Does Anyone Else Have Anger Issues?

I haven't started chemo or anything yet, but I do know the side effects of most pain meds is mood change (really low lows-anger, etc.)  As far as the ambien, on of the SE's is irritability.  I am a medical assistant and nursing student, so I have plenty of drug books here, so I am always checking the SE's of stuff.  I know for me, I have been a total lunatic lately.  I have been getting all fired up about nothing.....my poor husband is gonna leave before it's over with (not really), but I wouldn't blame him if he did.  I have been very mean.  It takes the littlest thing to set me off, and I am usually very passive and never one to speak up.  I think alot of our mood is because of stress.  Maybe, you could ask your doc. if they have any ideas.  Sorry I don't really have any helpful ideas.  Just wanted to let you know someone felt the same way.  I do know that my husband used to take Ambien and he switched to Melatonin.  Melatonin, is something that your body naturally produces anyway, so it doesn't have nasty SE's.  It seems to work for him.  Anyway, I hope you start feeling better.  Take Care!  Allison

Hey Pat - I'm in the southwest corner of the state - looks like we're sending rain your way...

Pat ---Ambien is a new drug with a checkered history. Please google and study. I wouldn't take it if it were my last choice let alone first choice,

Xanax is in the benzodiazipine group which includes many other drugs. Each has it's own merit. Xanax from my observation of patients on it, causes me to believe there are better choices. AND when I had a patient come in to the hospital and it was on the medication record I"d make sure it was addressed i,e, ordered because the withdrawal from xanax depending on the amount taken each day was significantly different than the other benzo's

The two together  -   no----but i'm not a doc---so, you need to talk to your doc about your concerns

Doc's aren't there during the withdrawal period---the nurses deal with it and SEE the effect.

  Review all the other suggestions made of the other posts and WEAN yourself off these two--- of course the only thing I can say legally is under doctor supervision

Please consider getting a counselor. please consider being evaluated for ptsd and fibromyalgia caused by the unaddressed pain that can lead to each disorder that the doc's may be denying has anything to do with what you have been through.

I have issues sleeping - so I asked my PCP for some 5 mg Diazepam. The onco had given me Ambien, and not only it doesn't help me sleeping, it makes me wake up every hour or so.

The PCP said she is not very keen on benzodiazepines, I tried telling her that I only take them in times of need, that I have a high resistance to sleeping pills and I know that at least Diazepam has effect on me.. She insisted that I take a stron anti-histaminic, Hydroxizine. I finally said OK. I got home, and before taking the med I checked the side effects and whatnots. And there, right black on white "must not be used in patients with hyperthyroid. Please advise your doctor if you are hyperthyroid". I have Graves Disease. She knows it? WTH?!? Of course I didn't take it.

Anger?  I hate this disease!  I could turn this into a rant with little difficulty but no.  Oddly, out of all the anti anxiety meds...Xanax is the only one that actually works for me. 

To regain control of my 'new normal' life, I sought the help of a psychiatrist that specializes in breast cancer mets patients.  I attained an entire new view of the disease and the world and while each and every person with strep throat that goes to see a doc will walk out with the exact same prescription taken in the exact same way.  This is not the case with treating cancer or its side effects and the side effects of its treatments and our new-found up-side-down mental and emotional state.  Each and every one of us will be different.  Many things may be tried until you hit on the combination that works - the treatment that is most effective, what can be done to limit/deal with the side effects and what will work to ease pain and anxiety. 

There is no one answer...but yea, I have anger issues!

sas, honestly, I think the whole thing is ridiculous. I am a breast cancer patient (I still consider myself as a patient, not a survivor yet, untile the last tests after the chemo are done) and the only thing I am asking for is a lousy 5 mg Diazepam to take from time to time to be able to sleep (and refusing the Zolpidem as it has no effect - I even had the whole bottle with me to show it to her), and she thinks I'm a "drug seeker"? I am planning to go see her, not next week, as I will be in the first week after the chemo tx, but the week after next and slap the papers of those two medicines on the table in front of her.

Day that's why i suggest getting copies of her H &P and last set of notes. It will tell you what she is thinking. If she is unwilling to meet your pain needs in a time that is clear cut. It is time to get a new doc. In this clear cut time if she says the only way she will meet your need is by sending you to a pain mgt doc that is over reacting on her part again i beleive it suports getting a new PCP.

I also feel a lot of anger. I wasn't angry following my first dx as, with a strong family history, I half expected it and felt that I made a full recovery.  But the second time is what has put me in a different space. I don't feel that I can move on, I will never feel like a survivor, my hair hasn't grown back, I still have neuropathy in my feet, I hate that I lost my breasts, and I have lost a relationship. WTF did I do to deserve all this? Wasn't once enough? I see a therapist and I like her. But nothing can bring back what I lost and I don't like the new normal.

Yes, I have a much shorter fuse lately and I'm not even taking anything (yet). I believe it's a post traumatic stress reaction to the shock of dx after being totally healthy and running two miles a day, then having to get 3 biopsies and 3 surgeries and a ga-zilllllllllion tests in 3 months, then looking at 5 months of chemo, 6 weeks rads, 5 ys tamox, a ga-zillllllllion more high risk screenings to come, worry about what if, what if... Yes, I have a much shorter fuse lately. No one knows what we go through. I am so sorry to hearof  these unpleasant feelings and I so hope it will get better quickly.

