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Anxiety & Panic Disorders
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Posted 2/18/2013 5:16 PM (GMT 0)
27 yr old man

So, alot has been going on in my life the past few years. I started having anxiety and panic about 5 years ago. For the first year I would constantly worry about time passing by and getting old fast. I was placed on lexapro for awhile and it worked despite the lousy side effects. It would come and go. I actually had a whole year without the dreads. about a year ago, I had a set back to fear and anxiety. I now worry about my health constantly. I will have a good day, maybe even three without anxiety and all out fear. I was placed on high blood pressure medicine about six months ago. I am a little over weight and I smoke. I have a chest pain and I flip out and rush to the emergency room. If I have a pain in my left leg (which I had knee surgery from an accident) I worry about blood clots. Right now I'm dizzy with pressure in my ear and I'm setting here worried about an aneurysm even though I know it's probably just my sinuses. I am prescribed and occasionally take buspirone, but, it makes me extremely light headed. I don't know what to do. I'm so tired of dealing with my thoughts. I dread going to work now. Any suggestions?
Posted 2/18/2013 5:53 PM (GMT 0)
Hi zackar and welcome!

Well you have come to the right place.:) Many of us here suffer or have suffered health anxiety.

I can be debilitating, often consuming our daily thoughts, and taking away our ability to do the things that we need and want to do.

You mentioned medication, but have you considered or tried any therapy for managment of your issue? I as well as many others here can tell you that it works.

Why not make an appointment with your doctor to discuss a possibility of another medication...one that wil work for you with minimal side effects...and while you are there, ask for a therapy referral.

CBT in particular is very effective for treating anxiety with health worries.

I can also make some good books recommendations for you on the subject of health anxiety...let me know and I will post the links for them.

You may also want to do a search here at HW (upper right, blue icon) to see older posts on the subject. Just type in key words (health anxiety, fear of illness, ect.) and see just how many posts we have on the subject. Just reading about other's similar stuggles can be a comfort.

I hope that you will continue to post with us. Let us know how we can be of support.:)

Talk to you soon,

S.C.

Posted 2/18/2013 6:23 PM (GMT 0)
Thank you so much, I'm making an appointment tomorrow.I have been kicking around the idea. Thanks for the nudge!!!!!!
Posted 2/18/2013 6:52 PM (GMT 0)
It was one of the best investments of my time and effort I have ever made.;) I always recommend it to anyone wanting to find relief from the effects of anxiety.

Best wishes in finding someone, and working out the med situation as well.

Keep us posted and we will be here for you as you go along your path to recovery!

S.C.

Posted 2/21/2013 10:20 AM (GMT 0)
hey zacker

im new to the forum too and also suffering health anxiety. i too am considering CBT i just wanted to ask you if you speak to ur close friends and relatives about your fears. i suffered in silence for months about anxiety as i feared an unsympathetic response and things like "don't be so ridiculous and you are being silly" i recently opened up to my boyfriend who although was very understanding and urged me to see my doctor he did say some of the things i dreaded and told me he thought i was getting myself in a state for nothing .. i felt angry and hurt at the time but later felt so much better and relaxed. i tell you this because you are young like me and no matter how bad you are feeling you probably do not have any major health issue .. im not sure what your situation is if you are open about your fears or not but i just wanted to share what helps me.. don't not tell others how you feel incase you think they will think you are mad or stupid even if you are not happy with their reaction you may feel a whole lot better getting it out.. saying some of fears out loud made me realise how irrational i was being.

take care
Jenna x
Posted 2/21/2013 3:10 PM (GMT 0)
Hey Jenna,

I have talked to many friends and family many times. My mother, brother, all my aunt's and grandmother on my mother's side all have bad anxiety and take medications. Most people tell me "just don't worry", which translates to me ' I wish I understood you, but I don't have a clue what you're going through'. I remember a time, not long ago, when I didn't have a care in the world. There has been alot of crazy things happen in my life lately, and I feel like I am shellshocked. I can't wait to talk to a therapist. I know someone can help me reprogram my thought process. I am a Christian. My father tells me to pray about it all the time. I pray everyday, some times several. I can't help but revert right back to my gloom and doom. Since I experience anxiety all day, even when I don't feel it, I'm thinking about it.
Posted 2/21/2013 4:16 PM (GMT 0)
Thats good you have someone to talk to but i know the feeling of them not quite understanding its extreamly disheartning.

I can also total relate to you saying not to long ago you didnt hae a care in the world, my god i do beat myself up over that thought my anxiety only realy began after a bad spell of costochondritis (inflamation in your sternum and ribs) anyway made me very away of my chest and all the feling and started getting really relentless palpitations.. but i think back to prior that and i realy was skipping about now a care in the world, and now my days are eaten up by anxiety and worring thoughts there are days i feel i realy dont think of anything else at all.

