Anxiety Remission After General Anesthesia

Posted by kaseyjaynexo @kaseyjaynexo, Nov 12, 2018

4 weeks ago, I had a laprascopic appendectomy. I am healing normally physically, but I haven’t been taking my anxiety medication because I feel “normal”. I still have moments where I am anxious or my OCD kicks in, but nothing compared to before the surgery. Has anyone else noticed this? Or even heard of something like this? I keep waiting for the “other shoe to drop” but so far, I feel great anxiety/OCD wise, things that would have bothered/triggered me, no longer do. Any help would be appreciated!

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@benny987- I'm so sorry that things have gotten so out of hand for you. I can hear that you feel so badly and scared.. It sounds as if you have PTSD. This can be triggered by anything that you found traumatic. And it might not make sense to you. Stopping your medicines all at once will make you feel worse than you have been. I think that you need to go to the ER or call your doctor immediately and get some help. I know how the feeling of being disconnected and not functioning can be very scary. I was like this for a few years when I first had PTSD. But there is hope. I'm hope because I'm not like this anymore and I didn't think that I would be able to do anything, and just die. First off let's get you to the dr.'s or the ER and get you stabilized. Bring all of your meds with you. Will your parents drive you? If not call an ambulance. Please let me know how you made out.
I know that I have said this but just saying that you feel hopeless is the first step to becoming well again. I know, because that's one of the things that got me going. Telling someone. My heart is with you.

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@merpreb

@benny987- I'm so sorry that things have gotten so out of hand for you. I can hear that you feel so badly and scared.. It sounds as if you have PTSD. This can be triggered by anything that you found traumatic. And it might not make sense to you. Stopping your medicines all at once will make you feel worse than you have been. I think that you need to go to the ER or call your doctor immediately and get some help. I know how the feeling of being disconnected and not functioning can be very scary. I was like this for a few years when I first had PTSD. But there is hope. I'm hope because I'm not like this anymore and I didn't think that I would be able to do anything, and just die. First off let's get you to the dr.'s or the ER and get you stabilized. Bring all of your meds with you. Will your parents drive you? If not call an ambulance. Please let me know how you made out.
I know that I have said this but just saying that you feel hopeless is the first step to becoming well again. I know, because that's one of the things that got me going. Telling someone. My heart is with you.

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Oh its good to hear you recovered.. i have sort of become catatonic.. i cant seem to move and lie down in one position for hours.. every moment is like a century.. i cant even pray to God anymore... i get angry at why everyone is normal and why i have lost my sanity.. i am tired, really tired..doctors are useless.. they keep pushing me new meds or the old ones which never helped me.. i am convinced my ptsd or depression are treatment resistant.. only ambien makes me feel 30% normal for an hour or so.. i ll keep taking that for sleep.. how did you recover? Did you take any meds,? I am too unwell for talk therapy. My depression has sunk to catatonic depths alongwith anxiety and fear.. what do you think of ect? Pls give me some hope

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@benny987- Benny- You are certainly not insane and everyone is normal. Too many people have claimed that from time to time, so you have company. I am sorry that your experiences with your doctors hasn't seemed to have given you any relief. But I fear that right now they are the ones that can help you. No one on here is a doctor or therapist so I can only go so far in making suggestions based on my own experiences. You don't need to go into therapy and give your whole life history. All you have to say is exactly what you have right here on Connect. It sounds as if you are giving up before you try everything. I can't give you hope if you feel this way because I think that you are trying to convince yourself that you are now lost and nothing will help. That's not true. No one gets "better" without putting in effort, no one. This is your life and you have to decide if you want to be happy or not. If indeed you were to get approval for electric shock therapy, all that will do is pretty much make you numb, with no life. But in wanting this, and reaching out here on Connect shows that you want help. But there are no miracles. So please get help. I wish that I could help you more. To answer your question I take Zoloft and Wellbutrin and I sit in front of a seasonal light everyday, first thing in the AM. At my lowest I went to therapy and just sat there. My therapist asked me questions to guide me on my "getting well" journey. I know that you can do this. You have energy to write on your lap top, go to the bathroom and eat. So use some of it to call for help. Get up and shower, eat and call the doctor or go to the hospital.

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@benny987

Hi thanks for the answer. I have no clue what is causing my extreme condition. I have become disconnected from the outside world.. i have now become bedridden and totally non functional.. just today i stopped taking all meds except the sleeping pill which relieves extreme anxiety for a while and lets me sleep few hours.. my mental state is so messed up and i am so restless i cant bear to watch or listen to anything.. even my parents talking to each other irritates me.. i cry daily , sometimes i scream.. i get angry over small things.. my emotions are all over the place.. the depression began as a sinking feeling and a pittish feeling in my intestines, then came the panic attacks and then anxiety which is now 24/7... i am not even 1% of the person i used to be.. i am extremely hopeless about this getting any better as i havent seen any respite or any break since over a year.. now as a final resort, i am considering electroshock therapy.. i know it sounds very scary and has bad side effects but i have already hit rock bottom and am willing to try anything which can give my mind some peace from the storm i am going through ...

