Please HELP! - Anxiety Message Board

Dave Peterson · 04-26-2005, 04:13 PM

3 yrs ago I had my gall bladder removed.I was a marine for 8 years and thought I could handle anything.I have always been healthy,lift weights,exercise regularly.I'm 43 and was hardly ever sick.I hate taking meds,even for a headache.Anyway,after the surgery I was home recovering and started feeling very strange.Hot flashes,shaky,could'nt relax,couldn't sleep.Always had to be moving and still felt weird.After about 2 weeks of this I thought i was going nuts.Went to my "Dr."Had to go to this guy for insurance purposes!!He spent about 10 minutes with me,put me on Paxil and shoved me out the door.The Paxil made me very ill and anxious,but "Dr" was to busy.Needless to say I dumped the jerk.I found another Dr.She is very caring and has relly tried to help.I've been on every med you can think of.Paxil,Zoloft(couldn't take it),Efexor XR worked ok but too many side effects,I also used a little xanax,about .5 to 1mg as needed.After the efexor kicked in i quit the xanax no problem.After awhile on efexor I started gaining weight and blood pressure started going up so she switched me over to Bupropian.It didn't work very well alone so she had me use xanax again to help.I was on 150mg 0f Bupropian 2 times daily(6a.m. and 2p.m.)plus .5mg xanax 2 times daily also,( 6a.m. and about 8p.m)It was working ok but still didn't feel right,not my old self.I trie to cut down on the Bupropian and went into a tailspin!I went back to the same dose as before but now have to take 1mg of xanax 3 times a day and still feel crappy.I hate it! I feel like a slave to this.First of all i have no idea what started it or how to stop it.Then I found out how addictive xanax can be so now I'm scared to death of that!!My doc finally had me go see a therapist,now a month later I'm still waiting to see the nurse who supposedly will then recomend me to the Psyc.who is supposed to help regulate or figure out what med to use!!! I FEEL HELPLESS!!! Does this ever end? Three years now and I'm back at fig.1.Just looking for advice or support from someone who's been there.I've also found GOD in this process,believe me! Thanks for letting me ramble!

1blueangelz · 04-26-2005, 10:15 PM

Hi Dave, hope your feeling a little calmer today. Hang in there and you will find what works for you. I have heard that honest anxiety sufferers do not get addicted to xanax and even if you do your doc will help you wean off when needed. Good Luck to you!!!

Pammymy · 04-27-2005, 02:28 AM

Dave,

I am sorry to hear of your struggles. If you think your symptoms are related to your surgery (directly or indirectly), please follow your suspicians and find a doctor willing to test for an underlying cause. Evidently, you have been diagnosed for anxiety. Have the doctor's based this on your symptoms alone? You do have a right to ask the doctor's to explain this diagnosis, and to test for any conditions that could be causing your symptoms.

The symptoms that you are experiencing may in turn, inhibit you from advocating for yourself. And there's always other issues - like insurance as you know. I have had doctor's who do not want to give me a diagnosis, because then they are obligated to treat me and they rather not, if they don't like dealing with my insurance company or even me, personally.

Why have you experienced these symptoms so soon after your surgery? How may they be related to that event? Did another condition arise from this surgery? As a result of the surgery or perhaps by coincidence? Some doctor's may be reluctant to consider diagnosing anything that may be related to another surgeon's work. Therefore you may be running into some issues there.

What did the surgeon say about all this? Hold your ground until you get a satisfactory explanation from him/her. Could the anesthesia have had this affect? Usually, your post-op instructions/paperwork will list any related symptoms.

Either way, you may want to return to the surgeon to let him/her know that you continue to have these symptoms,etc.

Pam

Dave Peterson · 04-27-2005, 03:05 PM

Thanks to all who replied!I did bring up the matter of the surgery in some way causing the problems.I've had numerous tests,blood work,the whole nine yards.My new Dr. has been very thorough and caring.She is the one who recomended I try a Psyc. for help with the meds because she wasn't sure what to do.I called the clinic again today and they said I should hear something on my appt. sometime this week.Anyway,thanks for the support.This can really bring a person down!