Is anyone else's anxiety/panic feeling constant???

I am almost always experiencing some kind of odd feeling in my head... or some other symptom. My brain seems to be always wired and it is impossible to concentrate, let alone all the other symptoms of anxiety (nausea, derealization, blurred vision). This happens all day and night..sometimes only a little sometimes a lot, but it never goes away completely. My doctor suggests that this constant feeling isn't normal for anxiety, as anxiety comes in waves. Does anyone else experience a constant wired, anxious feeling? He suggests that I see a neurologist... or some doctor specializing in internal medicine. Thoughts?

[hawiiansurfer]

listen your totally fine, dont waste your money, its called GAD, which is general anxiety disorder, which means instead of having huge waves of panic attacks, you mostly sit around and worry, theres nothing wrong with you or your brian, i was/am the same way.  i worry about every weird feeling i get. but trust me it will pass if you dont focus on it, and remember prayer out does any medicine! in fact i dont suggest meds, you dont wanna be taking them the rest of your life, trust me when i say your fine.

[nursegirl6572]

I have had anxiety and panic present both ways....almost constant, and coming and going.  Especially when you start to exhibit signs like derealization...that's usually a big indicator that the anxiety is pretty severe and/or chronic.

You can certainly go and see the neurologist, it's not going to hurt anything, but I'm willing to bet he isn't going to find anything wrong.

Have you talked to your p-doc lately, about your anxiety being pretty out  of hand?  You might need to tweek your regimen a bit.

Let us know!

[nursegirl6572]

I forget is you're on meds Kelly, but you may need an adjustment.  Anxiey and panic is frustrating....because almost always it is a life long battle...with periods of exacerbation and then periods where it will be more manageable.

I feel for you!

[kickanxietysbutt]

Kelly, I am in the exact same boat as you right now.  All I think about is the way that I feel; it's like I can't turn my brain off to the anxiety.  I've had bouts of depersonalization in the past, but they've usually only lasted a couple of minutes.  Now, though, I feel like I'm more constantly self-aware.  I'm like nursegirl, where I've had the panic attacks and now the constant anxiety, and this constant anxiety, in my opinion, is worse than panic attacks.  It's frustrating because at first the anxiety came out of nowhere, and I was not worried about anything, but now it seems like I worry about worry!  I wish I had some advice, but I've yet to find anything to get this under control.  

[Paxiled]

I took Paxil withdrawal to put me in this state, but yeah, I'm now basically on the couch fetal position depressed and anxious all the time.  But a couple of your symptoms, the nausea and blurred vision, while they may be caused by anxiety, sound like a migraine-like condition.  Migraines often go along with stress because of the constriction of the blood vessels.  This can be helped, through exercise and meditation and perhaps the herb feverfew and other natural products.  Just because anxiety is difficult to deal with doesn't mean there aren't tools out there besides drugs, with their own problems, that you can utilize to feel somewhat better.  I'd at least look into this.  Before Paxil destroyed my life, I had panic attacks, not constant anxiety, but I did have migraines, and meditation pretty much got rid of them, and as I say, some of your symptoms sound like blood circulation problems similar to what occurs with migraines.  Good luck.

[Shelly3577]

Ugh!!  Yes!!!  I can relate exactly right now.  Constant depression and anxiety.  I increased my Celexa last week because of it, but it's not working yet, when usually I can feel the effects withing a few days.  I'm going to give it a little while longer and then try a different one because I can't live like this!

[Dizzyblonde777]

Hi Kelly,  You are seeing that you are not alone and i hope that makes you feel better already, because this is such a horrible problem isn't it?  I have PTSD, amplified now by anxiety and panic attacks, so bad now that I am fainting in public and afraid of making a spectacle of myself in public.  I landed by ambulance at the hospital after being pulled from a city bus!  Anyway, now on top of it all, I have the same feeling like I don't feel safe with people, and even though I am trying to tell my friends about my problem, they don't get it and think I should just snap out of it!   So now, I am on 0.5mg. of clonanzepam and beginning on 25mg Zoloft and praying that soon my mornings will not be full of fear.  I have noticed that if I can really cry or laugh, I get relief.  Took my kids to see Diary of a Wimpy Kid last night and laughed a lot, and felt so much better; until this morning again.  Having gone through a divorce, and many other sad life experiences, I was hoping that I would be able to get my act together by now, but it takes time.  Hang in there Kelly.  You are not alone!

[DanaL19]

i feel like that all the time like im constantly dizzy or floating i always get this weird twitchy feeling in my head or buzzing feeling also a weird pressure in my head witch makes me panick even more i saw a few people have a seizure in the past few months and they said it kinda feels like that so it freaks me out i constantly worry about having one if i think that i will , will it actually happen or is it just anxiety ? help!

