Wondering if i have anxiety or what it might be..

Hello everyone im new to the website and forums and found it after searching for my symptoms.

I was driving and all of a sudden after being nervous about driving with a hangover I felt all the blood in my body rush to my head , ive never felt this before in my lifetime. I pulled over and  I started shaking really bad and my vision all faded into a circle.

It then felt like I died then my life shot back into me.I was scared went to wal mart took my bp and it was 177 over 110 if I remember correctly.   

My wife then took me home and ever since that day I have lost my job due to being extremely light headed on a daily basis.Ive been to a ent doctor , my main doctor 3 times and had a ekg , cat scan done with no luck.I was put on bp meds after the initial deal and since taken off , its around 122-80 now with heart rate about 70-85 when I take it here at the house daily. I was told it may be from the drinking so ive stopped for over 4 months and im still having the same symptoms.

 I have pressure in my ears on and off , nasal pressure just once in awhile, my neck is fricking tense on and off and it seems the light headedness is worse when my neck is feeling like there's a lot of pressure there. It comes and goes daily sometimes so bad I have to sit or lay down, I feel like im going to pass out at times and have to hold on to things like when im standing and using the bathroom or what not.

 I was also told by my primary care doc that it could be anxiety and was given generic Lexapro and generic hydroxyzine I think its spelled and neither seem to do much. I have a 5 and 6 year old I have to watch at home alone and its scaring the hell out of me. I don't want to pass out while alone with them. After having to quit my job due to these symptoms i lost my insurance and cant afford to see a dr.

  The er wont take me because im not dying and now I cant get a job , barely drive my kids to school and back because of this. If I don't figure something out soon were going to be behind all out bills and its all going downhill from there. So now im stuck at home wondering what the hell is wrong with me. Is it a heart problem ? I have no idea but the ekg and blood work came back ok. So im confused. I used to spend hours on the computer before this a day and now I can barely type this out.

 Lights at the grocery store make me woozy, I was vacuming  yesterday and had to stop and sit down. Nothing ever gets dizzy (spinning) just light headed and my head feels like there is a tingle or buzzing in the back of it next to my neck (hard to explain).Sinus pressure also.

 I have two little ones and have fear of dying.I can stand up quick and it does nothing as far as making me light headed either this just comes and goes as it wants. My wife thinks its allergies but I never had them before.

 This all happened after that insane feeling and blood rushed to my head.

Also when I drink coffee or smoke it seems to make it worse. Alot of ear pressure as well that the ent doctor said I didn't have a infection.

Thanks guys , Im a 37 year old male.

Post Edited (Faint37) : 5/29/2013 8:39:36 PM (GMT-6)

Thank you for the welcome.

Yea everytime  I get ready to drive now I start feeling that it may happen again wich im sure causes more anxiety.

I feel weird things happening in my heart area ,back, and chest almost like a sting or small pain daily. That also scares me.

Also one more question , this is happening all day long on and off everyday, the light headedness, the tension in my neck and pressure in my head is that normal for those with anxiety? Even when I feel calm its still there just not as bad.

My sister and niece are both on meds for panic disorder also , and ive never had this until that episode , is it something you can get out of the blue at any age?

And yes smoking will set it off as well as caffeine. if you are bound to either habit , I quit smoking but love coffee, you should drive with a cigarette and a coffee. Put yourself in the worst possible situation and you will come out just fine. Try it.

If this doesn't work we have all other sorts of things to suggest to help you relax but I suggest to take this head on. It is anxiety and nothing else and you will need to work hard on it to manage it.

Write me back, stay on touch, there's a lot of help available on this forum.

Joshua

Ok thanks you guys. I am driving still I just get scared when I have to drive when its really bad but im learning to deal with it. I will def look into CBT and keep in touch with you guys its nice to hear that im not alone here.

Thanks Larry and I believe all of you are right , ive switched to decaf coffee now have been drinking more water in the last 3 weeks than I have all my life.

After listening to you guys I do believe that day set it off because its been happening ever since.

Ive only been on the Lexapro meds for 4 days now , I was given them months ago but thought it was allergies.

Im hoping they will help I didn't know they took weeks to do anything so after trying them for a few days, months back I quit taking them and just kept thinking must be bad allergies going around this year.

Now that ive done some research im going to keep on them.

I am having bad ear pressure everyday and wonder if maybe that might be caused by the allergies or if stress can be a factor in that also because that may be a cause of me being off balance minus being light headed, I have never had bad allergies.

Thank you all for your input and ill continue to post here.

 

Anxiety can cause head/ear pressure and dizzyness...so go ahead and take an OTC for allergies (decongestant) but also practice the breathing exercises! They will really help with the dizzyness if it is a result of anxiety and hyperventilation. (which we often do unaware, due to anxiety.)

And yes, you are right about your Rx. SSRI's can take anywhere from 6-10 weeks to build up, level off, and reach their theraputic levels in the body...so stay the course.

Keep taking your med, add in the self-help techniques and you should be feeling better soon!

Oh, and keep posting with us.;)

S.C.

I do have one more question guys , I haven't had a panic attack or what had happened to me on the bus but that one time. But I am having the pressure, light headed spells, headaches everyday. I can also feel the tension in my neck ALL day and night it never goes away , is that normal for anxiety or does the anxiety normally come and go? I mean it is better at times and hell at other times or more intense I should say , where I cant even stand up, but my question is with anxiety or panic disorder is it a 24 hour thing because mine never goes away , its always there just mild at times and sever at other times.
Thanks , and after joining last night and listening and posting I am feeling a lot better today I actually went outside and washed my truck :)

Faint

I felt sick for about 3 months and I had no idea what it is. Welcome to anxiety & panic, my friend. It is so strange, but panic and anxiety make our bodies do weird stuff. I had irritable bowel syndrome, hot flashes, my hands would sweat profusely, my body would get cold, I would go hypertensive, my shoulders hurt, muscle aches, tense jaw, headaches, the works. Enough to go to the emergency room and get checked out and guess what - no heart problems after multiple checks and the Dr more or less told me "boo hoo, go take some pills for your poop problems".

Then I found this forum and the friends like Larry and SC, and everything clicked into place. My goodness, I do have anxiety and panic issues, I have a fear of death and dying, on occasion (now better than before) I still visualize dangerous things when I walk around, and get worried about dangerous things (like falling down a manhole or my wife being kidnapped by a van in the parking lot). These are all irrational super low to never probability things that my mind was lying to me about - scaring and intimidating me about life!

What really helped me was understanding anxiety and panic and accepting it. You are still searching for answers, you may not find any other than welcome to our special group where you'll get a ton of support and pointed in the right direction to get the tools to overcome this. CBT is the best way to do this with and without medication it will change your life. I am still dealing with some negetive thoughts and racing thoughts (this morning woke up to an e-mail from my boss, grrr!) and I have learned to put my tools to practice (so what, I shouldn't worry about my boss I'll call him later to find out why his panties are in a bunch today).

The very first thing that helped me get over the poor health feelings was to learn to breathe properly! When we are angry, stressed, or anxious we tend to do shallow chest breathing or in my case I would hold my breath for a long time and then would be completely exasperated, no idea I was doing it! My therapist pointed this out and this one simple change in learning to breathe deeply and from the abdomen kicked off the positive changes in me and managing my anxiety.

Try youtube for some guided relaxations. It will teach you how to deep breathe and will help you get your mind off your troubles. I like to do guided relaxation at least once a day, lately once a day but in the early bouts with anxiety I was doing 3-4 times a day.

It is a struggle, but you will overcome! Welcome to our humble little "anxiety family". We are here to help you.