Going through an anxiety relapse, focused on irrational things, could use some reassurance
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I've been posting on here recently, so some of you may have read about my other experiences. I suffer from chronic anxiety, it's been a recurrent issue for about ten years now (I recently turned 30). It was fairly well managed until a year ago when I got a new doctor who advised I take xanax. Eventually it stopped being beneficial and I had a resurgence of anxiety that became unbearable about 3 months ago. I'm currently on a taper plan from that medication, and it's elevated my general anxiety levels through the roof.
Anyways, I've been recently having problems fixating on everything relating to my health that you can imagine. I've had a lot of basic tests down in the past few months, lots of bloodwork, x-rays, thyroid testing, you name it. None of the tests have detected any medical problems.
Today I was looking at my hands for some reason, and I noticed the veins in my fingers seemed too prominent and dark. It wasn't extreme, but it was noticable to me. I then noticed there was a dark spot, very small, on one of the veins, almost like a bruise, that wasn't there when I first examined them. I started Googling and found some very alarming information about conditions it could be linked to.
Long story short, I ended up not able to control my heartrate or breathing and was convinced I was on the verge of a heart attack. I ended up in the emergency room, they ruled out stroke, or heart attack, and sent me on my way. The doctor there was wise enough not to give me anything for my anxiety, he didn't want to interfere with my taper plan, so technically I'm still on track.
I'm still fixated on this stupid vein thing though. At the ER they didn't do a metabolic panel or complete blood count (probably because I did just have those done about a month ago), but I can't help but think they possibly missed something because they didn't give me those specific tests. When I left the ER my pulse was 70 and my blood pressure was 120/80, so my vitals were basically perfect, and they did the bloodwork, ekgs, and x-rays necessary to rule out anything catastrophic. I have an appointment with a cardiologist now, just to give me peace of mind more than anything, but sadly he's booked until the end of September.
I really don't know how to proceed from here. I could go down the rabbit hole of getting extra testing done, but it's hard for me to know when enough is enough. I've already had quite a few tests done in the past few months, and I've become so imaginative with my health that my worries are constantly shifting. I'm seeing my primary care provider tomorrow, and a psychologist in the area agreed to take me in tomorrow since it's kind of an urgent situation for me, if my primary care provider will write the referal (I need it for insurance purposes). Still, part of me just has difficulty accepting this is mental. I know the medication has been a big factor, I've been through this before, the first time this manifested in a debilitating way was when I was 19, I was convinced I had some horrible illnesses because of some relatively minor symptoms I was having. It's discouraging because I feel that I'm sliding back to that point, and the progress I made during the past years has evaporated.
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icecool steven47549
Posted
Hi Steve Re sending due to typos, message sent accidentally before editing.
Sounds like you have got it all sussed out. Good on you.
I wish I had not got into that cycle of anti depressants, side effects etc many years ago. Those anti depressants wrecked me.
I saw others in the same predicament and vowed never to get caught up in that vicous circle ever again.
Another drug to be extremely wary of is codeine or any other opiates. Careful of any analgesics containing codeine as a constituent.
?I was prescribed co codamol then codeine on its own for a back problem. I took very little of it as I noticed a heaviness of my chest after taking just one tablet.
?Then I got severe daily headaches, was sweating at might. anorexic, anxious, depressed . I eventually discovered from a private neurologist who I had been referred to due to my headaches that the codeine was responsible for them plus all the other signs and symptoms.
I abruptly stopped them. Some people withdraw gradually.
It is not dangerous to withdraw from opiates just nightmarish but had to be done.
What a nightmare, never again. The withdrawal was indescribable even after taking a small dose infrequently. However I persisted, heaven only knows how I got through it all but I did.
The neurologist told me never to take any more opiates .NB I have been called awkward, obstructive difficult by some drs for refusing codeine or co codamol for pain, I just state that I am simply following the Consultant Neurologists instructions which were/are to never take any opiates ever again because of the serious side effects of making one's brain swell, causing anx etc, etc.
.I am still waiting for the gaba receptors in my brain to operate at an optimal level again prior to the toxic substance aka codeine. I am feeling a lot better but I resent what happened to me through no fault of my own. I did not even crave this nasty drug or get a kick out of it, however I learned from the neurologist that a lot of people are in the same predicament as I was through prescribed codeine.
This experience led me to do a lot of research into many medicines. That is why I avoid them if at all possible and take a few supplements. Even then I only buy ones that are suitable for vegans, do not contain wheat, soy, corn, gluten, aspartame, sorbitol, etc, etc as binders and/or fillers.
I once had 2.5 mls of a drug for epilepsy called clobzam.
Within 30 minutes I had severe diarrhoea, 3 seizures and palpitations. Had to get the paramedics out .
The consultant gastro enterologist said it was the sorbitol in the liquid clobazam and said he was not surprised at my reaction to it!!
Even with supplements one has to be careful.
?I have Vit B12 sub lingually. However this can deplete the body of Vit D so I already have a Vit D deficiency so take a supplement .
B12 can also lower potassium levels so that is another reason for eating foods rich in potassium.
It is a minefield out there with Big Pharma making huge profits. Anti depressants, statins, ppi's are fortune makers
xx