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Need some help dealing with my anxiety :(

Posted , 9 users are following.

bks2244
bks2244

Hello!

Just a little bit about me- I am a 23 yo. female and have been dealing with some horrible anxiety the last couple of months really bad (however I have been a worrier ever since I was a child). I started to have these dizzy spells where I would feel faint, my mind would go blank, difficulty swallowing, and felt like I was going to die and I had no idea what was wrong with me. They got worse and worse until one day I couldn't calm down and it sent me to the hospital. They took my blood and ran an EKG and told me everything was fine. They prescribed me Ativan and it calmed me down.

Since then I saw my doctor where he prescribed me Citalopram. I haven't started it yet because I wanted to try therapy first. Lately I have still been getting dizzy, light headed, difficulty swallowing, pins & needle feelings in my arms and toes, frequent bowel movements, back and neck pain, fatigue, shaking and trembling too and it comes out of nowhere and I can't control the anxious feeling. I also had a weird pain under my left boob near my rib cage and my left armpit and convinced myself I had a heart problem. My doctor says it's all the anxiety causing the physical symptoms. 

I guess my my point in writing this post is to really reassure myself that I am not the only one experiencing all this and that I'm not alone. Anxiety is an absolutely horrible thing and it feels like your world is going to end. I'm currently seeing a psychologist and am looking forward getting better. Maybe there are people out there who used to be like me and now they're better? Anything helps! I get super super sad thinking I'm the only one feeling this way and obsessively worrying about my health. Anything advice/comments will help. Thank you! 

1 like, 9 replies

9 Replies

  • sue92125
    sue92125 bks2244

    Posted

    You are not the only one and it is so reassuring to know that.  If you are looking for therapy before going the med route look for a FasterEFT or EFT Practitioner.  It helps a lot.
  • david7897
    david7897 bks2244

    Posted

    Hi BKS, sorry to hear of your troubles. Reading your note, my first thought is that you might like to try the meds you have been prescribed. They probably are not a cure for us, but maybe they can reduce the impact of the issue so we have brain space to start to work through the other things that are driving us. I was at a standstill until I got on the right meds. Just a thought . . . And here is another - be kind to yourself !  David.
  • Dannie1989
    Dannie1989 bks2244

    Posted

    Hi bks.

    This may sound strange and I'm no doctor but:

    - light headedness

    -difficulty swallowing

    -pins and needles

    -frequent bowel movements

    -back and neck pain

    -fatigue

    -shaking/trembling

    -Comes out of nowhere

    Add racing heartbeat and you've perfectly described a panic attack.

    Do you get a racing heartbeat? Feel as if it all calms down after a while and the symptoms slowly disappear? If the answers are yes then you definitely are having panic attacks and should start taking citalopram now and go back to your doctors and ask for a beta blocker.

    All antidepressants take between 4-8 weeks to get into your system and start having positive effects on your life. It gets worse before it gets better I'm afraid and you will get side effects. Don't mean to scare you, just being honest.

    Beta blockers stop all the symptoms you've described above and in turn lessen your anxiety.

    I've suffered with anxiety and panic attacks for 8 years now and I know one when I see one.

    Yes anxiety can also recreate some of these symptoms but not to the point where they mimic something else so well, its amazing how your doctors haven't picked up on this before.

    I am glad you're trying therapy but they say the most effective way to help anxiety is a meds and therapy combination.

    Hope this reply has helped and please let me know what you think about the panic attack idea.

    Best wishes

    Danielle

    • bks2244
      bks2244 Dannie1989

      Posted

      Thank you for responding! I do get a racing heart most of the time and the one time my attack sent me to the hospital a racing heartbeat came out of nowhere with it. I have also been told my anxiety gives me these symptoms which are in reality panic attacks. I'll definitely take all your advice into consideration, thank you again. 
  • emily77147
    emily77147 bks2244

    Posted

    Im sorry you have to go through this, it is bery life consuming and i hope by now you have it under control. At the same time im so thankful for you posting this as im surrfering everyday with anxiety and panick attacks which i originally thought were heart problems. I started feeling like every day was going to be my last and that i was going to die. After many hospital visits mid-attack, the told me it was anxiety. For months i struggled to believe it but by reading brave pople people like you and your comments about your experience with it, gives me hope and a source ot comfort. Very sorry to hear you have dealt/ or are dealing with such a crappy and scary disorder.
  • morgan87380
    morgan87380 bks2244

    Posted

    I am the same way!!! I have had anxiety for about 6 months now and it started out just getting bad anxiety when I was driving somewhere I had never been or being somewhere that there wasn't any bathrooms. (Weird I know) but after a few terrible panic attacks it seems that my anxiety is chronic now. It is there all the time. And I have a constant pain under my left boob and in my arm pit as well! I've had all sorts of test done and my doctors have told me I am healthy as well. But it's so hard to convince yourself that with how you feel. Another one of much major problems is the panic part where I feel like I'm losing control or going crazy. That's the scariest part for me. Do you have that issue as well?

    • mannyadamc
      mannyadamc morgan87380

      Posted

      Hi I'm 24 yo male and have these similar symptoms. Blood work and everything else you can imagine but was told it's anxiety. It usually happens when you're under a lot of stress I've had it when I was 17 it comes and goes.

    • phildo8
      phildo8 morgan87380

      Posted

      Hello I know this was over a year ago I'm hoping that your still on the site. I too have panic & anxiety for years but I've recently gotten the weird pain u set my left boob and down my arm but I'm a guy. It scares me to death it's a daily pain all the way down my left arm & then under my left boob feels like I have to grab at it like something is in there which I thought was a clot or a heart attack! I was wondering if you're still experiencing these and how u overcame them? It's a daily pain under left boob & armpit & down left arm its a daily pain and just scary as heck BC I always start googling symptoms which u shouldn't do BC I get bad results like blood clot or heart attack but I wanted to see how you dealt with this left arm pain and under boob pain and if u beat it yet or if it's still there? Hope all is well!!!

  • phildo8
    phildo8 bks2244

    Posted

    Hello I know this was over a year ago I'm hoping that your still on the site. I too have panic & anxiety for years but I've recently gotten the weird pain u set my left boob and down my arm but I'm a guy. It scares me to death it's a daily pain all the way down my left arm & then under my left boob feels like I have to grab at it like something is in there which I thought was a clot or a heart attack! I was wondering if you're still experiencing these and how u overcame them? It's a daily pain under left boob & armpit & down left arm hope all is well!!!

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