afraid to die
Posted , 8 users are following.
i went to the ER yesterday coz i am having stabbing pains on the left side of my chest and my left arm in feeling weak...i thought i am having a heart attack and feeling very anxious...the doctor then examined me and ask for my family history so in the end he said im having hypertension and unstable angina and prescribed meds for the blood pressure and the chest pains...he said that i would be in that meds for a lifetime now that i have to accept in even at the young age coz i inherited my father's sickness...honestly i am not convinced of the diagnosis coz i failed to mention that my bp isn't really that high on normal days and the chest pains come and go though he also said that if the chest pains come and go it is why it is called unstable angina and it will never go back to normal since i have it already. on normal days my bp range from 120-130/80-100 so that isn't that bad i think...what i think i really need is the reassurance that this is just anxiety...the truth is im afraid to die that's why every weird feeling i get i automatically think that there's something wrong with me, or that i am sick and the "what if's" thoughts came rushing in and my mind is racing...that when my heartbeat started to race, then i fell dizzy and more thoughts will came till i cant contain it and feel like fainting. i can't stop the "what if" thoughts and everytime it stumble my mind it caused me to what i believe are panic attacks...my body is in constant pain: back, neck, head and lims...usually accompanied by numbness and tingling sensations...sometimes there are cold spots in my chest too...i always feel bloated, belching, gagging, stomach pains and sometimes choking feeling...my stomach aches as sson as i finished eating and is usually followed by diarrhea. there are times that i feel so alone even though i am surrounded by family and friends that i know trully cared for me... and i have trouble sleeping since i got this weird feelings...i am afraid to sleep whenever i feel these symptoms coz i'm afraid i will never be able to wake up again... i tried laying down and deep breathing whenever i feel my hertbeat in starting to race and it helps a bit...reading also helps as it takes my mind out of what i am currently thinking...i tried taking melatonin 3mg last night and i don't think it is good for me as all i can feel if my head is spinning and i wake up every hour...we are trying to get an appointment to a psychiatrist on april 4 hoping they can tell me what's going on coz i feel like i can't deal with thgis no more and feel like losing my mind...and i hate it! i just want it to stop now coz i can't be myself...i want to try doing exercise but i am afraid it will make my heartbeat faster or even cause a heart attack...also whenever i go out..i feel dizzy that's why i stay in most of the time...i have difficulty concentrating and seems like my mind is at random thinking of all kinds of thing..most of it makes me anxious too! can anyone please give me a good advice on how to deal or lessen this until i get checked by someone or therapy coz i feel like i am loosing it...
0 likes, 70 replies
craig137 cuki20
Posted
What you just wrote is almost a clinical description of anxiety/panic attack, I know because I could of written that myself. What did he prescribe for the BP if it was amoldipine you might get a nasty cough with it. There are other drugs with less side effects. Reading helped me too I would read anything (shampoo bottles,dvd case anything with words) when i felt attack coming on. I had the tingling arms and strag
nge "cold" spots in my chest also. I was convinced I was having a heart attack, I moved back in with my mum, as i did'nt wanna be alone also. That was 10 years ago and with CBT?NLP therpy and medications I'm fine. Anti depressants are usually the first course of action is an SSRI on a SNRI prescription. Most likely he'll start you on amitryptiline as it has sedative qualities to help you sleep. I found a combination of 2 different anti 'ds worked for me Sertraline (SSRI) and mitazipine (a tetracylic anti d) though i was on Venlafaxine (SNRI) for 6 years but it lost it's efficacy, hence the change in meds. YOU ARE ABSOLUTELY FINE, but i understand once that "what if" cog starts turning it gets faster and just goes haywire this is because your brain if firing off in all directions at once, and to top it off you tell yourself your fine, which focuses your attention on it even more, round and round it goes. Tell your family and friends NOT to (this is important) i repeat NOT to keep asking you if you are ok. It's called external validation, and you will instantly think that if someone can see something is wrong then it MUST be really happening. Instead tell them to just act normal ignore it as if nothing is going on at all. Trust me this will go along way to start slowing those "what if's" cogs down. I was where you are now 10 years ago it gets better it really does. CBT (cognitive behaviour therpy) is brillant as is NLP ( Neuro Linguistic Programming) I would suggest printing out this convo and see what your Dr thinks, it will answer most of his/her triage questions, and will remind you of any questions you might have. Until you get your appointment please feel free to send me a message. I was really surprised as your story and symptoms were IDENTICAL to mine. I'm not a Dr I learned this the hard way. I hope this helps a bit. Let me know how you get on, and remember if you feel and attack coming read something as you said it activates different area of your brain, and believe it or not if you do some running/exercise it gives your mind a reason for your increased heart rate and you'll soon feel better.
Craig
cuki20 craig137
Posted
craig137 cuki20
Posted
cuki20 craig137
Posted
craig137 cuki20
Posted
cuki20 craig137
Posted
craig137 cuki20
Posted
cuki20 craig137
Posted
AdamE cuki20
Posted
Definitely cool it with the BP machine though. You might be subconsciously living around that thing checking on it with every little blip of anxiety you have. You might even be then expecting it being high even if it wasn't.
If you don't right now, go for walks. I found this REALLY helps me. I go at night for the most part. Less people out, nice and cool outside which feels good and just plain getting some exercise in. Definitely recommend it. Tackle this now before you start developing a health anxiety. They aren't easy to deal with.
lynsey90326 AdamE
Posted
lynsey90326 AdamE
Posted
AdamE lynsey90326
Posted
Walking was huge for me even though I was a huge introvert and barely left the house. I tried some yoga and Tai Chi which helped a little. I don't think I was clearing my mind enough to get any huge benefit from those. Something I need to work on. I know how hard it is when your mind doesn't shut up for at least a minute.
I did recently go to the neurologist though. He did a ton of tests on me during our consultation and he feels I'm suffering from tension headache. Just, without the pain. I don't get the head pain for sure. But my inability to concentrate, eyes sometimes don't focus right away like the should, head feels super heavy as if it weighs 100lbs, etc. He started pushing on trigger points in my shoulders. A few shot pain all of the way down my spine. He thinks that could be the cause of my burning feet feeling at times. Then another spot on my shoulder almost made me pass out. Not from the pain, just he hit something and I almost blacked out. So he wants to start me on something called manual therapy that works directly with those points. It's basically a massage but more indepth. He thinks if I respond to that well then maybe I should make that a routine once a month or find someone who's skills with trigger points in acupuncture.
craig137 lynsey90326
Posted
Read this thread from top to bottom it should answer alot of your questions, I've just been having this exact convo with Cuki, the alo of the same advise will apply to you also, but please (if you wish) I'm always at the other end of the internet if you have any concerns
Craig
lynsey90326 AdamE
Posted
AdamE lynsey90326
Posted
I also think I migh thave acid reflux. I know when I use to drink a ton of soda and beer my chest and even my back behind the shoulder blades ached bad. I'd assume that's the doings of acid reflux.
DO you have chest pain at any time or is it after a meal/drink?
lynsey90326 AdamE
Posted
craig137 lynsey90326
Posted
Ask your Dr's about Celiec disease. The symptoms your both describing fit it too a T, and it's often mis diagnosed as acid reflux. Celiec is very common it's basically an allergy to Wheat (Gluten) they don't test for it because acid reflux is of course much much more common.
Craig
lynsey90326 craig137
Posted
craig137 lynsey90326
Posted
Craig
AdamE craig137
Posted
craig137 AdamE
Posted
cuki20 lynsey90326
Posted
cuki20 AdamE
Posted
cuki20 craig137
Posted