[thebaseball2001]

Hello All,

This is my first post here. I will probably ramble through what I have been going through, hopefully I don't make it long and drawn out but cover what is going on.

I have been on Lexapro for the past 5 years or so for depression and it has worked great. At the end of June I was sparring with someone in the boxing ring and got hit in the back of the head, so hard that the guy broke his knuckle. That evening I took a nap at home, upon waking I felt "off" like something was wrong with my sight but nothing exact that I could put my finger on. I worried and worried until I was in a full blown panic attack. I called the ambulance and went to the hospital. They did a CT scan an no concussion. They told me it was anxiety and sent me home.

From that day I started having anxiety that would come and go. I would start to feel attacks coming on but they would subside. Then at the end of October I had another one that sent me to the hospital. After this time I felt some derealization, like I was watching my self or in a dream. They gave me some Xanax and sent me home. I decided to go to a psych doctor and he took me off of Lexapro and put me on Citalopram which I took for about a month. I got to some pretty dark places taking that, still felt out of it like things were not real, like I was never myself. I broke down one night and was so upset I called the psych doc and he told me to stop the Citalopram cold turkey. Also said if it got worse, go to the emergency room and he would see me in a week. I felt he didn't handle it like I would expect so I stopped seeing him and went to a regular family doc.

The family doc put me on Lexapro again and gave me more Xanax. I have had some good days, some bad days (today was a real bad day). The bad days, I feel out of it. I wake up with a lump in my throat, I want to sleep all day when I am not working. I feel out of it mentally, stare into space at times (especially after waking) and worry that I am losing it. I have scheduled another psych doc but couldn't get in until end of the month. I am just so tired of feeling all of this. I don't know if the panic attacks were related to the hit in the head, just seemed too odd it was same day that the panic begun. I thought going back on my old friend Lexapro would fix things, maybe what I am feeling now is related to going back on the drug after being off it for so long.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Chad

[Little Lulu]

Chad, a minor blow to the head can be a big thing, neurologically. It sure sounds to me like the head trauma is at least some of your issue. A minor concussion would not show on a CT scan. Neuro tissue heals very slowly (up to a year). An appointment with a neurologist would be the next logical step. You may be anxious but I think the head trauma may be driving your issues.

Hugs to you. I bet you will be fine.

[thebaseball2001]

Thanks so much Lulu. My therapist thought the same thing, that a neurological appointment would be smart. My GP thought the blow to the head was a cause of what I was going through but didn't think I needed to see a neurologist. I agree with you that it seems like a logical step. Thank you for the kind words of encouragement.

Chad