Aa
lots of questions
Hello... I guess I've been suffering from anxiety since February this year. It all started when I had a panic attack (I'm now assuming I did). One morning I felt kind of odd and a few hours later I lay paralyzed on the floor, heart rate at 180, blood pressure 190/110, intense fear, shallow breathing, cold. I haven't been the same since.
I had many tests done on my heart. Everything is normal except a monitor caught one episode of an SVT arrythmia. I had an EP study done and nothing was induced. Cardiologist stated maybe I just get anxious. He prescribed a beta blocker.
Since then, I have good days and bad. It just seems I do not handle stress well anymore. Anything a bit stressful, BP and HR goes up, I get lightheaded, dizzy. I still have many episodes of intense anxiety and made many embarrassing trips to the ER. I also now have medical anxiety (is that a term?). If I feel my heart beat weird or get an odd pain, it brings on an attack. I just don't feel like myself anymore. It's like I lost my freedom. Before that one episode, I was carefree and was never anxious. Now I am a mess of fears. Can one panic attack leave that much of a mark?
I just don't understand how after 33 years this now happens to me. Do people get anxiety issues out of the blue? Like a switch was just turned on? I am on klonopin and it helps a little but I want off of it. Are there any "more natural" alternatives? Are there any tests that prove this is anxiety? Could it be a nutritional deficiency? Or is this something I am just going to have to deal with the rest of my life? I've done biofeedback and was told I do well in calming myself down. But I'm just tired of the feelings that bring me to that point.
I'd appreciate any info from anyone.
I had many tests done on my heart. Everything is normal except a monitor caught one episode of an SVT arrythmia. I had an EP study done and nothing was induced. Cardiologist stated maybe I just get anxious. He prescribed a beta blocker.
Since then, I have good days and bad. It just seems I do not handle stress well anymore. Anything a bit stressful, BP and HR goes up, I get lightheaded, dizzy. I still have many episodes of intense anxiety and made many embarrassing trips to the ER. I also now have medical anxiety (is that a term?). If I feel my heart beat weird or get an odd pain, it brings on an attack. I just don't feel like myself anymore. It's like I lost my freedom. Before that one episode, I was carefree and was never anxious. Now I am a mess of fears. Can one panic attack leave that much of a mark?
I just don't understand how after 33 years this now happens to me. Do people get anxiety issues out of the blue? Like a switch was just turned on? I am on klonopin and it helps a little but I want off of it. Are there any "more natural" alternatives? Are there any tests that prove this is anxiety? Could it be a nutritional deficiency? Or is this something I am just going to have to deal with the rest of my life? I've done biofeedback and was told I do well in calming myself down. But I'm just tired of the feelings that bring me to that point.
I'd appreciate any info from anyone.
Absoulutey no problem! A huge part of understanding this is realizing that you are not alone in this. Through your time in this forum you will notice certain patterns that the overwhelming majority of people follow pertaining to health anxiety. Go through the archives here and read about members' experiences. You will learn a COPIUS amount of information and knowledge. You will also find people here know what you are experiencing and really care how things turn out. Just keep us informed and keep the questions/concerns coming!
Thanks for your very thoughtful and uplifting response. I find comfort in knowing someone actually understands what I am going through. Our experiences seem similar and its reassuring knowing someone made significant strides in overcoming this potentially crippling issue. Thanks!
Can anxiety and panic strike out of the blue? It definitely can. When it first happend to me I was an extremely confident military officer that had deployed to the Middle East numerous times. I was extremely sociable and enjoyed life. Then one day I felt a little funny and had some chest pain and it went downhill from there. I did not believe that it could possibly be anxiety could do that; one panic attack is when it starts with many people. I fought the docs for months telling them they were wrong and they HAD to be missing something.
My anxiety had stemmed around my heart and I felt every little beat, ache, and pain. I literally went from running over 6 miles a day (and enjoying it), to not wanting to get out of bed. I lost self confidence and became depressed because I lost my self identity.
Now there is a silver lining in this; once I accepted that this might ‘simply’ be anxiety the road to recovery began. By learning about it and confronting it, it really can give one power to defeat it. Now, I don’t want to oversimplify this; it takes hard work and dedication, especially early on. Putting trust in someone else is a very hard thing to do. I still feel every little ache and pain, but it is how I interpret it that makes a difference. I a willing to bet that you had the same sensations before and just never really thought about them because it did not matter. In my experience, once I had the first panic attack, the body goes into a ‘search’ mode and everything becomes amplified and catastrophic in the mind. But I also believe that humans learn so much more about themselves when times are bad; it makes the good times that much better and there WILL be good times again. This experience has made me, and many others here, better spouses, friends, and the ability to enjoy the smaller things in life. My first piece of advice is to confront this now by going to talk to a therapist...by gaining the knowledge you will begin to understand the process of how to conquer it. Keep us posted!
My anxiety had stemmed around my heart and I felt every little beat, ache, and pain. I literally went from running over 6 miles a day (and enjoying it), to not wanting to get out of bed. I lost self confidence and became depressed because I lost my self identity.
Now there is a silver lining in this; once I accepted that this might ‘simply’ be anxiety the road to recovery began. By learning about it and confronting it, it really can give one power to defeat it. Now, I don’t want to oversimplify this; it takes hard work and dedication, especially early on. Putting trust in someone else is a very hard thing to do. I still feel every little ache and pain, but it is how I interpret it that makes a difference. I a willing to bet that you had the same sensations before and just never really thought about them because it did not matter. In my experience, once I had the first panic attack, the body goes into a ‘search’ mode and everything becomes amplified and catastrophic in the mind. But I also believe that humans learn so much more about themselves when times are bad; it makes the good times that much better and there WILL be good times again. This experience has made me, and many others here, better spouses, friends, and the ability to enjoy the smaller things in life. My first piece of advice is to confront this now by going to talk to a therapist...by gaining the knowledge you will begin to understand the process of how to conquer it. Keep us posted!
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