Psycho-Babble Medication Thread 13368

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Re: horrible head feeling! Feels I have gotten worse!

Posted by katie on October 18, 1999, at 11:59:39

In reply to horrible head feeling! Feels I have gotten worse!, posted by Amy II on October 18, 1999, at 10:58:39

>
##############GET TO A DOC ASAP!!!!############

Hello everybody. Let me see where to start. Ok, My head feels like a i have a fifty pound weight in it, my neck has horrible pain right along the spine part when i move it. I got out of bed this morning and fell over. I was so wobbly i couldnt get my balance. I felt like i was going to pass out. Halos around my children. wiggly lines on the carpet, feeling inside my body of death, ( if i could really know what that feels like) I was coloring a couple of days ago with my daughter, sitting indian style. I sat that way for about a half an hour an dyou know when you get up one of the legs will be a bit tingly from falling asleep. Well my right leg was that way and it usually returns to normal once you get blood flow to it. Well I got up walked into the kitchen and my upper thigh mostly was completely asleep and stayed that way for about 15 minutes. I was walking around limping and so scared. I couldnt believe it! Myn eyes are still completely shot. I had to feel my head this morning because it felt like it wasnt even there. I get this vibration feeling more and more everyday all over my body. causes me to feel way out of it. Feels liking hmming all over the body and then i feel it in my head and then i feel like i am going to pass out. weird vision including tunnel. My boyfriend caught me swaying in the ktichen while i wastalking to him and i didn't even know it. My balance is all screwed up. I dont know if this has happened to anybody before but i was laying down atnight in bed with my boyfriend and he was asleep i was looking at him and my vision blurred and i saw an "a" floating across his face. Almost like iw as dreaming while iw as awake. Like that vision was in front of my reality. I layed there completely freaked out and looked up at the ceiling. If I looked directly at the light fixture it wasnt there like a dark shadow over it. If i looked away and it was in my side vision i could see it, then i would look back at it and it wouldnt be there. Weird wavy things in front of my vision. I am looking downat my keyboard now and it looks like i am about to black out or something. It is unusually bright. It looks like it is getting smalller than bigger. I have round bright dots in my vision at any momnent in time. All of this while i have this horribl efeeling inmy head of craziness. it is so hard to describe but it is a physical feeling. sometimes my temples feel like they are being pressed from the outside. or maybe numb. hard to describe. Lately i have been getting these horrible shooting pains in my head. Paralysing almost. I feel i am hallucinating is this possible? I hate that this is happening to me. I just want this feeling inmy body and my head to go away. How much longer do i have to live like this? It has been six months now. I feel awful. I have been on zoloft for a month now, no help. Almost as if i have gotten worse. ( everybody that has read my story knows what i speak of, maybe would want to direct others where it is located on this site.) I am sorry to be so dependant on this site but i feel so alone. This is not something i have ever had before. I feel like my brain is slowly destroying itself. I dont know where else to turn. I wish there was a doctor out there that could help. This is anxiety disorder....no way. Any info you have would be greatly appreciated...know of anybody that has had these same effects from doing a drug six months prior? (joke) seems like i am the only one. Thanks everybody for support and info. Even more dazed and confused, scared....AMY II

 

Re: horrible head feeling! Feels I have gotten worse!

Posted by dove on October 18, 1999, at 12:11:07

In reply to Re: horrible head feeling! Feels I have gotten worse!, posted by katie on October 18, 1999, at 11:59:39

Hello Amy,
Online for a minute, saw your posts and just wanted to let you know you're not alone. Maybe the zoloft will kick in soon, you're at the 4 weeks mark. Can you possibly ask your doc for more ativan? could that carry you while you wait for the zoloft? I really feel for you, this is gotta be tough and quite scary.

Does your doc know how rough you're doing? Maybe it really is time to initiate a different med. Get in touch with your doc or even a different doc if that's what it takes to get some help. Keep hanging on, we're here for you!
Hugs going out to You!
dove

 

Re: horrible head feeling! Feels I have gotten worse!

