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anxiety

tishee
  • By tishee
  • Posted November 1, 2009 at 3:01 pm · 15 replies
  • In Symptoms
  • Shared with the public
0 Recommendations

Hi guys. Just curious if anybody out there has experienced panic attacks? I had them before, but since my diagnosis it has snowballed. I take 4 mgs of ativan (strong sedatrive) a day. On top of that I take dilaudid and have a deuralgesic patch. I was on vicodin and loritab, which does absolutely nothing. My tolerance is way high. It scares me that I am taking these drugs. Not doubt I am addicted, physically. I have had the "sarc monster" since April, and hopefully am looking forward to remission sometime soon. (70 percent of us supposibly do). I guess it will be off to rehab after that!!!

Explore topics in this discussion:

Motrin Arthritis Buspar Ibuprofen Ativan Lexapro Colchicine Vicodin Paxil Anxiety Pain Prozac Sarcoidosis Zoloft Xanax

15 replies

ke08

I can relate to the anxiety and panic attacks. I take Xanax .50 every 12 hours. It has helped me to cope with driving and going to work a great deal. It also take the edge of focusing on what wrong with me (which is a lot of things). I don't feel the urge to run to the ER as much. I been told that I have fibro and maybe sarc (have enlarged lymph nodes on chest CT scan and throat ultrasound). But I think I have sarc of the nervous system and sinuises ...everywhere:+(.

Have you ever tried Xanax? Do you like Ativan? Is it fast working? How long can you stay on it? I use vicodin as needed, I use to take a lot of motrin - for years (Doctors told me enough of the motrin:+).

But I think if it helps and the doctors are monitoring all of your meds, then so be it:+).

ttyl

mndharmon

I too struggle with anxiety. I get really nervous around large crowds or noisy environments. I take xanex at night for sleep and occasionally during the day if I get too anxious. I take Darvocet 3 times a day for pain. It is not working very well for me recently. I am concerned that I may have to go get something stronger. I really don't want to become addicted, if I am not already. I hear of a lot of people that have sarc get addicted because we can't live without our pain medication. This disease sucks and it tends to affect every aspect of our lives. It is just not fair to anyone, especially my family. My husband did not sign up for this and neither did my kids. It sucks.

Debbie

tishee

Funny you should ask. Before my sarc diagnosis back in April I took .25 3 times daily. (for many years). Personally I think you should stick with the xanax. It is much more of an "as needed", and works right away. I'm so sorry to hear about your dual diagnosis. Arent ya sick of going to all these doctors and specialitst!!!??? Take care!! TIsh

tishee

Darvocet is'nt too terribly addictive. Not that I am an expert, by my mom took it for rheumatism for years. That is your safest bet. If they do give you vicodin, you will build a resistance to that eventually. I am starting humira and hoping it will help. Good luck!! Know how you feel, I almost feel guilty. I hate to wine about how crappy I feel, but I can't help it!! Take care-TIsh

kmb

Hi, Tishee
I too suffer from panic attacks and general anxiety disorder. I take 1mg xanax per day (approx) it is on an as needed basis and i usually take .5mg at a time as a whole 1mg pill makes me too drowsy.
I am sorry to hear that you think you need to go to rehab once you hit remission.

I hope I can shed some light on using pain medication while suffering from sarcoidosis. I had sarc affect my stomach,esophagus, small intest.,small bowel, bladder(neuro),lungs, joints(one test suggested appenix) when I was orig. diagnosed in 2000.
I needed to use narcotic pain meds as well as my pain was out of control. I think you should know that if you were not an addict before beginning pain management you DONT have much chance of becoming one after. You are just PYSICALLY DEPENDENT on the meds and when you dont need them anymore you will be weened off of them slowly. Addiction is totally different, addicts lives deteriorate with narcotic use, pain patients should show improvement in their life while on medication. Unless you take your meds for fun you should have no need for rehab.

