My Mental Health Status

M

MissRJ

Member
Location
USA
I was last on here back in August,2023 when my mother was throwing the help out of the house or refusing to allow them inside.
At that time my OCD, anxiety were rising.
Now due to a lot of significant changes my mental health is not very good.
I recently went back into mental health treatment-that of course is not helping.

On Friday, November 2,2023 I left the house for about a week or slightly one week.
On Friday,November 2,2023 with the help of my social worker I got my mother into medical treatment.
Her diagnosis is dementia.
She is waiting to be put into a nursing home.
I was pressured and forced back into the house-for reasons that I prefer not to mention at this time.

I feel very scared,anxious,OCD and etc.
The story does not end here.
There is more bad news that I may want to share at a later time.
 

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Many,many years ago or decades ago, I was on Zoloft, Buspar and Xanax.
They were prescribed by an educated psychiatrist.

So, I am back on medications.
For anxiety I am on Hydroxyzine HCL 25MG Tablets.
For the severe OCD I am on the Fluvoxamine Maleate 25 MG Tablets.
 
@ MissRJ _ I feel for you too and I'm glad that you're willing to come to this forum and share what's going on with you.
Please do not surrender or quit your struggles, your journey is well worth continuing with. The difficult zones that come our way can always be managed somehow and then left behind us.
Let us know how things are going for you.....whatever you wish to share.
 
Yeah, it can take some trials to find what works for you. Hydroxyzine is a less habit forming alternative to something like Xanax, and similar to Diphenhydramine but at least this usage isn't off-label.

I've been around the block a few times on panic attacks, but have been spared other conditions. I'm taking Escitalopram again and so far so good.

I hope things go well for you.
 
You say your mother was throwing the help out of the house but she's probably fine with you killing yourself taking care of her.

If you can't deal with her or she is impossible to care for, she needs the paramedics called or taken to the ER. She can get nursing home placement from there. You can't do this on your own.
 
dilettante said:
Yeah, it can take some trials to find what works for you. Hydroxyzine is a less habit forming alternative to something like Xanax, and similar to Diphenhydramine but at least this usage isn't off-label.

I've been around the block a few times on panic attacks, but have been spared other conditions. I'm taking Escitalopram again and so far so good.

I hope things go well for you.
Click to expand...
I have also experienced panic attacks, along with occasional depression. I've been on Escitalopram (Lexapro) for 18 years and it has made a difference. I took Xanax for a few months but weaned off of it. It relaxed me but made me sleepy.

I would also recommend Cognitive Behavioral Therapy where you actually think of yourself in a situation that causes anxiety and realize there is actually nothing to be concerned about.

What is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy?
 
Pinky said:
@MissRJ

I feel for you, as I've had experience through the years on a few of those medications. They unfortunately didn't work for me.

Hopefully your new meds will be effective.

Wishing you the best 🤗
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dilettante said:
Yeah, it can take some trials to find what works for you. Hydroxyzine is a less habit forming alternative to something like Xanax, and similar to Diphenhydramine but at least this usage isn't off-label.

I've been around the block a few times on panic attacks, but have been spared other conditions. I'm taking Escitalopram again and so far so good.

I hope things go well for you.
Click to expand...
dilettante said:
Yeah, it can take some trials to find what works for you. Hydroxyzine is a less habit forming alternative to something like Xanax, and similar to Diphenhydramine but at least this usage isn't off-label.

I've been around the block a few times on panic attacks, but have been spared other conditions. I'm taking Escitalopram again and so far so good.

I hope things go well for you.
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I thank all of you for your respones.
I will continue posting.

I too, have been around this mental health block.
It is a long, rough lousy road.

My history of psychiatric medications are as follows:
Never worked.
Never worked well for me.

In all of my years, this is the first time that I heard of an antihistamine being precribed for the treating of anxiety.
Four years ago, I had a bit of a difficult time getting off of the Xanax.
It is not supposed to be prescribed for long-term, permanent usage.
But, back then that psychiatrist prescribed it for that amount of years.

The Hydroxyzine does not work when I have the major anxiety.
About a week ago I left a message for nurse.
I wanted to talk to him about his meds not working well.
The guy never called me back,

What is Diphenhydramine?
What is Escitalopram?


 
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seadoug said:
I have also experienced panic attacks, along with occasional depression. I've been on Escitalopram (Lexapro) for 18 years and it has made a difference. I took Xanax for a few months but weaned off of it. It relaxed me but made me sleepy.

I would also recommend Cognitive Behavioral Therapy where you actually think of yourself in a situation that causes anxiety and realize there is actually nothing to be concerned about.

What is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy?
Click to expand...
I have heard of it.
I am not very educated and informed on it.
I have some informative books on it.
It has to do with the way the mind-body connection works.
I know that it is a mind and body therapy.

