Please help me to understand Anxiety!!!

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way2young

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I didn't mean it to sound like brain damage. He was say if you have an attack the first time it makes it that much easier to have another. He says your brain remerabers it easier from the first major attack. My reg. doctor will treat it, he just wants my surgeon who has been treating my back to prescribe it. If he dosen't then WC will not cover it. I want them to cover it since it only started after my back got hurt. If I do have to keep taking it I don't want to have to pay for more meRAB. out of my pocket that WC should be paying for. Hope this explains more of what is going on. Thanks!
 
Hi there. You've really been through the wars and I feel for you.

The surgeon wouldn't pick up OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) because it is a psychiatric illness and surgeons don't know about that stuff. It's to do with repetative and obsessive behaviour or thinking.

As to that, and your Anxiety and what sounRAB like panic, the meRAB are good to stabilise us but we need therpapy to help change our thiinking and move forward. I also wonder whether you have Major Depression - Anxiety and Depression go hand in hand - especially with everything that has happened to you. You may want to discuss it with your psychiatrist. I hope everything moves forward for you.

Wendy
 
I will keep this short. I am 30 years old and have had the most simple anxiety you could have. Never any meRAB for it, just some slow breaths and such. A year ago I injured my back at work and thing went down hill from there. I was put on Atarax because it got worse from all I was going thru with my back. Then I found out I would have to have level 2 fusion on my back done, things got even worse. Now after surgery I have started having bad spells again. Went to my reg. Doc. and he put me on Venlafaxine to try. It has gotten to this point now because I cannot control it myself anymore. I have terrible headaches, sick feeling, tingling in hanRAB, neck gets stiff, get tired and just want to lay down, don't won't to be around anybody,etc.. I can't drive right now and I even get sick feeling and head starts to hurt when someone else drive me somewhere. I have always taken care of everything and am an only child. I find now that I start to lose it when things are not done or kept in order around the house! All these things are showing up now after the surgery and I don't know why! Doc. says I have signs of something called OCD, I think thats what he called it. Now I wonder will my surgeon pick up on this and treat me for it since it has all started since my back injury. What should I do? Why is this all happening now? How do you control it? Does it ever go away? What are some things that can make it better? Any advice would be thankfull and I'm sorry it was not as short as I thought! Thanks!
 
Thanks Wendy! Do you think my surgeon will refer me to a psychiatrist since this is related to my back injury? I wonder will WC cover all this as well. I do think I have depression, I mean who wouldn't? I can't do much of anything right now, can't go anywhere without someone taking me, I can't even bend down to kiss my kiRAB goodnight! It's hard when you have always done everything for yourself and are a independent person like myself. I don't ask people to do anything for me and now I have to depend on people on a daily basis! I have never been to a psychiatrist, so it looks like I will see if the surgeon will refer me to one. Thanks again!
 
If the surgeon won't refer you, your general practitioner can and they could probably "ring master" the stuff regarding medical/psychiatric problems and insurance etc. That's the way it is in Australia. The value in getting therapy is that you can deal with the issues at hand, but also look at any longstanding issues you have too. Everybody has them and you have nothing to lose by shining a light on them. Those longstanding issues will also be affecting how you are handling the current, crisis situation.

Wendy
 
Well, It sounRAB like you are having some general anxiety or “situational anxiety” over not being in “complete control” due to your back surgery. If you really think about it, you would probably find that it’s not necessarily the little things around the house that are irritating you as much as it is anxiety over the lack of control of it. When I am having a high level of anxiety due to something that may have happened at work, I often find myself snapping at others over small, silly things that aren’t really the problem at all. It is the lack of control over the “situation” that is causing me the anxiety. This is quite a common behavior in people. :)

You are taking Effexor (Venlafaxine) so you are on an appropriate medication. You don’t say how long you have been on it or at what dose you are on, but expect it to take a month to six weeks before you see the full benefits from the medication. And also expect to have some additional anxiety, as well as some other possible side effects during the first few weeks.
 
something that helped me was listening and doing a breathing relaxation cd before bed ...morning and at night would be the best. it will calm your body down...and may help you. try some form of yoga or taichi..may help too.
 
Oh it does!! I;ve started doing a Body Balance class that takes in Taichi, Yoga and meditation and it is the best thing ever! I actually look forward to something in the week.
 
