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Everyday Headaches, Brain Zaps and Chest Pain

Hey everyone

About a week before christmas, I walked into a target store.  Minutes later, I got all hot, my head got dizzy, my chest started to hurt, and i thought I was going to faint, but didn't.  I went home and felt flu-like so I went to the ER, they did EKG and showed my heart was okay.

Since then I've had EKG, ECG, event monitor, blood work and stress test on the heart

I also had a EEG, MRI of brain, neck, spine, cartoid and another type of doppler at Neuro

Needless to say everything was fine.  This is almost 2 months later and everyday I have a horrible headache and extreme heart attack feeling chest pains.

I was on paxil for 2 weeks (hated the side effects) then went to 50mg of Zoloft for about 2 weeks (headaches, chest pain never went away) and also .50 of Klonopin.  Since then I stopped taking everything because I just hate taking meds (scared of side effects)

I am walking around extremely fatigured, worst headaches, brain zaps and intense chest pains.  Am i stupid for stopping the meds? ( i slowly stopped with both pills to try to avoid the discontinued symptom).  

Does my body need a few days off the meds try level out?  Do you think I should go back to the docs and find a new med?  All i know is I want to get rid of these terrible headaches :(
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Avatar universal
I know what you mean. I once walked into a grocery store and from the ceiling down half way to the floor it looked like there was a heavy heavy mist. It was so creepy. Meds can be used for a push but I know with myself just the way they make me feel gives me anxiety. The relaxing sensation makes me think Im having respiratory failure and then its downhill from there. Seriously, try the Niacinamide. Its used for anti anxiety, it bonds to the same receptor sites as Valium and Xanax but with out the nasty side affects or addiction and withdrawl symptoms. Some people really need the medicine but Im a firm believer that you dont need it. Keep remembering it WILL get better. Try to disconnect your mind from the sensations you feel, dont let them bother you and let them just happen. It took me a while to be able to understand what that meant but when it happened I remember a shift in my path to getting better. Theres all sorts of symptoms that your body will come up with. Just yesterday my right arm was numb and tingly like it was asleep for over an hour! I remember being exactly where you are, and Im in many ways im still there but it IS getting better. My therapist gave me some good advice. Dont fight it, just let it happen and let it go. You have to deal with it regardless so choose the path of least resistance. And really, stretch and massage your neck, I garuntee those pains will go away after a bit of that. The cloudy vision is the worst with the headaches. I had that for the first 2 or 3 weeks. Drinking water, getting sleep and stretching helped for me. Also i took some excederin tension headache medicine and that definitily made it bearable.

You dont need the doctors, theres nothing wrong with you thats life threatening like Cancer or another serious disorder and you know that somewhere in you. Its just a physical manifestation of your emotional turmoil. Your body is doing what it needs to do and just let it. Let go and tell yourself I am safe I am fine My body needs to feel this and needs to do this. Tell your wife what you need from her to help you through. Let the family know that while you appreciate their help youd like to try an alternative way of healing yourself. Its very scary at times and it IS a long road to recovery but you can do it! What you need right now is to do whatever you can to help yourself. Try many different techniques and see what works best for you. The headaches will go away, I promise and so will the heart attacks and the cloudy vision. Heal yourself and dont stop trying to do that until you are really recovered. Just like t1979 said, we were never taught how to deal with these types of things when we were younger and so now its up to us to teach ourselves now. Seek out help if you need to. Reading on this site helped me alot too. Good Luck and keep your head up! you can get through this!            
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Hey

Thank you for the replies.  I know its a tough road but I am trying to fight through it.  It's so weird because it was chest pains for a month, and then boom my head became a whole different problem.  I hated taken meds but my wife's family is all about anixety pills so they pushed me in that direction.  

I'm trying to stay positive, but its tough when everyday since Dec 20th I've woken up with cloudy vision/headache..

