Posted by Racer on July 15, 2004, at 15:25:51
In reply to Re: Fellow Hypochondriacs - HELP! one more thing!, posted by captain on July 15, 2004, at 10:17:56
Heheheh, wouldn't it be nice if *knowing* were the same as believing? Make life so much easier, wouldn't it?
This is only off the cuff response, not informed advice, so take it for whatever you think it's worth. I wouldn't have the MRI, because you already *know* that it's more likely the power of suggestion than a real probability. All the sypmtoms you've described -- visual disturbance, dizziness, etc -- can be explained by the anxiety itself, and if you get a clean head scan, it's as likely to leave you dissatisfied as to calm your fears. If I were going to offer any advice, it would be to talk to your doctor about this, and ask for advice and try to listen to it with an open mind. I'm guessing the advice would be to look into psychotherapy, which is also what my own personal advice would include. Now, on this board, I hope you can understand that I'm emphatically *not* saying, "it's all in your head, so you need therapy." That's a very condescending sort of an attitude for a doctor to take, in my not at all humble on this subject opinion. That's offered as a "having been in similar situations, the thing that has helped me the most and been of great benefit for me has been psychotherapy in addition to medications, and it might be helpful to you if you're not already doing it."
(It's so hard, in writing, to know how what one writes will be taken. I really do mean to offer support and help, but I'm afraid that it might come across as the same sort of dismissive condescencion that some doctors tend towards with this sort of thing. I hope that you're not reading it that way, and if you are, please accept my apologies.)
Anyway, vertigo is a [expletive deleted], which I can say having had it. Worrying about your physical health is also awful. Best luck on the Lexapro helping quickly and reducing your anxiety.
poster:Racer
thread:366441
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20040714/msgs/366559.html