eeyore

I've made reference in a couple of posts a few weeks ago to how anxiety was kicking my butt. It's bad enough that I'm back in counseling; I've set deadlines for how long it can go on before I have to do something definite, and I'm making plans for the definite things I can do that don't include arithmetic involving the official table of drops.

I haven't been a lot of fun. I'm grateful for The Excellent Wife (TEW), who has been marvellously supportive (and who is much more hopeful that this thing will pass than I have been). The weather and other commitments have meant that I haven't seen my usual biking pals, and I miss their contact.

There is some possibility that the anxiety is related to a hypertension medication, amlodipine, that I started a few weeks ago. The medication is quite effective, and "usually well tolerated", in the words of my physician. But the anxiety started shortly after I started the medication (it started with a sense of weakness in the extremities, but that's a common attribute of my anxiety), and the anxiety has lessened since I stopped using the amlodipine a few days ago. There are other possible causes and factors (for example, as I said, I've started counseling), but I think I'd rather try a different medication. (Increased anxiety is listed as a rare side effect of amlodipine, but I have problems with anxiety anyway, so maybe I'm more susceptible. Or maybe the anxiety is from another cause entirely.)

My wife's family have offered lots of support. Some of my coworkers are concerned; others are just sick of me (I can see why; I haven't always been pleasant). To everyone: my thanks for your tolerance, and my apologies for having been a wet blanket over the past several weeks.