Posted by Bob on October 18, 1999, at 13:33:21

In reply to Re: horrible head feeling! Feels I have gotten worse!, posted by dove on October 18, 1999, at 12:11:07

Amy,

That's some sound advice from dove, and I hope it sinks in just how much she's right about us being out here for you. You've had one hell of a road to walk and, given what you've described, I don't know if I would have had the strength to make it as far as you have. Stick with it!

My experience going on Zoloft the first time was such a roller coaster that if I had had your symptoms, I don't think I could have distinguished between the medication's effects and your trauma. Rather suddenly, though, things levelled off for me at about six weeks. Have gone around on different meds, now I'm back on Zoloft with Clonazepam (generic Klonapin). The clonazepam takes care of my panic disorder really well ... all I have to do is forget to take it in the AM, and by noon I remember why I need it! Maybe your doc should consider something for your anxiety on a long-term basis, and not just as a crutch to help you along until you feel the therapeutic effect of some other med. Maybe some of the folks out there more familiar with benzos can say which might be able to say which might be good to try given what you're going through.

Hang in there,
Bob

 

Re: horrible head feeling! Feels I have gotten worse!

Posted by Brandon on October 18, 1999, at 14:05:04

In reply to Re: horrible head feeling! Feels I have gotten worse!, posted by Bob on October 18, 1999, at 13:33:21

Hi Amy,

You might have noticed from one of the posts above "phenytoin and Peyronies disease", that I started taking Dilantin a med prescribed for epilepsy for my depression and anxiety. I learned about this drug from a book written by Jack Dreyfus a successful stock broker who himself benefitted from dilantin for his depression. In this book there are a listing of many studies done on this drug for numerous disorders. One of them is successful remission of flashbacks...visual and auditory hallucinations from LSD. It is as follows...

Thurlow and Given
Canadian Medical Journal circa 1971

Reported succesful treatment with PHT (phenytoin aka Dilantin) in two cases of flashbacks (recurrent visual and auditory hallucinations after LSD).
In one of the cases a patient had been experiencing flashbacks five months after discontinuance of all hallucinogenic drugs. She was given chlorpromazine 25 tid, with moderate diminution in the intensity and frequency and affective component of her flashbacks. Hallucinations continued to occur, but were less terrifying. Chlorpromazine was discontinued and the previous level of flashbacks returned after 24hrs.
PHT (Dilantin) was instituted 100mg tid (three times daily) Within 48hrs. she noted a very marked reduction in all types of flashbacks.
In the other case 100mg. of PHT inravenously terminated a flashback while in progress.


If this is confusing or you have any questions dont hesitate to ask. This must be a terrifying experience for you and we are all pulling for you. I'm sorry I didnt go into much detail but I will later if you are curious.

Hope this helps...Brandon

 

Re: horrible head feeling! Feels I have gotten worse!

Posted by AMY II on October 18, 1999, at 14:55:43

In reply to Re: horrible head feeling! Feels I have gotten worse!, posted by Brandon on October 18, 1999, at 14:05:04

> Hi Amy,
>
> You might have noticed from one of the posts above "phenytoin and Peyronies disease", that I started taking Dilantin a med prescribed for epilepsy for my depression and anxiety. I learned about this drug from a book written by Jack Dreyfus a successful stock broker who himself benefitted from dilantin for his depression. In this book there are a listing of many studies done on this drug for numerous disorders. One of them is successful remission of flashbacks...visual and auditory hallucinations from LSD. It is as follows...
>
> Thurlow and Given
> Canadian Medical Journal circa 1971
>
> Reported succesful treatment with PHT (phenytoin aka Dilantin) in two cases of flashbacks (recurrent visual and auditory hallucinations after LSD).
> In one of the cases a patient had been experiencing flashbacks five months after discontinuance of all hallucinogenic drugs. She was given chlorpromazine 25 tid, with moderate diminution in the intensity and frequency and affective component of her flashbacks. Hallucinations continued to occur, but were less terrifying. Chlorpromazine was discontinued and the previous level of flashbacks returned after 24hrs.
> PHT (Dilantin) was instituted 100mg tid (three times daily) Within 48hrs. she noted a very marked reduction in all types of flashbacks.
> In the other case 100mg. of PHT inravenously terminated a flashback while in progress.
>
>
> If this is confusing or you have any questions dont hesitate to ask. This must be a terrifying experience for you and we are all pulling for you. I'm sorry I didnt go into much detail but I will later if you are curious.
>
> Hope this helps...Brandon

