Spouse Stress/Anxiety Condition

[Zim]

Does anyone have a spouse with a serious stress/anxiety condition? I am beginning to wonder if my hunting/fishing activities are permanently over. My wife is 62 and just developed this condition which we are trying to address if a psychiatrist ever becomes available near us. Was finally able to move up to tomorrow for an initial visit, after multiple trips to the ER & mental health facilities. She was perfectly normal until 9 months ago, then the strange behavior began. It comes and goes. She was in a hospital for a week in China. I got her back in the US 4/26 where she was normal for two months. Then symptoms returned. Severe chest discomfort, short breath, cannot walk, lost 10 pounds. They brought her back to normal twice at the ER, only to return to near paralyzed the next day. I know if a psychiatrist ever sees her, they should be able to stabilize her eventually. But I'm wondering if any of you had a spouse with this type condition. And if so, were the meds good enough to stabilize her to where you were able to leave her home alone while you went on a hunting trip? I invested a lot over the years. Have as many as 30 points built up in seven states. Now educating myself on this condition, wondering if it's realistic for me to go anywhere. Very curious what is reasonable to expect when it comes to treatment. Thx.

 

[kodiakisland]

I’m a clinical pharmacist in infectious disease but you can pm me if you want to about specific issues. I do a little psych medicine but not much. Usually you see these issues in the 20s and not so much later unless there are underlying issues. Best of luck to you as I know it’s very frustrating for both of you.

As far as the gone from home or risk management issues, yes, I have a spouse with some severe anxiety issues at times and have had to make accommodations to be gone for weeks at a time, but also have family within a mile from home that can help.

 

[jimh406]

No, my spouse isn't in that condition. However, there is more and more coming out that says mental state and nutrition can be related. I think I'd look into a Holistic Doctor and do a full blood workup.

Good luck.

 

[Hawk Tuah]

I'd find a functional medicine doctor to look more deeply into it.

A psychiatrist could certainly help, but they'll use drugs to mask the symptoms. This can be effective.

A functional med doctor will try to treat the cause if he can find it. They deep dive into blood, stool etc, but can often figure out if there is an underlying issue.

 

[TOGIE]

I have a friend (neighbor) with fairly severe anxiety-panic spectrum disorder and associated agoraphobia.

He's been in and out of doctors with vestibular migraine issues, regular migraine issues, severe fatigue, ocular migraine issues, chronic sleep issues. He's had all the scans, all the blood work up, the sleep studies. He's been to neurologists, psychiatrists, primary care doctors, therapists, cardiovascular specialists, functional medicine doctors and EVERY doctor he's seen has said basically the same thing: functionally, medically, there is nothing wrong with you, these are physical manifestations of severe anxiety.

He's been at this for like 7-10 years trying basically everything under the sun but traditional meds and he's finally starting to accept that meds have to be a part of the solution.

Psychiatric meds don't mask the symptoms of legitimate psychiatric disorders, they physicially address the issue and traditional therapy is impossible until you re-balance that chemistry.

Sometimes that chemistry can see some rebalancing with functional medicine, nutrition, exercise, etc. Sometimes maybe even cure the issue. But it is so dependent on the actual cause of the chemical imbalance in the brain. For some, functional medicine is a savior. For others, it simply has to be SSRI's.

Evaluate every option.

 

[FamilyMan]

Having been down the mental health road with family members all I can say is remain supportive, remind her often that you love her the way she is, and seek help for yourself as well as for her. There are no quick fixes.