Anxiety

[GoingCrazy_]

Does anyone have any recommendations for dealing with anxiety?

[starlight5]

Different breathing techniques can be of use sometimes, or getting up and doing something like dishes or cleaning, calling a friend to talk to if you are alone when the anxiety hits. Then there is always a xanax or valium when all else fails!🤦‍♀️ Seriously though, I used to get some serious episodes of anxiety in my late 40s and 50s and I think it may have been perimenopause 🤷‍♀️ ms was not diagnosed yet.

Hoping you find something that helps🤞🥰

[Mark1499]

My neurologist has me on kolonipin, I started out taking lexapro before my diagnosis it helped some but not enough so my pcp gave me Xanax but I found it to be to powerful as it has a shorter half life in the 1st 4 hours than any benzodiazepine out there and is HIGHLY addicting so much that even tapering back are trying to use it as needed was impossible without terrible withdrawal. My neurologist put me own kolonipin which is entirely different. She also recommended 4 second deep breathing exercises which helps as well because I have a MAJOR nerve and anxiety problem. State mind is is usually the best way to combat anxiety however with MS if comes ( out of the blue) for some like myself. If you’re able to determine where it is coming from then you can treat it. If it’s an MS thing medication is probably the only only thing that will help. I would have full blown panic attacks before. Anxiety has become so common in people that it should be addressed at the root cause before treating it. My neurologist told me there is a difference between addiction and dependency are two different things. Please don’t rob yourself of living calm and peacefully over this if it’s a neuro thing when there is medication that will help. I will pray you will find relief as I know bad this can be.

[Kit10]

There's something I read about years ago in "The Feeling Good Handbook" by David Burns.

Write down:

What happened

What you feel (can be more than one thing e.g. angry, scared, frustrated)

Score out of 100 for how strongly you feel each

What you're thinking e.g. this is the end of the world

Identify ways in which that's distorted thinking e.g. catastrophisation, all-or-nothing, fortune-telling

write down a revised, more realistic thought for each e.g. it sucks but it's not a total disaster

write down a revised score for your feelings

The book provides a form to fill in, and a lot more detail about what it all means and why.

Of course if you have real reasons to be scared it doesn't help, but that's not anxiety, like if a hurricane is heading your way there'd be something wrong if you weren't scared!

[falalalala]

Exercise and meditation.

There are many videos on you tube for guided meditations.

[Sweetheartonvdayl in reply to falalalala]

I agree. 🙂❤Lisa 💕I don't believe in meditations, until Absolutely necessary. Having been on Xanax, Valium, clonopin & Ativan,I choose to be holistic in my approach, and be on nothing. ( maybe I should be 🤷‍♂️)

[falalalala in reply to Sweetheartonvdayl]

[ahrogers]

I recommend talking to your doctor or pharmacist to make sure none of your medications could be contributing. I was taking Lunesta for sleep but after a few months I started having anxiety, agitation and thoughts of self harm. It took a few weeks to clear up after I stopped taking it. Then get a referral to a psychologist to help manage.Good luck!

[mrsmike9]

Therapy. I firmly believe in it, but it takes the right connection to make for a good fit. Otherwise you get nothing from it.

[CatsandCars]

I have been struggling with anxiety myself. I've had it for a long time, but since my MS has worsened and certain hypersensitive muscles have made it hard for me to walk, the anxiety seems to have taken on a life of its own. On bad days I feel like it's eating me alive.

I have been taking klonopin/clonazepam at night for restless legs for years. I started with .5 mg tablets and took one and a half for decades with no need to go higher. I eventually decreased to three-fourths of a tablet. My primary care doctor was okay with going back to a tablet and a half so I could take some during the day if I needed to. My psychiatrist was quite opposed to this and was insistent that I stop taking it because she felt that I would develop a tolerance, never mind that I clearly hadn't over all those years. Perhaps it's dose dependent, with smaller doses being safer? It probably helps not to take it 24/7 as well, just as needed.

In any case, older doctors are generally more experienced with it and are more willing to prescribe it.

I used to take an SSRI antidepressant, which helped for a long time, but apparently it stopped working and I have tried every antidepressant they make over the past year and just cannot tolerate the side effects, so I guess that's not an option anymore.

I've had some success with magnesium glycinate at bedtime in addition to the clonazepam.

I've also been doing breathing exercises, using a meditation app, and started working my way through a cognitive behavioral therapy workbook with the help of my therapist. CBT helps you recognize the thoughts that send you spinning out. It's a little tricky because with MS there really is a lot to be worried about. But I constantly find myself overthinking every little thing until I'm in a panic, which I have to slowly unlearn.

So, nothing that hasn't been suggested already. There's no one simple answer. But you're not alone, and there are a lot of things you can do that will help over time.

[CatsandCars in reply to CatsandCars]

I should note that since I had no luck with tolerating antidepressants, I decided it was pointless to continue seeing the psychiatrist.