HELLO EVRYBODY>
Brandon I am interested in more. please,any info you have for anything will be greatly appreciated i am trying to help my doc help me ya know? And Katie I have been toa doc, several in fact/ they all say it is anxiety. If it is this has got to be the worse case i have ver heard of. Benzos did seem to help. If anyone is interested they can read "dialted eyes! weird feeling in my head" posted 9/22/99 under AMY II Dove had some interesting info she found and tell me what you think. Thank you by the way Dove for your help. It seems as though i don't care about becoming addicted to a med if it works just let me have it i will deal with withdrawal symptoms later on inlife once this is gone ANY DAY than deal with this. I mean come on give me a break. Thanks for pulling for me and I will keep you posted on this $Y*#$@#* crazy life i have been forced to live lately. Lets all hope i dont go into a complete schizo state huh? :)
all your info is so appreciated really, I need all the support and help finding info for this that i can obviously my doc doesn't have time to look into some "drug case" Even though I am not a drug addict of any sort. I made a mistake and have been paying for it for six months. brandon, please more info, Thanks, Dazed and confused, AMy II

 

Go to a doc ASAP - same advice as katie

Posted by Jane (janey girl) on October 18, 1999, at 18:47:09

In reply to Re: horrible head feeling! Feels I have gotten worse!, posted by AMY II on October 18, 1999, at 14:55:43

Amy,

Your current symptoms are too severe for any
pussy-footing around. You should see a neurologist
ASAP! Have you had a CAT scan or PET scan?

Reflexes checked? You could be having silent migraines,
or other things that are pretty serious. I don't
want to scare you by mentioning them out loud.

Please, please, please, see a doctor ASAP! Katie's
initial advice is right on the money.

Jane

 

Right here with you.

Posted by macha on October 18, 1999, at 19:46:04

In reply to horrible head feeling! Feels I have gotten worse!, posted by Amy II on October 18, 1999, at 10:58:39

Gee, those symptoms fo your sound vaguely familiar. Like everybody else who has replied to your post, I think you should see a doctor about it ASAP. The fact that benzodiazepines helped you might mean it's a seizure disorder. We always gave seizing pets diazepam when I worked in the critter ER.

Please keep us posted on your progress.

Love and concern,
M. Mare

 

Re: horrible head feeling! Feels I have gotten worse!

Posted by Lauri on October 18, 1999, at 21:39:27

In reply to Re: horrible head feeling! Feels I have gotten worse!, posted by Bob on October 18, 1999, at 13:33:21

Hey I remember hanging onto the walls because I could not even stand upright, I have been there go to your doctor and lay the cards on the table let him do the necessary med tests to confirm that you are okay because that is half the battle then the two of you can determine how to stabilize your situation. I have been that way many times I felt like I was dying thank god my doc treated eveything I came to him with and helped me find my way to the right meds and docs!!

 

Re: horrible head feeling! Feels I have gotten worse!

Posted by Noa on October 19, 1999, at 1:28:56

In reply to Re: horrible head feeling! Feels I have gotten worse!, posted by Lauri on October 18, 1999, at 21:39:27

What you are describing sounds so much like a migraine or some form of seizure. It is hard for me to accept the "anxiety" dx, because you really haven't ruled out something neurological. I agree with those who have told you to get to a doctor asap. Get a neuro work up.

 

Re: horrible head feeling! Feels I have gotten worse!

Posted by AMY II on October 19, 1999, at 10:30:18

In reply to Re: horrible head feeling! Feels I have gotten worse!, posted by Noa on October 19, 1999, at 1:28:56

> What you are describing sounds so much like a migraine or some form of seizure. It is hard for me to accept the "anxiety" dx, because you really haven't ruled out something neurological. I agree with those who have told you to get to a doctor asap. Get a neuro work up.

