Anyone here had anxiety/panic attacks?

[Sillywilly]

Apparently I had some for almost a week. Started the day after my wife had a kidney stone procedure. (and some other stuff went down) Ended up in the ER twice because I thought I was having a freaking heart attack. Ended up going to a regular clinic and the (not a doctor but the nurses that pose as doctors) seemed to think I had some acid reflux and was having anxiety attacks. She gave me a prescription anti-acid thingy and an off brand Zoloft? It was low dose, like 25 mg once per day. These attack things would hit me at night and it would feel like I couldn't breath. Anyways I've been on them 5 days, 6 days counting the half pill that I took at lunch. (usually took in the morning). I'm thinking of taking the other half tomorrow and then getting off of them. Anyone been on anything like this and can say yea or naye to my plan? I don't really feel like myself on this stuff and I'd rather not get my system too flooded with it and try to get off of it later down the road if I'm more dependent.

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

[Aeinna]

I've suffered from anxiety for almost 20 years and it started with panic attacks. Panic attacks can be some of the worst things you feel emotionally, because they make no sense. They can happen at anytime, no matter what mood you were in. It doesn't help that when you are already freaking it, it feels like you are dying, which makes you freak out more. For me, it got so bad that I became agoraphobic and could barely function day to day. I did end up on something, can't even remember the name for it, for a few months but what changed everything for me, was to say fuck this.

Basically I got as good as I can be by not letting it control me. I still get bad anxiety and have moments of panic but I talk myself out of it. I understand that it is not logical and doom isn't about to be visited upon my person from some unknown something. I play a game, I read a book, I don't let myself wallow in it. I talk to Marou or myself if need be. You gotta tell your brain to stop and it took me about a year to do this.

I've been asked before how I deal with it and when I say what I've done, I get replies with, well it isn't that easy or even that I just don't get it. Like somehow what they feel is worse than what I feel. If you want to get better, you will get better by forcing yourself to get through it. There is no simpler answer. You can take drugs but they suck.

I suggest to actually say to yourself, fuck this and fight it. I've been doing it for 18 years and am more functional than anyone else I know that has to take drugs and go to a therapist. Reading this, it sounds harsh and i'm not intending to be, it just works for me.

Edit: tl;dr - Rub some dirt in it and walk it off. Saying all that made me feel kinda bad because that is kind of what i'm saying to do. Really though, you gotta find what works for you. Whether it is therpay, meds or hot yoga.

I am also not saying I am fine, cause I am pretty damn crazy but it works for me.

[Zavon]

My first question is: Have you been sick lately?

A few months ago, I posted this thread: http://mmo.catacombs.com/showthread....ever-have-kids

I got a stomach virus from my kid. Well, about a week or two after that, I started having very bad panic and anxiety attacks when I couldn't remember something. Almost anything could trigger it, a line from a movie, a picture on facebook, reading a book-- All would have me pacing back and forth trying to recall something I couldn't remember almost obsessively. I can't begin to tell you how uncomfortable it was, but I can say emphatically that I thought I was losing my fucking mind. After one night of pacing around my bedroom (almost the entire night) trying to recall something, my wife convinced me to see a psychiatrist.

It turns out that the stomach viral infection I had caused viral-induced anomia, as bits and pieces of the viral infection attacked my brain. The psychiatrist was able to diagnosis it right away, and it explained quite clearly as the reason why I sat there raving like a lunatic during the sickness (I had assumed it was just the medicine I took, it wasn't). He put me on an older SSRI and an anti-anxiety medication. The attacks persisted for a couple of months, but as of right now I'm almost entirely free of the sickness. The medicine helped TREMENDOUSLY.

Until that happened to me, I had NO FUCKING IDEA how intimately connected the brain was to the body. I mean, I always sort of understood that in an abstract way; but understanding how flying works in a classroom isn't the same as flying on a plane. Most people don't expect to lose your fucking mind when you get a stomach bug. Your onset of mental health issues doesn't have to be due to a social or situational pressures; it could come at the cost of a conventional illness.

[Sillywilly]

Thank you two for the replies. I'm currently feeling much better. I took half the tiny dose of zoloft off brand yesterday and none today and so far I'm ok. I think it was probably triggered by the stress of my wifes kidney stone procedure, my son came home sick the day before throwing a wrench in me being able to just drive her up there, and of course my pneumonia/bronchitis/sinutus combo certainly didn't help anythings. I've slept 3 nights now without taking those other pills and we'll see how it goes tonight and tomorrow without having taken zoloft. I feel like the medicine was messing me up worse than anything and I think I do have some acid reflux that is make my tubes tender/weird. Aienna I've wanted to try your approach from the start, I don't want to be on drugs just because I don't want to be on drugs and if I could get rid of so much of this stress I've got going on right now I think I'd be better.

