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Els-how do u cope?

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Posted 3/11/2007 3:07 PM (GMT -8)
Hey Els-

I was wondering how you cope with your anxiety. I was recently given ativan which I am supposed to take as needed. It does help when I take it but I really don't want to become dependent. Could you tell me how you cope-medication? yoga?

Posted 3/11/2007 3:38 PM (GMT -8)
Hey Neurogurl, well when I first got sick and for the first 8-10 months afterward it was pretty bad for me.  I started on an antidepressant Effexor Xr and was given Xanax for anxity which did help to some degree but not entirely as the feelings of anxiety were always there under the surface. 

I think the thing that really helped was last summer my mom who is a nurse and quite pushy when it comes to my health started to shove me out of the house to take walks with her and the dog.  I hadnt really been active in over 5 yrs since I had my MS dx.  Soon before I even realized it I was looking forward to those walks each morning and mom bowed out so, I was going on my own with the dog of course.  It gave me time to think and just be on my own.  I bought an iPod and loaded it down with my favorite music and with a ton of meditation music too which I will listen to when I feel I am having a lot of anxiety.  It does help.  When winter came I switched from walking outside to going to the local healthplex and I keep my routine of exercising which I truly believe has helped with my depression and anxiety.

I havent gotten into yoga as I do have balance problems with my MS but many people swear by it for anxiety.  I think trying to focus that energy into something else that is good for your body is a constructive way to start...at least it cant hurt. :-)

Posted 3/11/2007 5:13 PM (GMT -8)
:-)  Hi nuerogirl, i just wanted to comment.  when we first get a diagnosis i think it really takes a toll. i have never been on meds of any kind, but i finally gave in after year of aniety over if i was gonna live.  i started ativan about a year and a half ago,  i mg,  it did not take long for me to develope a tolerance to it and at that point i had a decision to make, increase the dose  or come up with other ways to help myself.  i reduced the dose to 1/2 mg daily and now if i take a whole one it keeps me asleep.  getting off is tough i hear,so i am just keeping my dosage lo9w. i also take a very low dose of zoloft and between the two i am doing pretty good, and frankly it is better than being anxious,, it sort of helped me off the anxiety train we allo get on at first.
Posted 3/11/2007 7:08 PM (GMT -8)

Nuerogirl, I hope you don't mind but I wanted to respond to this one too.

I found myself being a pretty high-strung, stressed out person. My mom and siblings say that I have always been that way. I don't know. However when I started having health issues, I noticed that I did get pretty bad or maybe my anxiety and need to control everything in my life caused my health issues. ????

Which ever...It doesn't matter. My bottom line was the same-major stress, anxiety and worry was ruining my life and making me a very unhappy person. I wasn't living or enjoying my blessed life at all! I can't believe that I did not ruin my marriage and turn my wonderful little girl away. I was such a bore and afraid to get too excited about anything for fear it would trigger palpitations or worse a coronary spasm.

I just did not want to take medications. So I decided that I had to make MAJOR LIFE STYLE changes. I stopped watching the news. I stopped watching any TV that caused me to feel afraid, nervous or uncomfortable-no scary shows, bloody shows, crime shows, news show for quite awhile. I will occasionally watch one now and again these days. However it is very rare and if I feel myself begin to get anxious, I turn it off. If I dream about one of the shows at night, there will be no more for awhile. I mostly listen to soft, relaxing music at night. I feel a deep sense of relaxation and calm.

My daughter often sits with me in the evening listening and she really enjoys the music. In fact if I have to do a little work, she'll go upstairs and turn the music on before I join her. If we are busy before bed, she'll ask to stop and listen to the music awhile before going off to bed. It makes her feel relaxed and calm also.

I am busier than I ever was and more active. I am also calmer and happier. I feel like I have learned to slow down the rush on the inside of me. I have  learned to relax and try to fit a short nap in the afternoons before the evening rush hits. My life has definately made a turn around for the better!

