hands and feet are freezing

[vonnhelsing]

Anybody else get freezing cold hands and feet when theyre anxious? And my nose starts to get runny. Im having such a bad heart palpitation right now :( its beating funny :( scaaaaaredddd

[Enduronman]

Vanhelsing,

I used too, until I got some beta blockers to even out the heart rate, and an anti-psychotic to somehow stop the cold hands thingy too...they both ended but were just more of a nuisance. What meds do you have or take??...

:)

[vonnhelsing]

I dont take any medication.. ive had chronic anxiety for 6 years and Ive only ever taken 4 or 5 valiums.. no medication.. I have a bit of a phobia of taking meds.. so I kinda just struggle through the anxiety day by day.. its horrible. On days when it gets bad I just want to go to the doctor and ask for meds but im too scared to take them..

[Enduronman]

I dont take any medication.. ive had chronic anxiety for 6 years and Ive only ever taken 4 or 5 valiums.. no medication.. I have a bit of a phobia of taking meds.. so I kinda just struggle through the anxiety day by day.. its horrible. On days when it gets bad I just want to go to the doctor and ask for meds but im too scared to take them..

AND that's why you have chronic anxiety dear VonnHelsing...for 6 years. I knew you didn't take meds, that is why I asked. You must have the courage to try them...

E-Man :)

[vonnhelsing]

Which one would you suggest to start me off? Or is it the doctor who will give me what he thinks I need? Im so worried I will get addicted..

[Enduronman]

From my end friend,

It looks like fears and phobias and such. Valiums are sedatives, and not really used to treat this kind of disorder only used to calm (overly) and sedate (near zombie like) and sleep (zzzzzzzz)...Those are additive, but so is anxiety dear..It becomes your addiction, but you feel like crap everyday petrified all the time, of nothing.

I would highly suggest a re-visit to the Doc and "reveal" all this to him/her. More than likely, you'll be given an AD, hopefully an A typical anti-psychotic, and a benzo other than valium...like xanax or klonopin or lorazepam...IMHO.

You get over this fear of meds, you get over this fear of anything or everything friend..

You get yourself into some sort of therapy too, and you'll be on the road to recovery in a month or two, and break this 6 year hold and cycle...

We're here if you need us VH!...

E-Man...:)

[artaud]

Im so worried I will get addicted..

Many doctors may not be open to suggestions. One advantage of having a good rapport with the doc is that he/she may be more open to your input. I've been taking a benzodiazepine, in one form or another, for 40 years.

To stave off addiction, I learned to live with anxiety and only take a tranquilizer when absolutely needed, my prescription is written PRN, that means that doctor says how much but I determine how often, but not exceeding the doctor's dosing frequency.

For Klonopin, mine is 0.5 mg bid prn. In other words, I can take 0.5 mg up to twice a day as needed. I usually only use 1/4 of a tablet once in a day a few times a week, which is 0.125 mg, a very small amount, and it does a great job. My doctor knows how I take them.

Originally unbeknownst to me, the Half Life of Klonopin is approximately 35 hours. This means that 35 hours after taking one, the concentration in the blood drops to half the total amount that it achieved in the blood.

The advantage of this is that you remain calmed down over a longer period. Xanax, a similar drug, has a short half life (11 hours), so that the calming effect wears off sooner. Some people believe that the chance of addiction is higher with Xanax since people need to take them more often to remain calm.

Doctors may also prescribe Anti-Depressants, often SSRI (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors), others on this group will comment I'm sure.

Klonopin doesn't disturb my heart rhythm, but antidepressants have.

[vonnhelsing]

I took an antidepressant once and I had such a horrific reaction to it I thought I was going to die. Neeeever taking one of them again. I am definitely not depressed. Valium just made me super sleepy but didnt necessarily help with the anxiety long term. I shall ask for a benzo..

[artaud]

I shall ask for a benzo..

Valium is a benzodiazepine. The trick is to ask your doctor if you can take a half or quarter, not exceeding what he/she prescribed.

Another possibility is Buspar (buspirone). It is not a benzo, does not cause much sedation, it relieves anxiety, and is more effective in people that haven't used conventional tranquilizers since many people equate the sedation with efficacy. There'll probably be some people that say it doesn't work, but I've known people that have used it successfully.

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/meds/a688005.html

[Enduronman]

Yes, valium is in the benzo class but it is, as you said you were verryyyyy zzzzzz, sedating and not a good treatment for this anxiety..unless sleeping a life away is the way not to be anxious.

The klonopin that Artaud mentioned is commonly prescribed, exactly for the reasons he has stated. And it generally doesn't zzzzzzombiefy people either but people can have some short term memory loss from it (my oldest daughter but I won't get into that story)...

An A typical anti-psychotic really seems like a good fit here VH...IMHO. With these phobias, fears, etc, and maybe even a beta-blocker too. Like atenolol, super safe too.

The only really bad thing about that buspar is that it shouldn't be prescribed to people that already have panic attacks, only GAD...and it appears VH that you're abit beyond GAD friend..just being honest. It may even say that on the buspar literature if you search it...

Great post btw, wishing you a better life and days too V!!

Take some baby steps, that's how it all starts to get better..

:)

[mylove9080]

I take natural stuff for anxiety with no side effects at all. They takre a while to kik in cuz it is natural. But i reccomend that not medication. Thats bad for your body.