Mom’s Anxiety

Hello,

I am reaching out today, because I am at the end of my rope, as well as with others in my family. I will give you a brief background story.

My mother is 66 years old and has been dealing with anxiety issues now for the past 6 months, however it may have started earlier.

In March of 2018, she found out that she would be a grandmother for the first time by way of my brother’s girlfriend, who she hates. In October of 2018, her mother (my grandmother) suffered a major heart attack and almost passed away. Her mother was in and out of the hospital and rehab facilities for roughly 6 months with my mom helping with the majority of items needed for her. In the spring of 2019, my brother (father of her new grandchild) suffered a panic attack and was admitted to the hospital that her ex-girlfriend works at and was coincidentally his nurse. My mom shows up and they almost got into a fist fight.

Not long after that, she started getting symptoms of anxiety. She is getting nervous all of the time, hot and cold flashes, cannot sleep, feels like her stomach is upset, crying a lot, asking weird questions about whether she was a good mother to us or not. She has been to the emergency room numerous times for symptoms and her PCP numerous times. They thought it could have been a thyroid issue, however tests came back negative. There is an appointment scheduled with a neurologist in December.

She has been prescribed to Xanax and Citalopram to my knowledge, which hasn’t helped. She is currently on Adavan, which is helping, but the PCP doesn’t want her to stay on it as she may become addicted to it.

Everyday is a struggle as she is still crying, constantly nervous, has stomach aches, and can’t sleep. Me and my dad are the only two trying to help at the moment and we are getting frustrated, because she was never like this ever. Any help anyone can give is much appreciated. Thank you!

I am so sorry to hear about all those stressors! That must be hard on all of you. (((safe hugs)))

Has your mom went through menopause?

Can you get a second opinion on the thyroid from an endocrinologist?

I hope the neurologist can find some answers.

Can your mom have an ob/gyn checkup, to make sure there is nothing going on in her reproductive system (like tumors) that may affect hormones, emotions, and her lashing out behaviors?

I am sure that the stress buildup contributes to her emotions, but if she has never reacted that way before, it sounds like something else is going on.

Ativan/lorazepam is addictive, but if that is helping, hopefully she can be on it until they figure out what the source is. If Xanax, etc. are not even helping, then it may be more than anxiety going on.

I hope you are able to self-care in all this. It must be hard for you to see all these stressors going on at close intervals. Take time to enjoy your own life each day, and many breaks between helping your mom and other family members.

Hi Lilly. Thank you for your kind thoughts and feedback. She has gone through menopause and beat breast cancer roughly 15 years ago.

I really don’t want to believe that there is anything serious wrong with her, because after numerous blood tests, urine tests, visits to the emergency room, nothing has come up. Hopefully the neurologist can find something out.

As far as a second opinion regarding the endocrinologist, that may be an option as well as visiting the ob/gyn. She is pretty good with getting check ups with all doctors, so I am not sure when the next date is to see them, but I will inquire.

Thanks again.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gracious1987 Hi Lilly. Thank you for your kind thoughts and feedback. She has gone through menopause and beat breast cancer roughly 15 years ago. I really don’t want to believe that there is anything serious wrong with her, because after numerous blood tests, urine tests, visits to the emergency room, nothing has come up. Hopefully the neurologist can find something out. As far as a second opinion regarding the endocrinologist, that may be an option as well as visiting the ob/gyn. She is pretty good with getting check ups with all doctors, so I am not sure when the next date is to see them, but I will inquire. Thanks again.

@Gracious1987 please keep us posted. (((safe hugs)))