My mom gets herself so worked up about her constipation and stress, which I've written before. Her anxiety seems like she's getting a heart attack or stroke but it wears off. Can something like this actually lead to her getting a stroke or heart attack. What I'm saying can her anxiety/panic attacks lead to her getting a stroke?
Your last paragraph makes total sense and I responded to you in a another thread. My mom's physical therapist and occupational therapist privately suggested to me it could be the starting of Parkinson's! 😞 Her hands don't shake all the time, maybe they're a little always tiny shaky I can't figure it out yet...when she's having a spell of anxiety her voice definitely sounds like she has Parkinson's.
With her last TIA, the MRI showed another mini stroke at the brainstem area
My mom's geriatric psychiatrist was a believer in getting ahead of the anxiety with small regular doses of klonopin,, rather than a larger dose when panic had already set in. There are also SSRI and SSNI antidepressants that have antianxiety properties.
My mother wouldn't take any such meds, anyway. So she gets herself stressed, and I'm sure raises her bp. She's had TIAs and has atrial fibrillation, so she is at increased risk for stroke.
My mom suffered from anxiety and depression her whole life. Her PCP gave her a benzo to take "as needed". Of course, as a child of an alcoholic father and siblings, she was afraid of addiction issues. so she never "got ahead" of the anxiety.
Once we switched her to a geriatrician, who hooked her up with a geriatric psychiatrist, mom was put on a proper dose of a better antianxiety med, on a regular basis. She was under "doctor's orders" to take this med. And it helped with ALL of her other issues. She still resisted the idea of taking an antidepressant, which we all (including the doctor) felt would help her day to day functioning.
Came the stroke and mom was in intensive rehab. The geriatric psych at the rehab said to me "as part of the post stroke protocol, we put patients on an antidepressant". I said "no arguments from me". It helped with mom's recovery.
But if you're not comfortable with that med, have you considered SpiritDancer's suggestion for meditation therapy, or other noninvasive, nonmedical methods of distressing?
If constipation and stress are the reasons for the stress (not to be redundant on stress causing more stress), how have you tried to address those, as the underlying causes? Is she eating a healthy diet with adequate fruits and vegetables to avoid constipation? If it does happen, does something like a little bit of prune juice work? Does she eat nuts? They're helpful as well.
Perhaps if you find safe solutions to the causes, the stress may at least be minimized.
But stress can compound already existing stress. So try something like music therapy, art therapy, pet therapy, or nature therapy. My father is in a terminal state now, and has a lot of challenges, including limited ability to move around, to eat and to drink. For years we've used natural therapies, so I wasn't surprised when one of the nurses told me that a day or so ago he kept calling out for music, music, music!
So I'm buying a new portable CD player, taking his CDs to the rehab facility today, and taking more home to dupe and also take to the facility tomorrow. Some of the CDs aren't easily replaceable now that the wonderful Borders has closed, and I don't want to take the chance of them disappearing at the facility.
So think about it - try something nonmedical for stress reduction.
And back to your question - stress after the 2017 inauguration was I'm positive the cause of my own stroke. So I try to avoid listening to news on the fiascos and embarrassing juvenile behavior carried out in DC.
Simple question for you: is your mother receiving qualified medical attention, yes or no?
For a week all she wanted to do was stay in bed and could not participate in therapy, so the Neuro changed the Xanax to take as needed.
I'm confused as to what is best for her. When she gets anxiety it looks like she's trying to have a stroke also.