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Anxiety Community

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MedHelp Member's Question

accepting anxiety as a diagnosis

by tanns, Nov 16, 2006 12:00AM
Last Nov. 22 I experienced my very first panic attack (actually multiple ones) and the months after were filled with horrible anxiety, panic and fear.  I tried six months of lexapro which didn't seem to help.  I have seen three cardiologist because it took me this long to accept that I had a panic attack and not a heart attack.  After a year of tests, cardiac and others, I have no diagnosis accept anxiety.  This is hard to accept as I have no history of ANY anxiety, depression or panic.  I certainly don't have a fairy tale life but I have nothing I can complain about.



To the problem, I have a pain on the left side of my chest, usually under the left breast that causes instantaneous anxiety when I feel it.  This is a learned response I'm sure based on the fear of the last year.  I guess my question would be, if the chest pain (always only on the LEFT side, heart area) is coming FIRST and the anxiety seems to come SECOND, is this still anxiety causing the pain?  



If I have no KNOWN cause for anxiety, can it ever go away?





Thanks for any responses, insights or opinions!





Member Comments (13)

by borninquisitive, Nov 16, 2006 12:00AM
First, to your chest pain. Have you given thought that this very well may be muscular pain. A great book, worth every penny:



"The Trigger Point Therapy Workbook: Your Self-Treatment Guide for Pain Relief, Second Edition" by Clair Davies, Amber Davies, and David G. Simons



If you can afford it, have you given thought to visiting a chiropractor?



As for anxiety, have you given thought that it may very well be the fault of neuro-transmitters?



I use to doubt this but as time moves on, beginning to think that anxiety, in spite of a good life...could very well be due to neuro-transmitters.



At any rate, fear is very debilitating. I think underneath the anxiety...suspect we'd find a great deal of fear.

Stress/anxiety can wreak havoc on the system and the priority is, to get it under control.



Best,

~Kate



by tanns, Nov 16, 2006 12:00AM
Another thing I fogot to mention was an achy, dull pain that occurs on the left side of my chest where your hand would be if you were saying the "Pledge of Alligance".  It also causes my left jaw and front jaw area to be achy. The pain or discomfort seems to trigger anxiety that is uncontrollable and is not something I can control.  My chest feels heavy and it is really hard to be me.  I am not LOOKING for something to be wrong, something FEELS like it is and that is the problem.  



Thanks for listening!!

by jwinst, Nov 17, 2006 12:00AM
I know what you are going through. Even though I am aware that I have anxiety issues, I still freak out everytime I get a pain or weird feeling in my chest. I also get palpitations frequently. I have been to the cardiologist and checked out, but I still have a really hard time accepting that all of these pains are just from anxiety. Everyone, whether they have an anxiety disorder or not, gets aches/pains. The difference is that the pains do not send them into a panic. I believe that my body overreacts to everything and believes it is in danger when in reality there is nothing wrong.

I am currently in therapy and trying to see if anti-anxiety meds help me. I do not know why I have the anxiety. I have the normal stressors of any 24 year old. I would suggest that you look into therapy. This anxiety can get really bad really fast. I know. I wish that I had seen the warning signs a long time ago and tackeled the problem then.

I wish you the best.

by Aruba417, Nov 17, 2006 12:00AM
Wow, I'm so glad this forum was created!



I feel the SAME EXACT SYMPTOMS as you have described, and I have also had a hard time accepting the fact that it could be anxiety. It's been about 4 years since my first panic attack. I was 21 and it was really scary. I also had plenty of tests including a hospital stay and cardiology testing and even tried a chiropractor. But I think I've for the most part learned to accept it. But after 4 years, it's still hard when you feel the chest pain first, THEN the panic follows. So I know exactly what you're going through...even with the jaw aching. It's not a fun feeling thinking you're going to die from a massive heart attack and having everyone say "you're fine, you're fine". I was in California and could FEEL and SEE my pulse skipping beats and I ended up dragging my husband to the ER with me while we were trying to enjoy our vacation. I just KNEW something bad was going on. But after staying overnight in the hospital and passing my stress test with flying colors (and a good dose of muscle relaxers), they released me. It didn't mean I felt much better, but that there was "nothing wrong with me pysically". It really sucks.



