THANK YOU GypsyDuBois,
I am 30 years old...and have been dealing with this for almost a year. I read an awesome book about anxiety. (I never thought I had anxiety until this last year). My father and his two sisters all have suffered from GAD....and of course, I watched them deal with it when I was much younger and thought "that'll never happen to me". Don't get me wrong...my dad has led a very normal life, but I do remember many a time where he'd be laid up on the sofa breathing into a brown paper lunch sack.
Anyway, the book about anxiety discussed how generalized anxiety (along with other types such as panic disorder) tends to strike people in their mid-20s to mid-30s in the VAST majority of cases. It will run it's course over months to years...and is rarely seen as people get into their 40s and beyond.
Sounds like you have been through exactly this cycle. Anxiety is the hardest thing to deal with for ALL of us...NOT the twitching. It just stinks that each symptom makes the other worse. How closely they are related is beyond me....my neuro, however, seems convinced that anxiety is bringing on the BFS--but even she admits that she can't be sure on that one----but what she's absolutely sure about is that the twitching is BENIGN.
I have yet to see a post by anyone on this board who does NOT have some level of anxiety.
Back to my neuro...I just saw her today for a 'reassurance' check (since I have fierce twitching in my hand--which is new--and because I'm now battling fatigue). She checked my reflexes and answered every question I had about the accuracy of EMG and onsets of neuro muscular disease, etc....She's awesome, and she totally understands if I need to come in as my symptoms come and go. I think today I can close the book on needing to see her again unless I wake up and can't move a body part.
Both my neuro and my GP have suggested medications. I tried SSRIs (both Lexapro and Zoloft), and I ended up in the ER with major panic attacks within two days of being on each med. Of course, I didn't taper up slowly....they just gave me the standard dose. Now, just the thought of taking any SSRI makes me antsy.
I do have Xanax and Ativan that I can take as needed....but I only need half a pill (.25 mg)...maybe once or twice a month. At this rate, there's absolutely no worry about addiction or withdrawal. I know how to recognize anxiety symptoms, and therefore I'm much better about keeping them from spiraling out from under me. Now that I am embracing anxiety instead of constantly thinking something biological is causing my symptoms....I actually experience anxiety symptoms less often. Though there are times, even good times, when the anxiety symptoms appear. For me, as with a lot of cases of GAD, there often is no trigger to set off the anxiety...your body just starts showing symptoms--for reasons unknown except to the body itself.
My doctors have actually asked me to take xanax more frequently to see if it helps me even more. But as long as I can live and function normally without it...I'm fine with just the occasional half-pill. If I couldn't function as normal, then I'd consider taking more.
SSRIs don't make sense to me....there's got to be a more natural way to get brain chemistry back to normal. Plus, the docs prescribe them to millions of people without knowing 'for sure' that there's a true chemical balance in the brain....it's just assumed. Shouldn't there be an actual test for that???
Don't know how they'd do that though...spinal tap maybe??
It would be nice to hear more success stories with regards to SSRIs. I spoke with a psychiatrist about six months ago who said there is NOTHING wrong with sticking to straight xanax for pure anxiety. He said people with anxiety are the least addictive types of people because all we want to do is feel 'normal' without the use of any drugs whatsoever Depression lends a different outlook....and I'm certain that I'm NOT depressed.
Anyway, thanks so much...and God bless YOU for sharing your stories with the new people on the board. I hope you keep checking in to lend more support!
Amy
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