Currently- for my severe illnesses it has not worked.
My OCD and anxiety really became worse over this past year or more.
It happened right in front of my eyes.

During this past summer,with the help of the DOS For Dummies Books or the other self-help books I tried ERP.
My OCD and anxiety worsened.
Then again, for severe OCD and anxiety, I should not have been doing ERP without a mental professional.
 
Diphenhydramine is Benadryl. I tried self-medicating taking half doses of it, with mild success. But it wasn't a solution and it is not intended for this purpose.

Escitalopram (Lexapro) is similar to Zoloft (both SSRIs) but not the same. You can ask the doctor about it but it might not fit your condition.
 
seadoug said:
I have also experienced panic attacks, along with occasional depression. I've been on Escitalopram (Lexapro) for 18 years and it has made a difference. I took Xanax for a few months but weaned off of it. It relaxed me but made me sleepy.

I would also recommend Cognitive Behavioral Therapy where you actually think of yourself in a situation that causes anxiety and realize there is actually nothing to be concerned about.

What is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy?
Click to expand...
Once again, I thank everybody for their responses and for their help.
What is Escitalopram (Lexapro)?
I have a history of bad/high anxiety with or without panic-anxiety disorder.
My panic-anxiety disorder was severe during 2005 into 2007 or 2006-2007.
After many years, Xanax stopped working.
When it did work, it worked for a few moments.

In 2023, I have severe OCD and severe anxiety.
I have an enormous amount of trouble functioing.moving around and doing things.
There are times when I cannot physically move. At times it feels like I am paralyzed.
 
As I aged I developed a strange sort of depression. I would awaken at night feeling depressed, making it hard to get back to sleep. These feelings only happened while sleeping, not during the day. Doctor put me on Trazodone to be taken only at bed time. Two benefits, one it’s prescribed to some people just as a sleeping pill (for which it is helpful) and for some as a remedy for my night depression episodes, for which it instantly worked 100%.
 
My anxiety is bad too. I can't take the Buspar anymore. It kept doing things to my heart and making me feel like I was gonna drop dead. I take Hydroxizine only. They started me on Xanax and Lexapro in like child doses. Couldn't take them either.

I do breathing exercises when I have really bad anxiety. Also the noise level at work gets bad enough I have to put in ear plugs to drown it down some so I'm not going crazy. Hang in there gal!
 
I have suffered anxiety and panic attacks all my life. I did go thru treatment that included cognitive therapy. It really helped. I still struggle and I do need Zanax sometimes. I am very careful. I only use it when I really have to, when I can't get a grip on myself. The last script of 30 lasted 11 months. It is a last resort after trying my best.
 
hearlady said:
Sorry you're going through this @MissRJ . Keep trying and hopefully you'll find some help. 💐
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I am not surprised that the mental health help that I have is inadequate and lousy.
I have never had a high opinion of those people and the way inwhich the system works.
About one week ago, I left a medication messsage for the nurse.
He never responded.
Of course,there is the mental health's favorite old and over used standby. That is call 911 and go into your local hospital's emergency room.
 
our mental health providers are lacking in decent care here too. many of the psyche patients get sent out of town. no clue how they get home later.

have you been this way your whole life?
 
Wednesday,11/22/2023
I have a severe OCD and anxiety illness.

Brief Summary:
It took me over 2 hours to write 3 checks. It was more than the OCD.
My hand kept shaking and I literally could not write legible or well enough for the check to be acceptable by banking standards.
My handwriting was not good because of the effects of anxiety and my hand was physically shaking.
No matter how much I tried I could not force myself to write better(or well).
Then came the additional counting. Then came the additional amounts of time I kept putting the stuff away. And Etc.
 
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I am so sorry that you are struggling. I do not have OCD but writing a check is hard for me as well. It is like I have forgotten how to write. I switched almost everything over to bill pay on the computer because it is so much easier for me. I know it might take a while but when you can work on a easier system to keep up with the paperwork. If you can it might be better to switch over to do these things on the computer. It has saved a lot of time and anxiety for me.. Now I just pay the bill and stick it in the folder for that payee. I can go there if I need to review anything.
 
Hi @MissRJ I too have OCD and depression and anxiety that fluctuates in severity. I am currently taking 40 mg. Prozac and 150 mg. Bupropion plus a low dose of Risperidone that relaxes me and puts me to sleep. I also take Gabapentin for anxiety and neuropathy. I have gone through the ringer with all the meds I've tried that did not work or made the OCD worse. I agree it's hard to find the best prescribers and mental health workers.

I have a new psychiatrist now and last time I talked to her she got mad at me and practically yelled at me for not going in to the appointment and wanting a phone appointment because I have a dog with health problems and I want to be with her now. My dog seems to be better for me than all the mental health people and medicines! I am mostly tired all the time because of all the meds even though they help somewhat.

I hope you find some support and answers here at the forums.
 


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