Posted by mrgeek on March 8, 2004, at 13:52:27
Ok...I'll try to keep this from being a book.
Quick background: Anxiety runs in my family, almost primarily and solely on my father's side. I have social anxeity. My sister and father have what I believe to be generalized anxiety and moderate OCD. I also see some obssesive compulsive tendicies in myself, but not to the extent of my father and sister.
My primary concerns are with my father. He is 45 years old. He has high blood pressure for which he has been taking a drug called ENAPRIL. He is slightly overweight, but far from obese. His diet is certainly not healthy and probably contributes to his high blood pressure, but I am convinced that the primary factor causing his HBP is his anxiety.
Am I correct to belive that obssesive compulsive tendencies can be and are usually a manifestation of underlying anxiety?
The major problem is that my father is not as concerned about his health as I believe he should be. He hasn't been on his HBP medication for a few months. He still eats whatever he wants, which usually consists of lots of butter/fat/sweets.
His family is from the "old school". A place where anxiety disorders do not exist and people just deal with their life day by day. I have finally got him to consider the fact that he MAY have an anxiety disorder, but I don't know if he will do anything about it.
The main problem is that his anxiety/OCD affects my entire family on a daily basis. He gets mad at the most minute things, his perfectionistic tendencies annoy all of us to the point where we often do not look forward to him coming home.
The doctor he sees has never suggested that anxiety may be one of the primary causes of his HBP. I think he needs to go to the doctor and ask the doctor about this as a possibility. I think I can get him to do so-but he needs me to tell the doctor what to ask, etc because he doesn't really understand it.
I have currently been taking Klonopin daily to manage my social anxiety and I'm wondering if a drug along the same lines might help my father out. In helping him out it would help our entire family live a happier life.
Am I correct to assume that since anxiety runs in my family and since mine is presumably somewhat acquired from my father that the same treatment that is helping me may help him as well? I.E., is it probably that we have the same neurologicial deficiencies?
Do my suspicions make sense? My father is 45 and he doesn't think medication can do anything for him since he's lived like this for so long, but I beg to differ with him. I dont think it's too late to improve his life and I really want to help in any way I can. What would some of you say or do in my situation?
All apologies if this board is not the appropriate place for this kind of question, but I am kind of looking for advice as to what kind of medication might help him along with ways to approach tackling his anxiety disorder.
Thank you for any help.
/mrgeek
poster:mrgeek
thread:322089
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20040308/msgs/322089.html