No but thanks for the suggestions. I'll mention them on my follow up. Would either one of those be safe to use with the Paxil I was prescribed? I ask because the Paxil does seem to be helping my anxiety...

According to this drug interaction checker there are some interactions, so definitely ask your doctor or pharmacist for their opinion.

http://reference.medscape.com/drug-interactionchecker

The serotonin interaction for amitriptyline is a very rare possibility called serotonin syndrome. It was a possibility of an interaction for a drug I took with amitriptyline but neither my doctor nor pharmacist were worried about it, and I had no trouble with it at all.

I'm not sure what the QTC interval means.

You might also ask about Topamax if you are having migraine-like headaches. It is used for migraine prevention and doesn't seem to have any interactions with Paxil at all.

Hi Dalton,

With anxiety and obsessions, our natural tendency is always to run from or resist the thing we are fearing. With OCD in particular, this manifests itself in the form of compulsions that include checking, seeking reassurance, counting, washing, and a number of other behaviors, some of which are quite bizarre.

What you describe here sounds like a classic obsessive-compulsive thought process (I'm not diagnosing you with OCD--just talking about this thought process). An obsession (intrusive, disturbing thought) gets stuck in our heads, and we go around looking for information in order to prove to ourselves that our feared consequence (e.g. brain tumor, something bad happening to a loved one, etc.) will not happen or is not true. But this is a losing battle; no matter how much evidence we produce (those of us with OCD, anyway), we can never achieve absolute certainty that our feared consequence will not happen, and we still feel anxious thinking about that tiny chance that our feared consequence could occur.

The idea here is that reassurance, in the short term, does help to alleviate the anxiety; all compulsions do, and that's why people engage in them. But as a long-term strategy, it is not likely to be helpful. The general rule of thumb with any type of anxiety--which is much easier said than done--is to go toward what you fear. With a brain tumor, this might mean working on accepting the possibility that you might have a brain tumor and that there's nothing you can do about it, rather than looking for more information to try to achieve certainty. This is very hard at first, and it is best done under the supervision of an anxiety or OCD specialist (depending on your diagnosis), or at least with a very good self-help book.

Can you get a referral to see an anxiety specialist? Medication alone will only take you so far with anxiety; lasting progress requires an understanding of the condition, as well as changes in behavior and thinking. If what you have is OCD, then the best treatment is Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP). Anyone who claims to be an expert in OCD and is not using these techniques is probably misinformed and out-of-date. Again, I'm not trying to diagnose you; let the therapist take care of that. I'm just trying to say that once you are diagnosed, it is very important to get a therapist who is an expert in whatever particular anxiety disorder you have (if you have one).

If you are able to read with your current head injury, you might look into getting the following books:

Dancing With Fear, by Paul Foxman

This one focuses on anxiety in general, and is more relevant for disorders like Panic Disorder, Phobias, and Generalized Anxiety Disorder.

Freedom from Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, by Jonathan Grayson.

This is an up-to-date and fairly comprehensive treatment of OCD by one of the foremost experts in the field. It may also be of some benefit in helping to understand and cope with other anxiety disorders.

When in Doubt, Make Belief, by Jeff Bell

This one also focuses on OCD, but may also be helpful for other forms of anxiety such as Generalized Anxiety Disorder and maybe Panic Disorder.

There are some good Yahoo groups for people with anxiety disorders. Some are general and some focus on specific disorders. It might be best to first see if you can get a diagnosis, but some of these Yahoo groups are extremely helpful, and they are moderated by experts on these conditions.

Please feel free to PM me if you want to discuss your anxiety further, or if you have any questions that you don't want to ask in public.

Thanks for your informative post! I just want to let everyone know that the MRI results came back NORMAL! Thanks for all your support and vast amounts of information. I just have one further question, Since the MRI came back normal, there is no point in having a CT Scan correct?

A CT Scan would sound redundant but could be helpful if done properly to look for upper neck injuries and abnormalities.

Regarding your OCD, everybody's OCD is different. No one size fits all. OCD can also have vast differences based on the various world views and even philosophies.

If the Paxil is helping, good for you. It has powerful anti-anxiety effects.

It may help for you to write down a score sheet. List your concerns and what the possible outcomes can be and what you can do to change these outcomes.

Many of the things we get stuck on have much less bearing on our life than we make them out to have or have little ability to be effected by us. Learning to accept them and work within the parameters of those issues can strengthen us in many areas of life.

I may not be able to prevent some of my PCS symptoms but I can learn how to manage and tolerate them. It also helps to be able to let go of the past.

I hope your condition continues to improve with the Paxil. I find I need something in my stomach to help with the occasional nausea I notice when I try to go to sleep in bed. A few saltine or other crackers with some peanut butter usually does the trick. Sometimes, just the crackers does the trick.

My best to you.

Yeah the Paxil makes me feel like I need something to put in my stomach waking up in the morning. I ask about the CT Scan because my neuro said an "MRI is the best thing we have" when I mentioned what I was thinking could be inside my head.

Hi Dalton
 

[No, you don't have to have the other test. I am glad your MRI was normal. focus on the good stuff now. ginnie

Hey guys I've been feeling a bit better over time but I still have one thing on my mind. The issue is concerning my eyes. In normal outdoor lighting, my pupils are their normal size. Same goes for well lit indoor areas. However when I am in a room with a light say, on the other side of the room, my pupils look pretty dilated. I know its normal for the pupils to dilate when exposed to the dark (is it normal for them to be COMPLETELY dilated in the dark?) but does it seem odd that they seem to be dilated in just "okay" light situations?

I've been testing my eyes to make sure they are not dilated at all times by going into the bathroom, closing the door, and turning the lights off then on. As is natural, they have always returned to their average size. I'm guessing this is just a result of my increased anxiety or I just never noticed how they respond to different lighting situations before in my life until this whole fiasco.

Dalton,

You are trying to make something out of nothing. Pupil dilation only has bearing if they are not equal or do not react to light. It sounds like yours are equal and reactive to light.

Try to relax and let time help with your healing.


My best to you.