Please help me understand...

condo girl

New Member

Joined : Feb 2012

Posts : 2

Posted 2/29/2012 3:16 AM (GMT 0)

I am going to try my best to make a long story really short...

I am a 39 year old female and have been a mess for the past 2 months. My family and I went on a cruise and when I got off the ship I was feeling like I had sea legs... completely normal according to what I was reading online but then I started to have this odd light headedness about me and a weird burning sensation in my arm and chest. I started to look that up and saw that it could be a heart attack so after a few days of feeling like that I went to urgent care and they did an ekg and it was normal. Said I had vertigo and some anxiety based on what I read and sent me home with some meclazine for the vertigo and told me to follow up with my pcp when I got back home. Took one pill and felt better so I decided to leave my kids with our friends and went out with my husband. Wasn't feeling so well when we were out and then took the 2nd pill. about 2 hours later I felt like my throat was closing and my heart was racing so I took a benedryl thinking it was an allergic reaction and drove myself to the er (didn't want my kids to wake up and not find their mom or dad home!). They did another ekg, chest xray, stuck a scope down my throat... everything looked normal other then some mild hyperinflation of my lungs which the doc said would be expected since he felt I was having a panic attack. He then said how did you get to Florida and when I said we drove he said oh.. we should do some blood work and make sure there is no blood clot. Blood work came back elevated so I had to get a cat scan with contrast which came back normal. He said follow up with pcp.

Fast forward... back home, actually feeling ok and the a week later all my symptoms came back so I went to my pcp (I haven't been there is 7 years b/c I am usually a very healthy person and work out 6 days a week, just go to my gyn yearly) he did some blood work and everything came back normal. Symptoms didn't go away so he did some more blood work and checked vit b12 and sed rate, again normal. He said I want you to go on celexa and have some ativan just incase. I told him I never had an issue with anxiety and I rather not start on celexa but I will take the ativan just incase I need it.

In the meantime, I decided, I know my body, something is not right and I went to an ENT, Cardiologist, Spine Specialist, Neurologist, Eye Doc... had brain and cervical spine mri's with contrast and echostress test.. again, everything normal. Not one doc is thinking that this is anything serious and thinks that the only real symptom is the lightheadedness and everything else is anxiety related.

Because I don't understrand anxiety, I don't get how a person could feel so sick. I wake up lightheaded and have major bouts of feeling like my chest is tightening and I can't breath even though I have been reassured that I am healthy. Would theses symptoms be contsant with anxiety? You would think that it would go away after hearing over and over again that I am fine.

Please,someone help.. I can't deal with feeling like this anymore. I guess I just have to be sure that this is indeed anxiety based before I start popping pills.

Thank you,
J

zirconia

Regular Member

Joined : Feb 2012

Posts : 29

Posted 2/29/2012 3:30 AM (GMT 0)

Yes, IMO, your symptoms can be a manifestation of serious anxiety and/or panic. The tightness in the chest can also be reflux/heartburn, which I have. It is okay to try an anti-anxiety medication to see if it helps you. Just don't take more than the doctor recommends or prescribes. Celexa is generally used for depression, which you may well have. It is an "SSRI antidepressant," and is in the family with Prozac, Zoloft, Lexapro, etc. You appear to be averse to taking pills, which is fairly reasonable since you have had so many tests come back negative and you sound like a person who does not want to be on unnecessary medication. Just try the Ativan (I cannot take Ativan, but I take Klonopin, which is in the same family of anxiolytic drugs).

Are you feeling overwhelmed by your life? Is there too much going on? Are you having fear that you have an even more serious disease somehow? Are you feeling guilty about something? Answer these questions, and decide if perhaps you need to talk to a member of the clergy or go to a therapist and unload whatever it is that is bothering you, even if it involves feeling "brushed off" by doctors who can find nothing wrong and you think there is something wrong. There are so many cases where doctors brush patients off and it turns out the patient has something that does need to be addressed, even if it is "just" anxiety.

You just strike me as someone who is tired and who is in fear and both of these conditions can drive anxiety. These two conditions can be more insidious than we realize. I encourage you to get more rest and look at your life a little more introspectively and seriously. Take time for yourself and say no when you need to. I send you blessings and hope that you will feel better. I'm glad you have posted out here, because it is a positive first step.

Scaredy Cat

Elite Member

Joined : Sep 2006

Posts : 28868

Posted 2/29/2012 4:15 AM (GMT 0)

Hi CG and welcome!

It is very hard to believe that somethng that starts in your mind, can cause so many physical symptoms, but it does happen. I have experienced it myself and read enough posts to know that it is true.

I am glad that you have been thoroughly checked out by your doctors and that everything was fine...now you can start working on treating the anxiety. Did your doctor offer you a referral to a therapist? If not, I really believe that this is something that you should look into. I went through a type of therapy called CBT, and have recovered from daily panic attacks without medication.

This works for some people. Others use both therapy and medication together and that is a great treatment option as well. If however, you prefer not to use meds, then therapy is the way to start.

We also have a great resource guide here in our forum. It is full of great self-help ideas and links to videos that you could get started on today. Something as simple as breathing exercises can greatly reduce symptoms! When anxious we tend to hyperventilate...that actually changes the ph of the blood...which is then being pumped throughout the body, making all of our systems feel off! Proper breathing and restoration of O2/CO2 levels reverses these feelings. Give these exercises a try for a few days and see how you feel.

Keep posting here with us too. Talking with those who understand is very helpful! This is a great place for information and support.:)

Take care,

Scaredy Cat

justwant2bemeagain

Regular Member

Joined : Dec 2011

Posts : 140

Posted 2/29/2012 4:23 AM (GMT 0)

hi condo girl,
The same things started to happen to me when I was 37. Every doctor I went to said the same thing... NOTHING IS WRONG WITH YOU. Test after test and ER visit after ER visit,still nothing. After doing my own research and having to put up with these terrible symptons, at 41 I finally figured out what it was. Perimenopause. The doctors never thought about it because they all thought that I was too young. I found a bioidentical hormone replacement thearpist and have been on BHRT for just over a year. I am 45 now and wish that I knew then, what I know now. Have your hormones checked ( by a specialist). Good Luck to you and I hope you feel better soon.

Blessings, Michelle

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