Wellness

[White Picket Fence]

Thank you all for your responses. I am so uptight because I am about to lose my Uncle to this disease and my brother who was only 69 when he got it. My Uncle has days left. It is all around me in my family so we feel the odds of getting it are pretty darn good. Then throw in what the psychologist said about anxiety meds being something to contribute to getting this disease, all I can think about it losing my mind, literally.

It is just so scary to think you might wake up one day and suddenly have memory loss. I will see my primary Dr. but I saw him for my check up in September and am not due to see him until February or March can't remember. It is true that being on those drugs for anxiety has changed my life and I need them. But it is still scary to think they could push me further into the disease. This is a hard situation. But thanks again to all for your posts.

BTW-The lady that said her mother was on these drugs and lived to be 90+, you didn't say if your mother had Alzheimers in the family?

[HappyDaze]

It seems like the anxiety med you are using may not be working as well since you are so anxious about this, and I don't mean to be mean, it is just that you are obviously very stressed/anxious. Talk to your doctor about the disease, your family history of the disease and the meds you are taking and all your concerns. Obsessing about something that may or may not happen isn't going to prevent it from happening if it is going to happen (hopefully it won't!) but what it will do is waste your time obsessing and stressing rather enjoying life and appreciating all the good things you DO have and enjoying those around you and the beauty around you. Focus on the good, not the bad. Constant stress and anxiety can be worse for your health than medications you take.

One study is not the end all be all.

[LilacTree]

On 11/19/2014 Moon River said:

Thank you all for your responses. I am so uptight because I am about to lose my Uncle to this disease and my brother who was only 69 when he got it. My Uncle has days left. It is all around me in my family so we feel the odds of getting it are pretty darn good. Then throw in what the psychologist said about anxiety meds being something to contribute to getting this disease, all I can think about it losing my mind, literally.

It is just so scary to think you might wake up one day and suddenly have memory loss. I will see my primary Dr. but I saw him for my check up in September and am not due to see him until February or March can't remember. It is true that being on those drugs for anxiety has changed my life and I need them. But it is still scary to think they could push me further into the disease. This is a hard situation. But thanks again to all for your posts.

BTW-The lady that said her mother was on these drugs and lived to be 90+, you didn't say if your mother had Alzheimers in the family?

Did all of these people in your family take this genre of meds? Just wondering.

[dooBdoo]

On 11/19/2014 HappyDaze said:

It seems like the anxiety med you are using may not be working as well since you are so anxious about this, and I don't mean to be mean, it is just that you are obviously very stressed/anxious. Talk to your doctor about the disease, your family history of the disease and the meds you are taking and all your concerns. Obsessing about something that may or may not happen isn't going to prevent it from happening if it is going to happen (hopefully it won't!) but what it will do is waste your time obsessing and stressing rather enjoying life and appreciating all the good things you DO have and enjoying those around you and the beauty around you. Focus on the good, not the bad. Constant stress and anxiety can be worse for your health than medications you take.

One study is not the end all be all.

This is what I was thinking, too, HappyDaze. Thanks for saying it so thoughtfully and tactfully. I would add: gradually backing off medications, then stopping them altogether, isn't always difficult, much less "impossible" or a "horror." It can be extremely different from one person to the next. I speak from experience, eventually used more natural methods and eventually eliminated meds for anxiety (not saying everyone can, just saying I was able to do so). Worries really do us no good unless we turn them into useful actions.

[Gooday]

Give it another few months and a new study will come out debunking previous stories.

My mom had Alzheimer's and died at age 75. She also had Parkinson's. The woman never took a pill of ANY type. She was 5'2"" and weighed 110lbs her entire life. She did not drink and quit smoking in her 30's.

I'm not buying into it.

[LilacTree]

If NJ passes the law of assisted suicide and I see it coming I will avail myself of those services. There are a number of reasons why I would take that path. I have lived long enough and it's all downhill from here, and not just healthwise.

Please don't be all shocked, many individuals feel this way. One should have a choice, which I think is a freedom long overdue.

ETA: Just wanted to add that when I say "it" I mean Alzheimer's, not the law. I re-read and realized there were two ways to interpret what I said.

[Gsmom]

On 11/19/2014 Ford1224 said:

If NJ passes the law of assisted suicide and I see it coming I will avail myself of those services. There are a number of reasons why I would take that path. I have lived long enough and it's all downhill from here, and not just healthwise.

Please don't be all shocked, many individuals feel this way. One should have a choice, which I think is a freedom long overdue.

Wouldn't that law be just for those suffering and terminally ill ?

[LilacTree]

On 11/19/2014 Gsmom said:

On 11/19/2014 Ford1224 said:

If NJ passes the law of assisted suicide and I see it coming I will avail myself of those services. There are a number of reasons why I would take that path. I have lived long enough and it's all downhill from here, and not just healthwise.

Please don't be all shocked, many individuals feel this way. One should have a choice, which I think is a freedom long overdue.

Wouldn't that law be just for those suffering and terminally ill ?

I don't know. Am I terminally ill? Well, we are all terminal. Am I "suffering?" Definitely. And really sick of it.

[CouponQueen]

After taking this medication for 25 years it is definitely a physical dependence.

It probably doesn't even do the entire job any longer but your body is used to the medication..I agree with HappyDaze 100%.

We use this class of drugs often at work (psych) and the MD's don't like to prescribe long term and will try and switch to atarax or another non addicting/controlled medication.

Being on this 25+ years. I am shocked that the MD's are not trying to titrate people down.

Developing Alzheimer's from this class of medication would not be my concern...being on a medication for 25+ years is. There is nothing wrong with taking anti depressants they have literally saved millions of lives and I see it daily..side effects are part of all meds..you need to weigh the risks vs benefits.

Going to risk the side effects of Xanax but wouldn't anything else..including anti depressants..Of course you wouldn't...

[Theoriginallacey]

I think I would be more concerned regarding your family history than the actual drug. Were all or any of them on the same type of medication as well? We all have risk factors for something in our lives, you can't live your life worrying about something that may never happen. Better to just deal with what comes when it gets here.