Day. benzodiazipines  valium,xanax,ativan are all higher scheduled drugs. Simply means they are in a higher group of drugs that are considered controlled substances. Some docs won't prescribe them anymore because of fear of medical/legal consequences. They refer out to a pain mgt. doc to cover everything --even the benzo's.

Again your doc isn't doing anything to address your problems. Thats why I continue to say find a new doc. IN the middle of what I went through, which could be me writing your posts, my pcp died. The new pcp reacted the same way as yours is .Then on a very wonderful day by serendipity I met my new pcp. She had my pain,anxiety,sleep problems in control in one week. For me she is a saint. I have been exactly in your shoes.---except that my onc would not prescribe any pain med for the muscle,bone and joint pain caused by arimidex. Even though it was supported by mri findings that patellar bursitis of the knees was documented and Pet picked up bursitis in the left hip.-several months later subsequent mri of hips showed bone cysts circling the acetabular ring bilaterally That is the cup that the femur sets into.. All ample reason to be on pain med. Sleep deprivation from above and from initial bmx from underarm flaps that were being "SAVED" for graft material for nipples .I'm a side sleeper because of long standing back problems Sleeping on the flaps was only accomplished by pure exhaustion and only for short periods of time. That went on from Feb to end of Sept. Anxiety re all of the above plus DH dx'd with ca in april --3 months after me. Depression started in june. By that time FEB to JUNe,  I"d had 3 surgeries and a chemo that almost killed me which later was found to be an overdose caused by a drug interaction with norvasc. Norvasc also caused an overdose with arimidex and femara. All of this and all the doc's involved did not want to prescribe anything for any thing. Counselor suggessted ativan or valium two times a day for the anxiety,after first contact in July. (the infamous wait for a first new pateint appointment). I had all the records that i'm suggesting you get. No suggestion of any history of drug abuse and minimal use of anything prebmx. By end of Sept I was in CWP ---every joint muscle bone, except four fingers on each hand and all toes.Even with that evidence no perscriptions. Why did none of my doc's not manage my problems, I don't have a clue.

AS i said by serendipity i met my current SaintPCP, when I went in for f/u of an infection caused by a lab tech. This was dec 09. SHe put me on ativan, two types of pain med and an antidepressant.. All in the same day. In one week I was in the human race again. She then tested for food allergies that turned out to be numerous, and got me on a special diet.  Food allergies can be subtle. Food allergies can effect your immune systems as well as multiple other systems that cause them not to work right.

DAY-I'm not whistling in the wind with rhe recommendation that i made to you or by this thread to Pat.  It was more than I wanted to reveal at this time, but hopefully you will now be convinced, that the suggestion of changing PCP"s is in your own self interest. I was almost at the end of what I could tolerate. Had that lab tech not screwed up, I may have never met my Saint PCP. THe practice she is in, has 7 doc's. Each has private patients, and each day a doc is assigned to handle walkins. She was hired to fill the position held by my old Pcp who died. She had been with the practice only two weeks. Picking up my chart to see me was a random event, for the f/u to get the shot in the butt, for the infection caused by a tech screw up should have been a <10 minute contact. She didn't leave me for more than an hour. She listened>examined>labs cbc/cmet to make sure she wasn't missing anything>dx'd fibromyalgia> addressed the depression/anxiety>addrressed the diet>and gave me the shot, and prescribed all the meds I needed. THAT"S A DOC. -------Serindipity and God's blessing. That again is why i'm saying i walked (with difficulty)in your shoes. I can only hope for you and Pat that you find a SAINT DOC too! I hope you could follow all that I have written here. The lesson I learned is-- If a doc isn't listening and acting to fix your problems what good are they.

good luck

anger is my first middle and last name.the only thing that makes me feel better is the listeners in these groups.my motto since i got the big C is I AM CHEWING NAILS AND SPITTING RUST. my family calls me the warden..i was always tough as you can see by my name....now i need a filter for my mouth...ugh..

these groups have really saved my life.im angry 4 a lot of reasons as im sure u can relate to that BUT i am really angry at my dr who did a lot of wrong things and now anyone can read all these heartbreaking stories. porno..thats sick. just a little more to add to the anger..i feel we should have a little more privacy..the sisters have enough to deal with...GOD bless all of you.

About 4 years ago, after having a complete hysterectomy, I was really angry and would lash out at the drop of a hat. I didn't like myself very much, but just couldn't control it. After really telling a cop off when he stopped me for speeding one night (it turns out he was the son of a friend) I realized that I had a problem with anger. Had he not have been the son of a friend, I would have ended up in jail that night, I was really mean and disrespectful, actually I'm embarrassed about how I acted. Anyway, I went to the Dr and she prescribed Celexa. It was wonderful. All the tension and hatefulness went away. Now, 6 months after a BC diagnosis and Arimidex, I've found myself crying like a big old girl at the drop of a hat. It's just the opposite of how I was after the ovary removal. It's so weird how hormones and hormone killing drugs can really mess with our emotions. Anyway, back to the Dr I went, and she changed me to Lexapro. My emotions have leveled out again. I also was dealing with elevated liver enzymes at my very first 3 month onco visit, which didn't come down until the 3rd time tested. The onco had told me if the last test was still elevated I would need a bone scan and liver ct to check for mets. I was stage 1 grade 1 just 6 months ago. The possibility that I had mets now was totally freaking me out. I've only had BC for 6 months, but have learned to dread onco visits and blood work. It's not a wonder that we're having emotional issues!