[Aeinna]

That doesn't sound like typical anxiety/panic attacks. I understand I be no doctor and it can come in different forms but from knowing people and living with it myself for so long but what you got is weird.

Anxiety is defined as:

A state of uneasiness, apprehension; as about future uncertainties.
A state of apprehension, uncertainty, and fear resulting from anticipation of a realistic or fantasized threatening event or situation, often impairing physical and psychological functioning.
In other words, anxiety occurs when we behave (think and act) in an apprehensive manner, such as when worrying about an event or situation.

Panic attacks are intense periods of fear or feelings of doom developing over a very short time frame -- up to 10 minutes -- and associated with at least four of the following:

Sudden overwhelming fear
Palpitations
Sweating
Trembling
Shortness of breath
Sense of choking
Chest pain
Nausea
Dizziness
A feeling of being detached from the world (de-realization)
Fear of dying
Numbness or tingling in the limbs or entire body
Chills or hot flushes

Then there is generalized anxiety disorder. I'm not saying he can't have what you do, he'd have to do research himself and or see someone. I guess i'm just saying it doesn't sound like what you do have is typical anxiety/panic attacks.

This was a reply to Zavon. To Silly:

I can at least say a little something about the acid reflux. I have a grandfather who suffers from it and his is so bad he sometimes gets up in the middle of the night to vomit and it can keep him from sleeping. So if you are already anxious, then have something similar to that type of acid reflux happen, I can see why you had a potential panic attack and resulting anxiety.

[Zavon]

That doesn't sound like typical anxiety/panic attacks. I understand I be no doctor and it can come in different forms but from knowing people and living with it myself for so long but what you got is weird.

Anxiety is defined as:

A state of uneasiness, apprehension; as about future uncertainties.
A state of apprehension, uncertainty, and fear resulting from anticipation of a realistic or fantasized threatening event or situation, often impairing physical and psychological functioning.
In other words, anxiety occurs when we behave (think and act) in an apprehensive manner, such as when worrying about an event or situation.

Panic attacks are intense periods of fear or feelings of doom developing over a very short time frame -- up to 10 minutes -- and associated with at least four of the following:

Sudden overwhelming fear
Palpitations
Sweating
Trembling
Shortness of breath
Sense of choking
Chest pain
Nausea
Dizziness
A feeling of being detached from the world (de-realization)
Fear of dying
Numbness or tingling in the limbs or entire body
Chills or hot flushes

Then there is generalized anxiety disorder. I'm not saying he can't have what you do, he'd have to do research himself and or see someone. I guess i'm just saying it doesn't sound like what you do have is typical anxiety/panic attacks.

This was a reply to Zavon. To Silly:

I can at least say a little something about the acid reflux. I have a grandfather who suffers from it and his is so bad he sometimes gets up in the middle of the night to vomit and it can keep him from sleeping. So if you are already anxious, then have something similar to that type of acid reflux happen, I can see why you had a potential panic attack and resulting anxiety.

Yes, I had most of that due to the anxiety caused by the anomia. I had so much anxiety that I was puking constantly from the nausea (like an eating disorder), sweating, almost blacking out and chest pains. It was incredibly intense. My skin was constantly sending almost painfully sweaty tinglings down my brain and arms for most of it. Make no mistake, there was a reason he gave anti-anxiety meds. I just didn't go into all of it, because honestly even now talking about it feels very uncomfortable to think about.

The fear was so crippling of triggering an attack, that I was afraid to do shit like browse netflix or log on to catacombs. Trying to remember an old poster on the old forums could have me going nuts for hours.

[Aeinna]

That sucks, at least you are better now. It sounds like what you were having is panic attacks, anxiety is different. Granted, anxiety can trigger panic attacks in my experience. Not saying you don't got both.

I'll just stop now, you are better now and that is all that matters really. I just have issues with therapists/psychiatrists. I've seen someone who is manic depressive get diagnosed differently by 4 different people, put on different types of drugs and it was just a fuck show. My faith in them is low.

[Zavon]

That sucks, at least you are better now. It sounds like what you were having is panic attacks, anxiety is different. Granted, anxiety can trigger panic attacks in my experience. Not saying you don't got both.