My mother seemed to think i was having migraines too. I tell you this is hell. I definately dont think it is anxiety. seems to be getting worse lately as everyday goes by which scares me. Can you die from a a seizure? Can you have them and not know it.? I have been to neurologist and he said it was anxiety and put me on the zoloft. I see him on friday. Should i wait that long or go to the ER>? I really feel like something is seriously wrong here. I am so out of it. I have this horrible shooting pain in my left ear this morning and numbness aroudn my spine by my neck. Strobe light vision. My ear really hurts. My jaw too on the left side. I think this zoloft might be making things worse. I'll keep you posted ( if i dont fall over and die from an unknown cause anyway) God this sucks.

Dazed and confused, AMY II

 

Re: horrible head feeling! Feels I have gotten worse!

Posted by Elizabeth on October 19, 1999, at 13:11:36

In reply to Re: horrible head feeling! Feels I have gotten worse!, posted by AMY II on October 19, 1999, at 10:30:18

> Can you die from a a seizure? Can you have them and not know it.?

Yes and yes. But you can't die from a partial seizure (AFAIK), and if you were having generalized seizures, it would be more obvious (you wouldn't be sitting at your computer posting messages), for one thing).

> I have been to neurologist and he said it was anxiety and put me on the zoloft. I see him on friday. Should i wait that long or go to the ER>?

Go to the ER, please. You neither need nor deserve to be suffering like this.

 

Enough is enough

Posted by Bob on October 19, 1999, at 16:31:29

In reply to Re: horrible head feeling! Feels I have gotten worse!, posted by Elizabeth on October 19, 1999, at 13:11:36

> Go to the ER, please. You neither need nor deserve to be suffering like this.

Amy,
I'm in with Elizabeth and the rest on this. It's just stunning to read your posts ... it's the same or worse for several weeks now? a month? On this board, at least that, but longer for you before you found us.

Not knowing the doctors you've seen, this may be unfair, but I keep getting the feeling that no one is taking you seriously. It sounds like that old typical male doctor diagnosis for a woman -- "hysteria" -- and that your discomfort, your symptoms, your pleas are not being accepted for what they are. Maybe a trip to the ER, getting a work-up from some docs who (a) don't know you and (b) don't have the leisure to let you wallow in pain while they wait around to see what happens -- maybe that will be the change in perspective, the breakthrough, that you need. I had a slowly worsening drug interaction that my gp, my pdoc, and my resident intern (girlfriend) all missed, and only my therapist seemed to pick up on. It accelerated to a crisis in a few hours, after 6 weeks of build up, and thank God I was at my therapists' when it happened. She took me in to the ER, and the docs on call there saw immediately what the others missed, perhaps because of the gradual build-up in symptoms.

Anyway, go! Get someone to take care of you now. I hope your ER experience is even more helpful than mine was to me.
Bob

 

Re: Enough is enough

Posted by Noa on October 19, 1999, at 20:08:33

In reply to Enough is enough, posted by Bob on October 19, 1999, at 16:31:29

YES. Go to the ER. And if they don't do a proper workup, go for a second opinion to another neurologist. Even if it is "just" anxiety, first you MUST rule out a neurological problem. Your symptoms are awful.

 

"just anxiety"

Posted by Elizabeth on October 19, 1999, at 20:13:58

In reply to Re: Enough is enough, posted by Noa on October 19, 1999, at 20:08:33

> Even if it is "just" anxiety, first you MUST rule out a neurological problem.

Ow. I am slain.

If there's one thing that gets to me, it's the expression "just anxiety." So what if someone is miserable because of anxiety? Does that mean they don't have the same right to adequate treatment as anyone else?

 

Re: "just anxiety"

Posted by Noa on October 19, 1999, at 20:21:28

In reply to "just anxiety", posted by Elizabeth on October 19, 1999, at 20:13:58

Elizabeth, you are apparently on line right now. I hope you noticed the quotes around "just". YOu are absolutely correct about the right to adequate care. But I guess I was reacting to the fact that treating Amy's symptoms as anxiety wasn't working and I was assuming that meant it was something else. Presumptuous assumption, sure. Either way, she is in such discomfort and needs care asap. And a second opinion about both diagnosis and treatment.