You should consider yourself fortunate to have a doctor who is compasionate and realizes that sarcoidosis can cause significant pain. It took me a couple years of agony to find a doctor who would help me. After I got better(I was in remission for about 5 yrs) I had no need for pain pills any longer. Its ok to need these meds, that is why they make them. This has been my experience and I hope it was helpful.

tishee

Thank you so much. You are right. I just am a little scared. Take care. Tish

Jemmyd

I have been treated for anxiety for 4-5 yrs now. I have been prescribed zoloft, paxil, and now am taking prozac 20mg. The prozac helps me a lot without all the mania caused by paxil. The ativan, is considered a narcotic and only put me to sleep. Vicodin is a painkiller, but is highly addictive because we have so much pain. I deal with the pain by taking hot baths and ibuprofen (high doses) and colchicine which prevents gouty arthritis symptoms like swelling fingers and toes.

tishee

Thats good. I took NSAID's for years (ibuprofen, lodeen, celebex ect. Ya gotta be careful too with those or you will end up with upper G.I. problems like me. Well it is all just a part of the catch 22 with sarcoid. Good luck. TIsh

Boxerlover

hey Tish, I too did the NSAID thing before being diagnosed and ended up with a stomach bleed. Those things are nasty. I have a great pain doc and am on the patch. I never had anxiety until I got sick. Now it can be pretty bad especially around my health stuff. I am upset at my PCP because she will give me nothing for it. She had me try some anti anxiety/depression med even though I am not depressed (per the psychologist I used to see) and all that did was take away the little sex drive I had and put 10 more pounds on me which I certainly didn't need. My pulmo said he will give me xanax, he just wants to wait until the next round of tests are in. So hopefully that will help.

Melissa

tishee

Xanax is your best bet. I have tried klonipin, xanax and every other benzo in the book. It will give you part of your life back. (it did for me). I get so pissed at the idiots who abuse this stuff (snorting, selling ect). because it is an amazing drug who has helped me greatly throughout the years. I never had luck with the buspar, zoloft or lexapro's unfortunately. Good luck your pulumonary md. is a good man/woman. Oddly enough my sarcoid is centered around my spleen and not my lungs. I feel like I have mono. (had in 22 years ago). and it just wont go away. Take Care, Tish

pamk

Valerian root also can help with anxiety. Research it and if you try it find a reputable herbal company since herbs and supplements are not regulated. There are other herb combinations that might be helpful as well. Kava kava is another one. You have to make sure they are not contraindicated with other medications you are taking.

sharz

Hi,
I have suffered with panic attacks for many years. Certainly when you are stressed, as anyone would be if you are in pain all the time will usually see the intensity of anxiety syptoms kick into high gear! I too wouldn't worry about addiction as much as controlling your anxiety with whatever means possible. For me the worst I ever suffered was when I was put on a beta blocker and it turned out my bodies reaction to the drug was literally a 24hour a day anxiety attack. So now I always consider new medications as a possible culprit. During the most stressful times I also learned to do bio feedback, relaxation techniques and I found that laying on one of those massage/vibrator chair pads was very comforting. Don't laugh...the vibrations distract you from the intense symptoms and allow your body to calm itself. They may sound like fluff, but I was able to wean myself off all meds and really only resort to ativan occationally or whenever flying! Good luck and Don't Worry!!

tishee

The predisone is what makes me nuts. I would wake up in the middle of the night and bake a cake. (and would eat it). Fortunately i stopped that. I am almost back to my pre predisone weight. It is bad enough being sick, but being fat is unacceptable. To make things worse I'm single.

tishee

I am on a pain patch too. What strength is yours. I am only on 2 12 which equals 24. (I'm a regular mathmatician). Last July I was on 50 mgs. Honestly, when I am am in the worst pain the best is when they gave my dilaudid in the i.v. My pills dont work the same. I have an appt. with my paid doctor and will see if there is something else. I hate to focus on the pain,, but I am not a yoga type person. I also miss jogging! I think I am becoming agoraphobic.

tishee

That's reassuring. I used to have a glass or three of wine before flying, but now that I am taking narcotics forget that. I am glad to hear you are doing better. It gives me hope.

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Help and information from FSR

Sarcoidosis and the Body
Sarcoidosis is a "multiorgan" disease - meaning it almost always involves more than one organ. It's unpredictable and affects different people in different ways.

You can learn about the ways in which sarcoidosis affects the body in FSR's Sarcoidosis and the Body brochure.

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