How does anyone overcome anxiety due to Parkinson’s

[Darcy3]

If anyone suffers from anxiety due to Parkinson’s, how are you able to function on a daily basis? I exercise, keep busy, take 300 mg of Wellbutrin and 12.5 mg of Paxil and still have internal tremors 75% of each day. I can’t relax. It makes for a most difficult life. All replies will be appreciated. Thank you.

[Hidden]

Hi Darcy, I take sertraline for anxiety.

[LAJ12345 in reply to Hidden]

Sertraline made my husband extremely anxious and is hard to get off again. I hear it works for some people.

He is now using 1/4 tablet night and morning of procyclidine, an apolloneuro device, red hat coronet, hemp oil without the cbd and thc as they are prescription only here, and GABA if he still starts feeling anxious. When he was first anxious he found Hardys daily essential nutrients helped within 3 days but when he went onto Levodopa it made him anxious again but the above seems to keep it under control at the moment.

[Hikoi]

Hi Darcy3Anxiety is awful. Are you on levadopa yet. That can help. I notice that while Wellbutrin can be prescribed for anxiety it is also known for causing it. Best to discuss with your doctor.

[pdpatient]

@darcy3, you might ask your doctor about propranolol. I was once on a "triad" of medications : Paxil, Klonopin and Seroquel. That was when I was newly diagnosed and I was freaking out. These days I only take a Cymbalta daily. I have propranolol as needed when I break out into uncontrollable tremors.

I have anxiety attacks with the slightest trigger or provocation. One single 20 mg propranolol quells the tremors in about 20 minutes.

Conventional wisdom says that propranolol is only for Essential Tremors. However, my MDS says that recent studies have shown that it is quite effective in Parkinson's cases also.

RKM

[Darcy3 in reply to pdpatient]

Thank you for sharing your thoughts. I will look into it.

[Gobbsofjoy]

Hi Darcy,Anxiety is very common for us pwp. I would start with your mds neurologist. Next I would take reasonable non-pharmacological steps: turn off the tv or any potential source of stress. Exercise is important even a daily walk could help. Try mindfulness techniques especially breathing. There are many on YouTube. One of my favs is called 4-7-8 look it up. I will pray for you.

[Darcy3 in reply to Gobbsofjoy]

Thank you for your kind reply. I appreciate your comments.

[Rhyothemis in reply to Gobbsofjoy]

4-7-8 is really good. I use the Breathly app for pacing - it's free and very easy to use.

Here's a link to Dr Andrew Weil's guide to 4-7-8

cordem.org/globalassets/fil...

[Darcy3 in reply to Gobbsofjoy]

Your advice has helped me especially the 4/7/8 breathing. Thank you.

[Gobbsofjoy in reply to Darcy3]

Awesome Darcy!

[JohnPepper]

Exercise is a good way to overcome anxiety. So, any sport will help. But there is one exercise that actually reverses the symptoms of Pd and that is fast walking. Sure, he may not be able to suddenly start doing fast walking, but he has to start at the bottom and slowly build up to where he needs to be,

[Darcy3 in reply to JohnPepper]

I agree that fast walking helps pap. I am up to 3 mph for 40 minutes. Helps the stiffness…..and anxiety. Thank you.

[JAS9 in reply to Darcy3]

Walking fast is absolutely fantastic! I walk an average of 2 miles a day (reduced right now to 1, due to lack of good sleep, due to a neighbor who was very loud early this morning!

You mentioned that you still have internal tremors 75% of the day? Have you tried Dr. Constantini's HDT protocol? Most PWP here have, but it's worth mentioning in case you haven't. It stopped my tremors almost completely. Anxiety was reduced by over half, although it can still be triggered fairly easily.

[Darcy3 in reply to JAS9]

Are you referring to a vitamin B1 thiamine with HCL? If so, yes. I just ordered B1 online.

[Hidden in reply to Darcy3]

I was dx 2012. I have been on Dr. Costantini’s program for several years . Tremor is one symptom not touched by B 1. I am overjoyed and delighted that I have carbidopa levodopa and thiamine hcl.

[JohnPepper in reply to Darcy3]

Ell done! Keep it up.

[JakeMax]

John, my thoughts exactly. Throw yourself into vigorous exercise and work through the anxiety. I used to have it in abundance and now it's minimal and doesn't impact on my day.

Also adopt a hobby where it involves you taking your mind off your symptoms.

Stick with these two suggestions and you will improve.

[Darcy3 in reply to JakeMax]

Thank you for your kind suggestions. I will find a hobby. Good advice.

[JohnPepper in reply to Darcy3]

That will do your brain a lot of good, but don't overlook your body!

[Darcy3 in reply to JakeMax]

Exercise has been a great help…..I want to thank you for responding. I can’t thing of a hobby so I’m doing puzzles. I am not a TV person but a reader…

[JakeMax in reply to Darcy3]

That's fantastic! I decided to go back to school and now in the second module of my new degree...

[JohnPepper in reply to Darcy3]

Whatever activities you get involved with will do your health a lot of good. Try to also do some exercise, you will not regret it in your old age!

[Darcy3 in reply to JohnPepper]

Thank you for your reply and suggestions. I do exercise 35-45 minutes a day on the treadmill. I hurt so much all over this past week that it has been extremely difficult but I still have done it. The pain has never been this bad……

[JohnPepper in reply to Darcy3]

Careful! Listen to your body! When you feel not up to scratch then take it easy, but do not stop trying to do better!

