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was given two years ago. Hasnt done much for my anxiety which was the real problem. Now decided to lower dose. Have gone from 15 to 7.5 to 3.75 using cutter. Now trying to lower. Sleep very erratic and feel strange, as if i am not so doped. Dr gave me valium 2 years ago, I take 5mg night and try to manage on 3mg day.
Dont think i am depressed as such but anxiety still there. Frightened of normal things like going to visit friends, relatives, shopping in large areas, cinema. Theatre, all things i would normally do before all,this.
i just feel weird, not quite all here and the anxiety is being controlled by the valium alone. How do I find myself again without all these fears?
1 like, 23 replies
andrew23356 ann55375
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oldboy ann55375
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Best wishes.
ann55375 oldboy
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Been to psych and tried effexor and sertraline, early drove me mad with anxiety even taking diazepam to try to control it. Seems i am 'sensitive' to ssris. What do i do next? Tried breathing techniques,relaxation tapes, cbt. Is there a med better than diaz to help my anxiety as its running so high.
oldboy ann55375
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You should rely on your psychologist. There are several drugs he/she could prescribe which work differently from SSRIs.
elainec33 ann55375
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Hi Ann
?I feel bad for you because I know exactly how you feel. I am in the same situation now I even have to pop a benzo to go and visit my daughter because it is out of my "comfort zone", have fears about everything and I dont really go out much not in the winter anyway.
?August 2015 I had the most horrendous 13 weeks, started off with racing heart, then nausea and insomnia. This went on day after day, hour after hour, right through the night. In the end I was popping xanax just to get two hour's sleep at night but come 2 a.m. my racing heart would waken me. I lost so much weight couldnt eat and eventually collapsed in a heap. Nobody took me seriously, psych team said depression and anxiety but I wasnt depressed. Was started on 7.5mg mirtazapine and then 15mg, things started to calm down but I didnt feel right, they then upped me to 30mg and I began to feel really irritated and slightly aggressive. I kept telling them I felt it was something physical wrong with me but no, it had to be anxiety and depression (they have tunnel vision). They also gave me valium which didnt agree nor do any calming down. It maybe that mirtazapine doesnt agree with you, I was okay on the small dose but they were careful to start me off gradually as I had a terrible reaction to cypromil many years ago when I had a frozen shoulder and a very poorly mother and GP thought it might help.
?To cut a long story short, months later went to see an endocrine surgeon because I had suspected primary hyperparathryoidism. Had an ultrasound and the guy said he didnt think it was phpt but noticed inflammation on the thyroid and suggested thyroid blood tests including antibodies. Surgeon ignored this and wanted me to do big doses of vitamin D, anyway, I started weaning myself off the mirtazapine and over 12 months later it turns out I have thyroiditis. The start of it was the racing heart and nightmare 13 weeks but the mirtazapine just masked it. If you google the symptoms of Hashimotos you will see that a lot of familiar symptoms. I still have these horrible symptoms but I know what it is now. So what I am saying is, ask to have blood tests and ask them to look for other reasons. I occasionally pop 7.5mg of mirtazapine if I think I am going to have a restless night and I acquired some bromazepam from overseas, a benzo that really agrees with me but I would only take say one a week as I dont want to get hooked. I was on them full time for 8 years after my husband died young 30 odd years ago and I wouldnt want to go through the withdrawal of them again. Andrew below mentioned a buddhist class but I wouldnt even be able to sit amongst people and would have to be at the back near the door.
?Ironically there have been a couple of people on another mirtazapine thread who experienced the same and it was their thyroid. Biggest problem is getting the GP to listen and also they dont do T3 tests nor are antibodies on the general list.
