Living by myself probably Don’t help eather all ways thinking about things
Has anyone ever heard of paroxetine for anxiety and depression
Paroxetine is the generic name for Paxil. I have a friend who took it for “social anxiety” and she said it really helped her.
When it comes to antidepressant/anxiety, what works for one does not necessarily work for another. It is best to let a psychiatrist decide what is the best medication for one’s particular case.
I heard a newer one, " Pristiq" ( this is the brand name ) works very well with very few side effects.
Thanks Cicina that is want my doctor has precribed Im not one to take, drugs I don’t like the side effects but this anxiety is driving me crazy
If it is any help I am on Citopram 40mg and have been for about 10 or more years. I only had side effects for about 3 weeeks.If you can get through that barrier it was well worth it.
Dear Drc, I had SEVERE anxiety when I was "clinically" depressed. Therefore, I've been on a therapeutic dose (200 mg da of the antidepressant, Sertraline (the generic form of Zoloft) for 19 years. I have a bit of anxiety due to my ataxia, but it's very manageable..., ;o)
Yes, my anxiety about travel is overwhelming. I have friends all over the country that I used to visit in the summertime that now, I feel the whole idea is overwhelming. Getting to the airport and on a plane, landing and getting to their home. Then just getting around a strange place is too much to handle. Going out for the day around here I have to worry about walking too much or being out after dark as darkness effects my balance. My friends are supportive but the don’t have this so the can understand just so much. It is really making me antisocial. I am happiest in my own surroundings, at home.
Airport’s and people scare me and traveling by myself makes my anxiety worse im traveling to Atlanta soon and it’s driving me crazy
Wow, I think we need a separate travel anxiety topic!
I travel a lot, most of the time alone. I request handicap assistance at all airports. Most are pretty good to absolutely great in trying to help. Tips get expensive in US airports, but that's part of the travel cost in my mind.
So travel works like this: you're going to be treated like baggage taken from plane to plane. You'll be hand searched at security unless you can handle standing with your hands up (I don't know many who could do that). Make sure you know carry-on rules so that your trip through security is no worse than it has to be. And make sure you have doctor support (letter or copy of your prescriptions) for all the prescription drugs you take. And keep things in the right bottles!
You can board early, so that gives you time to crutch or cane down the aisle. The airline folks will help with your carry-on, though some may treat this as an imposition. Economy comfort seating, though a bit pricey, is helpful because there is a tiny bit more room.
I keep a folding cane for trips to the toilet while on board. It takes the cane and the back of every seat to get me from my seat to the toilet and back.
The tough part: yes, everyone is looking at me all the time. No, I don't like it at all. Yes, I wish they would mind their own business. But they aren't going to and there is nothing I can do about it! People will stare, they will resent that you get to break line in your chair. Some idiots will even come out with a cute comment from time to time.
My response to the humiliations of commercial travel is simply to ignore it. I can't control how others act, but my response is up to me.
It comes down to this one thing: is where I'm going and who and what I will see there worth a bit of discomfort and anxiety? If the answer is yes, I go. If the answer is no, I don't.
We're going on a cruise to Japan in a few days. One of my doctors told me recently if I had a bucket list, it was time to get after it because I wouldn't be able to travel before long. So for as long as I can, I'm going to do all that I can because when I can't go any more, I want to have the memories of where I took the opportunity to go. Also, I have a responsibility to my wife to make her life as good as it can be for as long as I possibly can.
What do I think about going to Japan? Yes, I dread Atlanta airport. It's a gigantic, scary place. I have been only to the airport in Tokyo so I have no idea what is waiting in Japan. From what I can read, it isn't the most handicap friendly place on earth. I'm going with crutches only. That's uncomfortable as well as scary and it makes me the center of attention wherever I go (I'm a tall, heavy, white guy. I'd stand out even if I could walk). Yes, I'm scared. Yes, I'll have anxious moments. No, I don't know how I'll handle the crowds. Yes, I won't like the stairs/comments/thoughts of those around me.
I have travel insurance if something goes wrong. My wife will be with me this time, so that takes a lot of the fear away (but not the humiliation).
I'm rambling. Travel comes down to an old saying for us. We need to fish or cut bait. If what is on the other end is worth it for me or for my wife, then I can put up with a lot to get there. When what's waiting is no longer worth what it takes to get there, we'll stay home.
Happy trails,
Jim
Absolutely. I feel like I'm dying when my ataxia is very bad. It's hard to not be able to do things you want to do, to have to be taken care of, and not to know when you'll be functional again.
My husband is my caregiver and he has Asperger's. It's really hard when I'm having talking problems because I can't communicate what I need and he has a lessened ability to guess. I could say "COLD" and he'd have to figure out if I WAS cold, or NEEDED something cold, if so WHAT, or even if I'd said "cold" at all. It's panic-inducing for both of us.
Thank god for caregivers and helpers of any kind.
There you go!
Let me know how it goes.
Jim
Searcher said:
Jim
I am 6"6" 225 # so when they see me coming they figure I am drunk, well next time I am going with it !!
Gotta have some fun in life !