[starfishdisco]

When I experience anxiety it is exactly as you have described, but I have found the bachs herbal remedy spray completely helps me an makes me feel so much better within minutes, hope you feel better soon x

[kickanxietysbutt]

Starfish,

Somebody recently told me about Bach's Rescue Remedy.  Have you ever taken Xanax or Ativan, or something similar?  Is Bach's comparable to the calming feeling you get with those?

[allmymarbles]

Have your cortisol levels checked (using saliva testing). An overproduction of cortisol by the adrenal glands can result in persistent anxiety. Anxiety often has a physical cause. It did with me.

[KellyAnn016]

Thank you everyone for the amazing support! It feels good to know that I am not alone in this difficult time. I actually went to an ENT and he suggested that I have a VNG done, which tests your inner ear. This test requires you to have no sleep aid in your system so I cannot take clonazepam for 48 hours prior. This makes me nervous! After trial and error I feel as though an inner ear problem may be the culprit of this constant nausea and dizziness, or a side effect of my medication Lexapro. Or anxiety obviously! Hopefully time will tell!

[KellyAnn016]

I am actually on Lexapro but I think it is making me very sick. I am posting a new question to see if anyone has had problems with this medicine. Note that I have been on Lexapro for about 4 months, so it wouldn't be initial side effects that dissipate after a while. Have you had any experience with Lexapro? My doctor wants to switch SSRis. Quite frankly I have had enough with the drugs. I start clinicals in 5 days and need to be on my game.

[Dizzyblonde777]

Kelly, can really relate to the tests being done and how you are anxious about even going to them!  I was so anxious about having the "tilt table" test and the month-long holter monitor that I cancelled those tests and then unfortunately the panic attack let to the seizure I described earlier on the city bus.  So with my tail between my legs I described to the doctor the reason that I cancelled was because I was too scared to go!  Because I do not drive; one of the tests involved fasting for 48 hours, no clonazepam and then taking a 5 a.m. city bus to get to the hospital for a 7 a.m. appointment where I would be velcroed to a table and be not only monitored for 90 minutes but they would actually try to induce fainting/seizuring under a doctor's supervision!  CAN YOU IMAGINE?  I am the kind of person who jokes constantly (a nervous thing) and so I told them that that was insane to expect anyone, let alone a person with panic disorder to show up for such a test!.  I am the single mom of 3 kids, with nobody that would drive me at that hour.  
So now, they have a social worker who will be accompanying me to any or all of these appointments, and if I make it out of there with any sanity in tact, I swear, i will write a book!  Glad you are feeling less alone...me too since I discovered this site.  You sound like a wonderful lady.

[nursegirl6572]

I agree with you...if you're 4 months into the Lexapro, it wouldn't be the initial start up side effects causing your symptoms.  What other meds have you tried?  Have you ever tried Zoloft?  Zoloft and Lexapro are the easiest to tolerate for the majority of people, and they both have high success rates.

As for your test...keep this in mind...Klonopin has a VERY long half life, so even though you may feel a LITTLE more anxious than normal with not taking it for two days, it will still be in your system.  Just remember, it will only be until the test is done, then you can take it again.  Doing the test is important, to rule out any medical problem.

Good luck, let us know how it goes!  I'll be thinking of you!

[jeffanxiety]

I feel the same way.  And I have never been on any meds.  I am about to try Lexapro.  I have heard good things about it and GAD.

But my symptoms were the same as you.  I am 30 year old male now, but all my life I would have bouts of panic attacks now and again.  But fairly manageable (of course they did not seem manageable when having them, but you know what I mean)

Of late it is not so much panic attacks, it is just a constant state of worry, and anxiety, tough to sleep, tough to work, tough to eat or do anything but see if anyone else feels this way.  

It has been awhile since your post, how are you doing?

[KellyAnn016]

Thanks everyone for the support! It is comforting to know I am not alone in these symptoms, it helps the logical part of me realize that it is just anxiety and not anything else. My mind does wander to worst case scenario often. Well I have been off of any meds for almost two months now. Once I got through the withdrawal symptoms if lexapro the dizziness, nausea and derealization went from about a 9 to a 2 on a scale of 1-10! However now that it has been a while I am back with the same anxiety that made me want to start meds in the first place! It is a vicious cycle! I saw my p-doc today and she prescribed Buspar... Which I am hesitant to take! :) Hope all is well with all of you, I read each and every one of these posts and have you all in my prayers!