Part of me wants to go back to the doctors to make sure nothing is wrong, but i know i had a million dollar check up
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
but  ...medicne  can be used just as  a push ... but it will not solve the whole problem or disorder ... untill now at least ... and sooon there is will be a new generation of medicine for anxiety and fear ... after discovering the certain gene ... i just read this  issue  from about  2  monthes  ...so always there is a hope  ... :)
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Nice comment to Foxy3131. I believe it is hard for many of people to let go of bad energy that has went right through them. Growing up, people dont teach us to meditate or to breath the correct way.  We are taught to go to the doctor.  And the only way the doctor knows to heal people is to give them medicine.  When the truth is that inside of our souls is the only healing... We just have to find the our path.  If something is giving you anxiety, you are telling yourself it is not the right choice.
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Avatar universal
your entire story sounds just like mine! I went shopping 2 days after xmas  when I was HIT with all these symptoms. Heart racing palpatations, shortness of breath, chest and throat constrictions, dizzy, drugged feeling, hot flashes and clastrophobia. I had a horrible headache also and went home. I thought about going to the ER but wanted to see if it would pass at all. I laid down and had light flashes behind my eyes and a horrible feeling (on top of all the others0 that there was some tight sweatband wrapped around my head.

2 days later i still felt horrible and went to the doctor where he told me it was all stress related, he checked my heart and found nothing wrong. He prescribed me atavin. I had a horrible allergic reaction to it and should have gone to the ER immediately but was SO dissoriented I didnt even know what to do but wait it out. Since then I tried celexa but found that I hate and was terrified of the symptoms and have sworn off meds. A medicine I found on here people love is Niacinamide. It bonds to the same receptor sites as valium and xanax do but have no side effects to them. My advice would be to take them on a full stomach and take 500mg or less the first few times to see how you like it. Its also called vitamin B3 and so is a natural chemical your body needs. The vitamin is used to ween people off xanaxs, etc. and is important in your bodys natural production of energy! Personally I had such a horrible experience with the first 2 meds I tried that I acctually convinced myself somehow I was having an allergic reaction the second time I took it! I have found a few things that help me immensely though.  

Taking a b-complex, L-theanine, and calcium/magnesium suppl

Drinking water, not only does the feeling of cool water going down my  
throat really sooth me, it keeps me well hydrated!

Stay off any alcohol until you feel really back to normal, alot of times it actually triggers panic attacks

Work out. your body needs a release and let it have it! Get a good runners high going if you can

Letting people know whats going on in your life. Ive found alot of my friends to be curious and supportive of whats happening.

Get a therapist, both a massage and a mental/emotional one. You are having these symptoms because of something emotionally you cant control. Ive found a great one where I am and shes helping me to learn to relax, breathe, and confront the symptoms allowing them to go through me and accept what they are and how they feel. The anxiety makes you very tense which I can bet is why your having horrible headaches. I get them too. Right now relax your shoulders and scalp and face. I bet you didnt know you were tensing them too much. The massage therapist is one of the best things that you can do. When I went she stretched my neck and shoulders out so well for me and applied pressure to certain places of tension that helped to get rid of the headaches. Right now you can do that too, just tilt your head to one side and with one arm gently pull your head down towards the shoulder your leaning to and with the other hand pull the other shoulder down. Keep doing this for 15 or so secs and repeate. It helps so so so much. Also pushing on the base of your skull where your neck meets it helps with the headaches. Push on opposite sides of the spine up there all around the base, it hurts but feels so good when you stop.

Learn to let the feelings wash over and go through you, acknowledge that they are there and feel them but remember your body is doing what it needs to do to release the anxiety and make you better. Dont try to fight them. Just accept and Let go.

Take baths or go to the hot springs!

and finally laugh as hard as you can, remember to relax and breath from under your sternum. Doing all these will help decrease your anxiety mentally which will allow your body to learn to relax again. Then goodbye headaches and heart attacks and everything else. Hello mostly normal life again!

You can do it with out meds. My boyfriends fathers girlfriend took xanax for 23 years for her anxiety and finally tried to get off of it. It made everything she felt worse and just over a week ago she took her own life. Dont give yourself a chance at falling into this addiction too. You can do it! just get out there and distract your self with positive things.
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