For my friend.........

[verity]

Ok I promised my friend I would post on here to ask for some advice for him......as he hasnt been up to posting...so here I go

He has anxiety and it seems to be quite a constant thing, but it does get worse in the evening. He has been going through a lot of meds, he was on citalopram and escitalpram they didnt work, then mirtazipine - that made him a lot worse and gave him terrible side effects now they are trying a small dose of Olanzipine.. its early days yet to see if this works.. and also at present has to take zopiclone to sleep (sorry if I have spelt any of these meds wrong lol)

He finds it hard to go out and is developing symptoms of agoraphobia, he tries to go out everyday if he can locally but often feels like unreal, legs go wobbly and cant walk properly and gets constant head and neck aches which painkillers are not relieving.

Also he has an eye condition called floaters which means he constantly sees like black things in his field of vision that whizz around in his right eye..sorry wasnt sure how to explain that..that has increased his anxiety greatly..nhs will not do op even though he took letter from mental health team saying how it effects him psycholoically and private op costs a lot!

I think advice on how to handle the anx symptoms when he goes out and any headache relief advice would be most useful...he wants to get his life back..and if anyone knows or has any advice on how to deal with the emotional effects of eye floaters...

Thanks in advance for your replies xx :)

[blueangel]

Hi Verity

I'm really sorry to hear that your friend is suffering at the moment, particularly as he's not feeling up to coming on here, as he might find it helpful.

For what it's worth, I think it's worth persisting with trying to fight the agoraphobia, as my partner's mum has it quite severely and finds it very hard to leave the house these days.

It seems to have got much worse with avoidance. With her, it seemed to start with crowded public places (e.g. cinemas), but over the years has extended to all sorts of things, and now she only rarely leaves the village that she lives in, unless it's to do things like go to the doctor or dentist; the internet makes it possible for her to do all her shopping online, so ironically I think it has actually made her worse as it's easy to avoid going out.

Is your friend having any form of couselling or CBT? If he is having a hard time with the meds, then these might help instead - and of course, there is the school of thought that the medication only treats the symptoms and not the cause (but for some people, they can help you find stability whilst you sort the rest of yourself out).

As for the floaters, I've never heard of there being any sort of corrective surgery for them. I've had them for years myself, and so have a lot of the others on here. Please tell your friend they're absolutely harmless - if I concentrate on them, I can see them now, and I've had them for about 25 years (and I'm still alive!). for me, the trick is to look past them - they're still there, and always will be, but if I look at the world outside and not the floaters, they become less prominent and you can ignore them.

He probably needs to have a chat with his doctor about the headache relief, as I know you can get problems from taking painkillers constantly (I think they're called "rebound headaches" if I remember rightly). Anxiety is a major cause of headaches, but they can also be caused by other easy to remedy problems like sinusitis, badly-aligned teeth and eyestrain.

Hope this is helpful....

[verity]

Hi blueangel and thanks so much for your reply,

Yes I think therapy would help him greatly if he can get some, but nhs is pretty rubbish where we are. Only option he might have is something either very low cost or telephone counselling. Yeah our mental health team is terrible.
He does try to go out everyday so thats a good thing but only goes out local at the moment unless he really has to go somewhere like an appointment much like your mum.
Also I am very surprised to hear that you also have floaters! and so do others on here! I think that would hopefully make him feel less alone with the condition.
He knows they are harmless and that is the reason the nhs will not do the op. It is possible privately but it does cost thousands!!! The op does carry risks though - he is a member of One Clear Vision - have you heard of them? They seem to be quite a new charity that are trying to give support and encourage research into the condition.
He's floaters as far as I am aware are quite severe and he finds that he cannot look past them or concentrate properly with them and this has lead to him becoming quite ill. I dont know a great deal about the condition as I guess unless you have it you will not truely know what it is like. Its heartening to know that you have been able to deal with them psychologically! I think I would be good for him to speak to others with floaters to feel less isolated I will suggest this to him anyway.
And yes I have heard of rebound headaches! This has happened to my mum with taking codine on a regular basis, so I will warn him of this with regards to the pain killers he is taking
To be honest I think some sort of Physical therapy or massage might help??
Again thank you so much for your reply it is greatly appriciated

Godbless
Verity
xxx

[atki]

i have tried cognitive behavioural therapy which is supposed to be best for anxiety/agorophobia. i had panic attacks which led to agorophobia. i work full time and do some 'normal' things but have good and bad days (the moment being bad) i had to pay for my counslling as a the waiting list where i live is 2 years long. i find this website really helpful. oly found it a couple of days ago but its good to read how other people are feeling etc because when you have it you feel alone even though you have your friends and family. Your friend doesnt need to write anything he can just come on here and read other peoples stories, its worth a go. he can also get some advice and stuff. your a good friend to have around!

[verity]

Thanks atki

Yes Im having counselling and do find it very helpful..and I also pay for it otherwise the waiting list was a year but that was for Psychodynamic Psychotherapy and I didnt feel that was what I needed.

He has posted a few bits but it seems lately he is well getting quite depressed so cannot always seem to focus on stuff.

I do hope I am a good friend as to be honest at the moment I feel useless.. I know I have been in such a bad place before and I couldnt take anything anyone said in. I was just within my own feelings and totally consumed..but I pulled through and so much thanks to you guys on here too!

Godbless :hugs:

Verity
xxx

[blueangel]

Hi again Verity

If you have a browse around this site, i think you'll find that floaters are very common indeed.

It does sounds as though some sort of complimentary/alternative therapies might help your friend, as often it's the psychological effects of treatment that seem to help the most, particularly when you are dealing with something as multi-faceted and complex as the mind.

Do get him to have a look at the site, as it might help him to realise that he's not alone.

[iwillgetbetter]

Hi there, I can understand what your friend is going through to some extent as I also have constant neck pain which nothing seems to relieve. I have social anxiety too but am able to live a fairly 'normal' life (on the surface anyway). It's great that he's got you to confide in, it must be a big help. I've never been able to speak to anyone properly about my illness, which probably doesn't help. It's worth ringing around and searching on the net for free CBT in your area, as my doctor told me it wasn't available on the NHS but it turned out not to be the case and I only had to wait 2 weeks for an appointment. There are lots of books on it as well, if you look on amazon you can see reviews of the best ones, then get them for free from the library. All the best x