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Panic
Anxiety Education
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Questions & Answers:
Sensitivity to Prescribed Medication
Q: Hi, My wife is a Chinese migrant,
45 years old and has anxiety and "scared" for no reason.
She started it when she was engaged in a process work and long drive
from home 5 years ago. Then it cured after a few month with good
sleep. Then she got pregnant and give birth to our son in 1994. Last
year she started it again while I was away. She took some Aropax 20
for 2 months and stopped due to dizziness.
Then in December, after taking some Sudafed
to clear her nose she had a very high heart beat, 240/m and admitted
to hospital by ambulance. (She had this fast heart beat problem
since she was 18, often triggered by over work and stress. Inderal
was very effective once it happened.) Since last December then her
condition got bad and according to a local GP she took Aurorix, and
then some Chinese medicine. A few weeks after taking the Aurorix she
developed many side effects, including palpitation, extreme well
haplite, sleepless (awaken with a shake during sleep) etc. She had a
suicidal idea and admitted to hospital psychiatry ward in March for
two weeks. She stopped the Aurorix before that, and some of the side
effects gradually disappeared but some are still there.
Since being in the hospital she has been
taken Xanax 1.5 mg/day and sometimes Inderal. Two weeks ago her
liver function was found abnormal. She tried to reduce the dosage
but had muscle twitching. She is now given 10mgX3/day of
Thioridazine but not dare to take it, scared of muscle twitching and
other side effects. At the meant time she remains scared for no
reason (she make up non-exist reasons).
Apparently she is very sensitive to drugs,
and has live abnormality. I wonder what alternative drug can she use
and should she take some drug when the muscle twitching happens.
A: Has your wife been diagnosed as having an anxiety
disorder? It does sound as if your wife is having a very difficult
time. Unfortunately this can be the case for many people who have an
anxiety disorder. It is also not unusual for people to be extremely
sensitive to medication.
A couple of points about medication.
Has her doctor told her about Xanax? The guidelines for the
prescribing of any of the tranquillizers, including Xanax is for 2 -
4 weeks only. The tranquillizers, can be addictive and some people
may become addicted within four weeks. Xanax is one of the shorter
acting tranquillizers. With the short acting ones, if people do
become addicted they may have withdrawal symptoms every 4 to 6
hours. Withdrawal includes increased anxiety and panic. The Federal
Government recommends people on the short acting tranquillizers
transfer over to the equivalent dose of valium and once stabilized
slowly withdraw the valium. Valium is a longer acting drug and
prevents the 4 - 6 hour withdrawal. Your wife MUST NOT stop taking
these drugs. This can be very dangerous. She will need to speak with
her doctor and slowly withdraw the drug under medical supervision.
This also applies to any transfer and withdrawal from valium.
The one drug that is tolerated by many people is Prothiadon, an
anti depressant. Your wife may wish to talk to her psychiatrist
about trying this one. As we said earlier though there are a number
of people who are sensitive to every drug and cannot take any at
all.
The reaction your wife had to Sudafed again is a very common
reaction. Many people cannot take any type of cold/flu medication
because this reaction can happen with any of the cold/flu tablets
which are available. She must never take them when she is taking
anti depressants as the reaction can be worse.
If your wife has Panic Disorder she would have many symptoms,
including muscle twitching and jerking and she would also have many
different fears. This is what happens with this particular anxiety
disorder. People with panic disorder do have a greater risk of
suicide as no matter what they do and how hard they try by
themselves, they can get worse not better. Of course suicide is not
the answer. There is another form of treatment which is very
successful called Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. If you could either
ring us on 8339 4998 or let us know by email which suburb you live
in we can refer your wife to a Cognitive Behavioral Therapist .
Once your wife has learnt to understand what is happening to her
and once she has been shown how to learn to manage it she can make a
full recovery. And as we have said TCM can also be very helpful.
Don't hesitate to either ring us or email us and we will refer
you onto a CBT specialist.
Postscript
I consider that I and my wife are very lucky to find your
service from the net. Your detailed email response and telephone
talks today are extremely helpful too. For long we are seeking
someone who really knows this type of disorder and now we find a key
link. Please accept our sincere thanks!
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