So I'm back from the doctor.

[Deleted]

Went through a bunch of the usual blah blah/question/answer. 

Passed the depression screening with flying colors. 

So-So on the anxiety. She said some of it is my personality in general (and normal). Some of it is life stage at the moment. Some of it is generalized anxiety.

I feel good about that. I was honest. H was with me and agreed with my responses. Asked him a bunch of questions too.

Waiting on a thyroid test, rheumatoid arthritis result and some vitamin deficiency results. 

She's placing bets on either my thyroid or arthritis causing the underlying anxiety. She says my unexplained weight gain is a cortisol reaction but one that strong is usually caused by something. Anxiety alone increases it but not to my extent. 

She gave me an Rx for the smallest dose of lexapro. Told me it would help me before it'd hurt me so feel free to take it for a few months. At the very least it'll relax me enough to "retrain" my thought process.
 
Followup in a month. Or tomorrow if something comes back weird. 

[jeaniebueller]

glad you went in and have a plan. That is a huge step.

[Deleted]

Jul 27, 2015 13:44:36 GMT -5 jeaniebueller said:

glad you went in and have a plan. That is a huge step.

Thanks.

I do feel better just going. 

We'll see if anything else comes back. I'm sort of hoping so. Like generalized anxiety disorder is definitely me, but also not me so I left feeling a little weird about that. 

I feel like she told me "you're normally crazy but not really." Ha.  

One thing at a time though. 

[irish]

I'm glad you went in, especially with your dh for the support. Good that they ran tests and didn't just look at things in terms of just anxiety and/or depression.

Fingers crossed the test results help you.

{{hugs}}

[Jem]

Can I ask what the link is between RA and anxiety? I have RA so this is interesting to me. And glad that you had a positive experience with your doctor and you have a plan.

[Deleted]

Jul 27, 2015 13:48:28 GMT -5 Jem said:

Can I ask what the link is between RA and anxiety? I have RA so this is interesting to me. And glad that you had a positive experience with your doctor and you have a plan.

She was a nice doctor. First time I met her and she was really good. Asked a lot of the right questions. 

I don't know if the link is really direct. More like I have some neck/should pain going on, feel so swollen, generally tired all the time and weird weight issues going on which led her to think RA. The RA I didn't know I may/may not have has made me crabby and exhausted and annoyed at the world which has increased my anxiety levels. She's basically looking for the root cause of my anxiety rather than my anxiety being the cause. KWIM? 

[Jem]

Jul 27, 2015 13:52:03 GMT -5 @justdairy said:

Jul 27, 2015 13:48:28 GMT -5 Jem said:

Can I ask what the link is between RA and anxiety? I have RA so this is interesting to me. And glad that you had a positive experience with your doctor and you have a plan.

She was a nice doctor. First time I met her and she was really good. Asked a lot of the right questions. 

I don't know if the link is really direct. More like I have some neck/should pain going on, feel so swollen, generally tired all the time and weird weight issues going on which led her to think RA. The RA I didn't know I may/may not have has made me crabby and exhausted and annoyed at the world which has increased my anxiety levels. KWIM? 

Yes, that makes a lot of sense. I can completely understand how chronic pain/being uncomfortable could increase anxiety levels. Thanks for sharing. I really hope you start to have some relief soon.

[carolinagirl831]

Sounds a like a good plan. Good for you for going, that is a huge step!

[namasteak]

I have been on a low dose Lexapro several times for situational anxiety and it was amazing for me. I hope it works well for you too!

[greycat]

When my thyroid is off I definitely can feel sort of depressed and have weird mood issues. Hopefully you'll have some answers soon enough. Glad you went in.