![[dr. bob]](/dr-bob-sm.gif)
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 7 of 7. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Kath on December 10, 2002, at 14:30:13
(from Kath) - my friend, JanetJ is at my house & has registered from here. She posted this & it's under my name, since she has to go home to "reply" to the registration email from drbob.
Hope this is 'cool'.
I'm new to this group. My friend Kath who has used this recommended I use this. I have fibromyalgia (about 12 years now) and have had anxiety and depression for probably most of my life--though never clinically diagnosed. I'm about to go to a psychiatrist for help with medication and some support. I've had psychotherapy help for about 10 years now and have a good friend/counsellor/therapist of 5 years now. I have always tried all the natural methods i.e. herbs, meditation, exercise, dancing, etcetera and am hesitant to try drugs. I am concerned about side effects having had a bad experience with a drug my MD recommended. I would love to hear of any one else whose in similar place to me. A good friend-social worker feels from talking withme that I may be bipolar and that is why regular drugs for anxiety and herbs do the reverse for me. So I'll send this off looking forward to hearing some news! JanetJ
Posted by Mr Cushing on December 10, 2002, at 15:11:22
In reply to I'm looking for support with an anxiety problem, posted by Kath on December 10, 2002, at 14:30:13
This is just my opinion, but if you've dealing with a psychiatrist for 10 years or so now and you haven't had any severe periods of depression or anxiety which basically made you unstable, then you're most likely not bi-polar.With the meds that work best for anxiety, it depends on what your PDoc will prescribe for you. Out of the ADs that I've tried, Effexor and Paxil have seemed to work the best for getting rid of anxiety symptoms. You'll most likely respond best to one of these. However, they both have relatively rough start-up side effects which will disappear within 2-4 weeks. If you try one and it doesn't work, I think it's within 48 hours that you can switch to another one. One of those will most likely make you anxiety free.
There are also benzo's (like Valium) that work great for anxiety/panic symptoms. Personally I'm taking between 1-2mg of Clonazepam (Klonopin) a day now.
Whatever you try though, if you decide to go on medication, don't just give up because the first one didn't work right. That happens like, what? 99% of the time? You'll eventually find something that will really help you if you're patient enough. I guess it also depends on how severe the anxiety symptoms are and their result in your life.
Posted by Kar on December 10, 2002, at 15:17:16
In reply to I'm looking for support with an anxiety problem, posted by Kath on December 10, 2002, at 14:30:13
Hey Janet- first of all, "welcome!" although I don't know if I qualify as a welcomer when I haven't posted in some time...
I don't know much about FM but there are plenty others around here that do. My dx is bipolar but it's been straight depression since i started meds. Haven't been manicky since I was 16 (and I'm 32).
Can you describe your symptoms a little more? Are you able to work? Do you have a family to take care of? You say you've been going to your therapist for a while. It's helped, I assume?
I can say that before I was diagnosed, I tried herbs, allergists, nutritionists, neurologists, chiropractors and on. My experience has been that some of these can help to a point but weren't enough to nab it.
I understand your concern with the medications. As you may have read here, they affect different people in very different ways. But I have come to realize that I really do need them. Therapy helps too, because my pdoc is a straight shot "tell-me-what's-going-on-in-15-minutes-or-less" kind of doc. If your pdoc is good, he/she will listen to your concerns and give you an honest professional opinion based on your symptoms, history and concerns. Know that if you feel at all uncomfortable with this doc, you will be able to find one with whom you are. Did your therapist or social worker-friend recommend him/her? If not, that might be an option too.
Please stay in touch and let us know how your appt. went. Then we can play "Rate-a-doc"! Don't mean to make light of it...please know that you made an important decision by making this appointment, your concerns are normal and now you can concentrate on making things even better for yourself! Oh- and I don't know if you've been looking around but there are other boards here that may help you find additional support and info...
All the best,
Karen
Posted by Krysti on December 10, 2002, at 20:00:54
In reply to I'm looking for support with an anxiety problem, posted by Kath on December 10, 2002, at 14:30:13
Hi JanetJ,
I was pretty much in your position for the last 6 years before I was diagnosed with bipolar. I had terrible anxiety and tried everything to get rid of it. Like you, I did not want to go on prescription meds. What made me finally decide to do it though is somewhere I read that you cannot just make anxiety go away once you have it. You can learn to deal with it better, but it won't ever go away. It gave me the push I needed. I had definitely tried hard enough for six years to no avail.
