Depression and Anxiety at an older age

@mimi3blessings: I'm 87 yrs old, female, and have been taking Clonozapam for yrs. now. I usually take 1 pill, 0.5mg in the evening and have had no problems. If I'm very stressed ,I take 2 and it quiets my anxieties. I wouldn't be scared to take this med. if I were you unless you are prone to becoming addicted. I assume your doctor prescribed it and it works with your other meds. See if it helps. I'm new here too and trying to get familiar with things.

@parus- My husband needs an MRI too but his insurance co wont pay for it until he does xxx amount of weeks in PT. This is extremely dangerous because know one knows what's really wrong. And you are right @parus, it screws up your muscle memory. Insurance companies just don't want to pay for it. I think that right now all you can do is ride it out. Have you been able to see a rheumatologist? They specialize in such diseases as arthritis, etc. You are doing the right thing and if you need to take a break then do it, anything to help heal.

@parus Me too!

@merpreb Insurance will pay for an MRI. Thing is it is not safe because of the lead around my vagus nerve from the drat stimulator. I have regrouped. Discouraged but not giving up. Still looking for options.

@parus- of course, I forgot.

@ Merry: I guess I'm the "old bat" around here (87yrs), but I've had quite a few MRI's in my lifetime. I live in NYC and found I had a
problem with traditional MRI machines- claustaphobia - so I found a stand-up MRI -much easier to deal with. They play music and you
sit in a huge chair, noisy. but you watch a film too. Distracting and much less stressful. See if a stand-up is avail. in your area when you
eventually do one. Or, perhaps the tunnel one - scary to me - doesn't bother you. A friend of mine likes them - she just goes to sleep despite the noise of the machine and envelopment of the whole thing. Medicare does pay for it, but I guess you are not in the program as yet. Ah youth!

@sapphira- Welcome to Mayo Connect. I think that I stated something confusing. I did not say that my husband, not me, couldn't get an MRI because his insurance wouldn't pay for it. His insurance wont pay for it until he does a certain amount of PT.
I hate MRI's myself. I almost stopped the machine the last time, at the very beginning, but the technician said I would just have to come back. That straightened me out! He put a small scarf over my head so I could only see straight ahead, not up so I couldn't see what was confining me!

Merry- I think it was my confusion - I did note that your husband had the MRI issue, but I babbled on , sorry. I too once got into an MRI machine and stopped it early on. The noise is scary too. If you find a stand up one eventually, for your husband, it might be less invasive. Or, maybe he won't mind the confinement. Not everyone reacts the way we do. Sometimes they want to give you a sedative to sleep while entombed. Not for me. I sleep at home. Good luck with what's ahead. Maybe your husband can do a light version of PT to accommodate the idiot insurance.

@merpreb I by no means expect that you or anyone else remember everything. I tend to forget as well. Currently humming , Back in the Saddle Again”. 🤪

Hello @parus

I am sorry that you are feeling so discouraged, but I understand it all too well. Since an MRI is not an option have you asked them about a CT scan? Worth asking about, I suppose. Yes, I understand the dilemma with PT. I have to go for vestibular PT next week and I dread it so much. It makes me so nauseous and blurry-eyed but I really have needed if for a while.

That "ping pong ball" feeling is all too familiar, isn't it? Many times, I've thrown that dratted ball back in the doctor's direction with a comment that I really do need more help and wouldn't they try to re-think this matter? Sometimes it works, sometimes not, but I always feel it's worth a shot. All you have to lose by asking is one ping pong ball.

Wishing you well as you ride this one out, @parus. You are one strong person and I certainly admire all you have achieved in the short time I've known you through Connect. Keep plugging away!