 

Re: "just anxiety"

Posted by AMY II on October 20, 1999, at 11:10:13

In reply to Re: "just anxiety", posted by Noa on October 19, 1999, at 20:21:28

> Elizabeth, you are apparently on line right now. I hope you noticed the quotes around "just". YOu are absolutely correct about the right to adequate care. But I guess I was reacting to the fact that treating Amy's symptoms as anxiety wasn't working and I was assuming that meant it was something else. Presumptuous assumption, sure. Either way, she is in such discomfort and needs care asap. And a second opinion about both diagnosis and treatment.

Hello everyone. Thank you for your input. I think maybe another reasonwhy i might not be taken seriously is because i can still talk and listen and have all my reflexes. They do a neurological exam and i pass everytime. I had a horrific nightmare last night. It doesnt seem normal at all. there was a girl tied to abed and a guy with a knife to her throat she already had a cut on her neck and he was asking her to admit something and she wasnt saying anything and he took a huge chunk of skin right beneath her chin it was membrany very vivid. She wouldnt answer him still so he took the knife and slit her nose. and pressed the knife so far into her nose there was blood puddling on her face. you couldnt even recognize her. I really feel if i keep posting everything that is happening to me there might be a way to find a pattern of something going on. From the time a first posted on here with my problem til now. I cant manage to find my first post though. I want ot print it all out and give it to my therapist. I am seeing a new one on November 2nd that is as soon as they could get me in. I went to the opthamologist yesterday. I have 20/20 vision and they dialated my eyes and looked in them and he couldnt see a thing wrong with them so my eyes are fine. It is not my eyes that is doing this. I guess i have to act insane before they will listen huh? I hate these dreams. I hate feeling like my head is going to fall off my shoulders. I just want to drink to make it go away. I am not a hundred percent but when i drink 90 percent of the time i feel better. It effects me differently than it use to though. I swear, this is the case of all cases. I bet you guys just cant wait to see what comes of this. I wish they would hurry up already. I hate that the docotrs lok at me and go well you seem fine. I had one ER doctor tell me that I have obsessive compulsive disorder. what a joke. He would be obsessed with getting a doc to listen to him too if he felt this way. I dont want ot go back to the er The hospital is just right up the road from where i live and i have frequented that place so much since this has all started. They have a file on me now at the ER and everytime I go they say you have panic disorder to me. Or " i think you have anxiety." If ativan helps we will put you on that and then go see your therapist. Geese. How i manage to get up in the morning and find a will to live is beyond me. My kids, my boyfriend. How can I be a good mother and girlfriend going on like this. I cant believe that this has been six months and these frickin docs havent done more for me. Oh here is some zoloft ill see you in a month. Or " you need to calm down you are having an anxiety attack right now just breathe" says my medical doc. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!! Could and MRI change evrything? If they do an MRI and it comes back normal then does that mean thats it? Just see my pychiatrist(sp) from now on? How do i get them to do an MRI? They dont think it is necessary if you can believe that one. Maybe I should see a female therapist. No offense to the guys. Just because she might be more sympathetic to what is happening to me. Thanks for being there for me guys, again any info comforts me however weird that may sound. It feels good to just know that someone is listening. Hanging on, AMY II

 

Re: "just anxiety"

Posted by dove on October 20, 1999, at 11:34:13

In reply to Re: "just anxiety", posted by AMY II on October 20, 1999, at 11:10:13

Hello Amy,
I'm glad to see you're still posting, I'm still very concerned for you and your family. I think it's so hard when it feels like you've tried everything already and now these doc's probably think you're hysterical, right? That truly sucks! Many of us can relate to that, some have been dealing with that for years. I want to encourage you to keep trying despite feeling way out on the line. My fear of the docs writing all my quirks into those records kept me from actively seeking help for many years, but you're in a pretty desperate situation here.

