Is this anxiety?

[thord98]

So I've been wondering if I have anxiety and/or panic attacks for awhile now. I've been dealing with this since 2006 and I never really knew how to describe my symptoms, so I just dealt with it. 5 years into I decided to do something about it. I've been asking people I know who are on anxiety medications and basically their symptoms are excessive worry and stress, which isn't how I'm feeling. A Google search brought me to this forum and I'm hoping someone can give me their 2 cents.

A back brief on myself:

I'm 26 years old now and I can remember the first time I felt this way. I was in the Army and had recently returned from deployment. One evening I was working out, in order to burn off some stress caused by a lady friend and life in the Army in general. It was more of a half-assed work out where I was thinking more than actually lifting weights. Anywho, half way into my work out I realized that it felt like I was going to pass out. Similar to how you feel when you're high if that helps. This seems to be a pretty common feeling with anxiety on here.

So the next few years things go on like this. I would get that "pass out/high" feeling every few days or more. I never did pass out and that's what I'd tell myself and still do tell myself when I get that feeling. Is that a panic attack? Nonetheless, when those feelings came around I'd still have a mini-inner-freak out. I say inner because I've never lost my composure during these moments. To this day I have only told 1 person about this, which I'll get to in a bit.

Fast forward about 3 years. These sessions become more intense and harder to handle. I get extremely hot to the point where I roll my car window down even though it's below 0 temperatures. Places like Wal-mart will trigger it. I blame it on the lighting?

Fast forward to the present. I have all the previously mentioned symptoms plus one I have a hard to describing. It's like I'm anticipating something to happen. Neither expecting a good thing to happen, nor a bad thing. Make sense? Say you're a kid in grade school and you're waiting in the Principal's office to get in trouble. Similar to that I guess.

One episode that's worthy of noting; I few months ago I was wrapping up a job site (i'm a construction worker these days) and as I grabbed the last of my tools my heart started racing. I felt fine other than that, just a racing heart beat. So I hop in my truck and 30 minutes later my tongue is tingling a bit, heart still racing. This went on for about an hour until it felt like my heart tensed up and went "grrrrrrrr" then I felt fine. Strange eh?

To sum things up, I went to the VA hospital to get this critter figured out last week. I've also had a terrible time sleeping so the doctor blamed it on that and caffeine intake and alcohol intake. VA docs are notoriously worthless in my opinion. Everything I've been in for has the same outcome. The doc finds some reason to examine me that involves stripping and then blames it on caffeine, alcohol, and tobacco.

Anyhow, I'm going to try and get a different doctor and would like your opinion. Are these panic attacks? General anxiety? I'm hoping to focus more on the physical symptoms. I've had a tough run since the Army but I've never been one to throw pity parties for myself. Although, lately it doesn't sound like a bad idea! lol

Thanks for reading. This got pretty long.

[thord98]

The only results I got from the thyroid tests where that they were ok. The first one was probably a year or go or so. During a physical the doc asked me a bunch of random questions and I mentioned that I sometimes would get really overheated. So he had the test done.

I'm gonna do a test with the caffiene. Go a week without it and then a week with lots of it. After that I'll cut back on the tobacco and be sure to let everyone know the results.

Also, I will try and reduce the amount of stress I have going on. I've always felt that blaming things on stress is ridiculous, everyone has stress right? Worst case scenario is that I'll come out with less stress, which is a good thing.


Thanks again for all the responses! This forum is a great resource.

[ThyroidHunter]

PA can also stand for "Physician's Assistant", a clinically earned certification, but it depends upon the context.

I would suggest you try the Ambien. It is almost completely non-addictive, and very useful for mild sleep disorders of any kind. It's especially effective for sleep apnea, which may be a side effect of another problem.

Heart problems can be checked out easily. But your symptoms don't match up that well. The amount of caffeine is not enough to give you anxiety. It takes much more than what you describe so I would rule this out as a probable cause. Switch to wine for the alcohol, red wine if you like, and your sleep will improve as will your possible anxiety from alcohol - which again - I doubt as a cause.

Did you get your results from the thyroid tests? Can you post them? Why 2? Did they screw the first one up, or was it near to or out of range? You need answers to these questions ASAP.

The chewing tobacco is a problem, the very high amount of nicotine combined with the anxiety driven application of getting it (grinding teeth is a symptom of anxiety). If you can cut that by 1/2 for a week, I would be grateful to know, and I think others would benefit, by what your experience was and if it improved your health.

Don't give up, and get some long hours of sleep, even if you're a bit afraid of pills.

Best

[bbxx]

panic attack (PA)

[thord98]

Thanks for the fast replies! Online forums are great. I've used them for years to fix problems on my dirt bikes and snowmobiles. Now I can use it for myself to!

I actually did have trouble swalling for a few years. It just kind of went away though.

The VA has run 2 thyroid blood tests. The first was because I mention the overheating thing and the second was for the sleeping/anxiety deal. I'm not exactly sure what they tested for though.

On average, I drink 1 soda and 1 coffee a week. Maybe more, maybe less. I'm not much of a soda drinker. I could reduce my alcohol intake though. When I was younger I drank a lot, not so much the older I get though.


I don't smoke but I use chewing tobacco. Which I assume, is equally as bad in this case. What is a PA?

The doc figured that the sleep issue was more important than the "anxiety" and wanted to prescribe Ambien. I declined because I despise sleeping pills. I figure the sleep issue is a side effect of the other problem. Does anybody have input on that?

[bbxx]

ps---caffeine also does effect the heart--and it will effect anxiety

[bbxx]

In spite of the fact it sounds like panic attacks, I would get your heart checked out by a cardiologist. Push for an echo (to check the structure) and then push for an event recorder for 30 days (since your symptoms are so sporadic). Again, it sounds like PA to me (and remember I am not a doc)--but heart issues can also cause symptoms like that. If it is heart related--they will tell you ---no smoking and no drinking---because your electrical is effected by them.

[ThyroidHunter]

Well, you had a lot to say!

First off, Docs will almost always tend to blame alcohol, caffeine, and tobacco for anxiety issues because they create them to some degree in your boday, and if you do have GAD, or any other issue like a thyroid problem, they will intensify the effects these "drugs" have.

But that's no reason to not seriously check for thyroid, parathyroid, and anxiety disorder or dysfunctions either.

Some of your symptoms, like the overheating, "mini freak-outs", and light headedness are classic thyroid symptoms. You need to see private medicine if you cannot get the VA to run full thyroid blood panels on you. I would suggest this as a first and critical action.

If your blood tests are in range and symptoms do not increase or additional symptoms occur (terribly dry skin, extreme moodiness, depression, trouble swallowing, a lump in your neck) you almost certainly have a thyroid problem and should seek emergency attention at the VA.

GAD is tougher to diagnose. A physician, usually a GP, will generally make this call if the anxiety symptoms get as bad as yours have and both an ultraound and detailed blood work do not suggest a thyroid problem. This would probably mean medication of some nature, probably from the "benzo" group, or a group of drugs known  as "depressants." The most effective drugs for anxiety in the past few years are Xanax, Ativan, & Klonopin. With my thyroid disorder, I have been "clinically addicted to all 3 in the last 3 years." I don't prefer it, but have learned to live with it and my buddies understand why my golf handicap more than doubled in 2 months. There are side effects. The choice as patient you must make if this medication is prescribed, is if the side effects are "worth it."

Hope this helps a bit, Best in Health