anxieties

Oh yeah.  Its not unusal at all to ask the doctor for something to help if you need it.

I got a prescription for Valium 10mg - total amount with refills is 180 Valium.

Believe me, I take them as needed because I am going through major anxiety issues right now. 

I also got a prescription for Ambien to help me sleep at night.

Don't feel that you are being weak for having to take drugs to get you through this.  Drugs are there for a reason - use them if it helps. 

I got 5 mg of Valium for my expansion. 5mg does nothing for me. I did not know I could take 10mg. I bet this would work better. hmmm I am glad you mentioned it jancie. I might try taking two of my 5mg  before I go to PS.

Also, I have a script for ativan also. Before all this BC crap, I had never in my life taken a pill. I am not using the ativan now, but I bet my anxiety will return after I am done with treatment. I will take it then if needed. Do  not feel bad if your need help getting through all this. It is so hard for all of us!

Laura

Hi, wishiwere!  I have anxiety too (PTSD).

If Vistaril doesn't work well for you to control the tachy, there are other medications in other families that can also be used for tachycardia.

Another option, if meds don't work, is biofeedback.  Its more expensive (at least if you pay out of pocket.)  I went to a cognitive psychologist.  I'm not saying it works 100% of the time, nor am I very good about it, but for me it is a useful tool.

I thought it would never work at all for me because I'm terrible at meditation.

I'm glad there are options out there - we are all different.

Leaf - Funny you should mention the biofeedback...my daughter just talked me into seeing a therapist who specializes in cancer patients.  Guess I need a bit of assistance with anger issues and stress management, etc. 

I told him I have the attention span of a flea and have never had much luck w/ meditation.

  My daughter wants me to try biofeedback.  Hmmm.  Is it like Lamaze?  Do I breathe my way through the stress and anger?  And does it make it all go away?

I take Lexapro, which also helps with anxiety. When I got my first few treatments of AC, the red color of the adriamycin - and its caustic quality - freaked me out a bit, so the nurse gave me some Ativan. It made the first few treatments less scary. Then I didn't need it.  

Hi Susan!  I've never had Lamaze, so I don't know what that is like.  (I take sertraline for my PTSD.)

In my biofeedback training, he used two types : electrodes, and finger warming.

In the electrode training, he attached 2 electrodes to my body, where ever I chose.  (I picked my neck and my hands.)  The electrodes do not produce electricity, they merely detect muscle tension.  (I'm terrible at physics so I'm not sure how but maybe its impedence or something.)  You lie down on a comfortable chair, and get into the most comfortable position you can, and try to relax. The electrodes are connected to a laptop, which turns the impulses into sound.  You have a different sound for each electrode (one was horns and the other bells.)  You are trying to silence the noise.  

The other way was of finger temperature.  He put a sensor on my finger (like the ones they use after surgery to follow the oxygenation of your blood).  It measured the temperature very sensitively.  The nervous system in your hand, like many other places in your body, can contract the blood vessels, making your fingers cold.  However, unlike in other places of your body, your fingers don't have the nervous system that will let your blood vessels expand.  So when you make the temperature in your fingers rise, you are shutting off your sympathetic (fight-or-flight) response.  He didn't tell you how to make the temperature go up.

He also gave me a series of CDs to listen to at night to learn how to relax. Breathing is a big factor, but not the only one.

I started out with a value of 15-17 on the 'bells and whistles' routine, but got it down to 2-4  (normal) in about 4 months.  I saw him for about 15 sessions.  He says most people get it by 8-12 sessions.

I found it most helpful for insomnia.  For me, it worked better than earlier tries (after different surgeries) with pain meds, or Valium 5mg, or Benadryl.  You have to do it a lot to get better at doing it, like most things in life.