Lots of Questions

[joyfulc]

Hello Everyone!

This is my first time posting. I've been reading the post here and they are not only informative but very encouraging.

I have a ton of questions for those of you who have had an anxiety issue or mood swings :(

I am very new to this and have never experienced any extreme form of anxiety until the beginning of April.

I went through a traumatic experience when my passed away last year from a stroke. I found out that my blood pressure was high in the beginning of the month and it totally freaked me out because I know that that could lead to stroke. My arm was numb and my blood pressure as 175/103. I called 911 immediately because I just knew it was a stroke coming on because I had never felt anything like that in my whole life. I am generally very happy with normal feelings of anxiety here and there in stressful situations, nothing to worry about on my part though.

So when the meds told me I had an anxiety attack I was shocked. So each and every day I have had an anxiety attack or panic attack (panic being the worst) since the beginning of April. I've been tested for thyroid issues and everything came back fine. My vitamin d level was low and am on vitamin supplement that I just started taking. Besides that I am generally a positive person and am very scared that I can't go through the day without having at least one or two.

I can literally feel normal and enjoying working and all of a sudden I will feel either a quick dropping feeling in my stomach that will change my mood instantly or a burst of electricity in my chest that will start to drop in mood or worry but most of the time it's brought on by a scary thought of the events that happened at the beginning of this month and from that point on, I literally have to try to bring my mood down by trying to change my thoughts but always end up thinking about something else scary or negative and I'll be shaking it off all day long (so tiresome).

So to make a long story short. I am very concerned and can not imagine living the rest of my life this way with no relief.

So here are my questions that I have because it seems a bit extreme that I would be having an attack every single day even when I am feeling just fine.

1. For those of you who have been dealing with an anxiety disorder for a while. Is there any end to it or is this a life long disorder to live with?

2. Do you have them every day or just when you have a scary thought or a lot of anxiety about something?

3. I am TERRIFIED of being on any kind of medication because I own my business and am required to work on a daily basis with my clients and can not imagine being on medication that will make me not able to function on a daily basis. I also have a two year old that is home with me and can't risk being on anything that will make me unaware of what she is doing or not capable of taking care of her. So here's the question, are there any natural treatments that you may have found effective for you?

4. If not, then what medications do you think work best for you if you have a busy lifestyle?

5. Not sure how far fetched this question is but today I had the worst experience with a drop in mood. I had stopped drinking any type of pop/soda in January, and drank a Pepsi yesterday, felt GREAT! No burst of electricity here and there, no drop in mood nothing. Drank more today and then all of sudden, my mood went from Super to Horrifying. Can caffeine work as a downer? Feels like when the Caffeine wore off, my mood dropped extremely. Very Scary Stuff. Has this happened to anyone else?

6. When you have a panic/anxiety attack, do you every have problems with your eye site? Objects seem closer than what they are? or Any other vision issues?

Please forgive me for all the questions, Today was very, very scary today. I have not experienced anything with depression during this entire situation with the exceptions of being depressed about having anxiety attacks but overall have been fine. That drop in mood lead me to make an appointment with a therapist for two weeks from now.

So I wanted to lean on others that may have been through the same issues but have seen the light at the end of the tunnel and have returned to their normal life with or without medication.

So I want to apologize in advance for any help and putting you through all of the context.

Thanks.

[joyfulc]

Thanks so much! I am very happy I found this forum, well I can't take all the credit for it. My sister found the site when I was going through the first week of a downward spiral. I had another one this morning but was able to manage it much better after reading a few tips here yesterday.

You guys are an inspiration to me and I am quite sure to all who suffer from anxiety/panic attacks.

Thinking of you all : )

[nursegirl6572]

Hiya Carla!  Welcome to our community!

You propose awesome questions and are really tackling this head on, which I give you all the credit in the world for!  I'm glad you found us!

Without an official Dx, I couldn't tell you for sure, but it REALLY sounds like you are havin g panic attacks, and understandably so!  You've been through a lot and the loss you suffered could have triggered all of this.

The very best thing you could do is get yourself to a psychiatrist, who can properly diagnose you after a thorough evaluation.  The doc can then discuss what options are out there for treatment.  My best advice is...be open minded during this process.  There are so many treatments out there, don't be afraid to try any of them!  Your anxiety is affecting your daily life...it may be worth considering medication to help control your symptoms while you seek help from a therapist who can help you lean how to cope with anxiety.

You've taken the most important step, hon...by admitting, even to yourself that you need help with this...and that's OK!  SO many people suffer from debilitating anxiety, and so many people find relief with various treatments.

As for your question..is this is a lifelong thing?  For many of us, unfortunately, yes, it is.  Although, most of us experience more times where our anxiety is controlled than when it isn't.  Sometimes our anixety sneaks up on us and we need to address it, and if we have sought the right help, we learn how to cope and we manage to get through those rough times.

