Anxiety.. Need advice

Hi everyone,

I'm coming here because I literally feel like I'm losing my mind and don't know what to do.

For the past two weeks I've been having anxiety. Not necessarily anxiety attacks, but I've been having a constant nervous feeling throughout most of the day.

It all started when I was out shopping with my sister. I had to go to the bathroom really bad (I'm pretty sure I'm lactose intolerant and made the mistake of having breakfast that contained lactose). I have a huge fear of throwing up and every time my stomach hurts really bad or feels weird, I immediately freak out and am afraid of throwing up. So I told her I needed to go to the bathroom and I went and when I came out my stomach was still feeling weird and that caused me to have an anxiety attack. We went into the dressing room to try on clothes and I literally just sat on the chair in there in a ball trying to calm myself down. I told my sister I was having an anxiety attack because it runs in the family and she understands. I asked her if we can go home because I just wanted to be home and lay down. I had anxiety for the rest of that day. The next day I had to go to work (I work at McDonald's) and I ended up calling out because I was having an anxiety attack right before work. I was afraid that my stomach was going to feel the way it did the day before and I didn't want to be at work during that. I called out the next day as well because I was just so afraid to leave my house. I felt comfortable being home because if I did need to go to the bathroom I could just go whenever I needed to.

On top of all of this, I've had absolutely no appetite these past two weeks and lost about 5 pounds. This is causing me to feel so lightheaded and have no energy. All last week I had finals for school (I'm a junior in college) and every time I would get ready to leave the house, I would have anxiety. Not even about the exams, but about leaving the house.

I went to the doctors last Tuesday and he put me on .5 Xanax (to take when needed). I don't know what caused the anxiety to last for two weeks. I thought it was just because I was stressed from school but they're still going on and I don't know why. I told my boss everything that was going on and he took me out of work for the week to relax. This was probably my biggest mistake because I've been sitting at home all week with thoughts running through my head. I tried going to work last Friday without taking a Xanax and had to leave early after about 3 hours because I was so lightheaded and nauseous from barely eating all day which was making me have anxiety.

This past weekend I was feeling okay on Saturday and Sunday, maybe it was because I knew I didn't have to go to work and could just relax? On Monday morning my parents left for vacation and I started going downhill again. My parents are my rock and just having their company makes me feel better. I had the pressure on me of taking care of the house and our 2 dogs and 2 cats by myself.

I'm just so confused because 2 weeks ago I was perfectly fine. I was happy and normal. I don't know what happened. It's like within a day everything just came crashing down and I don't know how to make things go back to how they were and I'm so afraid that they won't. I get so frustrated and just cry because I know I have nothing to worry about, but I just can't seem to snap out of this. I go back to work on Saturday and just thinking about getting through my shift makes me nervous. I just want my happy and healthy life back. I've had anxiety my whole life but it's only been like an anxiety attack once every couple of months and that was it. I've never experienced anything like this and I don't want to rely on Xanax to make me feel better.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I feel helpless and I'm losing hope.

I have ulcerative colitis and before I got diagnosed with it, finally recently they found it. Anyway before they figured it out I was going to the bathroom 10-20 x a day. Had horrific stomach pains, couldn't go anywhere for fear I'd have to find the nearest bathroom. I am a waitress so my anxiety was super high going to work, because I'd have to pull over to every gas station. Worrying if I'd have to go to the bathroom in the middle of taking an order, omg made it that much worse. I dealt with this for over a year and have lost 27 lbs at least. My point is this I know from experience that your anxiety will make your stomach worse. And then your stomach will give you more anxiety. Take your Xanax when you feel stresses it will help. Also get your stomach checked out because there are medications to help. Good luck to you.

Anxiety is a sneaky devil to be sure.

While I am not a health care professional, I've been reading anxiety information for a year, and it will cause ALL sorts of odd feelings in our minds and bodies.

Read as much as you can about it, or see the links at the top of this forum for self help. Education helped me understand it a lot.
:)

Hi Srg08.,

It sounds like emetophobia is the contributing issue to your panic then?

Have you looked into getting help specifically for this fear? There are some self-help and support materials that I can provide at your request....let me know if you are interested.

We also have great panic self-help ideas and other anxiety and pacnic Resources here on the main page (1sp post) that you may find helpful.

S.C.

sg,

Hello and welcome to HealingWell.  I suspect the stress of the past couple of weeks has contributed to your anxiety and your panic attacks.  Next comes the "worry-go-round' where one scary thought leads to the next and pretty soon anxiety is controlling your life.

Would you feel better calling your parents and talking with them each day while they are away?  Sometimes the reassurance of the people who are most important to us help just by talking with us.

A repeat trip to the DRs. re the gas pains may be wise.   A detailed history, physical examination, and limited diagnostic tests help confirm the IBS diagnosis. More extensive testing is reserved for specific situations. IBS is Irritable Bowel Syndrome.  I have had it for years and was dx by my GI physician.  The cure comes with lifestyle changes and IBS won't harm you.

Keep in mind, to avoid  dehydration,  drink more fluids such as water or a sports drink (Gatorade, Powerade, others ).

Remember to call your sister or another family member if you need in person support to help you through the tough times and do check out the following links from our resources:

Anxiety self-help overview:

http://www.helpguide.org/mental/anxiety_self_help.htm

http://www.counselling.cam.ac.uk/selfhelp/leaflets/anxiety

How to Cope with Phobias

 

http://www.mdhil.com/how-to-cope-with-phobias/

Stick with us as we care and know you can always come here to share, vent or just read.

