tense and stiff

[KOKO23CAT]

hi guys,
want to start by saying thanks for everyone who talked me out of thinking i had parkinsons disease a few days ago, clearly i don't because the tremor in my thumb disappears when ever i'm not thinking about it! i knew it was ridculous at the time but i couldn't stop my mind racing. to be honest it still is. i just feel that i can't relax, my hands feel stiff and i keep getting what feels like little pulses all over my body. does anyone else have a permanent headache? (it did cross my mind earlier today that i had a brain tumour!) i was driving my daughter to the farm and i drove right past it without noticing. i feel all over the place i feel weak and drained and although i know deep down its just anxiety my mind just won't shut up. my hands are shaking now and i justwant to cry all the time. i don't feel myself. i came off cipralex in november and its taking all my resolve not to go running back.

[rea]

hi there,
i've also been getting tremors in my thumbs and my right hand is so stiff sometimes it's hard to use it and everything seems like an effort. My whole body feels stiff and rigid and whatever I do to try and relax it doesn't help. I've been trying all different herbal things even Kava which also doesn't seem to have much benefit. My doctor gave me propanolol (which hasn't helped at all) and said if my symptoms persist to go back for something else but that scares me because I keep hearing bad things about things like valium etc... but the doctor did say that all these tense symptoms are a result of anxiety and nothing more sinister, but I like you initially thought I had something like parkinsons........

[thriver]

Cipralex is an SSRI. If I go too long between doses of my SSRI, I get electrical shock-like sensations. That is NOT what's keeping me on the drug -- the benefits are -- but it can take a good while for your body to get used to life without a particular drug. Is there a reason you discontinued your Cipralex? If it was causing more harm than good then fine, but I'm not a firm believer in discontinuation just to "get off drugs."

Anxiety will definitely cause tenseness! I've done biofeedback, which I recommend, to learn how to relax. Massage is excellent, as is aromatherapy. Chamomile tea? Send your body loads of comfort.... what about hugs? Really!

Learn to recognise when you're really tense (I tense up without realising it) and work on relaxation. I've found relaxation tapes to be wonderful if you get the right one for you.

There's nothing to be scared of about medication. Concern yes, fear no.

[seeker]

Hello thriver,
cAn i ask where you did the biofeedback? It's something I am really interested inj, but couldn't find anywhere to do it in the uk. Thanks
Seeker!

[thriver]

I did mine in the US, but it's available in the UK, though I don't know if you could get it on the NHS. For example:

http://www.biofeedbackclinic.org/

[seeker]

thanks for that Thriver - it looks really interesting!

[KOKO23CAT]

thanks for repling guys. my thumb has calmed down now so i seem to have gone off the idea of parkinsons! Thriver, i decided to come of cipralex because i wanted to have another baby. i think there was also a part of me that just wanted to be off them as well though to be honest. we've decided not to have another baby in the near future now though. i've given myself a time limit, if i still feel this bad in march then i'll look to go back on them. that gives me 6 months to get used to them again before my wedding in august. i would really rather not though. at least i know everything thats going n is me and not caused by meds. i've asked my doctor to refer me back to cbt but that could take months!