Advice anyone?

[House Dad]

My toughest bouts with my anxiety come from pain related triggers I believe. Every time I get stressed, I have blurred or double vision followed by numerous head pains, tingling and pressure. I have been to the ER so many times they know me by first name. Had 2 CT scans of my head in the last 3 months with nothing more than sinus issues showing up and blood work and BP have always been on the low end of normal. Docs say I am at virtually no risk of the aneurysms and strokes I fear so much. I just can't get past these head feelings and the stroke-like feelings in my face.

Anyone else have these issues? Any advice for getting past them? This anxiety is ruining my life and my wife and kid's lives. I'm on the verge of being single again I'm afraid.

[sleepy]

Hello there House Dad... I have couple of questions that I first must ask you about, I work in the hospital and I actually do the PET/CT scans that are quite like the CT scans youve been getting. But to me it seems like you have sevre sinus issues which, will cause ichy blurred vision, head aches, and pressure.

First how long after these attacks do you recieve these anxiety attack pains ? And if so how bad would you say that pain would be ? And can you find a certain area of you head that hurts, example like you forehead nose, eye area or is it towrads the back of you head ect.

Second what do you test for when it comes to blood? Do you test for T3 T4 and TSH which is your thyroid....?

Also, I believe that a test like a nuclear medicine brain scan might be better for you to have because itll show the functionality of your brain....(easier put, it shows the activity that brain is having). If your emotions are running high itll show a highly vascual area of your brain. Which this test is mostly used to see over or under active areas of the brain. Second I would recomend you see a good endocrine doctor, maybe you can check your adrenals glands checked along with your cortisole levels, which you may in fact be sensitive too which may be causing your pains. Usually involves collecting urine in a container for about 24 hours.

ANd if your taking any medications I would double check there side effects.

I could only think of certain things to tell you to check without seeing your medical Hx...But I would defintly check your cortisole with your Endo first cause thats one of the main hormones realeased when an anxiety attack occurs, but also get your thyroid checked just to be safe, like a all in one shot. I would also keep track of occurances, start a log. Write down when and why these attacks occur, how long the last, and the severity of the pain that goes along with them. Also note your heart rate which normal rate is between 60-100, anything higher would be considered tachycardia. Overall your looking on this forum for a reason why these things happen but everyone is different, and everyone here will tell you that you need to fidn the reason why your anxiety is being caused and to try and take control of it, to relax and ultimatley this will end your problems. I can try to help you as much as possible if youd like to give me more information....such as age, hieght, weight, diet would be a start, but if you have any questions please ask. And keep your hopes up, women love confident men, so remain in control and show your family that your not going to let this come in between them and you.

[House Dad]

Thank you for the advice, Sleepy. I have not been to an endocrinologist. My GP doesn't feel it is necessary. My heart rate on average is 64. I'm not sure what blood tests have been done, they never seem to want to tell me. Usually all they tell me is that they are testing for cardiac enzymes and running "general" tests. My GP said he checked my blood for thyroid and did not find anything. Even when I have attacks, my heart rate usually only gets to 100 or in the high 90s. The only help the doctors have offered me is to see a neurologist about my headaches and to check my back and neck as my GP says I have spinal stenosis as well as "possible neuralgia" in my head and face.

I am seeing a psychologist who has recommended that I start on Paxil to help with the anxiety and she says my visits have shown that I am making great progress. She says I have just held too much inside for too long and letting it out and talking me into expressing myself more openly has shown a great deal of success. It's just when it comes to being out of work due to my nerve damage and pain as well as trying to take care of my kids while my wife travels for work has taken a serious toll on me. I worked a temporary job for 2 months and hardly had any anxiety issues after the first 3 weeks, now that I'm home again it's just getting back to as bad as it was. I am going to try to find a part time job so that I get some time away from the house every week to be me. Hopefully that will help.

[sleepy]

Well, thats a very good start it seems to me that a lot of your anxiety is caused but idle time, which is said to be the devils playground. It goes without saying though that your GP is far more advanced in knowledge than I am currently at this moment. However I believe they should give you a copy of your blood work everytime you have it done, and if I were you Id have those items checked on the next blood test and ask your doctor about the cortisol, which if Dx with anxiety should be a requirement because of the risks that high cortisol levels can have after a long period of time. And if I were you I would do as your doctor says and see a Neuro, if atleast anything it can give you a piece of mind that you know everything upstairs is still ticking and working properly. I would also recomend and Opthamaligist for the blurred vision, so hopefully it'll give your Neuro more details and overall better help for you. I still would keep a log and introduce that to your Neuro once your appointed one so he knows how frequent and painful the occurances are. And life can become very stressful in today's economy, your not the only person who is feeling the squeeze, so stick with your CBT and work on your issues. Keep your self busy, and your self healthy.

[Robbed]

I am seeing a psychologist who has recommended that I start on Paxil to help with the anxiety and she says my visits have shown that I am making great progress.

If she thinks you are making great progress, then why does she want you on Paxil? Seriously, given the pitfalls of taking a drug like Paxil (as well as its addictive nature), if you are REALLY improving, I wouldn't 'rock the boat' by taking it. From the sound of things, you would be ALOT better off not taking anything.