So my doctor put me on antidepressants last Friday, my blood pressure spiked up to 150/106. I haven’t been checking it a lot lately, however. So idk if it was like that before Paxil. I think Paxil is a contributing factor, but not quite sure. Anyone else havr this issue w antidepressants. I hate pills so much, but i really need it for now until i can “accept” this, is what my doc said. My anxiety levels are ridiculous.
Jennifer the blood pressure is spiking because of your anxiety - not the Pacil. See if your doctor can recommend a neuro psych who can teach you what to do before you panic and what the triggers are. It may take several weeks for antidepressant to work so focus on calm. Also find out from your doctor if you can exercise and I do not mean walk - I mean swim (not aerobics) or work out with a trainer. I kayak five to Sven miles every two to three days. Also check out meditation. I have been there. You have to stop with the what ifs - they are not going to happen. Just tell yourself out loud - I am not going there and mentally picture and shut a door.
Penny said:
Jennifer the blood pressure is spiking because of your anxiety - not the Pacil. See if your doctor can recommend a neuro psych who can teach you what to do before you panic and what the triggers are. It may take several weeks for antidepressant to work so focus on calm. Also find out from your doctor if you can exercise and I do not mean walk - I mean swim (not aerobics) or work out with a trainer. I kayak five to Sven miles every two to three days. Also check out meditation. I have been there. You have to stop with the what ifs - they are not going to happen. Just tell yourself out loud - I am not going there and mentally picture and shut a door.
The weird part of it is that i was completely calm at that appointment.
Do you have Facebook? There is a great brain aneurysm group that i belong to on Facebook. There are tons of people online and you can get immediate answers. Let me know if you want the info
Jen said:
Do you have Facebook? There is a great brain aneurysm group that i belong to on Facebook. There are tons of people online and you can get immediate answers. Let me know if you want the info
Yes i will take the info, i have a Facebook
Hi Penny!
Anxiety is hard to deal with! I found meditation to be helpful! I also joined a brain aneurysm support group in my area. I started dbt too and that has been helpful. Church and my faith in God has been the most important! You will get through this and there are a lot of fellow survivors to help you!
hey Jennifer, I take zoloft and lithium and bp is within normal, Ellie
ellie said: I struggle with suffer with panic disorder, which causes most of my distress around health issues, esp annies. I have turned to my religion, meditation, nature and prayer to help reduce my fears of the unknown, may we all know peace
Ellie
Beth said:Hi Penny!
Anxiety is hard to deal with! I found meditation to be helpful! I also joined a brain aneurysm support group in my area. I started dbt too and that has been helpful. Church and my faith in God has been the most important! You will get through this and there are a lot of fellow survivors to help you!
Jennifer, For what it’s worth, I concur with Penny. Talk to your doctor about exercise, it really does help a lot of things. Finding a good therapist can help you give words to the anxiety but more importantly help you find tools to know when your body first starts giving signals that anxiety is starting. Perhaps with talk therapy, exercise, meditation, etc you will be able to reduce the amount of medication you take. But remember, there is no shame in getting help.
Thank you Moultraub. Jennifer I asked for all the help I could find. I still see my neuro psych as he is fascinated how I deal with my short term memory and he helps me develop special skills. I keep my life as simple as possible today. No stress at all. Unfortunately I had to walk away from a sister I love - she is so negative. Be in the moment. Priority to exercise. When I was newly recovering you remind me of what I was like. After a while I finally realized what is important in life.
2 Likes
Penny said:
Thank you Moultraub. Jennifer I asked for all the help I could find. I still see my neuro psych as he is fascinated how I deal with my short term memory and he helps me develop special skills. I keep my life as simple as possible today. No stress at all. Unfortunately I had to walk away from a sister I love - she is so negative. Be in the moment. Priority to exercise. When I was newly recovering you remind me of what I was like. After a while I finally realized what is important in life.
I am going to call around for a neuro pysch tomorrow. I am currently going to school for social work, go figure, and find it so odd that I cannot get past yhis as easy as Id like to. Exercuse definitely helps me. I gained over 50 lbs over this because of self medicating w food, so that has also made me very upset. A lot of things weighing on me. I read so many stories that are FAR worse than mine and tend to feel guilty of why I feel this way bc things could be so much worse. I just need to push myself out of this dark hole and move forward. I will get there. Thank you everyone for your help and words. I appreciate all the help i can get right now. It is so great to talk w people who have felt the same bc nobody in my immediate surroundings quite understands what really goes on in my head. I feel like im being judged so much, so that shuts me down talking w most of them. I have never been one to feel “victimized” and have always been resilient to issues i have faced in my life. This one, not so much. Thanks again.
