New To This Whole Thing

Hey There Everyone,
I'm a relative newcomer to the whole anxiety/panic attack thing and I'm here looking for others who are experiencing the same symptoms as me and for some advice on how to cope. Last Thanksgiving I had an "attack" while I was driving down a highway. I continued to my destination and had my friend take me to a hospital. They hooked me up to oxygen, gave me an EKG, drew 6 vials of blood and had a monitor on me for a few hours. They also did chest x-rays and everything came back absolutely normal, so they sent me home. I didn't suffer another attack until about two months ago. Ever since that attack I haven't stopped feeling anxious and worried about my health. They've put a Holter monitor on me for 48 hours (which sucks by the way), did more x-rays and blood work, and gave me an Echocardiogram. All of these tests came back normal and just recently I had a metabolic panel done and it came back normal as well. I just can't seem to shake this fear and worry. My throat tightens up, I feel like I'm choking when I eat or when I try to sleep, my body aches all over, I'm sick to my stomach and tired all the time, I have numbness and tingling in my arms and legs sometimes, my eyes are becoming very sensitive to light and I'm becoming more sensitive to heat and cold. I don't know what's going on with me, I feel as though my body is shutting down. The doctor switched me from HCTZ to a beta-blocker because my heart rate was always in the 90s - 100s and now my heart rate is 50-70, which seems very slow for me as I am a big guy. I can feel my heart skipping beats or beating very slowly sometimes and I just keep waiting for it to stop. It's hard to concentrate or focus on anything at all. My life has completely stopped moving forward because of this, it's crippling me. Anyone out there have these same symptoms/feeling and have any advice at all? I'm at the end of my rope with this. They've just started giving me Xanax to calm me down, but it's an as-needed drug and I'm scared to take them beacuse I don't want to get addicted. Let's face it, I'm scared to do anything anymore. I'm due to go back to the doctor this week and I feel like I'm going to break down and just beg him to make me better. Anything you guys have to say is welcome as I feel like I'm stuck on an island with this problem a lot of the time.

Thanks for listening to my rant,
Senza

i'm not sure if you're saying you have the attacks like an anxiety attack or if it's a health problem not known yet that may possibly be caused by or simplying causing more stress. if you went to the hospital, i guess it would be more than an anxiety attack or they wouldn't have done all those tests but i don't know. welcome to the board at least!

have you ever been on drugs other than the ones prescribed for performance anxiety?

I'll try to explain

First things first, thanks for replying so quickly Sorry for the rambling, kind of having some anxious moments right now so typing is a little difficult. I've had hypertenstion since I was 17 (I'm 22 now) and have been on medications for it for at least 3 years now. I've been on Prozac for 3 years as well to treat depression, and they recently doubled the dose to try and help cope with this, but it's made it worse. I now take Lisinopril (to relax blood vessels) and Lopressor (beta-blocker to slow my heart rate) and Nexium (doc thought maybe the chest and stomach discomfort was acid reflux or GERD). I used to take a diuretic for my blood pressure and when I was on it, I never had any problems at all. I've always been high strung, but things have progressed to the point where I can't move sometimes. I feel stuck in place and afraid all the time. I recently came to the realization that the recent round of attacks and axious feelings have coincided with my switching medicines from the diuretic to the beta-blocker, so I'm thinking maybe the meds have something to do with it. I experience a lot of symptoms similar to a heart attack when I have a panic attack (chest pain/discomfort, pain in my left arm and shoulder, numbness and tingling, and dizziness) but every time I go to a hospital, my heart rate and rhythm is totally normal. They give me an Ativan and within a half hour, I'm back to normal. Then I come home and everything starts all over again. I constantly have to fight myself away from driving to the emergency room. They've done every test except a cardiac stress test (which I have scheduled for next week) and my heart seems fine. Anxiet seems the only other explanation as all my labs have come back clean including a Thyroid test. Hypertension runs in the family and so does mental illness, so I think I'm getting the worst of the two right now. Hope that helps clear things up a little. I know that I have anxiety problems, but part of me is deathly afraid that there's something seriously wrong with my body and they haven't figured it out. I feel a sense that something bad is going to happen all the time and that my body is going to give up and shut down on me at any minute. Simple things like hiccups and burping scare me to death and cause me some physical pain. It's getting to an absurd level at this point. I just spent the entire weekend remodeling/repaininting/and redecorating my room, which put considerable stress on my body, and I felt fine while I was working. As soon as the day was done and I was alone again in my room, I felt awful, like I was going to pass out, lose control, or die. I keep experiencing tightness in my throat and difficulty swallowing, but like all my other symptoms, these things pass.

