Q. I suffer from headaches, insomnia, depression and anxiety. Please help.

Hello doctor,

I have been suffering from headaches for the past 80 days. I smoked four cigarettes every night and two every day early in the morning for 30 days, and then I stopped it with nicotine gum. For the past 160 days, I have been suffering from insomnia. Five days after I quit smoking, I started having headaches. So, I just took OTC painkillers for ten days, and later it became more severe. I consulted four different doctors, but it did not help. They prescribed Amitriptyline, Topiramate, Escitalopram, Divalproex sodium, Propranolol, and Flunarizine in different combinations. I am totally messed up due to all these medicines. My headache gets worse if I watch a movie. I got my eyes checked by an ophthalmologist. He said I have +0.25 power on both eyes. I am a quality engineer, and I have been staying alone, far away from home, for the last 12 months. And my concern is that I am not able to concentrate and communicate at work due to these headaches. I stopped the gums and started Bupropion. But I am not craving cigarettes any longer. They are almost never on my mind at all. But now, I have experienced panic attacks a few times every month for the last six months. I have never touched alcohol. The only mistake I made was smoking cigarettes, and I felt very guilty about that and stopped it. But, this headache, depression, and anxiety due to personal problems are killing me every day.

Thank you, doctor,

We were a middle-class family with enough income and more than enough happiness earlier, but after some debts, my dad became an alcoholic, and he behaved like a schizophrenic. I tried my best to get him treated, and after a lot of doctor visits, I got fed up, and I left him as it was. My grandmother and mom are currently taking care of him. I performed well at school and college and scored good percentages. I had great dreams of pursuing my education further, but due to my dad's debts, I am here far away from home. I got selected in the campus selections and completed my training period. But now, I am going through a lot of health problems like insomnia and typhoid. I was doing well at work and got appreciated for it. But now, I do not know what happened to me. I had a disappointing love life. I was an extrovert once, but now, I am an introvert. After joining work, I learned how egoistic and selfish people can be. So, I do not have any real friends here. I am lonely, and my teammates are the only people I communicate with. Now, I get thoughts like why am I stuck in this job which is unrelated to what I studied. I am not even making good money. We sold half of our property to clear half of my dad's debts. I cannot even sleep properly now due to nightmares. I totally hate my life and job. I have become short-tempered and arrogant.