's a very tough situation.  I am the type of person to keep things inside of me and not express my feelings.  I would love to cry but it seems that I just can't.  So currently, the effexor doesn't seem to be working that great anymore.  The staring has come back, it feels like the left side of my head is in a bit of a fog and I'm generally not happy.  I really want to be happy but these symptoms aren't letting me.  I've been thinking of going to a hypnotherapist.  The thinking is that maybe a hypnotherapist can help to get all that anger and anxiety out of me.  Could all these symptoms really be caused by depression, anxiety, stress, etc? Would you suggest switching to a new medication?  Thanks

[Roger Gould, M.D.]

Yes, these current symptoms could easily be from what is bottled up inside of you re your ex-wife.  I don't suggest you change medications but I do suggest you were with a therapist, rather than a hypnotist, to come to a solution re your anger and how to productively deal with it.

[Kelp]

You may want to try a sedative SHORT TERM such as Valium or a medication in that group of drugs to help take the stress off of you for awhile

[KEV78]

Hi EVERYONE...I'm new to the forum.  Ive got tons on my mind and many questions to ask.  Seems as if my probs started one day when i used cocaine.  Just that morning I suddenly freaked out and was afradi my heart was going to explode cause of how it was beating etc.  Had used the stuff for two months on weekedns with no probs.  EMT's told me everything seemed fine and that it was prolly a panic attack.  But deep inside i thought for sure i may have screwed up my heart or something.  Few weeks later i tried it again and a few times after that and each time i freaked out swore I was gonna die.  Anyhow i stayed clean and didnt mess with the stuff anymore. However then i starteed to get thesee weird episodes like I had trouble breathing like a smothering feeling and concentrated alot on my breathing cause thought if i didnt i would stop also a slight abnormal feeling or i guess sense of sight was weird or seomthing not sure how to explain it.  Suddenly one day i had a panic attack i guess again and that was the end of that afterwards i think i fell into depression.  Then started to get these weird heart skips..alot everyday for about a month and a half all day long really scarey.  Bad thing is i was afradi i messed up my heart and now it was doing all that weird stuff.  got my heart checked out and doc said everything came back normal maybe just stress.  Ive got alot of symptoms including sleep disturbances like i wake up suddenly in a panic i guess doesnt last too long and i go right back to bed easily but very scarey.  I still worry about my health alot..just wondering if something is being overlooked etc.  get tons of muscle twitches all over my body..in the mornings when i wake up i feel shaky inside and out..i also kinda feel off balance like i feel like i sway alot when standing straight up or light my head or body rocks back and forth when i am at rest kinda goes along with my heavy pulse rate.  I am taking paxil 37.5mg CR.  I am alot better than I was but still have tons of doubts.  Can somebody help me with my questions or have any responses..please email me at ***@****  THANKS SO MUCH!!!!!!!



P.S.  also a little more depth about my history..previous to this all the only thing I can think of that has some importance is i ised to take alot of Ephedra dieting pills also drank lots of coffe and smoke cigarettes...and did have a bit of a stressfull realtionship too...dont know i was thinking maybe all that had to do with it too...who knows?

[Baadsie]

Keep a food diary and watch to see if your anger is more so after certain foods. Meat or sugary foods can increase adrenaline flow which can then have a profound effect on your mood. Next go get the small package insert for the SSRI med your are on and you will notice that anxiety, depression and agitation are all listed as possible side effects. These drugs can actually, by their stimulant property cause more problems than they solve.