I don't have anxiety issues n my adult life at all or panic attacks. When I was a child I suffered terribly I think it was having to adjust to deafness and ataxia hitting all within a year time frame at 5 and 6 years old. I was in out for testing for treatment and to find a cause for it I think at the time so much happened I just couldn't process it. The anxiety stemmed for me from loosing so many people in a few years who I loved dearly alongside with the loss of my physical abilities not just my ability to walk and do all the things alongside with the constant abuse verbal from strangers over being disabled they'd tell me I was faking my disabilities to get up and walk normally, or shout and curse at my parents for parking in a disabled spot with a special blue badge just for me when I was in the car because I had to use a wheelchair. One time a man started screaming at my father for using blue badge spot by a shopping centre for me so could go look for some shoes, I sat crying in the chair my dad walked upto the car and gave him a rollocking saying see that girl, in the wheelchair thats my daughter the one crying her heart out over an a**hole like you because you think she's faking her disabilities make me sick ever yell at another person parking here with a badge I'm calling the cops. One neighbour started screaming and cursing at me that I must be drinking my parents alcohol without knowing and making myself drunk deliberately with that I stopped playing outside in the street my poor father shot over to her house and gave her the biggest lecture about being a judgmental idiot she never uttered another nasty word to anyone on the street the day after that.
All the judgements from stranger adults in passing telling me and my parents nothing was wrong with me it was all in our heads or screaming and cursing abuse at them for using disabled bays despite me being wheelchair bound came out as panic attacks n public places it took my family moving to a different county where they were accepting of my disabilities and I didn't get hounded or hurled abuse at by strangers for falling or using disabled facilities for those to stop. I try not to think of the callousness of strangers as a kid it hurt so deeply that it took a long time to see all people aren't nasty or ignorant like that. I haven't had a bad panic attack for about maybe 19 almost 20 years now I did have a mild one a 5 years back when the stress of an event with my mum got to me and my husband who was just a boyfriend at the time was talking with me through it on the phone back in the UK,
I've now learnt if I feel anxious which isn't often it's usually after a spate of behavioral problems with step son it helps to arrange a day away from the apartment when the kids are at the park or with friends or family. I find that allows me to decompress and talk to someone usually I find the biggest anxiety or stress reliever for me is sitting with dogs. Just the mere hour around my husbands aunts dogs is bliss and heaven for me and a huge mood boost dogs have always been a love of mine I miss having one terribly but untill we move to a house I'm dog less and having to go to a friends house to get a fix once in a while.
Some people just don’t understand and it’s good to have surport from family wish I do not
Emmy, you have overcome such a huge challenge that I am amazed and inspired! You have discovered the gold within yourself that is the true you. You can adopt dogs for the day or be a dog sitter for a few hours and enjoy them at home.
I don't know how you can not have anxiety with ataxia. Last Friday I went to a big department store to return an item. I took my cane in the car, but thought "I'll only be in there a minute - and I left it in the car. By the time I was walking out of the store there were three young women walking my way and laughing and making jokes about the way I was walking (I'm sure they thought I was drunk). When I got in my car, I got a little teary eyed about it. I had one more errand to do, and I made sure I used my cane to avoid the hurt feelings. I don't know if I'll ever get used to peoples rude behavior towards those of us with limitations. That causes me alot of anxiety.
My daughter who has never cared what other think of her, said "Mom, why would you give those people the power to make you feel bad?" And she's right, I just have been more sensitive to what other people think of me.
Wish I wasn't so sensitive sometimes
Nancy J
Nancy, There is a new psychological category in the DSM directory that used to be called :Overly Sensitive" and is now called "Highly Sensitive." Some of the most important geniuses and creators in the world such as Jung and einstein were highly sensitive. It helped me a lot to read the book The Highly Sensitive Person by Elaine Aron. you can get it at your local library.
HSPs are actually usually more intelligent and creative than "normal" people and are those who help the planet evolve.
The secret is to know who you are and what you are here to accomplish for humanity. Then act to eliminate all those who do not appreciate you and be grateful for those that do.
Hi Judita,
I really appreciated your uplifting response. I will look for that book at the library or buy it online if available. I wrote down your last sentence and will look at it any time I am feeling hurt by others. I have always gone out of my way not to hurt others, but unfortunately not everyone chooses that path. I do have a lot of other strengths I can fall back on however, and that helps me through tough situations.
Thank you so much
Nancy J
I dont have general panic attacks. But I def get anxious walking in wide open spaces with nothing to grab onto if I stumble. I currently don't use any walking assistance devices and have learned to walk near walls, always use a shopping cart, push my daughter's stroller etc. but every day, when I leave work, I have to brave walking across the wide open parking lot to get to my vehicle and my heart starts thumping harder as I get to the door of our building. really hectic crowds worry me too, because if someone were to bump into me even slightly I would stumble if not fall. And I know to a normal person, they would think i probably threw my self on the floor dramatically or something, so it worries me that some one will think I'm crazy
Nancy, and others, here's another book I read daily to remind me how to keep my mental and emotional balance even though my physical leaves something to be desired. I am on my 3rd consecutive reading. I have a family member who has given me lot of grief in the past and because of this book I know how to deal with her now.
How Your Mind Can Make You Well by Roy Masterson.
Be Well and Eat Real!
Mommy medic,
Why don’t you use a cane? I can walk without one and never use one in the house without it, but I do take it when I go on a walk, because it would be easy to trip and fall and get hurt. Plus, I have noticed that people are really careful around me when I have it. They literally move away from me.
You should try it and you might be surprised how secure you will feel. Plus you can always whack someone on the head with it if they annoy you 
…
Take care!
By the way, should you decide on a cane, make sure it is the right size for you or you might develop bad habits. There is a way to measure a cane. Check it on the Internet.