I have been my wife’s caregiver for a few years who suffers from Alzheimer’s and is getting worse. It is now getting me down and I suffer from flu-like symptoms for the last three weeks that I do not seem able to get rid of. I am not sleeping very well now, wife up and down stairs all night, very aggressive, wearing all sorts of clothes, i.e. pajamas under day clothes etc., and smells but won’t shower.

My daughter was born with congenital heart disease (CHD), Fallot’s. She had her first major bypass at 7. It would seem that this did it for me, and this was when my first panic attack started. I was put on anti-depressants to stop them, and it did stop them. I am still getting the tightening of the throat muscle wen anxious, tightening and spasms in my back and muscle under my chest, it is awful. It’s as if doctors can’t find something to relax me.

Stress has been ongoing since I was in my 20s and has worsened as I got older.

The demands of being a caregiver along with usual daily activities have caused additional stress. I will work more on exercising, yoga, and continue listening to light classical music while reading before bedtime. Also I do have a stress CD which is beneficial.