stress and anger

Replies

By Greebo

Re: stress and anger
Tue 29 Aug 2006 23:52

1) Find a way to let the anger out harmlessly eg. kneading bread dough; mashing potatoes; chucking bottles in the bottle bank; thumping a pillow; writing it down, then tearing it up etc.

2) Seeing as the outbursts have only come on recently and you've been a carer for several years, I doubt the anger is only caused by your looking after your wife.

Anything which worries you and isn't normal for you is something which your GP should be told about. These outbursts must be worrying you or you wouldn't mention the m here, and they aren't normal for you, so... see your GP.

What you describe as outbursts may have a physical cause, and that can probably be fixed. If it doesn't have a physical cause, your GP can still refer you onto somebody able to diagnose and treat you if needed. Either way, I hope you find the help you need soon.

By jonno

Re: stress and anger
Wed 30 Aug 2006 14:00

Thanks greebo. I think your correct about there being a physical cause. About 5wks agoI hurt my back and was prescribed rather strong painkillers /anti-inflammatories by my gp. The side effects were quite unpleasant and I have discontinued using them. I looked the medication up on the net, and bingo ! The anger /moodswings etc I have been experiencing are all listed. What a relief, I thought I was going crazy. I'm told that these symptoms will disappear over the next few days. Once again thankyou for your welcome advice...JONNO

By CHERYL THE PERIL

Re: stress and anger
Wed 30 Aug 2006 14:52

Hi Jonno
Your so right to stop taking TRAMADOL. I was prescribed them by my doctor cos like you i have back pain and can't take anti inflamatories
( i don't actually know any one how can either). After taking one Tramadol i spent the next few hours either staring into space or babbling non stop, that was enough for me never took any more of them. I did feel a bit weird on and for a few days afterwards, so don't be surprisedof it takes a while for your symptoms tp disappear completely. But if you are still concerned go back to your GP. What really surprised me was that there was no information leaflet with the tablets. So i looked Tramadol up on the internet too. I think they are quite dangerous tablets and there should be a leaflet with them warning of possible side affects .
Hope you are feeling better . Regards Cheryl

By Greebo

Re: stress and anger
Wed 30 Aug 2006 19:50

I'm glad you seem to have tracked down the cause of the problem Jon.

Cheryl, sounds like tramadol has taken the place of Coproxamol in being prescribed without the GP necessarily thinking that hard about it, which is IMHO a pity .

Quite apart from being unlucky with side effects, GPs sometimes get the dosage wrong. The standard adult dose is trialled on an 11 stone fit & healthy young man. If you're bigger or smaller than that, or 60+, or you're female, or you just metabolise things faster or slower than the norm the right dosage for you could range from half the norm (or less) to twice the norm. Any time you find something is too strong or not strong enough, your GP needs to know so that he/she can adjust your dosage in future.

Every packet of tramadol I've picked up from the chemist does have a leaflet in with it (including common side effects). The pharmacist was extremely keen to emphasise that it was v strong and more suitable for night use when being out of it matters less.

If your back pain's still bad, it may be worth asking your GP to let you try distalgesic (dihydrocodeine and paracetamol). It's not an anti-inflammatory, but it's stronger than what you can get over the counter, and if you only use it to take the edge off the pain (instead of getting rid of all the pain) it's not addictive.

My husband is on tramadol for pain bad enough to nearly always wake him up at night and he's allowed to take it during the day if the pain is exceptionally bad, but it's not his main painkiller. The main one is solpadol (effervescent codeine phosphate + paracetamol) up to 4 times a day plus arthrotec (diclofenac + misoprostol to reduce the risk of gastric bleeding), and he's on ranitidine to reduce the ulcer risk even further. Research done by WHO found that the codeine phosphate + paracetamol synergise with the opioid in tramadol, (ie enhance the painrelief) without any extra toxicity.

Bit surprised at tramadol being given as a 1st resort after anti-inflammatories though - there's other stuff which could be used. I hope you find the right pain reilief for you soon.

BTW sorry this was long, didn't have time to condense it

By jonno

Re: stress and anger
Thu 31 Aug 2006 17:14

Hi Cheryl and Greebo. First off thankyou for your kindness in taking the time to offer me advice. I'm glad to report that today I feel much better, (No mood swings or anger) so the medication must be getting out of my system.In future I will thoroughly research any meds I'm prescribed on the web before taking them. Thankfully My back pain is tolerable now so I'll settle for a drug free regime interspersed with small and frequent doses of self-pity Best wishes to you both. JONNO