Try a female practitioner if you haven't yet, that's what finally did it for me. All the male doc's (I know they aren't all like this, maybe it's small towns or something) just wrote me off as a migraine sufferer, epileptic, under too much stress, ADHD ect.. I was like "I've been trying to do myself in since I was 8, is that normal?" And they would say "Yes, if you're have headaches and ADHD and are overwhelmed." NO Way! First time speaking with a female doc and she was like "How did you keep this up for so long."

Keep fighting for what you need, don't give up, we're here and we're not going to let you be engulfed by this weight! Do what you need to do and keep yourself safe!
Amy, you're in my thoughts and prayers. Blessings and comfort I send your way.
dove

 

Re: "just anxiety"

Posted by Bob on October 21, 1999, at 0:09:50

In reply to Re: "just anxiety", posted by AMY II on October 20, 1999, at 11:10:13

> Maybe I should see a female therapist. No offense to the guys.

None taken (at least from this quarter, and I'm sure a couple dozen other quarters, too).

I don't blame you ... I can't stand the male therapists I have the displeasure to meet on a clinical basis.

Hang in there ... I think printing out your writings from here to take with you is a great idea.

Bob

 

Re: SAW NEUROLOGIST TODAY>>BIG JOKE

Posted by AMY II on October 22, 1999, at 12:53:32

In reply to Re: "just anxiety", posted by Bob on October 21, 1999, at 0:09:50

Well I saw the neurologist today. He said that since it has only been a week that i have been taking 100 mg of zoloft he wants to give it two more weeks. I printed out my posts here of how i have been feeling lately. He read them in surprize. I thought good he will finally listen. Well his conclusion from the info that i gave him from you guys about Mdma is tht he definately thinks there is a componant of something else going on besides anxiety. He said he doesnt think that it is non reversible if i had damaged myself. He said that brains take a long time to heal but he fully thinks that I will recover from this and if it has been six months and this is all the farther i have gotten, that it might take a year or maybe a little more to reverse what i have done to myself. He sid that the 5h terminals or whatever it is calle dcan give you all kinds of physical and emotinal symptoms and the question now is what to do about it. He said i am not dying from it. I wont die from it. He doesnt believe i have had a stroke or minor seizures or anything. He thiks my chemicals have been altered and now it is just a matter of finding something to put it back on track. I have to call him in two weeks to let him know how the zoloft is doing for me at 100mg. PRAY this works guys. Dazed and confused, AMY II

 

Re: SAW NEUROLOGIST TODAY

Posted by Bob on October 22, 1999, at 13:24:59

In reply to Re: SAW NEUROLOGIST TODAY>>BIG JOKE, posted by AMY II on October 22, 1999, at 12:53:32

I don't think it's a big joke, Amy. I'd sure feel disappointed if I was in your position, I'll admit -- you want and you deserve some immediate action. But from what you've said about your interaction with him, I think that you should have some hope for this. A lot of doctors get defensive about patient self-help groups, and the internet is only exacerbating the fears of doctors like these. He might not have shown it, but I think his reaction does say that he's taking (and us) more seriously. Before your visit, he didn't know you and he certainly doesn't know us, but you said he thinks there's more going on than anxiety -- who of your doctors has given you that much credit? I think he's being appropriately cautious right now, even though you want some relief this instant and his caution can be maddening.

When my father had his first stroke, he had a hemorrhage in an area of his brain that controls emotions. He became extremely paranoid about his health after that -- he'd want to go to the doctor every other day, convinced he was going to die, very despondent about it all. I kept telling him that this was all faulty information the injured part of his brain was giving him, I even tried to get him to see a therapist (HAH! as if) to help him through it. But without any sort of intervention, it just sort of faded and his normal demeanor returned. His second stroke was, in many ways, even more devastating. He had been a teacher and reading meant a lot to him. His second stroke erased his ability to read. While it was tough for me to see him like this as his son, as a psychologist of learning it was really fascinating. We have four basic language skills -- speaking and writing, listening and thinking. He could do three of the four. He still had his elementary teacher's perfect penmanship, but give him ten minutes to forget what he had written and he wouldn't be able to read his own writing! But he had an occupational therapist work with him, starting with the simplest things, and in six months he was reading technical journal articles. Like your neurologist said, the brain is incredibly plastic, even for someone as old as my dad (mid-60s) at the time of his strokes. Parts of his brain basically died -- the bloodflow was cut off to them -- but his brain rewired itself and he regained his prior level of functioning.