Posted 4/6/2007 6:01 PM (GMT -8)
Hi guys, sorry so late but thanks so much for your responses
Posted 4/6/2007 6:03 PM (GMT -8)
But I also did want to ask when you were all first diagnosed did you find yourself in the beginning stages to constantly thinking your going to die any minute. I am constantly feeling this way, like I wake up in the morning and think, today is the day that I will die...
Posted 4/7/2007 7:40 AM (GMT -8)
In the beginnning, yes, I did think that everytime my heart did a flip-flop or bang or flutter. It pretty much ruined my life for a few years. It stopped me from going out and doing things with my daughter. It made me want to stay at home or near a hospital. I write today in the hopes that you won't let the same thing happen to you but that you will learn from my own experience and not waste a minute, a day, a week or even YEARS! You have the POWER to change your thinking. It is NOT EASY but you CAN. You must replace the negative, scary self-talk with things that are positve and calming.

 

Let me ask you a question: If the doctor did tell you that you had something serious and only had so much time, would you want to spend the rest of your days in fear hiding in your house dwelling on dark and gloomy and fatal thoughts or would you want to get out there and LIVE while you could? Would you want to spend it with friends and family? Enjoy the sunshine and the flowers?

 

If you pick the later choice, then live like that today! Don't waste life the other way.

 

I'm sitting here now with little hand-grenades going off in my chest every few seconds. I HATE IT! I can't say that enough times. HOWEVER it is not going to kill me. I'm still healthy. My heart is still structurally normal and I am NOT GOING to sit in my house and mope or feel sorry for myself or ruin my daughter's day because I hate these annoying things so much! Then tomorrow or next week or next month, I will be grateful that I did not waste this day. More importantly-my daughter will be grateful today that I did not do that!

 

Good Luck!

Posted 4/8/2007 6:05 AM (GMT -8)
Neuro, Hopes is exactly right...you cannot live your life thinking your going to die the very next day or second.  I thought that for a very long time after I got sick with this MSA and it sucks I know (anxiety).  It is a matter of retraining your brain and thinking...get outside and enjoy your life.  You have no guarentees regardless if your healthly or sick.  Dont waste your time worrying so much sweetie....it only causes wrinkles ya know :-)
Posted 4/14/2007 6:36 PM (GMT -8)
Hi Hopes and Els..thank you so much for the advice. you are giving me so much motivation to get on with my life and to not let the anxiety get the best of me. Im doing ok! Except once in a while....i get that BANG or FLIP FLOP in my chest and it scares the crap out of me. Thats when I myracing thoughts etc. kick in. But then I think of my friends (you all) and i tell my anxiety to SHUT UP!!!!
Posted 4/15/2007 7:55 AM (GMT -8)
I am sooo glad to here that!  I had a bit of anxiety the other day when I had some pretty sharp chest pains.  Not to sure what was going on but I just took a Xanax and it quited down.  It is good to know we can beat this or at least learn to live with it and go on.  We dont have to spend all our time focusing on our hearts and worrying about what comes next. 

Hugs to you dear :-)

Posted 4/24/2007 5:26 PM (GMT -8)

Oh Kaylee sad I am so very sorry for all your heart problems; your way too young to have to live like that. 

Everyone is so differant in their illnesses and what they are capabible of doing.  It strikes me as odd now when I look back to when I was first dx'ed with MS I let my physicial and mental health go.  I didnt want to learn about it or anything, I just knew I was going to end up in a wheelchair and that was it for me.  I have some pretty serious effects from it like right sided numbness, tremors, headaches, muscle spasms and also have to use a cane when I had flare ups.  I dont have so many flare ups anymore since I have moved into the secondary progressive stage of the disorder.  But basically when I was diagnosed I thought my life was over.  It did take me several years to learn to deal with it...sad I know.

So, when all my heart problems started and a few months later I received the horrid diagnosis of Multiple System Atrophy and was told by my Movement Disorder Specialist that the life expecentcy is normally 2-7 years for those who have this disease...well, my world kinda stopped.  And it made all my drama over having MS seem very small to me.  That was one year and 4 months ago and I had to fight to get out of the mind set of counting off the remaining days I have left.  Finding out at age 31 that you have an illness that is going to drastically shorten your life is so scary and I think for me it was really hard to deal with too because I have had depression for a really long time so it came back worse than ever.

It is hard not to worry about dying when you have a serious illness.  I guess I got to the point where worrying about it wasnt going to change it, make it better or make me feel better.  I have bad days and those are the days when you normally dont see me posting here as I cant, I am not able too.  I also have good days though and positive things in my life and I try to stay focused on those instead of what is right around the corner or what may happen tomorrow. 

Okay I am getting off my soap box officially and hanging it up for the night tongue   Hugs everyone

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