Irrational fears and panic

karwiy

My husband who's always been somewhat of a hypochondriac now seems to be inordinately focused on his various health issues. He constantly loops a circuit of worst case scenarios - after self diagnosing from the internet he's convinced he needs foot or lymphatic surgeries or has testicular cancer.  He'll wake me in the middle of the night in an acute panic. I talk him through the anxiety and reassure him that the sky is not falling. It seems to work but is there any other way to deal with this? Are irrational runaway fears and paranoia something I can anticipate?

David J

Hi karwiy,

My DW had paranoid delusions when she was in mid stages. The doctor prescribed antipsychotics, which reduced the severity and frequency. Eventually they stopped altogether, I think because of progression of her dementia. Now, she has a general anxiety without specific fears. 

I have found a lot of issues go away as the disease progresses. 

karwiy

Thank you so much. That's reassuring, helpful and hopeful - all in scarce supply these days.

I appreciate your post.

Ernie123

My DW too suffered with sometimes severe paranoid delusions. As with David’s situation, our geriatric psychiatrist prescribed antipsychotic medications Risperidone and more recently Olanzapine. She also takes Escitalopram for anxiety. The medications have  been very effective, no adverse side effects, but provide a welcome relief of her symptoms. She has no short term memory, is always very confused and needs help with everything, but her mood is generally calm and content. She sleeps well and seldom has irrational fears.

My recommendation would be to have an assessment done by a geriatrician or geriatric psychiatrist. As your LO’s condition progresses it is helpful to have this medical link established so a rapid and informed response can be made if needed. There are many medications available to help with difficult symptoms but because of individual differences a bit of trial and error is sometimes needed to find the right meds and dosage. An experienced geriatric psychiatrist is in my opinion the best person to do this.

Jeff86

Ernie,

My DW is pharmacologically sisters with your DW—she is on escitalopram and olanzapine.  Just wanted to mention that for some patients olanzapine does have long term side effects.  My DW was experiencing lack of appetite, sleeping much longer, and reduced mobility.  Her neurologist addressed these concerns by cutting down the olanzapine dosage twice now, and I have observed improvements on all three issues that led to this change.

Of course, your DW’s mileage may vary, but just wanted to alert you to the potential over time.

Interestingly, the neurologist is also comfortable with the reduced dosage as anxiety tends to diminish with disease progression.  My DW would have said, “it’s an ill wind that blows no good.”

Ed1937

Jeff86 wrote:

My DW would have said, “it’s an ill wind that blows no good.”

Ill Wind (Remastered) 

 

 

karwiy

Ahh, love Frank - thanks for the reminder. Such a terrific tune. Thank you thank you.