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Your descriptions are recreating fear, anger, panic...and more, from my own turbulent experiences. Please try and break free of the anguish, by dipping your face into a bowl of ice water, or doing two sets of ten jumping jacks, jotting down fifty United States, even brushing your teeth! You are among people who have given you up swinging direction and want to help you sustain a belief that you are much closer to your well self than it may seem. Keep sharing here and we’ll all be together helping you to keep your chin up!!! I’ve seen wonderful results from ECT. It did not help me - yet neither did it hurt me, Think optimistically towards it, and feel free to ask any questions.

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@benny987

Oh its good to hear you recovered.. i have sort of become catatonic.. i cant seem to move and lie down in one position for hours.. every moment is like a century.. i cant even pray to God anymore... i get angry at why everyone is normal and why i have lost my sanity.. i am tired, really tired..doctors are useless.. they keep pushing me new meds or the old ones which never helped me.. i am convinced my ptsd or depression are treatment resistant.. only ambien makes me feel 30% normal for an hour or so.. i ll keep taking that for sleep.. how did you recover? Did you take any meds,? I am too unwell for talk therapy. My depression has sunk to catatonic depths alongwith anxiety and fear.. what do you think of ect? Pls give me some hope

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@benny987- Hi Benny-I have never had ect myself but I do know someone who did. Like you the meds and talk therapy did not help her. The ect did help her recover. It did have a negative effect on her memory for a while but eventually her memory came back. ( She never lost all her memory ). If I were you and felt as bad as you feel I would go for the ect asap!! You need help now!!
Best wishes
Ainsleigh

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@ainsleigh

@benny987- Hi Benny-I have never had ect myself but I do know someone who did. Like you the meds and talk therapy did not help her. The ect did help her recover. It did have a negative effect on her memory for a while but eventually her memory came back. ( She never lost all her memory ). If I were you and felt as bad as you feel I would go for the ect asap!! You need help now!!
Best wishes
Ainsleigh

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@benny987- Benny if you research ect on-line at Mayo Clinic and Johns Hopkins etcetera I think you will be reassured.
Ainsleigh

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@benny987

Oh its good to hear you recovered.. i have sort of become catatonic.. i cant seem to move and lie down in one position for hours.. every moment is like a century.. i cant even pray to God anymore... i get angry at why everyone is normal and why i have lost my sanity.. i am tired, really tired..doctors are useless.. they keep pushing me new meds or the old ones which never helped me.. i am convinced my ptsd or depression are treatment resistant.. only ambien makes me feel 30% normal for an hour or so.. i ll keep taking that for sleep.. how did you recover? Did you take any meds,? I am too unwell for talk therapy. My depression has sunk to catatonic depths alongwith anxiety and fear.. what do you think of ect? Pls give me some hope

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Hello, @benny987 - being immersed in the deepest of depression and anxiety is extremely hard, and I can see from your words you are suffering. @merpreb is correct that contacting your doctor, or going to urgent care or the ER to get professional medical attention is critical with the symptoms you describe, and the sooner the better.

I've had a couple of times personally where I was at a lowest low place for me mental health-wise, one when my parents decided to divorce, and one where I was tapering off one antidepressant and going onto another and experienced some pretty terrible symptoms. Both times, what helped me was getting help from a medical professional.

You mentioned looking into electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). This would be something usually a psychiatrist would prescribe, if appropriate, and something you could ask your doctor about. For when you are feeling up to looking into it further, I wanted to suggest you look at Mayo Clinic information on electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/electroconvulsive-therapy/about/pac-20393894

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@benny987 It sounds like your depression, anxiety is bad and maybe your brain needs this so that might be the way to help you out to unscramble your brain this ect ?

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@ainsleigh

@benny987- Hi Benny-I have never had ect myself but I do know someone who did. Like you the meds and talk therapy did not help her. The ect did help her recover. It did have a negative effect on her memory for a while but eventually her memory came back. ( She never lost all her memory ). If I were you and felt as bad as you feel I would go for the ect asap!! You need help now!!
Best wishes
Ainsleigh

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That is encouraging.. i keep having second thoughts about ect, passing electricity through brain sounds very scary...did your friend who recovered with ect relapse? I hope not.. is she on maintenance ect or meds or is she is full remission, how long has it been since she had ect?

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@lioness

@benny987 It sounds like your depression, anxiety is bad and maybe your brain needs this so that might be the way to help you out to unscramble your brain this ect ?

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Yes, but ect is a gamble.. it might work and it might not.. there are horror stories on the internet by ppl who say their lives were damaged by ect.. others say they were saved.. i am in a fix, but i cant go on living like this either 🙁

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