Anxiety About This Making It Worse/Vent

The thing to remember is that anxious feelings are there so that you can learn to focus on other things. What will make things worse is trying to figure out why you are anxious or trying to stop being anxious. Focusing on it in any way will just keep it around.. and YOU CANNOT OUT-THINK ANXIETY. Thinking about it is a trap! The key is to "accept".. how you "accept" is you remind yourself that you are supposed to accept it (and NOT fight it), and you focus on something else. Singing, a book, a movie, exercise etc. Exercise is a good one when you are feeling anxious because it causes release of chemicals which are relaxing.

If you've ever tried meditation, it often consists of focusing on the breath, how it feels going in and out. The mind is SUPPOSED TO take attention off the "boring" breath onto your worries, anxieties, things to do, the future etc. That is what all minds do, period. Your job in meditating is to practice accepting all that stuff by re-focusing your attention on your breath. That is acceptance.. leaving something alone and focusing on something else.

Another tactic is to act "as if". Do the behaviors of someone who isn't scared of a 24 hour probe (which in all honesty is no big deal), and likewise do not do the behaviors of someone who is obsessing about it. Don't look it up, don't write about it, don't tell your friends how scared you are. Forget about it, focus on something that brings you joy and not the 24 hour PH probe. If you need to run a thought through your mind, it should be rational such as "I probably will not enjoy the 24 hour probe, no one else enjoys it either, but many people have been through it and no one I know about has had any lasting effect from it. It will help in my diagnosis so that eventually I'll be more comfortable. I can put up with 24 hours of minor discomfort for that." Make that rational statement your only response to any feelings or intrusive thoughts, then FOCUS ELSEWHERE. Again, trying to out-think the issue, or out-think the feelings, is a huge trap.

This is a chapter from a GREAT book on dealing with life rationally, it's on "worry". The whole book is available on the website, posted by the author.

www.threeminutetherapy.com/chapter2.html

Post Edited (drtinsac) : 12/13/2012 6:45:27 PM (GMT-7)

When I was in college (way long ago), I took nortryptyline (sp?) for some anxiety/mild depression. This drug is similar to elavil (tricyclic). It also made me feel sort of dissociated, but I actually felt extremely calm and my stomach felt great after a few days. So, I think some spacey-ness is pretty common--but be careful, especially if you are driving around.

I don't know about that needles in the throat thing. Dr. K wanted me to do that too . I then consulted with a swallowing doctor at New York Eye & Ear Hospital (Pittman) who really thought the test was useless--so I did not do it. Now Dr. K does lots of presentations at NY Eye and Ear--so I thought it was interesting that I got the response from the swallowing doctor about the test--but I was very glad not to do it.

The 24 hour thing is not supposed to be painful--just weird and of course, you have a tube taped to your face for a day.

I gad some severe vocal cord issues last year due to reflux and this time when I went back to Pittman, things are looking pretty good--so I do think the condition can be brought under control, but it takes a lot of time and then unfortunately sometimes the condition worsens in other areas in some people--but I can agree that anxiety only makes things tons worse.

I think he said that it is controversial in terms of the results and what it can show . In some cases it might be useful (according to him), but I think only if speaking is severely impacted.

My LPR symptoms is sore throat with significant swelling. I've been able to keep it under control for about a year, but when my throat swells, I am unable to swallow well and it's very unpleasant. I am also constantly congested and my voice goes out after speaking for a period of time. By the end of the day, I am totally hoarse.

I've noticed that my symptoms too can change--Oct-Dec is my terrible flare time--other times in the year are more manageable. Last year it was mostly throat issues. This year, the throat is better but I am plagued with chest burning and pressure. I think it is common for GERD and LPR people to suffer a variety of symptoms.

I liked Kaufman, but Pittman takes my insurance !!(Kaufman did submit as I have an out of network plan--but between deductible/etc, just too $$$$). You know, they are both good--just very different styles and philosophies--but interestingly, I think both are very "pro surgery". One of the first things Pittman said to me was that I probably need surgery and Kaufman last year said I would improve, but often things do progress and she told me that was what happened to her and she ended up with Nissen. Pittman also referred me to a decent GI (Kaufman didn't seem to think GI would help much).

So if anything you are in aggressive hands!