[yakmom]

I have had MDD recurrent and panic/anxiety issues for several years. Lately the depression and anxiety have worsened d/t issues over which I have no control (family problems). I am on venlafaxine XR 150 mg daily and lorazepam 1 mg twice daily. Been on that combination for 2 1/2 years. Prior to that on Lexapro 20 mg daily w/ the lorazepam. It pooped out in 2013.
The anxiety is so much worse today. It feels like ants crawling under my skin. It's bad. Spent the whole weekend crying b/c MIL (88) fell and I wasn't there. She is okay, but her sons & daughter have to make a decision soon. I can't keep on doing as I have been doing for 5-6 years. I'm stinking falling apart. I tried to set boundaries as the therapist said and that just blew up in my face.
Any comments would be appreciated. I am old to some of you (55) but whatever you all have to say I will be thankful. I think I need some meds changed, added, increased. Something. Thanks for listening.

[Skeezyks]

Hello yakmom: Well... you're not old to the Skeezyks! (68) From what you wrote, I take it you've been, perhaps, a primary caregiver for a quite elderly person for several years now. This can be wearing in-&-of itself. Plus you have your own issues.

Setting boundaries is a great idea in theory. In fact, I often suggest to members, here on PC, whose threads I reply to that they need to learn to establish & enforce boundaries. But it's one thing to say it (as your therapist did.) It's quite another thing to actually do it & make it stick in a real life situation.

Yes, perhaps some adjustment in your med's is called for. But it sounds to me as though you're simply burning out. And trying to mask that by changing or increasing your med's isn't really going to solve anything, in my opinion.

All you can do, is all you can do. And it sounds like that's what you've been doing for the past 5 or 6 years. So I hope that, in some way, you can prevail upon the sons & daughter to finally give you some consideration & make the difficult decisions that need to be made. I wish you well...

[LucyG]

I'm sorry you're going through this.

Look into supplementing with magnesium, calcium and vitamins D3 & K as meds block the body's ability to utilize magnesium that is needed to help control anxiety. You want to take a form of magnesium that is highly absorbably such as magnesium chloride, citrate of malate. DON'T take magnesium oxide as it will do nothing but give you raging diarrhea.

Symptoms of Low Magnesium | Ancient Minerals

[Ronan23]

Sorry to peddle some obvious advice, but do you exercise? A 30-minute brisk walk each day can be enough to substantially reduce anxiety. It can be tough to exercise when we feel like crawling underneath a rock, but I've found that even at my darkest moments, getting out of the house and working up a sweat always helps. Sorry to hear you're suffering, and good luck

[sunnydisposition]

One thing that always work for me ( atleast for a little while ), in situations where my anxiety is arising out of an external factor, coz of someone other than me, is " i stop caring'. I remind myself that the only person i need to care about is myself. Noone else, has the right, or the power to hurt me. Coz i dont care. Everyone else can go to hell for all i care.

[Fuzzybear]

[kadie2]

I just wanted to second the exercise thing....getting out for a walk outside or on a treadmill...It has helped me immensely over the years. Once I got started, I decided it's like brushing your teeth and it just needs to be done every day....I take one day off a week. Start small...ten min....then just keep adding from there the more in shape you get. If nothing else gets done in a day, I'm so glad I got my walk in.
I hope things get better for you soon. :-)

[yakmom]

Thanks, y'all. I'm taking the weekend off and going to my son's in the Northern part of the state. Leaving Friday noon and coming back Sunday noon. My smile lives there. Thanks again.