Sudden Onset of Anxiety Symptoms At Age 23

Hi,
I am a 23 Year Old Male (Smoker) I was experimenting on Christmas Day last year and smoke some canabis at a party. I dont drink however I do Smoke Regularly and it has gotten heavier. When I Smoked the Canabis on new years Heavy Chested and then felt like I couldnt breathe when I stood up I went into a full fledged panic attack, the attack lasted around 10mins and after a long walk round the block with a friend it seemed to go away although I had a lingering feeling of breathing problems for many days, and intermittently since, now I try my best not to think about it but I am a worrier, I continually feel dizzy and off balance and this can last all day, and I am still having feelings like I am unable to breathe properly, my doctor has my chest sounded and said it was clear and my BP was textbook 130/80. I went to hostpital yesterday because I had a bad episode and they did an ECG and Put Me on a Heart Monitor aswell as taking blood sugar and a blood sample for testing. When I was at the hospital I regularly felt Panic Attacks coming on and had one during diagnosis, my blood pressure was elevated throughout my entire time there I just could not relax, even now that I am home I am still constantly feeling like I am an inch away from panic and have to talk myself back from it.

Any ideas as to what could be going on would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.
Paul.

[dizzy68]

Heya i am only eighteen and i am feeling just as scared as you. I have been to the hopsital and the doctors so much this week because i am finding it sooo hard to accept that i am doing this to myself.I know what you mean about the dizzy feint thing i feel like that all the time. Alot of people have panic attacks for a certain period of time from what i have read but my symptoms are consistent and dont go.However, i think the most important thing is to accept that what you are feeling is anxiety and dont be afraid of it. Maybe talk to some professionals eg councellor and i find breathing exercises are good. I am sorry if this isnt much help just wanted to let you know loads of people feel this way x

[DeedsCali23]

Hi Thanks for Replying. I know what you mean, its terrible. I find i am sleeping strange hours too. Like this morning I woke up at 5am (although I went to bed at 6pm yesterday because I was in a crazy panic state after being to hospital) and fell asleep again at 9am and woke up at 11am because I just couldnt deal with the symptoms im getting whilst I am awake, the strangest thing is up until now these symptoms have been intermitent and the past 2 days they have constant at every waking minute. Perhaps I am still in shock after being to hospital but this is the worst sensation I have ever had. I dont feel like I have had any extra stress lately although I know this can come out of the blue from anything you have may have expeienced throughout your life. Like My Mother I am a worrier and Grandmother suffers from Vertigo and Panic Attacks also. So I just dont know what to do.

[dizzy68]

I was in a lecture and suddenly my symptoms crept up on me two weeks ago i felt like my life was great and nothing was wrong.You may not really notice your are stressed but your anxiety levels can be running really high without you really being aware.I know what you mean this thing can really take over your life, but dont fear it accept it and  talk to someone. This site has helped me so much to see tht so many people are feeling the same as me right now. Your symptoms are probably regular because you are constantly afraid of them, mine are happening all the time i have been to the docters so many times and it is hard to accept this isnt physical.But accepting it is the key. You should speak to a professional theropist or soemething.Did the hospital suggest it was anxiety?x

[DeedsCali23]

Originally I called NHS24 Here in the UK (an out of hours nurse/doctor support line) they said all of the symptoms I was telling them were Anxiety Related. So I Left it. I Felt better after the reassurance it wasnt anything life threatening. I had another attack maybe a month later and made an appointment with my doctor who took my Blood Pressure and had a listen to my Heart and Lungs and said it sounded good. So she basically reiterated stress, anxiery and panic attacks. 3 Days ago I had yet another attack and a general feeling of being unwell. Lying down doesnt seem to help me. Called NHS24 again and they told me the same thing Anxiety attacks and I felt fine for the rest of the day I even went out and had lunch and did a few thing in the city and felt good, the following day (yesterday) I had my worst yet, dizziness, very high heart rate (pounding through my chest), i could even feel it through my entire body whilst lying in bed, I decided to go to Hospital, but being there made me feel 100 times worse, I panic and panic over and over again in the Hospital, the doctor took my BP it seemed high as did my heart rate but he said that was because i was in a panic state from being there, and kept telling me to calm down. He noticed something on the ECG (some kind of heart measurement tool) which he couldnt explain, almost looked like id had a heart attack before, but other than that he said there was nothing wrong with me and took some blood to be on the safe side, he told me to go get a drink and have a walk around for a while , whilst he waited on the results of the blood test, but they were taking forever and being there was making me panic even more so I left and called them when I got home.

Overall a Very Bad Day.