Hello all,
I am new to the site and it seems like everyone on here is very helpful so I would like to share my battle with anxiety. It first started about 10 years ago(I am 25 now). It started with racing heart, sweating, nausea, feeling like I was going to die basically. I went to my doctor and he told me that I had anxiety disorder but at that time I was really against using medications so I went a couple years with just trying to deal with it. It got so bad to where I stayed home all the time to avoid social situations and I finally broke down and started taking Effexor which my doctor prescribed. It was tough to get used to at first but after the initial period I felt like myself again after a long time of not feeling ok. So I was on that for 3 years without one single panic attack. I felt like a million bucks. But late last year I was getting to the point where I was tired of taking the meds every day, and thought I was strong enough to get through life without them....biggest mistake of my life. I was ok for about 3 months but out of nowhere I had a huge panic attack with the same symptoms I had before I started the meds. I tried going back on Effexor but I started having these weird pains in my head so my doctor told me to go off it again. Since then I have been back to my doctor about once a month with varying symptoms which have only gotten worse. He put me on Xanax as needed which helps for a little while, but I still don't feel ok for most of the day. It's really starting to affect my life again. Even just having a conversation that makes me a little nervous will set off an attack. Within the past few weeks though my symptoms have changed a bit and I'm wondering if it's just the anxiety or not. I have had the heart palpitations on and off for years, and the slight chest pains as well. I know that is the anxiety, but now I'm getting stinging pains in different parts of my body and head, numbness in my head and legs, joint pain, my teeth hurt for no reason, and I feel like my head is in the clouds for most of the day. Can I chalk all these up to the anxiety? Or could it possibly be something worse? I have been to the ER many times over the years and it's always nothing wrong with me. I have had the ekg's, heart monitors, and everything else. It just worries me because I was anorexic for about a 2 years and I know I did alot of damage to my body. I am healthy now but that still worries me every day. Anyone have any advice as to what's going on with me and what I could do about it? Thank you.