We're here for you and know how you're feeling...it's so hard, but you WILL absolutely have better days ahead.

Please keep in touch with us!  We care!

[joyfulc]

Oh wow guys, Thanks so much for the comments! You both made me feel very warm and fuzzy inside and lately that's been pretty hard to do.

It's funny, as I was reading both comments I felt the little surges of energy but this time they weren't bad ones, they were good ones and they are only going down my arms. That felt really good.

I just read some really cool tips on here to help control them. I laughed about the comment on caffeine. I used to be a Pepsi junkie but stopped because I wanted to go on a diet, drank one for the first time yesterday. FELT FABULOUS!! Drank again today, FELT FABULOUS AGAIN, hours late, not so Fab.....

Now I feel much better. I almost became a home body due to me being absolutely afraid that I would have one in the presence of my friends and family. I taught myself that that was just not an option. I have a teen and a pre-teen and a 2 year old. Ever tried to be a soccer mom while almost crawling out of your skin with a car full of teenagers and pre-teens????? Not a nice feeling.

So I had to just tell myself that that type of anxiety would just not be possible for our lifestyle.

Still working on it but I can honestly say that within the past week my anxieties about leaving the house just to get in the car, to go grocery shopping, and drive for long periods are almost gone completely.

Thanks so much again guys!!!

Can't wait to get to the Doct. appt so we can do a few more test.

By the way,

I did want to add one more thing that I thought was really weird.

Sometimes I will have a drop in mood when I turn my head to fast or bend down. Does anyone else have that symptom?

Thanks a bunch!

Carla

[benthic_man]

My overall anxiety level has been out of hand for about 2 years, but I wasn't diagnosed and treated by my doc until about 8 months ago.  Anxiety is something that everyone has- we're all here because for one reason or another, it's a stumbling block for us sufficient enough that we look outside ourselves for solutions- overall, anxiety is a highly-variable issue- treatment and resolution is completely tailored and dependent on you.

1). The idea is to get you to a point where you can use your own techniques and methods for dealing with it before it becomes a distraction or debilitating.

2). Again, it varies with the individual- I don't get panic attacks frequently at all, myself- I've had 3 in my whole life. That being said, I sought help because anxiety interfered with my enjoyment of life and how I interacted with people at work and at home.

3). My God, yes. I'm in a similar position- the nature of my employment requires that I not take anything stronger than tylenol. I use a combination of relaxation techniques and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), a way to examine and analyze how I think about issues that make me anxious- a gut check that, with practice,helps people to rationalize their issues and face their fears. It's worked well for me.
   If you haven't yet, talk to your doctor about what's going on, and get a referral to a behavioral therapist or psychiatrist- diagnosing your problems, and figuring out if you've got purely mental or an interactive mental/physical condition is the first step to finding out where to start in improving things.

4. Nothing, for me. People who have depression with anxiety often do benefit from medical treatment.

5. Caffeine unleashes a whole host of chemical processes in your body- mood swings caused be declining caffeine levels (along with declining endorphins, ATP and other chemical goodies that get produced while you've got a caffeine buzz) can absolutely play holy hell with your mood. I'm a caffeine junkie, myself.

6. Anxiety manifests in different ways for different people. About the only thing you can be sure of is that symptoms will appear in a manner guaranteed to eventually get your attention! I used to get chest pains (my dad was dying of heart failure when my anxiety finally got completely out of hand) as my prime symptom.

    Congratulations on finally seeking help- you're in an absolutely sh*tty spot right now, but hopefully treatment will help.   I might suggest going to a bookstore and getting an anxiety workbook- these are softcover books that you can use to identify and track your therapy as you learn about what's going on.


     The best advice I can give you right now is to learn everything you can, don't self-diagnose, and don't let your medical doctor yes you to death- dealing with anxiety requires individual treatment- if you don't make progress with your therapist after you meet a few times, get a new one- your treatment will have to be tailored to your individual needs in order for it to work properly.  

Anyhow, I'm able to keep my anxiety issues under control now, and my quality of life has improved consistently since I started treatment- without medication, luckily. There's a lot of good stuff to learn here.

[lynn57]

There are many maintenance drugs that can keep your panic attacks/anxiety at bay.  I take Celexa and a small dose of Klonopin and I work every day.  Meds tend to give you back a better life, not make it worse.  Starting SSRIs can be a little difficult and some people take a week off of work to adjust.  Glad you are seeing the doc in two weeks so that youu can figure out the best therapy for YOU.  We are all different.  BTW, I almost had to give up caffeine when my anxiety was at it's worst.  Since being on meds, I allow myself two cups of coffee before noon.  I drink no caffeine later in the day.