Help with anxiety/stress, insomnia, RLS, depression.

[jshdae920]

I am currently 18 years old...I found this website in search of some advice. I feel like my condition and overall situation is degrading day by day and I'm not quite sure where to go. I will list my symptoms below, any help is greatly appreciated.

-Extremely high levels of stress, beginning in the early morning and increasing throughout the day. The most notable result of this for me is anger. I become so stressed that I find it very difficult not to become physically violent in public situations.

-Social anxiety. This has been a problem throughout my teen years. It was never really solved...It has decreased, I mainly experience anxiety simply in general, but I would say it's still there. I would definitely prefer to be alone.

-Restless Leg Syndrome. This has recently begun to affect me. When I lay down to try and sleep at night I have this uncontrollable urge to keep my legs moving. It prevents me from sleeping and is severely annoying.

-Insomnia. I have trouble falling asleep, and wake up 2-3 hours after I do. Sometimes I will fall back asleep for another 2 or 3 hours, usually I will stay up. This obviously causes me to be extremely tired and worn out during the day. I try to run 1 mile per day and do around 100 pushups, but this is not easy running on such little energy.

I'm currently seeing a psychiatrist, and have been for months. He has prescribed me Propranolol and Buspar. I feel like these medications are not working and am considering seeing another doctor. I've started drinking alcohol to combat these symptoms, and it is helping more than anything else, but is causing serious bowl discomfort, and I of course recognize this is not a viable path to take.

[Paxiled]

Sorry, should have added, don't know how long you've suffered the restless leg, but if it started after starting medication, many medications for mental problems cause this problem as a side effect.

[Paxiled]

Doubt you need iron, but my own feeling is the best absorbed iron supplement is the plant based Floradix.  And as to the above suggestion about getting these type of meds from a general doc rather than a psychiatrist, that's usually a recipe for disaster as regular docs just don't know how to properly taper people off medication.  These drugs can be hard to stop taking, and you need someone with the expertise to understand this.  General docs are just too busy with too many things to be expert at any of them and are especially ignorant about the downsides of medication.  However, as a long-time anxiety and sometimes depression sufferer, I'd question the meds you're on now.  The first, a beta blocker, is only usually used for social phobias such as public speaking, not for the more generalized anxiety you're describing, and the second, Buspar, has failed virtually all clinical trials and is mainly used as an adjunct to an ssri, a form of antidepressant.  I do agree with the above post that recommended therapy, however, as it appears there's something bothering you that you haven't figured out yet.  Learning relaxation techniques such as breathing exercises and meditation can also be very helpful.  Given that all the meds used to treat mental problems can be difficult to take and to stop taking I'd recommend exhausting non-medication alternatives first unless your life is so disrupted by this you can't function.  The medication will always be there if nothing else works.  Also, there are separate forums on this website for anxiety and depression, but keep in mind they are very pro-medication.  Good luck.

[gymdandee]

http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/deepak-chopra-meditation-cleanse-detox-stress-21-days

http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/TIP04446/Kava-Relieves-Anxiety.html

Restless legs syndrome, Have your doctor check your Serum iron and ferritin levels. Iron deficiency can cause restless legs!
If serum ferritin is below 30, then try a 2 to 3 month trial of supplemental iron. Serum ferritin measures stored iron and is a more reliable measure of your body’s iron stores.

I suggest iron glycinate found in Solgar’s Gentle Iron. Iron gets better absorbed with Vitamin C, have a glass of OJ at the same time. Check levels again in 2 to 3 months.
Your doctor may order an overnight sleep test to better measure the extent of your leg movements at night.
If you wish to avoid powerful drugs, consider tonic water. Quinine sulfate, an old treatment for malaria is used by some doctors with success. This is an unofficial, “off label” treatment. Tonic water has some quinine in it — enough to calm down some folk’s symptoms. Try a seven ounce bottle one hour before bedtime.

Insomnia
Exercise in the afternoon it relieves the stress that builds up throughout the day. Also, the mood lift helps you go to bed worry-free. Worrying can cause insomnia. No nighttime exercise it charges up your body! You must  stay away from all caffeine!! it will increase the stress hormone epinephrine
Try making lunch the big meal and dinner a light one.  Bananas are a  good snack choice they raise your serotonin, a neurotransmitter associated with healthy sleep. No TV, PC, or bright lights in the bedroom.
Speak to your doctor first!!

[evewisewoman]

Hi again,

I forgot to mention that your family doctor can prescribe medications for
you. You don't really need a psychiatrist to prescribe the meds for you
especially as you say the meds your current psychiatrist has prescribed
are not working for you. Be well. Hope you feel better soon. Eve

[evewisewoman]

Hi there,

Just finished reading your comments. I went through a depression myself
a number of years ago. I also had what can only be described as
anxiety attacks during my depression. Psychiatrists mainly just prescribe
medications. You might have more success with counselling of some
kind by finding a psychologist, a psychotherapist or some other kind
of counsellor. You say you've started drinking to combat the symptoms
you've described. I would strongly suggest that you not add a problem
of alcohol to what you're already dealing with. Also most medications,
especially meds like antidepressants say not to drink alcohol while on
them. It's actually quite dangerous to drink alcohol while taking meds
like the ones you've described. Okay,  here's my suggestion.
I would make an appointment with your family doctor. Tell your doctor
what's been going on, how you're feeling, what you're taking in the
way of meds right now. Tell your doctor you feel like these meds aren't
working for you and ask him or her what they suggest. In my case,
depression runs in our family. It took me a number of tries to find the
right antidepressant that would help me and it was my family doctor
who would recommend them. As I mentioned most psychiatrists only
prescribe meds. Psychiatrists as a rule don't really do a proper job of
counselling one on one. There may be exceptions, but most don't.
Hope these suggestions are helpful. Good luck. Eve