1 Like
Jennifer said:
Penny said:Thank you Moultraub. Jennifer I asked for all the help I could find. I still see my neuro psych as he is fascinated how I deal with my short term memory and he helps me develop special skills. I keep my life as simple as possible today. No stress at all. Unfortunately I had to walk away from a sister I love - she is so negative. Be in the moment. Priority to exercise. When I was newly recovering you remind me of what I was like. After a while I finally realized what is important in life.
I am going to call around for a neuro pysch tomorrow. I am currently going to school for social work, go figure, and find it so odd that I cannot get past yhis as easy as Id like to. Exercuse definitely helps me. I gained over 50 lbs over this because of self medicating w food, so that has also made me very upset. A lot of things weighing on me. I read so many stories that are FAR worse than mine and tend to feel guilty of why I feel this way bc things could be so much worse. I just need to push myself out of this dark hole and move forward. I will get there. Thank you everyone for your help and words. I appreciate all the help i can get right now. It is so great to talk w people who have felt the same bc nobody in my immediate surroundings quite understands what really goes on in my head. I feel like im being judged so much, so that shuts me down talking w most of them. I have never been one to feel "victimized" and have always been resilient to issues i have faced in my life. This one, not so much. Thanks again.
Spelling errors. Sorry. Typing from my phone
If you can’t find a neuro psych, find a psych who deals with brain injuries. Check to see if there are any meetings in your area through the BAF website. I gained weight too. Small price to pay. One situation at a time. Multi tasking is not the way to go. I learned to finish one task at a time and then move onto the next. Reduces stress greatly. Get some rest and lighten up on yourself please.
1 Like
Jen I’ve had the same thing. Plavex turned me into a weird bitch. Have the doctor get you a differant antidepressant . I’ve been fine since they took me off that pill n put me on something else. May god bless you
So i decided today to spoil myself w a facial and massage. Boy did I need that. For one straight hour I cleared my mind and felt amazing!!! Came home to check my blood pressure and thought for sure it was less than 120. Well, it was 174/96!!! And i was as calm as could be. So, i have eliminated that my high bp is anxiety. I am on day 10 of the Paxil and my bp was regulated before that. Quitting that and seeing if that is the problem here. Of course weaning off of it though. I know we cant just quit that stuff cold turkey.
kmk said:
Jen I've had the same thing. Plavex turned me into a weird bitch. Have the doctor get you a differant antidepressant . I've been fine since they took me off that pill n put me on something else. May god bless you
Are u sure u mean Plavix??
Jennifer -
Jennifer said:
So i decided today to spoil myself w a facial and massage. Boy did I need that. For one straight hour I cleared my mind and felt amazing!!! Came home to check my blood pressure and thought for sure it was less than 120. Well, it was 174/96!!! And i was as calm as could be. So, i have eliminated that my high bp is anxiety. I am on day 10 of the Paxil and my bp was regulated before that. Quitting that and seeing if that is the problem here. Of course weaning off of it though. I know we cant just quit that stuff cold turkey.
Penny said:
Jenniferkmk - Jennifer said Paxil NOT Plavix.
Jennifer - antidepressants take weeks to work not days. Please tell me you are not adjusting/changing your medication on your own. You are really playing with fire.
What has your blood pressure machine been reading? Did you take it with you to your doctors to make sure it is reading correctly? Mine was not and it freaked me out. You are not an authority after one spa session to diagnose what is anxiety and its relationship with your blood pressure.
Jennifer said:So i decided today to spoil myself w a facial and massage. Boy did I need that. For one straight hour I cleared my mind and felt amazing!!! Came home to check my blood pressure and thought for sure it was less than 120. Well, it was 174/96!!! And i was as calm as could be. So, i have eliminated that my high bp is anxiety. I am on day 10 of the Paxil and my bp was regulated before that. Quitting that and seeing if that is the problem here. Of course weaning off of it though. I know we cant just quit that stuff cold turkey.
I have only taken PAXIL for 10 days. I am sure it will be fine. I have chosen to take natural routes to lessen my anxiety doing yoga and learning how to meditate. With all due respect, i am the authority of my body. Its an antidepressant, and not something that is detrimental to my aneurysm. I think that we know our own bodies sometimes. I also called 3 pharmacies who informed me that PAXIL can raise your blood pressure and it is a side effect, in which my primary doctor says it is not, which is something he tells me about statins as well, but I get horrible side effects w statins. I will be fine coming off of the PAXIL.
My blood pressure machine is accurate. I went to my doctor 2 days ago for that exact reason