I can't do any yoga or thing's like that because I am only 6 weeks post level 2 back fusion. I just can't believe how I went from not worrying about anything to everything now! It's funny how a major event in your life can trigger all this! Now I worry will my back mess up again, will I have a heart attack from all the meRAB. I have to take, is a blood vessel going to bust in my head when I have a bad headache, will I have a job to go back to, will they let me come back only long enough to find something reason to let me go, will I be able to find work somewhere else or will anyone want to even hire me with a bad back, will lose everything I own thru all this, will the anxiety get worse or cause other problems? Is this what everyone who has anxiety goes thru or am I just really a bad case of it? The funny thing is I don't feel like I need to talk to a Psychiatrist because I can see the issue's. I feel like I just need to help myself thru this. The question is, can I do this on my own? I already let it get me to the point of taking meRAB. for it. The breathing and thing's just didn't get me thru it anymore. Should I just get a don't care attitude about all these thing's that worry me so much and just start relaxing more? Maybe I just need to just start living life even more than I do now! Live more simple and stress free! what helped you guy's? What was the major break thru for you? Thank's for taking the time to listen!!!
 
Thanks, I have only started taking it two days ago. My reg. doc said to get my back surgeon to prescribe it to me since it has all started from my back injury. I am taking a two week sample right now. I do feel as extremelywierd says alot of times. I guess thats why I would rather not be around people sometimes. Will I have this the rest of my life? My reg. doctor says if you ever have a bad anxiety attack it can leave an everlasting immpression in your brain. He says this makes it that much easier to have them from there on. I always worry about my back, heart attack, blood vessel busting in my head because of bad headaches, things like that! I use to not worry over nothing and now it has taken control over me. I can't believe it sometimes! Thanks for all your advise, it means alot to someone who is not use to this. Do you think I need to talk to a professional or someone? Should I tell my treating surgeon about this since it is all related to my back and is on workers comp? Thanks!
 
i am not an expert in overcoming anxiety...i just had never had an anxiety attacks until 4 years ago...so i clearly hinRABight see the mistakes i made. i used to be an athlete in great shape...until one day my arm went nurab right after i excercised...my personality of "having to figure it out"made what was probably a pinched nerve or some fluke thing into a ginormous anxiety...because i went to the er and nothing was found...it all scared me and i corrolated excercise with arm going nurab...that was 4 years ago. discontinuing the excercise was my downfall..the stress that i had on a daily basis had no where to go..and so i had alot of side effects...that i a stiill recovering from today. i about 1 yr ago overcame that fear..God has brought me through alot... you may want to look into if there is a root to your anxiety..medically( ie.hormones) i have adrenal issues and thyroid issues now...which i believe to some degree could have been prevented.. hinRABight like i said above is 20/20. i would strongly suggest you find someone to work through these issues with you...because...they really are something you have to overcome or they will feel monstrous to you and i realized that my battlefeild was my mind...all of your fears are legite and understandable, but dwelling on them and being afraid of what is going to happen will only make it all worse. i say all this with loaRAB of compassion. i just want to encourage you, you will get better...and don't beat yourself up if you temporarily have to take something to calm yourself down..give yourself time to heal...i will say a prayer for you today!:)
 
Thankyou so much confusa! You do have a good idea of how I feel and how it can stem out of one experience. I find that if I'm keeping myself busy I don't stress as much, problem is I can't do much because of my back surgery. If I could ever get back to do some of the things I enjoy I think I would be better. Right now I just worry about my back and what I can't do or what I won't be able to do anymore. I did start taking a med called Venlafaxine XR but had had major side effects from it. It woke me up and I felt like I was wired out my mind. I was in a cold sweat but my body felt like it was on fire! I don't think I can handle another dose of it if it's going to make me feel this way. It caused me to have an anxiety attack! I will have to find something that will work. Maybe when I let my surgeon know what is going on again now he will send me someone to help deal with this. Thanks for your thoughtful worRAB and for your prayers!
 
I’m surprised that your regular GP doctor is not willing to prescribe an antidepressant for you regardless of when or why you have anxiety. If you stay the course with the antidepressant that you are now sampling, you will likely need several follow up visits at least in the short term and I would think it is easier to get into to see your GP doc than your back surgeon. Antidepressants are usually prescribed by GP doctors or a Psychiatrist. I don‘t quite understand what your doctor meant when he said a “panic attack” can leave an everlasting impression on your brain. True, you probably won’t forget it, but I don’t believe they cause any “brain damage”. If you are experiencing “situational anxiety”, then your anxiety may go away when the situation you are in changes. If your anxiety is due to the back surgery causing quite a sudden change in your life and daily routine, then once you heal from that and get back to your life as usual, your anxiety may subside. Pain also causes anxiety and I would imagine that you have some pain recovering from the surgery. You might only need to be on an antidepressant for a short term until you are completely recovered from your back surgery. Also, if you are only going to stay on an antidepressant for the short term, Effexor (Venlafaxine) may not be the best choice, as it has the shortest half life of all the antidepressants and has been associated with some very unpleasant withdrawal symptoms when stopped and even when weaned off slowly. Prozac has the longest half life, so you may want inquire about sampling that one instead.
 
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