I'll just stop now, you are better now and that is all that matters really. I just have issues with therapists/psychiatrists. I've seen someone who is manic depressive get diagnosed differently by 4 different people, put on different types of drugs and it was just a fuck show. My faith in them is low.

It was definitely both anxiety and panic attacks. But, you are right, I got very lucky because I saw a good psychiatrist that was able to determine what it was right away. I can easily envision seeing someone else and getting medicine that didn't help specifically to reduce the virus. In fact, before I saw the psychiatrist I went into one of those walk in clinics (like Silly was talking about above) and he gave me Valium. Valium didn't help that well, because (as the psychiatrist described it) it was lipo-soluable which caused both the panic AND anxiety to fluctuate wildly while it dissolved in my body. In effect, Valium "bounces" around for a day or so after, which was about the worst thing that could happen to someone with a viral infection.

He assigned me a better anti-anxiety medication (one that dissolves more instantly) which helped tremendously.

[Aeinna]

Hopefully Silly either figures out how to rub some dirt in it or goes to see a proper psychiatrist. Cause the medical system sucks, don't matter what field you are in. Fucking doctors.

You make me wonder if pain medicine is like vallium. Cause I HATE most prescription pain pills. They make my anxiety sky rocket and I end up a freaked out mess till they are out of my system.

[Sillywilly]

I've been back to a family doctor in a different area to get a 2nd opinion. The verdict is still out, he ordered my previous medical records to see what he thought about my chest xrays and blood tests.

On that note, are anxiety attacks frequently accompanied by extreme fatigue and abdominal jitters? I feel like in addition to my chest/esophagus/bronchial tubes or whatever constricting that my abs and a few surrounding muscles get so fatigued that they start to tremble almost like I'm extremely cold. I've also had a few days where it was all I could do to sit up straight. I was so exhausted I had to lie down most of the day. I'm kind of wondering if that is part of the anxiety or left overs from the pneumonia.

[Aeinna]

Well the extreme fatigue after an attack is common, just like after having a crying fit you want to sleep. Emotional exhaustion. I've had jitters after too, if it was really bad. But lasting for more than a day? I dunno man. I'm usually better within a few hours.

Sounds more like a side effect of having pneumonia, that alone can make you feel weaker than a baby fart for weeks. Hell, I've had the after effects of the flu keep me down for a week. Did you have those wracking coughs that make your whole body spasm? Do you still have them occasionally? Could also be a combination of getting over being sick + having some anxiety = making everything you feel seem worse.

[Marou]

I think yall niggas all need jeezus.

[Sillywilly]

Well the extreme fatigue after an attack is common, just like after having a crying fit you want to sleep. Emotional exhaustion. I've had jitters after too, if it was really bad. But lasting for more than a day? I dunno man. I'm usually better within a few hours.

Sounds more like a side effect of having pneumonia, that alone can make you feel weaker than a baby fart for weeks. Hell, I've had the after effects of the flu keep me down for a week. Did you have those wracking coughs that make your whole body spasm? Do you still have them occasionally? Could also be a combination of getting over being sick + having some anxiety = making everything you feel seem worse.

Didn't even know I had pneumonia. No coughing or anything. My wife was just getting over kidney stones and I had felt fine all that time except for worrying about her. Just walked down the stairs the day after her procedure and all the stuff hit me and now it's been 3 weeks of crap. No idea why I keep getting so exhausted in my core. It's like it's hard to sit up because I feel so exhaust. I'm also having some weird pressure in my ears. Don't know if that's part of the sinusitis or what. I honestly don't think the anxiety stuff would be bothering me if it wasn't for the shortness of breath and other symptoms. I feel like physical symptoms are the root cause of my anxiety at this point.

[Aeinna]

I feel like physical symptoms are the root cause of my anxiety at this point.

I'd agree with you from what information you've given. You are anxious, you get sick/anxiety makes you feel bad to begin with and it spirals from there. The most you can do is see a doc if you are concerned, which is what you are doing.

And cereal dude, pneumonia gives you all those symptoms you are describing and usually much much worse. I've never known someone to get that and not be bedridden for at least 1 to 2 months, you got lucky if this is all its doing to you.

Hope you get to feeling better soon though, sounds like a sucky time.

[Valec]

I was on meds for awhile for anxiety. It was off-brand paxil and it actually worked really well for me, but i've been off them for awhile. I currently still get anxiety, but usually it's only when i'm hungover or sleep deprived. I'm usually fine unless there is something effecting me in the physical sense.

[Zavon]

I think yall niggas all need jeezus.

Honestly, this.

