Can anyone diagnose me? Anxiety attacks?

Hello all, I am 25 year old male. I am the most laid back/positive person you will find. I consider myself in pretty decent shape (underweight if anything).

It started about 3 or 4 weeks ago when I was going to a football camp with a family I had never rode with before. Ten minutes into the drive I felt jittery and sick. Everyday following I would wake up feeling a bit nervous and that would turn into nausea. I went to the doctor and he game me a small dose of generic Paxal. I took it and that night I was wrapped around the toilet for 24 hours. From there I thought it was the flu. I had body aches and upset stomach for a little over a week. (I didn't take anymore Paxal)

Since then everyone time I get asked to ride somewhere with someone I get the same feeling. My stomach goes in knots.

Then Saturday I was about to trip with my wife. I had been looking forward to it and I had already got the nervous/ jittery feeling. We got in the car and by the time we had got to out destination I was so sick. I stayed that way until we starting doing stuff and got my mind on other things. Late that night the nausea came back. I was tempted to try my Paxal but I read the side effects: Flu like symptoms and vomiting so I stayed away. Since then its been the same I wake up in the morning feeling uptight, feel nauseous and extremely tired until about lunch and then the symptoms fade. This morning I woke up and out of curiosity checked my heart rate (since I still felt jittery). My normal is between 60-70 bpm and it was at 100 bpm straight out of bed. When I have these spells I always just feel nervous, my stomach in knots, shaky, tightness in my chest. Oh and I can't seem to relax.

Thanks for your help. I have another doctors appointment today...

Oh, and one more thing...Paxil is not the type of drug that you can take as needed. It needs to be taken regularly...and will often cause side-effects as it builds up and levels off in the body. (there are meds (benzodiazapines) that are fast-acting/fast-leaving from the body that you could take as needed, but SSRI's are NOT meant to be taken occasionally/irregularly!)

I am suprised that your doctor did not go over this with you. If you think that you need to ask for a referral to someone who specializes in treating anxiety, then don't hesitate to ask!

S.C.

Great! Then I am sure that if your doctor finds that your blood sugar, thyriod, carido function, digestive system, other basic vitals are all looking good, then most likely you will want to start focusing on how best to treat the anxiety...

Let us know what you find out.

S.C.

Great news! I am really gald that you went in and got the help that you needed! It sounds as if you are on the right track now, and your anxiety levels will start to drop, along with your symptoms!

As far as the travelling anxiety goes, you could look into therapy for that, or consider some self-help methods to cope during those times of worry and feeling sick. There should be some good books that you could check out at your library on anxiety/panic/phobias...but I would also recommend purchasing a CBT workbook. These have worksheet pages in which you identify your worries, identify the core fear feeding into it, and combat the anxiety with rational/positive thought processes. Working through this and seeing it on paper is very powerful! (and has helped many of us here.)

You could actually take this along with you on trips, to help you out if you start to feel anxious and symptomatic.

We actually have some examples that you could download in our Anxiety-Panic Resources if you want to check it out.:)

Again, great job on getting help...and keep posting with us if you find it helpful!

S.C.

Hello ttoandrew,

Reading your post reminds me very much of my first panic attack. For me it started with a dream I had of being broken down on the freeway with my family in a station wagon my father had at the time. What scared me was seeing the freeway up close like I never had. A few weeks later— while running the bases after hitting my first Little League homerun— I felt what would, until a couple of years ago; make me miserable for the very first time. Cold sweat, palpitations, sweaty palms, off-balance and the strange feeling of not feeling like I was in my body. Difficult to explain. Years went by and I kept it to myself; at the age of 11 it's embarrassing to express your feelings when everyone expects you to be "normal." Because of this I never went on an airplane again, will avoid elevators at all costs, will NOT be a passenger in the front seat of a car—really because I feel I need to be in control of this fear which I "self-diagnosed" as fear of open spaces! Finally as an adult I began to seek medical help but it's been difficult. I never had the vomiting issue, instead I had a very dry throat and could not swallow saliva or anything for that matter. My Dr. explained to me that I have "agoraphobia." Panic disorders with agoraphobia is an anxiety disorder in which there are repeated attacks of intense fear and anxiety, and a fear of being in places where escape might be difficult, or where help might not be available. Agoraphobia usually involves fear of crowds, bridges, or of being outside alone.

They put me on Xanax which at first would make me sleepy but once I adjusted to the right dosage; after 2 weeks I didn't get that sleepy feeling any longer. If that's too strong for you your Dr. may prescribe Klonopin (Clonazepam) which he told me was like "time released", but in my experience didn't work as quick or as good as Xanax. There's MANY types of Benzodiazepines and natural medicines too. Therapy is another great way to help you cope with anxiety but in reality what works for me may not work for you may work for the next guy! Please, please take any and ALL medications as prescribed by your Dr.. I'm doing OK for now; it's not completely gone— I still have bouts with it but I can say I've made a lot of progress. I'm 36 now so I've dealt with anxiety for over 25 years. Following Dr's. directions will help you.

I hope my story can help you in some way. Remember; you're not alone. Anxiety can strike anyone no matter who it is. It's the most common disorder in America. Keep us posted. Good luck.