How long does anxiety last as a side effect of Protonix?

[ltingley]

I was prescribed protonix (40mg/daily) for 2 months after an endoscopy showed some inflammation in my stomach (ruled out ulcer and celiac). After 1 month of daily use I started to feel awful - my hands and arms were tingling, I felt off balance, like I was walking through a haze at all times, like I might pass out more than once a day, and started having what I thought were sensory migraines. During these "migraines" I would feel light headed, my pupils shrink, my heart rate increases, my limbs feel week and numb, my palms get sweaty, and I get a slight headache. After having to pull over on the side of the road and be picked up on 3 different occasions, I have stopped driving altogether.

After 6 "migraines" in 2 and a half weeks, I finally realized the only change in my life was the protonix. After some research I found a lot of people with similar symptoms and I called my doctor. They told me to stop taking the medicine and call to see how I'm feeling in a few days. After I stopped the medicine the haze lifted but I was still having a lot of the other symptoms. I did some more research and found that protonix can cause a vitamin B-12 deficiency and anxiety. I called my doctor and they wrote me off right away saying the drug should be out of my system and maybe I suddenly developed anxiety (never had any issue with anxiety in my entire life) and that I should see a doctor.

I started trying to fix it on my own - I was miserable. I started taking B-12 supplements and after a few days I no longer had the pins/needles feelings in my hands and arms and the off-balance/out of it feeling stopped (I was on a plane before I started taking the supplements and could not shake the feeling that the plane was flying backwards, it was horrible).

I've been off the protonix for almost a full 3 weeks now and the anxiety remains. I now understand my "migraines" were anxiety attacks - 3 happened while driving, 2 while drinking coffee, 1 at work. I am doing the best I can to try and manage my new found anxiety but not driving is greatly affecting my (and my partner's) life. I have always been a healthy person, I exercise 3-4 times a week (running and yoga), eat well, and don't drink very often. I take fish oil, a B12 supplement, a women's multivitamin, and a hair/nails/skin vitamin daily. I have started to take CBD oil to help with the anxiety attacks and started "exposure therapy" - I'll drive somewhere (say, the grocery store) with my partner so that he is able to take over if I feel overwhelmed and need to stop. I know this was caused by the protonix - I have never had anxiety before and I have read people have had similar experiences.

Anyone have advice as to how long this is going to last? Or how to realign myself? Will I have anxiety permanently now? Taking more medication sounds awful after this experience and will only go to a doctor for a prescription as a last resort. I really need to resolve this - I'm switching jobs in a few months that will require a lot of time driving.

Thanks for the help!