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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 8 of 8. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by lucy05 on May 13, 2005, at 23:37:57
Hi there. I am stil new to this, I posted about a week ago asking about Effexor. I have been suffering from panic attacks for about a year, they came on a couple of months after withdrawal from alcohol. I was convinced the panic attacks were some sort of physical "imbalance", rather than from not drinking anymore. I had quit drinking two years before this for a year and a half with no attacks, and since they didn't come on right away, I just knew there had to be more to it. I went to nutritionist since I had been dieting excessively for years, well practically not eating at all while I was drinking. She recommended some things, but no help. I then went to a chiropractor who thought my adrenals were stressed, so I started taking enzymes and stuff, which helped a bit but I was still suffering. I had been avoiding a doctor because I didn't want to be slapped on some pysch drug, I wanted an answer to what was actually causing this, not a prescription to mask the symptoms. Finally, out of sheer desparation I did go to the doctor. They did some blood tests and found out that I had hypothyroidism. Once on Levoxyl, I began to feel better, but eventually started to feel worse again. I began having awful headaches, hard to describe - but they caused a stinging sensation in different areas of my head and sometimes just drilled into my head for a few seconds. I was fatigued, yet I had trouble sleeping and was anxious and nervous all the time. I didn't think I was depressed, but I was not enjoying life at all- my mind raced constanatly from the minute I woke up 'til I went to bed, I felt constantly afraid that something bad was going to happen. I went back to the doctor about the anxiety and more specifically at the time about the headaches, and he wanted to put me on meds - when I asked about holistic options he wanted to know why I would go to a traditional medicine doctor if I would not go on the psych drugs. I told him I wanted to know what was wrong with me, I was sure there was something causing this that could be dealt without the drugs. He was no help! A little more time passed, and then things got so bad that I twice had trouble with my vision. The first time I saw wavy lines in front of my eyes and felt like I was going to pass out, this resulted in a panic attack. The next time my vision got blurry and again I felt like I was going to pass out and had a full blown panic attack. Luckily, having dealt with these for some time now, I was able to just talk myself through it and it passed, but not without leaving me a headache and an anxious feeling for the rest of the day. I went back to the doctor's office and this time saw the Nurse Practitioner. She suggested Effexor, and I told her I was not interested, but decided to look into it. I did not like what I learned, which just cemented me deeper in my beliefs. Anyway, during this last visit, she said she wanted me to have my labs drawn again. Two days later (which was actully three days ago) I found out that my thyroid levels were again abnormal. I was put on a higher dose of the Levoxyl - and guess what - my headaches are nearly completely gone, my anxiety is gone, I have energy, things are brighter, better, I can't tell you how much better I feel. My point in posting this is to tell people, especially new people who have not yet decided to go the drug route, is that there could be something physical causing these symptoms - please have your doctor check for whatever possible before resorting to these drugs. Your body may just be trying to tell you something like mine was. Doctors and parmacutical companies work hand in hand to push these drugs, I feel that for alot of docs it's the easy way out, too. They read a brochure on the drug, you tell them your symptoms and magic it's all gone with a little pill. It's not, whatever is going on is still there, it's only hidden beneath these drugs - I guess that's okay if you want to stay on them forever and not address what is really wrong. I'm not saying everyone with anxiety has what I have, but I am saying there may be something else going on that can be fixed without the drugs - be insistent make your doctor work for his money and make him rule out everything before making the decision - it's just too huge not to. Sorry 'bout the rambling, this is just a very passionate topic for me, and I just want to be able to help someone if I can - I know I would want that for myself. Good luck, and good health all.
Posted by linkadge on May 14, 2005, at 0:44:02
In reply to Anxiety and Meds and Stuff, posted by lucy05 on May 13, 2005, at 23:37:57
This is a very encouraging story. I thank you for coming to share it, because it may be useful for many people here in different situations.
This reminds me of a story I read about a lady who was treated for antipsychotics for a few years before it was realized her diet led her to be deficiant in a certain b vitamin which caused the symptoms.
Its a darned good thing you are as persistant as you were, since getting hooked on effexor is not a good thing.
