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Suggest Treatment For Anxiety Disorder

Posted on Fri, 17 Jan 2014

Question: Dear dr, I suffered from anxiety disorder for 8 years. I had symptoms after symptoms and I'm losing control . I had taken several medications for years . There was very little helped and some side effects. I had tried supplements , all sorts that helped. Been on regular accupunture treatment for 6 months . I'm very tired of living like this everyday. I had health anxiety , I can't break the vicious cycle at all. When I meditate , I can only feel more of my skipped heartbeats/pvcs that send to a state of worring immediately . I even seek spiritual advice and was told I have to live with it as I'm born with it. To accept it. I had already accepted of cos, it's been 8 years. I XXXXXXX think I will live long enough becos my health had already tolerated damage from this disorder. I thought traveling and holidays will make me better, only to worry that my health or body sensations will emerge when I reached that place. Interestingly, I'm not afraid to die . I jux XXXXXXX wan to die at the moment of my life that so much thing had not accomplished. Symptoms are never ending . Pls XXXXXXX tell me to take medications I had tried n sick of them . When I excercise, my heartbeat increase as well as my adrenaline . Supplements I taken but not very regular I would say. I can not stop focusing on my symptoms they are there . They really are!! Skipped heartbeats , tension, shallow breathing etc. New symptoms keep developing. I'm giving up hope. I'm really at wits end

Answered by Dr. Srikanth Reddy (40 minutes later)

Brief Answer: clarifications Detailed Answer: Hello, Thanks for using health care magic for posting your query. I have gone through your question in detail and I can understand what you are going through. However I would require a couple of more details to help you in answering your query in a better justified way. 1. What all medicines have you tried. What was the response? 2. Have you tried CBT? 3. Any medical issues? Hope to hear from you at your earliest convenience. Regards and wish you good health, Dr. Srikanth Reddy MD Neuro-Psychiatrist and Sexologist

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Srikanth Reddy (44 minutes later)

Lexapro, seroxat , zactin , Xanax, and some others I can't remember. CBT I had been on several times. Only to do homework, and discuss on this with the psychologist .. Going into the clinic and coming out of it paying high bills. Anyway, I realized that the process of CBT can be downloaded with self help in some anxiety forums and website. Is almost the same. Medical issues? That was what keeps me worrying . I had a bad childhood. Had a submandibular gland tumor aged 12, and removed at age 17. Y that long time if u asked ? Becos my parents were divorced and no one cared til it grew 7inches big. Father always like to beat me when I was young. Had a tough teen life too. Everything was ok til I was age 27yrs old. Panic attacked high stress work environment. Went A and E to report sick... Was diagnosed with panic disorder . Followed by shock to see blood in urine and semen. Went thru months of test and intense worrying.. ..repeatedly had prostatitis recuring over 2 years. Everytime it recur it scared me to the maximum . I changed the habit of holding urine and condition improved. Since then , symptoms after symptoms . My health deteriorate and I'm very sensitive to the slightest motion. Sometimes I feel I can't breathe I had pain at one segment of my spine Skipped heartbeats and pvcs developed last year. Recur on and off and recently came back with full vengeance Gas,bloating , indigestion. I'm frowning at least 8 hours a day when I looked in the mirror . I can only be happy one or two days a week when I have no symptoms only to come back very soon. I left my job and moved overseas to do my own business . Nothing improved. Everytime when one symptom subside ,new one will emerge .. I feel like giving up

Follow up: Dr. Srikanth Reddy (4 minutes later)

Even when I busy , there is this part of my brain stil focusing on my symptoms . I jux can't write it off. Even when I get intimate with my wife, I will worry for the next skipped heartbeat coming. Jux to add on the side effects of medication had been , drowsiness , blurry vision,gained 15kg weight. I had a hard time kicking of medications . Pls XXXXXXX tell me to be on medi again. Or new medi.

Answered by Dr. Srikanth Reddy (3 hours later)

Brief Answer: You have tried your best Detailed Answer: Hello, Thanks for choosing health care magic for posting your query. I have gone through your question in detail and I can understand what you are going through. I understand that you have tried almost all the options for panic disorder and anxiety problems 1. Medications -most of the first liners 2. CBT 3. Relaxation exercises 4. Aerobic exercises 5. Mindfullness and meditation 6. Religious followings. After listening to you, i agree that you have left me very few options to discuss about. From your query it appears that you are mostly hopeless about your condition and tiered of trying out all the options. But still the fact that you have put up question in this forum suggests that you do want to try out something.I am not going to discuss anything out of blue with you. You have got two options. Either to leave ot as it is continuing on many endless non conventional treatments like chineese medicines, dance therapy, hypnotherapy, psychoanalytic psychotherapy etc or may be still persist with changing the medicines rationally. There are plenty of antidepressants that act in a different way and the mau be combined in various permutations and combinations and some option does click out. I understand that you have been unfortunate in not getting the response. I am not sure whether you have tried a comhination of mirtazapine and venlafaxine in adequate doses which has shown to be quite superior in treating anxiety in various research studies. Hope that was useful Regards Dr. Srikanth Reddy MD Hope I am able to answer your concerns. If you have any further query, I would be glad to help you. If not, you may close the discussion and if possible you may rate the answer for me, so that I get a good feedback. In future if you wish to contact me directly, you can use the below mentioned link: bit.ly/dr-srikanth-reddy Wish you good health, Kind regards Dr. Srikanth Reddy M.D.

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Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar