Rough Time For Me — Need Medical Advice

Hi all,

Unfortunately my wife was diagnosed with breast cancer today.
So we have to fight another battle besides the dog whistles in my head.
I am relatively relaxed (as relaxed as someone could be in such a situation) at the moment because of taking a 1 mg Tavor (Alprazolam). I always tried staying away from benzos, but before I make crazy things, I took a pill.

Of course I will discuss this with my GP and psychiatrist tomorrow.
But would like to know, what you take against anxiety (which dose, how often per day and how long).
I will try going through this by talking and CBT. But I think I need some support by medication.

At the moment, I take 45 mg Remeron during the night.

Thanks all of you.
Martin

 

I am so very sorry Martin ,was hoping for good news for your wife and yourself this week .
Take what you need to ,see what dr puts forward for you both . I'm not up on those pills ,but see what others suggest .
Let us know how things go for you both .Your in our family now ,so were all concerned okay .thats your wife to Martin .wish we could do more than support .maybe there is ,if so just ask . Biggest of hugs to you both XX

 

I have only just started this unwanted journey, but I was prescribed Propranolol 40mg for Anxiety. Half a tablet 3 times a day for a week, then whole tablets. I started today, it has helped a little , however the effect is mild but I am told side effects are very minimal.

Breast Cancer has a good survival rate, try to hang on to that to keep the dark thoughts at bay.

 

Sorry to hear about your wife Martin I too was hoping you'd hear good news. Only thing I take is 22.5 of Remeron (pill and a half) and if things get a little out of control I also take Ativan when needed. I also take Ambien for sleep......One thing I've been noticing lately is that my mood is much better and more stable if I stay away from alcohol..... If I go out for couple days and drink with friends it tends to give me deep depression the following days so I need to be careful with that.

 

Thanks Carlos.
Yes, Ativan is the same as Tavor
I take as needed and I hope I don't need too many.

 

Hi @Martin69: I am sending healing prayers, and lighting a candle at home, for you and your wife. I hope when you look at your wife, she will see the glow of that candle in your eyes, a reflection of your love for her. You have each other, which is everything.

So, as to what I take for anxiety: the same thing as you, alprazolam (called Xanax in the US). It is one of the fastest acting benzodiazepines and also exits your body very quickly. For this reason, they are the drug of choice for panic and acute anxiety.

Benzos need to be treated with respect; it is easy for your body to become dependent on them and always should be used under a doctor's (preferably a psychiatrist) supervision. You should take the smallest dose possible that works for you and never just stop them cold turkey --it usually requires a withdrawal taper that your doctor will help you with. I found it helped that my doctor gave dose parameters; he said you should take at least this much for it to be effective but don't take more than this without consulting me.

While you will see a lot of negative comments about benzos here, I found them to be a lifesaver when I developed panic. I used them daily for about a nine months, slowly reducing my dose over time. Now, 14 months later, I take a very small dose during the day very, very, very rarely (usually when I am doing something extremely stressful, like taking a plane flight), and use a small dose at night (.5 mg).

 

Thanks LadyDi.
I am living now with anxiety for about twelve months, but I was able controlling it. Hell on earth.
Last two days, I was in suicidal mode and when we got the diagnose today, I was ready to explode with tension and anxiety. 1 mg of Tavor (lorazepam) brought me completely down for now 10 hours. I felt myself again and could function.
But dropping a benzo every day is not what I am looking for. But I need something going through the rough waves the next months. So I am looking for an anxyolytic med which takes the edges off.
Will discuss with my docs tomorrow.

 

Thanks Carlos.
I never touch alcohol, so no problem for me.

 

My advice is to tell yourself exactly what I tell myself every morning:

KEEP IT SIMPLE

Easier said than done, I know. But that's what I'd strive for.

Dr. Stephen Nagler

 

Im so sorry martin to hear bout your wife, but like others said the survival rate is great.. Keep positive, she will be just fine.. As for your anxiety, do what you gott do to feel okay each day.. Lots are against benzos but if you way the pros and cons of being on them compared to not being on them through difficult times, in reality, stress and anxiety untreated puts more damage on your body and takes its toll. So i say while your going through this difficult time, take it day by day if you need one take one.. Cause not doing anything at all is not good. Ofcorse others can disagree saying well instead of taking one you can do this or that, but not everyone works the same way.. Get any relief you can get.. And cbt sounds like a good idea too.

 

Martin so sorry to hear about your wife and pray for you both during this new challenge.

 

Stephen, what do you mean by that?
My life is not really simple at the moment.

 

Yes. Taking a tavor today gave me 10 hours relief. It was a relief, although the news were so bad today.
I will try getting an anxyolytic which is not that addictive.
My anxiety today I thought I will explode.

 

Thank you.

 

Hello Martin, sorry to hear about your wife, there is good survival rate..Hang in there !Praying for you and your wife.
You both will get through this.

 

Martin let's not jump into catastrophic thinking before final diagnosis - when will you know what stage the cancer is on? Early stages - the survival rates are superb.

And take the pills without a second thought. You feel like exploding, i know the feeling. They help - don't suffer. Benzos are indeed for short-term usage but right now you need them period. If anxiety continues, AD's are always an option, and when they kick in you get rid of the benzos.

 

What I mean by KEEP IT SIMPLE is to keep it as simple as you can under the circumstances. Prioritize and try to minimize clutter. If you keep asking for advice in various boards, you'll get a ton of it for sure - much of it excellent. But after a point even excellent advice adds clutter as you inevitably fall victim to sensory overload.

So back off, prioritize, and keep your eye on the ball. Which for right now is your wife and her well-being. You are seeing a couple of docs tomorrow and will soon be starting CBT. So beyond those important steps you should focus your time and efforts on her needs rather than yours.

That's how I see it, anyway.

Dr. Stephen Nagler

 

My dear friend @Martin69

I am speechless at the moment...and sad, utterly sad... It is so unfair...

But then again, this is not the message I want you to understand...

Martin, you are a fighter. And today more than ever, you have to fight for what is worth it. Your wife needs you. Your attention needs to be focused on helping her go throught this... it's ok to take meds...they exist to help you!!

I am 100% sure that you can go throught this...I want you to reach deep down inside of your soul and find what's there to fight!!

We are all here for you!! When you are sad, when you want to give up...don't!!! And come on here and talk to us...

In a year, I want to read that your wife has recovered and is doing good and that you are too... though times are coming but you can do it...

From my heart to yours... big hugs!!!

 

Thank you Anne-Marie.
It is really the deepest, deepest point in my life.
A survival game for me, my wife and my family.
T took my energy for a year now. And now my wife needs me.
Depressed, high anxiety, ultra high-pitched T. This is horror.
Took vacation. Still in bed at 9:40.
But it feels better being in bed than stumbling through the world.
Nevertheless will push me now out going to my doc getting something to calm me down.

 

I would say: discuss your options with your doctors, if the current medication is giving you such a good relief you may want to stick with it but under your doctors supervision.
Whatever floats your boat for the time being.

 

@Martin69 One day at a time... every day that you go throught is like winning a small battle.
Never lose hope... if this is the deepest point of your life, things can only improve.

My toughts are with you often.

AM

 

Hello Martin. Haven't been very active on this thread but I have been thinking about you and your wife. What kind of treatment will she be receiving? A quite well known Estonian singer recently suffered from breastcancer as well. She got treated in Germany in Bad Sonen in a private clinic called Main-Taunus. She is in her early 40s and currently cancer free. Private clinics are of course very expensive but maybe it still helps.
And I agree with the above stated that it has a good survival rate. Nowadays cancer is definitely not a death diagnoses.

 

Hi Stina.
Thanks for your kind words.
As I have learned in the meantime, there are three treatments for breast cancer: Antibody, hormones and chemo. Her cancer can be treated with antibody therapy. So currently she gets two infusions every three weeks. Thats all. Amazing. Very little side effects.
But after the treatment is finished, they need to operate and remove most probably the left breast. But we don't know yet for sure. Surviving is of course more important than a breast. But you know what this means for a women.
Thanks for the suggestions of the hospital. We live in Essen and her the hospital is one of the leading and certified breast centers in Germany. So we have the best docs available.
We hope for the best.
It's a very difficult and tough time for us.
Take care,
Martin

 

Martin, wish your wife's treatment goes well and hope your situation is more stable. I am not a drug expert, but in my years of anxiety and panic disorders, I used Ativan, Xanax, ADs and the benzos got faced out slowly after a while. Every time I had episodes of panic attacks, I just repeat the process. I heard Klonopin is longer lasting than Ativan, but I don't know if it is available in Canada. The last time I mentioned that name, my doctor didn't seem to know what I am talking about but he knows Ativan & Xanax.

