Anxiety Question...

[cnote]

Long story short...
A few months back, I was having REALLY bad anxiety, I had no idea what it was. Had all the symptoms, pacing, rapid heart rate, bad butterflies in stomach, not sleeping, no appetite. I was scared. Couldnt go to work... Went to the Dr. He gave me Lexapro.. was on 10 mg for about 4 or 5 months? And also Lorazepam .5mg. Seemed like it worked for a while, then it wouldnt.. and I would get another anxiety spell.

Finally one day, while having a bad spell, I told my Dr. I wanted to ween off the pills and try going naturally.. and seeing a psychologist. He had no problem with that.. .and I weened myself off pretty quickly... did have some side effects, like nausea, diarhea, and vomiting.. but they didnt last  but for maybe 3 or 4 days.

After the withdrawls, I was fine! Life seemed to be back in order! Well ,It's been about a month, and my anxiety has came back again...

I know what it is, so it's not AS bad, but its pretty bad.

I think I'm a worry wart. You see, I think this is what started this whole anxiety thing a few months ago... A few months ago, I felt this lump in my neck, and it hurt... just a pain in my neck under my  jaw... near my lympnode. It didnt seem to go away, and of course I played with it forever.. and I convinced myself "IT COULD BE CANCER" and my body, went into this shock I think. Causing the main part of the anxiety trip.

Well, just the other night, I felt the pain come back in my neck... the Dr. looked at it a couple months ago and said he cant feel anything at all, and he even took an X-RAY to give me peace of mind.. and didnt find anything.

I just need to get over the stupid NECK THING!!!
I just want to know what's causing it!!!
I want it to go away!! B/c I think its the TRIGGER for my anxiety!!!

Do you think that X-RAY he took would have shown any sign of Cyst or Cancer???
Or does it have to be a MRI?

Thanks guys!!! Sorry so long!!!

I've got the bad butterflies today... shaky shaky legs!!! and no appetite of course due to the bad butterflies...

Any suggestions? I don't want to go back on the medicine!!! I know I can do this myself!!!
Maybe I should see the psychologist again? After all I only saw him once...when I was feeling fine.

-Chris-

[cj29]

I am glad that you are asking so many questions about why you are feeling the way you are.  You are right to work with doctor with your concerns.  If he/she has ruled out a medical cause, I suggest trusting them.  I also tend to catastrophicsize my thinking as well. When I had my first panic attack in 2005 I was convinced I had a heart problem despite constant reassurances and tests from the doctor; I always thought, "what if this, what if that?" and it consumed my life.  I could not function and was afraid to leave my house.

I also went on medication and found a great therapist and was panic/anxiety free for years!  I came off of everything and life was great until my anxiety returned last month.  I went back to the doc and I decided to back on Zoloft and sought counseling again.  For me, the combination works great, but each person is different, and I believe the most important thing is to talk to a professional about it.  I know it is really depressing when you think you have everything under control then all of the sudden it returns; but keep working at it, it sounds like you have a great attitude.  This forum is a great tool to help you along the way; there are so many great people in here.

[radagegi]

cnote my friend, WE HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM
I just have this disorder too
this is my post:
I'm a 16 year old boy.
I have this Generalized Anxiety Disorder.
I want to tell you how I got this.
When I was young, I've never worried about anything at all.
I lived like any other normal children.
One day, when I was on 5th grade, I went on a vacation to London. I never had a phobia before (of heights), but when I was on that airplane, I started to feel very anxious. I couldn't sleep for 20 hours when I was on that plane. I felt like I was going to die. I was young so I didn't know what GAD  or a phobia was.
Since then, I never had any panic attacks or anxiety syndrome.
But, these past years I have been feeling very anxious. I felt anxious when I was on the boy's gym. I didn't want to embarrass myself or do anything that grabs attention. I hated that.
Though I have that anxiety, I never had panic attacks, or shortness of breath, or any other GAD syndrome.
I started having these syndromes last month
I went to the movie theater with my mom and brother to see Cloverfield. The movie is directed cam recorder style. I saw on some commercials..they gave out warning that this movie may make some people feel nauseous or dizzy because it creates this ''roller coaster sensation'' kind of feeling.
In the beginning of the movie, I started to feel dizzy.
I couldn't breathe.. Though actually I was breathing too fast. My heart pounded really fast and I felt like I wanted to faint or die. I never had this feeling before. I thought I had a heart attack or something. So I told my mom that I was going to the bathroom because I didn't want her to panic. I went outside and took a deep breath. It didn't help. I almost fainted on the floor. I called my mother and asked her to bring me to the hospital. When I arrived at the ER, the nurse and the doctor told me that I have anxiety and panic attack. They told me what it is but they didn't tell me how to treat it.
My mom, just like any other moms, blame me for playing games too much. I know that this isn't the problem, but my mom is very stubborn and you know.. she doesn't care what it is. She's very strict and she told me that she can't do anything unless I want to change myself, that is to stop playing games. I'm not addicted of games, however, I do play a lot.
I know that my GAD isn't because of my ''addiction'' of playing games. It's must be my brain or something.
Please doctor, you must help me.
Please tell me what to do. I'm so desperate.
Today, when I was in school, I asked my teacher to go to the nurse because of my anxiety.
Oh yeah I forgot to tell you, I didn't have this panic attack for 2 weeks, when suddenly 2 days ago, I woke up at 4a.m. because of a nightmare. That gave me panic attack and I almost fainted.
This is how my brain works : The more I think that I have anxiety disorder, the more I couldn't breathe. The more I think of the darkest things. The more I think that I couldn't survive anymore.
I feel very lonely because it seems like nobody knows what's wrong with me..
Is this GAD rare?
Can it be treated?
Please help me I really want to be cured.

I still have it now..
do u feel like throwing up too? me too

[cnote]

Thanks for responding.

I got the neck pain first. Then I got the anxiety. And I think it was caused from the fear of that neck pain.

The anxiety got so bad, b/c at the time I didnt know what I was feeling and why, I went to the Dr. and he gave me Lexapro 10mg, and Lorazepam 5mg.

The anxiety came back strong one day, and I went to the Dr., he wanted me to try Effexor... I read terrible things about it, and just didnt want to rely on pills anymore

Thats when I stopped the meds... and then went and saw a psychologist just one time.. and I was feeling GREAT when I saw him.. so at the time it felt usless to go back to see him.

I dont think im illergic to nickel.. and if so, what is nickel b/c i dont think i take anything that has nickel in it?

The pain in the neck I think is SELF BROUGHT ON... I dunno.. I'm just trying to convince myself that ITS NOTHING SERIOUS, otherwise the Dr. would have seen something in the X-RAY right?

Or does it have to be an MRI?

Thanks so much!

-Chris-

[RubyWitch]

I'm sorry, but I got a bit confused about which came first here, the chicken, the egg, the lump, the anxiety, the Lexapro and Lorazepam, the psychologist or the weaning of all meds?

If you could be so kind as to clear this up for me, I'd love to try and help you.
Hopefully, someone else will see order where I can't.

Please write back because we care.
One quick question...........are you allergic to nickel or any other metal that you know of? This in reference to your lump...........I may have a possible answer for you on that.
Peace
Greenlydia

[amish1979]

If you can afford it I would definitely recommend some sort of therapy.  They are good at helping you identify problem areas and teaching you relaxation techniques.  At the very least there are some good books out the that would help you a bit.