bananxiety10
06-26-2010, 10:23 AM
To all my friends, I wanted to share a very, very important story. A bit long, I apologize in advance. My guess is many of you have experienced something similar, but I don't want anyone else to have to endure what happened to me. About 5 1/2 years ago I had a twitch in my eye that wouldn't go away. After 3 months I developed a tremor in my hands, followed by insomnia. I though I had parkinsons, ms, md, als, etc. I went to a neurologist who diagnosed me with "essential tremor", a tremor which gets progressivly worse over time, I was crushed. I still couldn't sleep and then developed a ringing in my ears. I was going crazy, I was angry and irritable, and was about to lose my job. I finally went to a psychiatrist, He told me to get a thyroid test, which I didnt. we tried xanax and sleep meds, but they didn't work. Finally he put me on clonazepam (Klonapin) 2mg which wore off quickly and I went to 4 mg (very high dose). It seemed to control all the symptoms, but they never went away fully and I suspected that there was still something not right, but I was happy just to be able to sleep and not shake. Feb of this year the clonazepam stopped working. I finally got a thyroid test and ALL ALONG I HAVE HAD GRAVES DISEASE CAUSING HYPERTHYROID. I never needed the benzo!!!!The symptoms are exactly the same as GAD, nervousness, anxiety, tremor, sweating, insomnia. I am finally on anti thyroid meds, but I'm addicted to the benzo and now have to go through withdrawal. Here is my message and hope for all of you sufferers. PLEASE GET A COMPLETE THYROID BLOOD WORK UP BY AN ENDORCINOLOGIST BEFORE STARTING A BENZO, AND IF YOU ARE ON ONE NOW, GET YOUR THYROID TESTED RIGHT AWAY. This misdiagnosis has robbed me of 5 years of my life, and was all avoidable. This is apparently pretty common to be misdiagnosed with GAD/Depression, when it is truly a thyroid issue. Sorry for the long post, I just don't want anyone to suffer this.