Kindly,

Kitt

Well I had a lot of different test done, like ekg, mri, mre, cat scan, blood test, urine samples, x-ray, ect., but everything has came back normal for the most part. My potassium has been a little low sometimes. I've even had my blood suger tested several times but besides one time (being just a little low) they all came back normal. The only thing they have came up with so far is the h.pylori. I took two bouts of antibiotics cus the first one was a problem due to me finding out that im allergic to amoxicillin, so took flagyl, biaxin, previcid, and bi****h for two weeks 4 times a day. I now have to wait til june 30 for a stool sample to be done to make sure its gone. The thing is I still feel sick. Thats what makes me think it is a anxiety issue. I was given lexapro for it but gave up because I was already taking so many meds, I didnt want to add more, plus I am not sure if it is really a problem. I started being sick and having the anxiety issue on the same day, so I dont know what came first. Either the anxiety is causing the stomach issues or the stomach issues are causing the anxiety. Its a viscous cycle. I have an appointment tomorrow for a doppler study to make sure my blood is flowing to my organs properly. I just really want an answer and for all this to just be a bad memory and get back to normal. Thanks for your response and all are welcome.

Hi everyone. Just checking in again. I've been having a really tough morning. I have work at 5 today and was trying so hard all morning to get through the day and go to work without taking any xanax but I couldn't take the anxiety anymore. It's like I'm waiting around all morning to go to work and can't help but think of all the things that can possibly go wrong while I'm there.

Going to a psychiatrist is my last resort. I don't want to believe that I can't get through this on my own. It's really making me depressed that my life has taken an entire 180. I just don't feel like myself at all and I wish this was just a nightmare I can wake up from. Anxiety runs in my family, yet I feel like I can't talk to anyone about it. My sister and my dad both have it. Whenever I talk to either of them about it, they just tell me to "stop thinking about it" which literally feels impossible. I've been taking xanax almost every day for the past three weeks. I've taken a day break here and there and once went 4 days without it, but I was out of work that week so my anxiety wasn't as bad. The only person who knows my anxiety is still bad is my sister. My parents don't know and I want to tell them so bad but I feel like they won't understand and they'll think I'm being ridiculous. I've never experienced anything like this before and it scares me :( I feel like I have no control.

Hi ukyo,

When you say six months on lexapro and you got better, did you get better as time went by or more so by the six month mark? When you say your better, do you feel completly yourself again? I'm just wondering cus im just starting to take lexapro and was wondering if its a good treatment. Thanks.

Wow, thats exactly whats happening to me. When night comes I try to eat to make up for all day with no eating. Mornings when I first wake up are the worst, I feel real shaky, like my body is having tremors. That part goes away after a bit but the belly sickness stays for the day. I even seem to cheer up at night and can even have a couple of laughs. I've been talking myself to sit on my front porch and try to get some fresh air, which I haven't been able to do for some time now. I usually lay in bed cause I don't feel good. How well does your meds work for you. Im just starting to take lexapro and hope it helps. Hope you feel better soon and keep posting it does help to talkabout it to people that are going through the same type of stuff.

Thanks for your support. Is all your taking is the xanax or is there other stuff. Did you have any side effects while using xanax? I was prescribed lexapro but am worried about taking it due to not wanting to go through bad side effects. Have you ever heard of this medication? Do you have any input on it? I just want to feel better not worse. Hopefully you can get to the point where you won't need them meds anymore. I know how you feel when your willing to do whatever it takes to feel better. I'm very great full for this site because being able to relate with other people who are going through the same problems. Keep me posted on your progress and let me know how your doing. Thanks again for your kind words.

Hi guys, having another rough morning. I'm probably doing the worst thing I can do... Use google. I was on google reading about xanax and everything I come across says that it's such a bad drug.

When I went to the doctors almost three weeks ago and got put on xanax, I was only in my doctors office for about 5 minutes. He asked what was wrong, I told him I was having anxiety and he gave me the prescription. I was put on it to "take when needed". I thought my anxiety was just a temporary thing and that after a couple days it would go away. Today marks three weeks since I started being nervous throughout the whole day.

I'm just confused basically. I don't know what happened to my mind, it just took a downward spiral one day and I can't seem to get back to normal.

The xanax helps me out a lot and it helps me get through work. Something I know I probably wouldn't be able to do on my own right now. It also helps bring back my appetite which I desperately need. I've always been thin my whole life, I have an extremely fast metabolism. I'm 21 and 5'2. Before all this started, I was 101 pounds. I'm down to 94.5 pounds from having no appetite and barely eating.

I just want to know if I should continue to take the xanax or not. From what I've read, I feel like the longer I take it, the deeper a hole I'm digging. Will this anxiety phase pass? I don't even know what I'm anxious about anymore. It's like I have anxiety about my anxiety being so bad.


Btw I only take .25 mg a day.

Srg08,


I've also heard some bad stuff about taking xanax, thats one of the reasons im not taking anything right now. I was given lexapro but am scared to take it, I dont want to feel any worse. I'm just running out of options at this point. Have you heard anything about lexapro? I've heard a lot of mixed reviews on it. Hope you feel better soon, as well as myself.

I guess that lexapro is relatively new and was told it has no bad side effects, but I also heard that it has bad side effects. I guess it just depends on the person. With my luck I'll probably have the bad side effects. Thats why I haven't taken any yet, to scared. My anxiety keeps me with a stomachache. Well im not real sure if the stomachache causes the anxiety or the other way around. I've only had a couple panic attacks but my anxiety is almost constant. Im just taking it one day at a time, as if I really have a choice. I do hope you feel better soon and keep posting. It really helps talking to people that are going through the same stuff. Never give up.