But it took some time and an incredible reserve of patience and strength. For the last six months, you've demonstrated that you have those qualities, too. Give him a fair shot -- it sounds like he believes you, but he doesn't want to rush things before getting to know your condition better. And not rushing things when it comes to fixing your brain sounds like a wise decision right now.

Hang in there
Bob

 

Re: SAW NEUROLOGIST TODAY

Posted by dove on October 24, 1999, at 13:08:51

In reply to Re: SAW NEUROLOGIST TODAY, posted by Bob on October 22, 1999, at 13:24:59

Amy -
Just wanted to let you know I'm still here. I've had one very busy weekend, school projects ect.. So, I haven't had moment to write or think for that matter. I am encouraged by the Neuro's reaction to your symptoms. That's a good sign so you hang-in there, okay? I'll write more on Monday, my thoughts are still with you.
Take care,
dove

 

Re: "just anxiety" - Noa

Posted by Elizabeth on October 26, 1999, at 19:38:30

In reply to Re: "just anxiety", posted by Noa on October 19, 1999, at 20:21:28

Noa,

I read over my post again...I can see how it was misleading. My flame was directed not at you at all, but rather at the doctors who attribute serious symptoms such as Amy's to "anxiety" without good evidence to support such an attribution.

Take care....

 

Re: "just anxiety"

Posted by Elizabeth on October 26, 1999, at 19:57:15

In reply to Re: "just anxiety", posted by AMY II on October 20, 1999, at 11:10:13

> I had a horrific nightmare last night. It doesnt seem normal at all. there was a girl tied to abed and a guy with a knife to her throat she already had a cut on her neck and he was asking her to admit something and she wasnt saying anything and he took a huge chunk of skin right beneath her chin it was membrany very vivid. She wouldnt answer him still so he took the knife and slit her nose. and pressed the knife so far into her nose there was blood puddling on her face. you couldnt even recognize her.

Amy,

Please try to get a consultation with a sleep specialist.

I'm not sure Zoloft is the best antidepressant for you, since you are having these nightmares. Although they do decrease total time spent in REM sleep, SSRIs (like Zoloft) also increase REM density and frequently cause vivid dreams as a side effect. A tricyclic or MAO inhibitor might be better...I've also heard of clonidine being used for nightmares, though mainly those associated with posttraumatic stress.

>I just want to drink to make it go away.

Don't do that...could muck with your sleep even further.

> They have a file on me now at the ER and everytime I go they say you have panic disorder to me.

You might, but those nightmares can't be attributed to that.

> Or " i think you have anxiety." If ativan helps we will put you on that and then go see your therapist.

Give the Ativan a try. It might help with the nightmares.

> Could and MRI change evrything? If they do an MRI and it comes back normal then does that mean thats it?

No. Don't give up. Don't let them make you give up.

> Just see my pychiatrist(sp) from now on? How do i get them to do an MRI? They dont think it is necessary if you can believe that one.

I think a polysomnograph - a sleep study - would be more appropriate, actually.

>Maybe I should see a female therapist. No offense to the guys. Just because she might be more sympathetic to what is happening to me.

Some people get along better with one gender or the other...I've always preferred male therapists (and nearly all my friends are men, too), and perhaps you would find a woman easier to talk to.

Best of luck.

 

Hey AMY!!

Posted by Bob on October 26, 1999, at 22:29:32

In reply to Re: "just anxiety", posted by Elizabeth on October 26, 1999, at 19:57:15

How's it going, grrrl? Have you had another visit with the new pdoc? Please keep us filled in, okay?

be well,
Bob

 

Hey AMY!!

Posted by dove on October 27, 1999, at 9:39:20

In reply to Hey AMY!!, posted by Bob on October 26, 1999, at 22:29:32

Good morning Amy,
Just checking in, haven't heard from you in a bit. I hope you're hanging in there. Let us know how things are going for you okay? Hope to hear from you soon.
Sending good vibes your way,
dove


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