Linkadge
Posted by Phillipa on May 14, 2005, at 21:03:05
In reply to Anxiety and Meds and Stuff, posted by lucy05 on May 13, 2005, at 23:37:57
Same thing happened to me. My thyroid went and I experienced severe anxiety. Put on synthroid and things improved until it happened again. This time the pdoc put me on AD's and the cycle began. The stupidist thing I ever did was to stop working as he suggested. It's been 8 years and I'm afraid of my shadow. So I am my husband's shadow and he hates it. I lost all my independance. Fondly, Phillipa
Posted by lucy2005 on May 21, 2005, at 13:25:39
In reply to Re: Anxiety and Meds and Stuff » lucy05, posted by Phillipa on May 14, 2005, at 21:03:05
Hi Phillipa! Sorry it took me so long to reply to your posting, I have been thinking about you ever since I read it. What happened to you makes me so angry, I am almost beyond words. I am not familiar with Synthroid, since I was given Levoxyl, but I assume it is the same thing - a thyroid replacement drug. I wonnder if there is any difference in the effect it has on one though? Have you had your levels checked again? I was surprised mine dropped so quickly after having been stable and I am wondering if that will be the cyle for the rest of my life, but I am dealing with it. I just know if I start experiencing the symptoms again, I go get my blood drawn! I am not saying at this point I am 100% symptom free, I still feel some anxiousness but it is manageable - my mind does not race like it did before and the headaches are much, much better. I am focusing on holistic stuff, vitamins and diet to deal with that - it seems to be worse pre-menstral, too, so I am sure hormones are playing a part for me. Working out also seems to help, I work out for at least one hour every day - it helps me to feel healthy and I sleep better. Phillipa, I know there is a way out of what you are going through, and it does not include more drugs - I think it will just take determination, patience and the right resources to find that answer. I am going to continue to research this myself and will keep in touch with you if you would like. I am in California..where are you? I wish you luck and will continue to keep you in my thoughts.
Take care, Louisa> Same thing happened to me. My thyroid went and I experienced severe anxiety. Put on synthroid and things improved until it happened again. This time the pdoc put me on AD's and the cycle began. The stupidist thing I ever did was to stop working as he suggested. It's been 8 years and I'm afraid of my shadow. So I am my husband's shadow and he hates it. I lost all my independance. Fondly, Phillipa
Posted by Phillipa on May 21, 2005, at 17:52:21
In reply to Re: Anxiety and Meds and Stuff » Phillipa, posted by lucy2005 on May 21, 2005, at 13:25:39
Lucy2005, yes keep me informed. I have read and asked so many doctors and they all say my levels are fine. I am open to Babblemail, i see you aren't. You can always reach me there. Thanks for caring. Fondly, Phillipa
Posted by lucy2005 on June 5, 2005, at 0:01:04
In reply to Re: Anxiety and Meds and Stuff » lucy2005, posted by Phillipa on May 21, 2005, at 17:52:21
Hi Philipa,
I wanted to share with you something I am trying. Since my anxiety really came on with the Hypothyroid and decreased with the treatement of it and came back as thyroid levels increased again, I have been convinced that my anxiety symptoms are a result of a physical imbalance in my body. So, if it got better with the treatment of the thyroid, but did not compeletly dissipate - could it be there was something else that was out of balance, such as a nutritional difficiency or a mineral difficiency or something? Now, given the fact that I do not have a nutritonal or medical background, I am simply going by gut instinct, but I decided to do some more research into this. I began by beginning to take a Women's Ultra Mega every day -I got this from the local GNC store and consulted a nutrionist who said this was one of the better daily vitamins you can take (he said stay away from 'One a Day', 'Centrum', etc.) based on the Supplemental Facts on the back of the bottle. I also found out about another dietary supplement called XanGo, it is a Mangosteen supplement, it contains a blend of different juices as well as the Mangosteen - which has xanthones which are totally beneficial to your body and help with a wide range of things from anxiety, depression, migranes, athritis, and so on. Now, I am very into holistic and very optomistic about coming up with a solution that does not involve drugs, however I am also a bit of a skeptic and so when I first heard of this, I wondered, but the more I found out about it and heard of some of the successes people had as a result of taking it (all from a very good friend who I trust implicitly), I decided to try it. I will tell you, Philipa, so far I feel really good. I am taking three doses of the XanGo, plus one Women's Ultra Mega and of course my Levoxyl every day and I feel a ton better. I feel as though I a have a lot more energy, but not that anxious energy you get from caffeine - or a panic attack! It has addressed the risidual headaches I still experienced occassionally and I have not been shakey. I am not trying to sell