FAQ/Anxiety, Panic Attacks, Stress & Adrenalin
Extreme anxiety, major depression, and fibromyalgia. Try Prometrium?
Tuesday, October 22, 2002
Question:
Help! I am 37 and have been suffering for just over a year now from a multitude of physical, nuerological, psychological and emotional disorders. Once a busy, high energy career professional working toward a doctorate degree, I am now disabled. I have been to see numerous physicians in the last year as well as visiting health food stores for nutritional advise and vitamin and herbal recommendations. What started out as inner-ear vertigo following airtravel with a sinus infection and a bruise on the right eardrum, lead to being diagnosed with extreme anxiety, major depression, and fibromyalgia.
In addition, I feel that perimenapause is a problem. My menstral cycle is all out of wack and I have a cyst on an ovary. I have constant headaches, vertigo, insomnia and memory loss, hair thinning, withering skin, aches in my neck/back/shoulders and constant fatigue and no energy. I feel brain dead and unable to make simple decisions for myself. I have been tried on numerous anti-depressants and tranquiliers which have made matters worse. My ob/gyn wants me to try prometrium. I have seen my G.P., nuerologists (to rule out M.S. - MRI and ENG), psychiatrists, rhematologists, and an ob/gyn, I am now seeing specialists at Stanford in various departments. Right now I am only taking antivan 1 to .5 mil. to try to help sleep at night. Nuerotin (sp.) has been mentioned as a drug that may help with sleep at night as well as daytime anxiety.
Are there any safe vitamin/herbal remedies that you would recommend to try to help get my health back on the road to recovery? It seems that each drug tried has brought on a new set of problems - vertigo, nausea, etc. Thank you for your help to try to get my brain and body back to the land of the living!
Dr. Roby Answers:
Prometrium would be almost the worst drug you could take. The only one worse, in my experience, would be DepoProvera. They are both progesterones and I think you are reacting to that hormone.
Many of your questions relating to fatigue, perimenopause and other symptoms are addressed in my section on Hormone Imbalance on my website. Please read that section. Let me know how much of that material applies to you. I can then address your specific questions much more efficiently.
But I urge you, do NOT take any kind of progesterone until you have read this.
Pounding pulse, headache, shortness of breath and occasionally severe fatigue also, acute anxiety, panic disorders, muscle pain, allergy problems
Friday, October 11, 2002
Question:I am a 32 yr. old male with a pounding pulse, headache, shortness of breath and occasionally sever fatigue also, I have acute anxiety, panic disorders, muscle pain and allergy problems. One year ago I was diagnosed with sacoidosis and more recently hashimotos thyroiditis (hypothyroidism) I have been on levothyoid for 3 week and still have the same symptoms. I have been to see so many doctors who just refer me to yet another specialist. I just want to feel better. Do my symptoms or diagnosis fall into your scope of practice? Can you help me feel well?
Dr Roby Answers:
Yes, I can help you. However, the better question is ...can you help yourself? By that I mean to say that people with these symptoms have been using adrenalin for their primary energy hormone most of their lives. As we get past our hormone prime we no longer have enough cortisol to soften the power bursts. We begin to use adrenalin more and more for allergy, energy and stress.
This causes huge imbalances and soon we have no reserve. As a result you have to use more and more adrenalin to accomplish the enormous tasks you set for yourself...thereby getting further and further into the adrenalin type of lifestyle.
We address it by examining your hormones and seeing where you are as to testosterone, cortisol, DHEA and thyroid. Then we try to put them back into balance. You will most likely be low on testosterone and DHEA. These can be supplemented. You can try to learn more stress control. Start exploring a very low carbohydrate diet...carbs are absolutely essential to run an adrenalin system. Avoid stress and stimulants...no caffeine, cigarettes, etcs.,.
Many of your questions relating to these and other symptoms are addressed in my section on "Hormone Imbalance" on my website. Please read that section. Let me know how much of that material applies to you. I can then address your specific questions much more efficiently. It was written for women but has the same application to men, particularly the hormone imbalance leading to adrenalin as a primary hormone.
|