?I hope you feel better soon.
ann55375 elainec33
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i had some ordinary blood tests done by gp and she just said thyroid looked ok. I am still ill and wondering if there is a more thorough thyroid test can be done to find the abnormality?
i couldnt sit in any class just now, my anxiety is doing this to me.
i am waking feeling nauseous in morning which dissipates as day goes on but waking early having to take buccastem to quell it. Im fine when i go to bed.
i hate having to take diazepam to get out but am in such a mess. Gp despairing of me I think. I am even wondering if i need endoscope to check stomach, gp just keeps saying its anxiety.
i dont know how to approach her to ask for referral to endocrinology, she will probably think i am too anxious.
any hints you have would be helpful. Thank you for taking time to write
elainec33 ann55375
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It's a tricky one with Gp's as they hardly know anything about thyroid. They dont do the T3 just the TSH and T4 and we get the usual annoying thing "within the normal range". What is normal for some might not be normal for others. I have been down the private route since June 2015 since a GP was trying to get me to chew on 3000mg of calciuim per day because of my osteoporosis and she hadnt noticed that my blood calcium was over the range, so if I hadnt had my wits about me and always get any tests printed off, I could have ended up with kidney stones, a stroke or heart attack. I have actually wasted over £6000 of my old age savings on numerous scans and private endocrinologists and they were useless. I dont really know what to suggest to you because I might be leading you in completely the wrong direction as regards to the thyroid. By the way, someone on a thyroid forum posted up a study that had been done and valium can actually suppress the thyroid hormone. After I eventually got my blood tests back from the private endo surgeon I went to see in the July of last year and got them in September, I figured by December they would be out of date and so I sported out the £99 on a home kit finger prick test which included all the relevant thyroid tests, antibodies, ferritin (which is quite low) B12 which was high and was a surprise because of the low folate and vitamin D. I was nervous that I would not squeeze enough blood out into the tiny little tube but it was fine. However, the results were not and then someone suggested a Functional Medicine Practitioner and I have found one locally who is also a GP.
Of course you are anxious, who wouldnt be, but as I already said thyroid causes anxiety anyway, in fact not feeling well causes anxiety so which comes first the chicken or the egg, ie. physical or mental.
?I really hope you can get some help but you should try to cut back on the diazapam (I know pot calling kettle black) but there will come a time when the GP will not give you any more, or he might retire or anything. Most GP's do not give more than 2 weeks supply and that's it. I still have a few valium but I have noticed they make me feel very slightly nauseous and do not really calm me down.
elainec33 ann55375
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ann55375 elainec33
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thanks for trying
elainec33 ann55375
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If it's not approved will send you something via private message. I also had endoscopy, also ct scan on pancreas etc. and all came back normal. As I said in my unapproved comment, is always difficult to find whether it's the chicken or the egg, ie. physical or mental. However, feeling physically ill can make you anxious. I don't want to encourage you down the thyroid path if it is nothing to do with that but so many symptoms are thryoid related. Take care Elaine
elainec33 ann55375
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Glad they actually approved it not that it will help you much. I have to tell you that I had a physio appointment today for my frozen shoulder. I needed half a benzo to get me there, anyway, taxi driver was talking to me and telling me about his wife who was really unwell for 18 months (same gp surgery as mine). She used to have these terrible attacks of a racing heart which would come out of the blue and so bad they had to call an ambulance, this went on so many times that he used to say call me when you a ready for me to collect you. GP said it was anxiety. Anyway, she had an attack out in the street and got raced off to A and E again but this time the doctor said he felt he ought to scan her as her GP had been blaming it on anxiety all this time and ecg registered normal which it does and did with my racing heart problem. They discovered five blood clots on one lung, specialist said if just one of them had moved she would have been a gonna!!! Anxiety!!!!!! The reported the numpty to PALS and she got a letter of apology from the GP. Now she is on blood thinners, beta blockers and something he said that makes her doze off every night by 7.30. She was only 42, non smoker and drinker. Not suggesting yours is anything like that, but this is what we are up against, 10 minute rushed appointments that you have to wait weeks for and told "anxiety", grrrr!!
ann55375 elainec33
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ann55375 elainec33
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ann55375 elainec33
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elainec33 ann55375
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ann55375 elainec33
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