you on anything, my desire is to share this information because I feel that I am truly finding some relief due to my pererverance and my discoveries and I want others who are dealing with this to find that, too. Anyway, I encourage you to take a dietary supplement (such as the Women's Ultra Mega) or something that is comprable based on the supplemental facts. And look into the XanGo - you can do reseach on the web - I know there are a lot of sales sites out there, but you should be able to also find some data on the benefits - there is a website on the back of the bottle I have: www.xango.net. On top of this, I continue to exercise every day and really eat healthy (no fast, processed or chemically altered foods - low fat, low carb and lots of raw food), I believe this is very beneficial. BTW, did you experience weight gain with the thyroid? Interestly enough, I gained only about 10 pounds (then lost 5 back after going on the Levoxyl) which I actually needed and am still quite slim at about 112 pounds and 5'6 1/2" - I was just wondering if there was any correlation with our symptoms and those who don't have the anxeity so bad with the Hypothyroid - I was told by this new nutrionist I saw, as well as my MD and N.P. that I don't seem as though I would have Hypothyroid because of the fact that I am slim, along with these other symptoms. I believe that's what kind of lead the nutrionist to think there was something else going on, too - at first they suspected Hypoglycemia, but that wasn't the case - but a lack of Potassium for one can be an aggrevator, I know calcium and magnesium are also important and so on - so that's why I am positive about the combination of these supplements. And, BTW, it was my idea to do both - the Daily was recommended by my Doc and the lady at my GNC, who I have come to know very well (!) and the XanGo by my friend and the nutrionist - so I decided to both because it made sense to me. Anyway, things seem to be good - but remember it is my openness to trying things, to believing there are natural things that can help, and my resitance to psych drugs that are bringing about things that are producing positive results - so be open, if you try this you have nothing to lose - there are no side effects or withdrawals, and espeically nothing that will contra-interact with any meds you are taking - everything I am doing involves one multi-vitamin and fruit juices. So, anyway, that's it - good luck! Please let me know if you try this, how it works, or just how you are doing! Be well!! Oh, and p.s., what is Babblemail?
> Lucy2005, yes keep me informed. I have read and asked so many doctors and they all say my levels are fine. I am open to Babblemail, i see you aren't. You can always reach me there. Thanks for caring. Fondly, Phillipa
Posted by lucy2005 on June 5, 2005, at 0:12:24
In reply to Good for you!!, posted by linkadge on May 14, 2005, at 0:44:02
Linkadge,
I don't think I ever responded to you?! Thank you for this posting, and for the support. I just posted another message to Philipa, I hope you read it to find out about my update! What you are telling me here totally aligns with what I believe. It makes so much sense that it is a shame more MDs do not have the time to find out more about this type of thing instead of going straight for the drugs! You know, when I found something that helped me with the alcohol dependency (also a non-traditional approach!) I wanted to share it with everyone who had the same problem, I wanted so much to help other people who were going through what I did and let them know that things could get better - I feel the same about this so it's nice to get feedback on my postings! Thanks again and take good care!!
Lucy2005
> This is a very encouraging story. I thank you for coming to share it, because it may be useful for many people here in different situations.
>
> This reminds me of a story I read about a lady who was treated for antipsychotics for a few years before it was realized her diet led her to be deficiant in a certain b vitamin which caused the symptoms.
>
> Its a darned good thing you are as persistant as you were, since getting hooked on effexor is not a good thing.
>
> Linkadge
>
>
>
>
>
Posted by Phillipa on June 5, 2005, at 0:42:50
In reply to Re: Anxiety and Meds and Stuff, posted by lucy2005 on June 5, 2005, at 0:01:04
Lucy2005, Babblemail is a feature Dr. Bob offers each of us. We send messages to each other that only go to the person you want to read it. This allows for more personel messages. Some of us become quite close and end up exchanging E-mails, etc. No one else can view these messages like they can on the board. Look at your name. It is black. Look at my name. It is blue and means it's open to me receiving Babblemail. To turn your Babblemail on go back to where you registered to be allowed to post on Babble boards. You will see a place under where you put your poster name and password. It says Babblemail on or off. Click the on setting so you can receive mail just to you from others. This would be a way for you and I to discuss what you have posted above just to each other. Like an E-mail. I will search zango tomorrow. Fondly, Phillipa
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