I hope this gave you some sort of comfort!

by ekypoo, Nov 17, 2006 12:00AM
I too have anxiety, in my case it was triggered by a reaction to an antibiotic (Levaquin).  About 1 hour after I took my first dose, I had a panic attack like I never had before and it lasted for about 2-3hours.  I didn't attribute it to the Levaquin until I took a second pill and the same thing happenned.  In any case, since then I guess it triggered a bit of an anxiety disorder (more generalized than panic).  I have seen an excellent psychiatrist for my anxiety and have found that changing my thinking (Cognitive Therapy), along with medication (Remeron, nightly and Klonopin, as needed) have greatly improved my quality of life.  It's hard to accept an anxiety diagnosis because you become so convinced that it is physical - the emotions feel so real, you think it can't all be in my head.  The good news is that with help you can conquer anxiety and life can be as wonderful as ever.  Good luck to you~ :)



by tanns, Nov 17, 2006 12:00AM
To: ekypoo
It's very interesting that you mention Levaquin.  About four months after this happened I got a horrible ear infection in my left ear.  I was treated with the wrong antibiotics for about a week and when they finally could see in my canal at my eardrum, it was covered in blisters.  The doc gave me Levaquin because of its strength and the ability to work on the bacteria that causes the blisters.  I had anxiety out of control.  I never, ever read the side effects of medications so I had my husband look and sure enough, there it was:  anxiety as a side effect.   I would like to find some type of therapy.  The University of Florida in Gainesville has a Psychology dept where some of the docs deal with medical anxiety.  I think that is what I have....maybe?  I just don't know.



Thanks to all of you who shared your stories and opinions!!



Best wishes, t.

by anacyde, Nov 18, 2006 12:00AM
To: tanns
I can relate to that.  My first panic attack happened on November 1, 1999.  Much like you I had no history of anything and I had extreme difficulty accepting anxiety as a diagnosis.  Being a rational, professional person who even studied psychology in college and worked in the field...I didn't recognize it.  Or more likely, I couldn't accept it.



It gave me a new perspective.  Reading about a disorder is not the same as feeling it.  I suppose this will make me a more compassionate professional.  I knew the symptoms of a panic attack, I just never realized the felt so...real.  I imagined a panic attack much like being very anxious about something specific.  I suppose, though I knew it was a definition, I couldn't wrap my head around the idea that these very very real and frightening physical symptoms I was experiencing could all be manifesting from my HEAD.  Like you, I was sure it was my heart.  It wasn't.  Then I came up with a bazillion other things, ranging from MS to cancer to who knows how many other things.  It took many long months, but I finally accepted it.  Only then did I have the ability to conquer and overcome it.



It took years and some time on medication, but I finally stopped having them.  In the beginning, I was having several a day, then several a week.  As I got stronger and understood my opponent more, the attacks became monthly, then every few months.  It's now been about two years.  I won't say it can't happen again, I'm a work in progress.  I'm just saying you CAN overcome it, but you must first accept it for what it is.



If you have no known cause for anxiety, can it ever go away?  ABSOLUTELY.



Go grab some self help workbooks on anxiety.  Find one that speaks to you.  It will be worth the investment to get your mind thinking in the right direction.  Usually there is a cause, it's a matter of unearthing it.  Though chemical imbalances are often to blame, "nurture" plays a bigger role by FAR.



SSRIs suck for treating anxiety, in my experience, and my experience is vast in this area.  My husband also suffers from anxiety disorder, and the SSRI meds made him almost nuts.  He takes Buspar, an anxiety