If therapy is the next step for you i wish you best of luck. I am trying out yoga a find myself doing anxious behaviours like shaking my leg and puling my eyelashes out without realising it so im hoping al be more relaxed once i get into yoga.

Jenna x
Posted 2/22/2013 12:09 AM (GMT 0)
zacker, I can totally relate. I just posted my introduction & reading what you just wrote sounds like me (mine was way longer though).
My doctor also prescribed lexipro, but I haven't started it yet for fear of the side effects. Can you tell me about your experience with it (side effects)?
It seems like only a month or so ago I didn't have a care in the world. Now I am having a hard time doing daily functions & I am so stressed wondering where this all came from & if it will ever go away.
I started with a therapist last week but you know the initial visits aren't normally all that helpful. So here i sit on the computer instead of doing the things I normally do. This just sucks.
I have to agree with jenna that at your age there's probably really nothing wrong. But then I look at myself and can honestly say I don't blame you for not believing that.
I hope it helps to know you are not alone...let's keep sharing ideas until we find some that work.
Posted 2/22/2013 12:53 AM (GMT 0)
I too can relate. I post all the time looking for fellow members to keep my fears and anxiety in check. I fear taking new meds. Sometimes even Motrin makes me nervous. This forum really helps make me feel not so alone. Welcome
Posted 2/22/2013 1:27 AM (GMT 0)
Hey guys and gals, its the old man here, Larry.
The fear of trying to explain your feeling to someone you Love but don't want to be dissapointed in you are honest feelings. Some will have sympathy, some will understand, but no-one will really relate to you unless they have had a real anxity atack. I didnt understand at all when my Wife started having sever anxity and panic attacks. it didnt matter where we were or what we were doing, Several times she tried to jump out of the car said she couldnt breath, we went to a restraunt many times and she would seem ok we would order food and she would jump up and run out of the restruant, these things happened so many times I can't count. I Loved Her, but I didnt have a clue what she was really going through, then after nearly 30 years of marrage when I was 48, whith nothing wrong in my life or health I set down on the couch and just keept falling, "like a freefall through eteranity, I was sudenly and shockingly a menber.
What I want you to understand is you will get better, maybe not overnight but you will, take your meds, see your doctor, and above all find a good group. "The best source of real help for anxity and panic is other suffer's (they really understand) and can help"!
Posted 2/22/2013 5:41 AM (GMT 0)
Doctor called in a script for 3 xanax today. I took one before going to work and I must say, it actually worked. I had a very productive night with no anxiety. I feel like the old me right now. I don't know how I will feel in the morning. Right now, I have no racing thoughts and my head feels clear. I don't want to take meds to be me though. I know I need a better routine also. I used to fish, hunt, hike, and bike quite a bit. I didn't do anything fun this whole past year. I'm a mover and shaker, lol. If I set, I get really anxious. There was a lot of crazy things that happened this past year. I love this site, it's so nice to be open and excepted. I have got a lot of good advice and I feel like you all genuinely care. God bless you all!
Posted 2/22/2013 6:18 AM (GMT 0)
Zack, about the meds, if you were a dibetic and had to take insulin it would be necessary to be as normal as possible, same with xanax or any of the other drugs, they are a gift from God, accept them as such, the best thing about xanax is it will shut down a panic attack in a few minutes. By the way I am a retired gunsmith, I know how you feel about hunting and fishing, many a time while watching the sunrise/sunset I would see a buck, sometimes a cyote, wild pig, I would not try and shoot, just watch. Once in the dead of winter at sunset it got so still I had this feeling I was in the presence of God. Yes I did get on my knees.
Larry
Posted 2/22/2013 12:35 PM (GMT 0)
Anxiety is the worst way we can spoil our health. Most of the time the problems are in our mind and they affect our body in a very bad way. What you need to is help yourself solve the core issue that makes you anxious. If you are person who gets anxious most of the time then seek therapy. This will improve your physical, emotional and mental health too.
Posted 2/26/2013 5:58 AM (GMT 0)
Hey, went to doctor today. He prescribed 25mg Zoloft, .25 mg xanax, 100mg trazodone, and kept me on 20 mg benicar. He referred me to psychologists. I read online that Zoloft and trazodone have a bad interaction. Just wondering if anyone knows how all that will interact together?
Posted 2/27/2013 7:00 AM (GMT 0)
Zach, you need to go set in the corner and have a time out. haha.
Quit kicking yourself in the but, none of the combos will hurt you, also you can tell when you are overmedicated, you know the xanax works give the others a try, if your spaced out tell the Dr. he probably will tell you to cut back, some drugs take longer to give bennifits than others.
Just stop over processing, get out of the house, go for a walk, watch the sun set/rise and be thankful you are here and alive, someday I promise you that you will be on here trying to help someone else.
Like I am with you!
Larry
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