When I posted “Ode to Anxiety,” I received so many great responses from others dealing with the same issues. Since this is a journey, I figured I would fill you in on the crazy week I’ve had in trying to reduce my anxiety. Spoiler alert: It didn’t work.
I decided to make an appointment with a psychiatrist because although I’m not one to take medicine, I figured if I needed a low dosage of something then at least it would be available to me. What I imagined would happen is this: I would talk out my worries, she would explain the reasons why anxiety happens and help me build coping skills and then maybe prescribe a medication.
Instead, I paid $100 to fill out a bunch of paperwork, tell her my symptoms, and for her to give me the official label of “Generalized Anxiety Disorder.” Then, she prescribed me a low dosage (7.5mg twice daily) anxiety medicine called Buspirone and sent me on my way.
I started taking the medicine Friday night. On Saturday, my daughter had a dance recital so I was non-stop. At the recital, I got a lemon shake up and noticed that I had a semi-hard-time grasping the straw with my lips. But again, it was a busy day, my daughter was amazing (of course), and soon it was over.
On Sunday, I noticed my smile didn’t look right. The right side of my mouth wasn’t lifting. Then, I realized my right eyebrow wasn’t rising, the right side of my nose wasn’t scrunching, and my right eye was very irritated. I did a bunch of research and realized that I had symptoms of Bell’s palsy or face paralysis. I was kind of freaking out by this point but read that it usually goes away on its own. Sometimes, it doesn’t go away at all… I figured it was from all the dental work I had a few weeks ago.
On Monday, I took one more dose of of the anxiety medicine, but later in the day I started thinking: could the Bell’s palsy possibly be related to this medication that the psychiatrist assured me had the fewest side-effects out of any medicines she prescribes? I Googled “Buspirone and Bell’s palsy” and found this study that was published a mere 3 weeks ago.
“5,777 people reported to have side effects when taking Buspirone hcl.
Among them, 7 people (0.12%) have Bell’s palsy.”
I stopped taking the medicine.
Could I be part of the 0.01% effected in this way? Possibly. A few years ago when I had some gastro issues going on, the Immediate Care physician gave me Reglan. I got lockjaw. I did some research and found that a small percentage of people have gotten PERMENANT lockjaw from that medication. I could have spent the rest of my life eating through a tube because of one dosage of medication.
Finally, on Tuesday morning I came to my senses and decided to call the psychiatrist. She asked me to do a video televisit so that she could see my face. After doing a facial movement test and me sharing the information I found online, she told me to go to Immediate Care. So I did.
There, the doctor said there was a chance I could be having a stroke (panic attack, anyone?!) so I did a CAT Scan. The best news I got all day is that my brain is “unremarkable.” But the doctor then told me a still have a long road ahead of me. A week of a high dosage of prednisone and an antiviral medication, physical therapy, among other specialists if necessary.
After it was all said and done, I paid $100 for a diagnosis and Bell’s palsy. Then, the psychiatrist sent me a $45 for the televisit…. the one in which I asked if the medicine she prescribed me possibly caused me permanent damage. The one in which I shared with her the research study I found online.
So, have my anxiety levels gone down this week? NO. They are off the charts right now. Let’s just say that at this point I’m giving up on modern medicine.
Literally. Since yesterday, I’ve done a lot of research on holistic treatments for anxiety. I downloaded an app called Sanvello that does what I thought the psychiatrist would do. It explains WHY anxiety happens and gives a ton of coping strategies for dealing with it. I’ve started to do short meditations and I’ve amped up my vitamin intake. I’m also beginning Ashwagandha supplements as soon as they arrive via Amazon. (More info on Ashwagandha here.)
My health plan has changed drastically in the past few days, but I feel a lot better about this one. I’m optimistic that the problems I’m experiencing will right themselves and I’ll soon by on my way to a healthier life.
In the past week, I’ve learned more than I ever wanted to know about anxiety and the treatment plans available. I talked with an acquaintance about all this and she confided in me that she has known two people that committed suicide after taking, changing, and/or stopping anxiety/depression medication.
And this is why I post these things. We need to learn from each other’s mistakes and successes.
Have you ever had adverse effects to medication?
Have you found some holistic methods that help with any health problems, including anxiety?