Thanks again, hope to hear more from you, and thanks for the welcome

Senza

wow, well i'm deffinately not an expert but from what you're telling me sounds like panic disorder, i've never experienced a panic attack but i've heard that alot of times you do feel like you're dying, and those with it fear their next attack. have you only been treated for depression? also, if i were you, i'd find a drug that could treat your anxiety as well as depression (finding something that will work for both is hard). also ask your doc about something that will treat anxiety in a long lasting way.

like i say, i could be completely wrong, just something to look into. good luck

That's what the emergency room doctor's have told me as well as the cognitive behavioral therapist I've started to see. They think I have what's known as General Anxiety Disorder, or something like that. I keep telling myself that if there was something wrong with my heart, they would've found it with the tests. So now I'm experienceing throat and upper respritory problems. I feel like my body is keeping me sick to feed the disorder and to give me something to worry about. Whenever one thing is ruled out, I find something else to worry about. I'm hoping that this next doctor's visit will be more productive than the last few I've had and hopefully a solution can be found. Thanks again for responding. It's nice to know that someone out there is listening Anything else you have to say is welcome of course.

Thanks,
Senza

Hi Senza
When I read your story it was very similar to my partners as three years ago he was diagnosed with severe anxiety after rushing to A&E thinking it was a heart attack and he underwent all the tests which were negative, even today he is convinced that there is an underlying problem with his heart. He had 16 months off work because he couldn't face anything and when he was really bad he never wanted our young daughter to see him. He is back to work now but still, every now and again suffers from bouts of panic attacks, we could be anywhere ie. yesterday we were shopping and I noticed he just changed and had to walk out of the shop as he couldn't face anyone. He's had so many panic attacks over the years, but now he really tries to curb them but sometimes its hard and there's nothing you can do. He was on mediation for ages and came off last year, has had CBT and been under a counsellor for a long time now. He has done alot of reading and I know there was one book in particular that helped with coping with panic attacks if you'd like I'd find out the author for you. I joined this site today trying to meet people with similar situations as I know when he's down its good to talk to other people that really understand. Lesley

I know what you feel. A few years ago while I was working for the the Public defender's office, I thought I was having a heart attack as well. I felt like I was having all the symptoms..heart beating rapidly, chest tightness, tingly sensations in my arm. I told my boss at the time that I was feeling really ill and wanted to go to the hospital. Everyone was so worried about me and offered to take me there. But everyone told me it was highly unlikely that I was having a heart attack because I was only 25. It turned out to be nothing. BUt I experienced things like that a few times after. And no matter how much I would consciously tell myself that it was nothing..it Felt like I was dying..and I was so panicky. When I look back on it I feel quite embarassed and ashamed. I don't have any panic attacks now..but I'm always afraid they might flair up again in the future or something.

To Lawerguy,
Try not to freak out its all pretty norm what your going though. l recently have been going thought the same thing . Rushed to hospital thinking l was having a heart attack, this was over 6 months ago now. The doctors put me on antie depressents and valium to help me to sleep, as l thought every night l was going to die, l even wrote my kids and hubby goodbye letters ..lm now off all meds as they really had me off my face to the point l forgot to put my son in the car left the door opened and the gate shut and went to drive off, that was the day l stopped taking them.. l did the wrong thing and went cold turkey(what a trip that was) l recommand you come down slowely when u need to lol...my hubby is terminally ill and l have a bad 13 yr old son ADD! 8O .. and also an 9 yr and 9 month old.. l completey fucked up with our savings and have no idea how you tell someone who is terminally ill and my best friend in the world what a silly shit l really am...( it freaks me out to think if l tell him and he did die his last thought of me where how dumd l am ... hes a very smart man),,, but so sick, but now lm rambling( one of the many things we have to put up with, with this anxeity or panic or what it is that you wont to call it...
l do no a lady shes a nurse who went thought this in her 30's shes now 40ish but she is back to norm.. so there is light at the end of the tunel that one day we will return back to our old selfs! oh yeah l was going to say that the symptoms change from week to week and you pretty much think your going to die from the different things, but you just have to keep in the back of your mind your NOT!!!!!!!!, you'll be fine

hello fluffy thanks for the advice and I am so sorry to hear about your husband. If there's anything I can do to help just ask. I can't begin to imagine the situation you're in

To Lawyerguy and Masterpeice,
Thankyou both for your kind words. sorry its taking so long to get back to you. funny enough l wrote a letter a day after you guys had replyed , a nice long letter ecplaning more on my life , and when l went to send it the page expired ... Then l thought l'll try tommorow but l had a few really bad days with my anxiety, You no the cant breath ,dizzyness, cant think, chest pains, to scared to go to sleep!...But feeling a little better today and really wonted to say thankyou! Both of you.........
Hope your doing well? l think it was lawyerguy who works withbig croweds how is it going? also hope your family life is on the right track and masterpeice what do you do for living? have you found that this anxiety stuffs with your job ?...