 

@Martin69

I hope the best for you and family. My heart goes out to you and your wife.

It's easy to say but at times like this the hardest to do but stay strong and know we support you here as always.

Larry

 

Saying a prayer for you and your family. Hope you both start feeling better soon and take care of each other.

 

Hi Billie.

Yes, never thought we will have such a rough and difficult time.
My wife is in good shape and more or less stable from psychological side.
I hope she will be fine at the end. Otherwise I cannot guarantee for anything.

I myself can say that things vary. From the past 7 days including today, my T was a little bit milder. I can say, it was my best week since T onset. Only two days were pure horror. On Friday, I had multiple high-pitched tones, loud and oscillating. It was so freaking loud and high, unbelievable. If I would had a gun in my hand...
I really don't know why T behaves so strange. On the long run, if my T would be on two days bad and five days milder, I would kindly take that. Problem is also the depression and anxiety. Those a really bad monsters.

I have Tavor here, which is lorazepam. On really bad moments, it helps me to calm down. I took only 5-6 pills in about 13 months. Absolutely amazing if I think about the anxiety I have oftentimes.

Stoyan, Rob and Greg help me a lot. I can definitely say that loudness matters. On days like today, I do not mask much and whenever a bad thought catches me, I distract myself with audio books, video games or challenge my thoughts. But trust me, and you know what I am talking about. On days where T cuts through my head like a knife through butter, it is pure survival game.

 

@Martin69

you really do have more than your fair share of things to cope with! I feel for you and your wife and family.
Just an idea but have you thought about trying agar-35 and bimhala to ease your anxiety and help with sleep and some on here have said that it has also reduced their T quite a lot after some days use.
There are several links of where to buy it but you cannot get it from amazon.com cos they dont ship it to europe. However there are 2 sites that do send it - the cheapest being the himalayan site.
It is under thread tibetan medicine but you can also access the thread thru EngineerLA or FongBao or JimH of the top of my head.
Just thought this may be better for you than piling up more chemicals in your body....if you want and dont want chemicals.
Anyhow, if there is anything that i can help with or any links that you may need, please dont hesitate to ask
thinking of you

 

Hi Amandine,
Yes I follow the that thread closely.
And I already checked if I could get Agar-35 and Semde (if I remember correctly) here in Germany. But haven't found a shop here. But I would definitely try. Even a volume reduction of 20-30% would be great (for everybody).
I myself take one NAC pill in the morning, enzymes and in the evening Magnesium. Chemistry I take is one AD (Remeron).
So if you have any links where to get Agar in Germany or Europe, please let me know.
All the best for you,
Martin

 

@Martin69

Here is the link to the cheapest website for us in europe to get it. They sell agar 35 and bimhala. I thought that should take agar 35 with semde but am being told can take it with bimhala....
Anyhow this website sells agar 35 and bimhala - apparantly in the balls form as opposed to pills. Need to chew and then swallow with lots of water.
Seems 2 agar 35 at night unless you are a bigger chap like over 200 pounds or so in which case might be better to take 3 agar 35 at night. Please go and have a look at the thread and also ask EngineerLA and FongBao - the website is http://www.himalayanremedies.com it is 20 dollars usa for 60 ball tabs at 30 grams total. Delivery is 5 dollars usa for first bottle and 2 dollars for each subsequent bottle.
Please if you work out the riddle of whether to take bimhala or semde with agar 35, please do tell me.
EngineerLA said I think to take bimhala with it as did Patrick I believe.
I am just confused between the two of bimhala and semde.......?? and this site does not sell semde but only bimhala and agar 35.
There is another site that sells it too and ships to europe but is more expensive charging 11.95 dollars usa for delivery and 50 tabs in bottle. This site http://www.siddhienergetics.com

@Danny Boy ordered from them (himalayan remedies) and he said arrived quickly. He said the balls had a strong taste but not too bad. However he is not using it as he is using trobalt now so wont know the difference. Patrick on the thread also purchased from here too and he says fine and gives a good report....

If there is anything else I can help with please do let me know
Also if you can suss out the riddle between semde and bimhala please do tell me too...?
thinking of you