Posted by jwpaine on October 26, 2011, at 15:22:35
Hello, all! I posted here a few years back, but I'm still battling anxiety and was hoping that someone may have other suggestions in terms of medications to try. Here is a case that I have put together that I hope provides a decent amount of information:
24, Male
1-Describe your main suffering?
main suffering is the flushing of the face when in social situations.2-What other physical sufferings do (did) you have in your body?
Stomach Knotting at 5 years old (Colon and Intestine were tangled and 3 or so feet of Intestine had to be removed)
3-What mental sufferings / feelings do you have associated with your physical sufferings?
Fear of facial blushing I blush easily and fear blushing all the time. I fear meeting with people, being in public places and around people where social interaction might cause me to flush. I am always worrying if people are noticing my face get red, which in tern makes the flushing worse from this negative thought pattern. If I'm out to dinner or something and can't easily excuse myself, I might start sweating and as no one else is sweating, I become more anxious. I'll generally order spicy food so if I start sweating from anxiety, I'll blame it on the food.
4-What exactly do you feel when you are at your worst?
I feel hopeless and lack confidence when at my worst
5-When did it all start? Can you connect it to any past event or disease?
It started (about) 5 years ago, during my senior year of high school. I cannot remember any traumatic event or the like that would cause anxiety around this time. I remember having to 'excuse' myself almost every day when in class, because my face wouldn't stop being red from the anxiety of sitting around peers who I felt were judging me. At this time I wasn't very social, and I spent most of my time down in the computer lab as a student tech...Working down there gave me the foundation for where I am right now as a computer science student, but I isolated myself greatly while being down there.
6-Which time of the day you are worst?
I appear to be worse as the day goes on or in periods with interaction of people as i blush/flush easily. Much worse later in the day. Warm rooms make it worse. Very minimal flushing while outside on a chill day. I goto the gym everyday, and while I am lifting weights and a couple of hours afterwards, I have almost 0 anxiety...there could be a bunch of people in the room with me right now and I wouldn't be worrying about my face flushing.... this euphoric feeling after lifting weights subsides and I'll become very anxious again.7. What are the things which aggravate your suffering and which are those which ameliorate the same?
Aggravations include exposure to warm temperature. I cant tolerate a warm room if I am in the company of others. Cold air is welcomed after periods of being in a warm room. Even a small change in temperature can provoke my symptoms. Also if I am not expecting to see someone, and they knock on my door, or I am surprised to see someone I know in the supermarket, the flushing is worse.8. Do your think your sufferings have relation to any external stimuli (like, change of place) or any internal biological changes in the body, like, menses (in females)?
Not sure9. When do you feel better, during hot weather or cold weather, humid or dry weather?
Feel better during cold, dry weather. If I'm in a warm room the flushing is worse and it also may cause me to sweat and increase paranoia that people are judging me for sweating.
10. Describe your general mental set up? Are you Moody, Arrogant, Mild, Agreeable Changeable, Nervous, Suspicious, Easily offended, Quiet, Nervous, Easily offended, annoyedI am a shy person who fears daily chores,nervous and anxious. I am extremely shy and blush easily while in the company of others and am always conscious of what other people are thinking of me.when around other people on a bus or train i cannot think and i continuously blush as i am always conscious of what everybody around is thinking of me and this makes me blush/flush.
18. How well do you sleep? Do you have a particular posture of sleeping?
I sleep decently, but I can't fall asleep at a decent hour without a sleeping aid. I take 0.4mg of clonodine each night...slowly trying to work off of this and onto melatonin19. Do you think you are able to satisfy your sexual desires in general?
No. I haven't had a girlfriend in a long time and it's hard to find one when I am anxious while being social.20. How do you think you are different from others, if at all?
I often feel that most other guys are better looking than me21. What medications have been taken earlier by you to treat the diseases and do you have any particular symptom surfacing after the medication?
I have been on a list of SSRIs, SNRIs and an MAOI, along with trying mood stabilizers:
Effexor, zoloft, gabapentin, abilify, Nardil, Risperdal, and a list of others of which I cannot remember, and none of which helped.
I am currently on Effexor, less for anxiety and more for mild depression...when I was off an SSRI I cried very easily. I also take clonodine at night for sleep.
Please advise
poster:jwpaine
thread:1000878
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20111016/msgs/1000878.html