[Darcy3 in reply to JohnPepper]

Hahaha, I am in my old age young man. Almost 80 and still kicking and fighting the best I can….maybe a little bit slower. Have a good day.

[JohnPepper in reply to Darcy3]

You're still a kid! I'm 86, so you should listen to your elders.

Seriously! The more physical exercise you do the better.

[Spencer53]

There's a Happiness Frequency on You Tube that helps with Endorphines, Dopamine and Seratonin. The musical sound is meditative, calming and relaxing - it's worth a try as it targets the brain.

[Darcy3 in reply to Spencer53]

Just read your suggestion. Thank you and I will look for the YouTube segment you suggested.

[Todd-pw]

Hi darcy I had extreme anxiety until I started levadopa then it vanished

[gginto in reply to Todd-pw]

Can I ask what extreme anxiety u had? Was it regular panic attacks, or generalized anxiety? Thanks a lot..

[Darcy3 in reply to gginto]

Generalized anxiety unless I have to go in an elevator.......than it panic attack. Was stuck in one for an hour and cannot be in one alone.

[Todd-pw in reply to Darcy3]

Both at one point I couldn’t go outside in public and was constantly in a state of fear

[gginto in reply to Todd-pw]

I knew the feeling- couldn't go into shopping malls cause I thought I was trapped when the panic started..couldn't sit in a restaurant cause panic would overtake me .. it was a tough time! So now I wonder if all this panic disorder I had was a result of the pd?

[Darcy3 in reply to gginto]

It well may be from PD. I can not go to the movies because I feel closed in and have a panic attack. This never happened until PD. My late husband had PD and he had the same issues. He never had them before PD.

[SonarsMom]

Are you equating internal tremors with anxiety? To me they are two very different things. To lessen anxiety (that is, worry about things that are likely not going to happen), I tell those close to me what I'm anxious about and they help to eliminate the situation. For example, if my young grandchildren are playing in an area where they might fall, I get very anxious and tell my husband or children, who (without indicating to them that there is anything dangerous...because I want them to be adventurous and daring) will encourage them to do something else. I get anxious when others are driving, so I always try to drive. I get anxious when watching certain TV shows, so I don't watch anything disturbing or stressful. I also don't read "thriller" types of books. In my mind, it's like the computer saying "GIGO" (garbage in/garbage out). I'm proactive to keep garbage from coming in.

[Darcy3 in reply to SonarsMom]

Thank you responding. I, too, do not watch TV or read upsetting articles or books as it makes my anxiety worse. I know that you have mentioned internal tremors, I think that it an issue as well. I can not calm these internal tremors no matter what I do. I hope the Paxil and Wellbutrin will help me to relax. I appreciate your insight and am so glad you took the time to reply. Thank you again.

[Missy0202]

I have always been an anxious kind of person. A few years before my diagnoses, I was feeling more anxiety and decided to start Sertraline. I think it did take the edge off, until the day I got the diagnoses of PD. The extreme panic was taken to another level, and the Sertraline wasn't helping. The teeny tiny tremor I had transformed into a full blown out of control tremor. A plethora of other PD symptoms seemed to creep into the mix. My movement disorders specialist said that taking Sinemet would help the anxiety. Months after beginning C/L the tremor and anxiety did get better... but I still wonder whether it is the meds, or is it time.... I discontinued the Sertraline, changed my diet, picked up exercise, got the calm app, etc etc etc... When I am immersed in something, I live like I did before the diagnoses, but the rest of the time that my mind is working overtime, I feel anxious. I participated in a trial for cannabis oil, and although I still don't know exactly what strength I was on.. I found it was most helpful for my sleep. The lack of sleep certainly contributed to my anxiety, so I continued taking CBD:THC (20:1) and it definitely helps.

[Darcy3 in reply to Missy0202]

I totally understand what you have been going through. I have done the exact same things in an effort to curb my anxiety. For the moment, it seems to lessen the anxiety but I am never totally relaxed. I work at it and try not to get discouraged. Thank you for your input and good luck.

[Missy0202 in reply to Darcy3]

The calm app is extremely helpful the daily calm is 10 min

[gginto in reply to Missy0202]

Agree with always having been anxious since being young- and this just makes it all worse..I was having on-going panic attacks before pd diag. Then it's almost like as soon as I knew- the panic attacks disappeared..? I think I'll give CBD a try to help my vivid dreams though..

[MyGolf]

My doctor increased my CD/LD to 450mg. It helped. But your insurance might not cover it.

[Darcy3 in reply to MyGolf]

Thank you. You may right. I am on Rytary 61.25/245 mg 3 times a day. It is quite expensive and so I have cut it down to twice a day. I haven’t noticed any difference in my motor symptoms however it may be that I have the internal tremors of it. I will start back on taking it 3 times a day and see how I feel. Thank you again for taking the time to reply.

[Hikoi in reply to Darcy3]

The video recently put up by Levod says you have to get the right dose of levadopa to stop tremors. I think decreasing your Rytary is not good for you.. perhaps if it is too expensive you could go on regular levadopa/carbidopa

[Darcy3 in reply to Hikoi]

I think you are right……I am going back to 3 times a day…….have not been doing well. Lots of pain which might be because I require more meds………..hopefully that will help.

[gginto]

Hi - I find regular daily exercise- with exertion- really helps. I speed walk. Also weight training/lifting. Mindfullness meditation is great- I want to do more myself.. I also take Rhodiola tablets and L-Theanine before breakfast. Good Luck!

[TiredNRetired]

Welbutrin may or may not be helping your anxiety and could be reevaluated. Lot's of excellent suggestions otherwise on this thread.