Spelt anxiety wrong below- any tips?
Ms and anxeity
Hi there
Having a 5 month ms flare up. Strong tingling in my hands which won’t go and now I have problems with my right eye which is stopping me driving (seeing eye people at hospital tomorrow). Anxiety is through the roof too. Waiting for intensive cbt and taking duloxotine and diazepam and on Capaxone. My anxiety is taking a toll on my relationship too. They think I may have ocd.
I miss my family terribly and they are 100 miles away. We visit about once a month.
I am nearly back to work full time (partly at home) and I love my job and try to fit in swimming a few times a week but don’t play much tennis now because of hands and now vision. Going to have to get taxi’s to pool which is worrying because of Covid as partner can’t always drop me at suitable times.
We had a miscarriage and my dad died in April of Covid.
Life is so hard atm-any tips? Any recommendations?
@giraffelady So very sorry about your miscarriage and the death of your father. With such grief and losses to deal unsurprising that you have a flare/relapse of symptoms. Including anxiety; you probably don't have OCD but pure and simple anxiety. No wonder! Is your GP helpful? I'm not sure about Diazepam being a good idea (can lead to dependency) and makes some people sleepy which ain't great if you have MS fatigue. For anxiety Propanalol can be really helpful. I take 10 mg 1-3 times a day and it hits the spot. Some days I don't need it and I only went back to it this year when I had a relapse which made me worry. Copaxone is a very old drug and also if you are having a relapse you are supposed to be offered another drug. If you want a pregnancy I think that is the only one that may be possible you. The newer ones are those like Ocrevus which exclude people trying for pregnancy. I understand how completely scary the eye symptoms are. My presenting symptom was Optic Neuritis in my left eye, with complete loss of sight. It scared the bejejus out of me and I think its impossible to understand how frightening eyesight problems are if you haven't been there. It resolved over time but not 100% and I have had slight neuritis in my right eye. It is when I am most under pressure and am pushing myself too hard, am exhausted and/or in relapse that my vision suffers. Hope you get some help soon. My approach has been to get the best drug that I can for my MS (Ocrevus) and to rest and meditate as much as I can, and to limit demands on me, and also B/S from others;-) Its great that you are swimming, exercising, and working so there are positives to hold onto. Stay safe
@giraffelady , you really are going through a tough time. Life can be so cruel. Obviously, I'm sorry that you're having to go through this and for your loss.. You should be talking to your MS Nurse/Neurologist about the current situation. There is a fair chance that your visual problem is MS-related. The Eye Hospital will obviously eliminate non-MS causes, but if it is MS-related, you'll be referred back to Neurology. Are these visual problems new to you, i.e. a new symptom? If so, your MS Nurse/Neurologist should be considering a course of Steroids, to try and address this and the impact on your quality of life. So, talk to your MS Nurse/Neurologist as a matter of urgency. If you're not successful at either getting hold of them, or being given an acceptable plan, then speak to the Patients Advice & Liaison Service (PALS) team at your hospital and see if they can help expedite a resolution.