[Sillywilly]

So update on my ridiculous health situation.

End up seeing another doctor because I was having strong symptoms after physical exertion.

After that doctor farted around for 2 weeks I got in to see a cardiologist. They did a 64 slice CT scan of my heart area. Said everything looked normal.

Symptoms persisted. I ended up going to the nurse practioner that originally thought I had anxiety/reflux. She got me a referral to a GI specialist. She said I might have a hiatal herniaThey scheduled me a test for the 29th of this month which was a long ass ways away from when I first saw them. So I'm still waiting for that.

In the mean time I continue to have problems. Went and saw an MD. He had a chest xray done and some blood work that day. Those were all normal.

Set me up to have a heart monitor halter on for 24 hours and an ultrasound. Had me come back to do a cat scan of my torso just to get a closer look. Every one of those came back normal.

Sent me to have a HIDA scan done for my gall bladder because of my symptoms. Just got the results for it. Came back normal.

So now I guess I'm waiting to get the scope down by throat and up the butt to see if they can find something there. Geez I can hardly think of any other kind of doctors to go see at this point.

[Pyrrhus]

I became a GoogleMD and searched some of the symptoms.

Have they ruled out things like Hypothyroidism? (or Hypopituitarism, closely related)

Heres the list that came up on WebMD if you want to really drive yourself nuts... I mean check yourself against some symptoms.



Other than that, best of luck to ya, feel better mang.

[Marou]

Concurrent with chatbox speculation, have them check for parasites too.

[Sillywilly]

Yeah they did a blood test for hyperthyroidismery stuff. That came bacl negative. I think I may suggest lime disease to the doctor since Im a shoe in for that with me getting bit by ticks so much while surveying with my dad.

[Sillywilly]

Sooooo after all the tests and crap I've been through my heart echo came back. Apparently I have mitral regurgitation. That's all I know. Damn nurse calls, tells me, says there will be a prescription waiting for you at the pharmacy, we'll get you set up with an appointment with a cardiologist and call you back. Seems like they could have talked a bit about the severity? What to expect? Didn't tell me shit. Not even what the medicine is called or what it's for. Man the medical care has gotten craptastic.

[Zavon]

Sooooo after all the tests and crap I've been through my heart echo came back. Apparently I have mitral regurgitation. That's all I know. Damn nurse calls, tells me, says there will be a prescription waiting for you at the pharmacy, we'll get you set up with an appointment with a cardiologist and call you back. Seems like they could have talked a bit about the severity? What to expect? Didn't tell me shit. Not even what the medicine is called or what it's for. Man the medical care has gotten craptastic.

Glad you finally got something solid man, even if it doesn't seem to be that great news. There is nothing worse than not knowing what the fuck is happening.

[Marou]

Sooooo after all the tests and crap I've been through my heart echo came back. Apparently I have mitral regurgitation. That's all I know. Damn nurse calls, tells me, says there will be a prescription waiting for you at the pharmacy, we'll get you set up with an appointment with a cardiologist and call you back. Seems like they could have talked a bit about the severity? What to expect? Didn't tell me shit. Not even what the medicine is called or what it's for. Man the medical care has gotten craptastic.

It really fucking has. It's to the point I don't want to go to the doctor unless my arm has fallen off for something, cause they'll just poke around incompetently and order several thousand dollars of tests. It's like taking your car to a retarded mechanic that'll change your tires, give you new brake pads, and rebuild your transmission, when you went because a belt was frayed.

[Zavon]

It really fucking has. It's to the point I don't want to go to the doctor unless my arm has fallen off for something, cause they'll just poke around incompetently and order several thousand dollars of tests. It's like taking your car to a retarded mechanic that'll change your tires, give you new brake pads, and rebuild your transmission, when you went because a belt was frayed.

Yeah especially given that medical error might be the third highest cause of death in the US https://www.usnews.com/news/articles...eath-in-the-us

We need more black doctors imo

[Pyrrhus]

Yeah especially given that medical error might be the third highest cause of death in the US https://www.usnews.com/news/articles...eath-in-the-us

We need more black doctors imo

But mah Diversity.

This is exactly why I have no interest in buying into the health insurance pyramid scheme. Minimum essential coverage. If it weren't for the ACA I'd just have nothing. I haven't seen a doctor or had a major issue (aside from major illness like sinus infection, but nigga we just deal with it I don't need a doctor to tell me to rest and that I have an infection) in over 5 years. Maybe I'll drop dead tomorrow but at least I'm not buying into the stupidity that has become the American healthcare system.