Hello, recently diagnosed with Crohn's / Panic Attacks

about a month ago I went to the ER because at the time I felt like I was dying, heart rate was high, could feel my heart beating, etc. They kept me overnight looked at my bloodwork and said I was ok to go. But for the next 3 days I basically slept, felt weak, and stressed about what was wrong with me. Eventually I got a bit better, ate, but was still exhausted. So I went to my Doc, did some blood work, and found out I was iron deficient anemia, which stressed me out even further because anemia can be caused by a lot of things. I was unable to work, and I was too scared to be home alone with my daughter, so my wife has missed work as well. Then came the bowel changes, loss of appetite (though after my first hospital scare I wanted to make changes so I was already reducing my diet). My Doc scheduled me to have a Endoscopy / Colonoscopy done but before I could get it scheduled the combination of everything that had been affecting me made me feel the need to go to the ER again.

There they did a CAT scan that revealed colitis, and I had the Endo / Colo scope done 2 days later which revealed the inflammation near the illeum, minor ulcers in the colon, a stricture in the small intestines near the illeum and also duodenal ulcers caused by NSAID use. I was in the hospital for 5 days and it took a toll on me, I'd lay in bed with my heart pounding and thinking I'm going to have a heart attack. They put me on Solumedrol which exacerbated the anxiety. I had a bad case of chills one night. Then when it was time to go home I had another panic attack, I was afraid to be away from where I could be watched...

I've only just started controlling my first flare up. I'm on Prednisone 40mg the first week, then 5mg less each week til done, 2 different antibiotics, Xanax and Zoloft for the anxiety, in addition to my high blood pressure med, I'm on a low residue diet for now, and still need to figure out supplements, especially finding ways to get my anemia under control since iron supplements can supposedly irritate my tract.

I know they say controlling your anxiety well help but that is the part I'm finding hardest to deal with right now. When I take my meds the side effects get me into the what ifs, feeling my heartbeat from being anemic for the past month is also a huge contribution. I want to get things under control but it can't be done in one day. It's hard to believe all this hit me at once. The lifestyle changes me and my family have had to make, and the decisions we still have are so overwhelming.

How do you cope?

So compared to what some others are going through with their Crohn's I'm not in terrible shape. But the departure from my normal life is the hard part, hence, the anxiety. Trying to find the right diet just starting out is hard.