I went on Paxil for it and then found out I was bipolar. The good news is, since I've been on a mood stabilizer, I have been anxiety-free. It is heaven : )
I hope you find something to help you and welcome, this is a great board : )
Krysti
Posted by IsoM on December 11, 2002, at 2:25:24
In reply to Re: I'm looking for support with an anxiety problem » Kath, posted by Krysti on December 10, 2002, at 20:00:54
Janet, I've had fibromyalgia for around 20 years now. It varies in intensity. I can have long periods with little or no pain (fibromyalgia pain, that is). Other times, I can have mild pain or sometimes, stong aches & pains all over.
Depression & fibromyalgia often go hand in hand. Sleep isn't as satisfying, anxiety can increase. For other reasons, I take a stimulant, Dexedrine, & have found that since I've been using it, my fibro hasn't bothered me much. I did a search on Google to see if there was a tie-in & with some people there is. I've found the Dexedrine acts as a AD for some people too.
Like another person mentioned, if you were bipolar, I think you may have noticed more emotional ups & downs than you've mentioned.
If you have any more specific questions, I'll do my best to answer them.
Posted by kamikazi_ladybug on December 11, 2002, at 19:17:36
In reply to Fibromyalgia and anxiety: Janet, posted by IsoM on December 11, 2002, at 2:25:24
I know this was to Janet, but I wanted to say thank you IsoM, and also ask a question. I was just diagnosed (sp?) with fibromaylgia this past summer. Do you have pain in one particular area more than others? I have so much pain right above my knees that I want to cut my legs off sometimes (j/k of course) but sleep is definetly not what I wish it would be. I told my dh I don't know what a natural sleep is..between anxiety and pain I will never just fall off to sleep...also, when the pain meds don't work, how do you manage? Thanks again...and thank you for taking the time to read this!
KL
Posted by IsoM on December 12, 2002, at 0:48:03
In reply to Re: Fibromyalgia and anxiety: Janet » IsoM, posted by kamikazi_ladybug on December 11, 2002, at 19:17:36
Ladybug, I don’t know how to describe my fibro. Because I have old injuries, I’m not always certain what the cause of any particular pain I may be having is. I can’t say that any area hasn’t hurt some but my knees and elbows get off the lightest. My shoulders, neck, hands, feet, and hips are the worse in descending order.
Inactivity is a real killer for me. I used to try to ‘rest’ more when pain was severe but it only prolonged the period of pain and made it worse. So even if I’m hurting, I need to stay active. I use heat a lot. Pain causes me to tense up my muscles, leading to more soreness as other muscles overcompensate. Heat relaxes the muscles and increases blood flow to muscles that have their blood supply lessened from constant tightness. I try to figure out what any new pain may be coming from. It’s a bit of detective work but sometimes I can guess what may be triggering it – what sort of recent activities or mental stresses have been happening. Then if it seems sensible, I do what I can to adjust what I need to.
I’ve found that certain positions feel better than others. I can’t sit for long in a normal sitting down in a chair position. I have to pull up my feet and sit with my knees up or cross-legged, Still, I fidget and shift positions frequently. Lots of stretching of my upper body helps too.
To quiet and relax my mind and body enough for sleep, I take 2 Gravol every night. It’s an over-the-counter med for travel nausea and has sedating effects. Even after years of taking it, it still helps me fall asleep at night. I have a heated floatation water bed set to max heat. Also have the thickest down comforter available. I’m warm when active but I need warmth to sleep at night. The warmth seems to help muscles that would otherwise stiffen from the night’s inactivity. Still, I wake a few times every night and shift position often. When pain is worse (like recently), I take a hot water bottle and a heating pad to bed every night for the more painful spots.
I would never be able to sleep in a normal, hard bed. My warm water bed is a life-saver!
This is the end of the thread.
Psycho-Babble Social | Extras | FAQ
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.org
Script revised: February 4, 2008
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/cgi-bin/pb/mget.pl
Copyright 2006-17 Robert Hsiung.
Owned and operated by Dr. Bob LLC and not the University of Chicago.