Aa
There IS HOPE! =)
I just wanted to write this to give you guys out there currently going through a bump in the road some encouragement through my experiences with Anxiety! I'll try to keep this short! But that's prob. not gonna happen b/c I'm bad at that. lol.
28 male. Been an anxiety sufferer for 3+ years now. Mine are episodic and usually due to a symptom that freaks me out that spirals me down into an Anxiety Episode... which can last for weeks and weeks and weeks.
But through my experiences... I HAVE CAME OUT OF EVERY SINGLE FUNK! EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM!
I have not been on the forum in a while b/c I've been on an "anxiety remission" is what I like to call it, lol, for almost 7 months or more. That's the longest I have gone in 3 years without having an episode. And it felt great!
But anxiety decided to creep its evil head back up on me about 3 weeks ago. You can read some of my previous posts on here if you'd like. But in a nutshell, I experienced a strange tingle in my lips and left thumb, that made me panic... then slowly I downward spiraled into a full blown anxiety episode with irrational health thoughts etc. Then for days and days I began to become lightheaded, and totally off balance CONSTANTLY. I was REALLY getting scared and anxiety had JUST MADE THIS EXPERIENCE WORSE! I went to my primary Dr. who has been treating me for anxiety for 3 years and he said I probably have Labyrinthitis from swimming or allergies etc. and my anxiety is making it worse b/c I was thinking "Brain Tumor" etc.
And of course with all of the anxiety symptoms that come with that were...
Irrational Scary Thoughts (what if thinking)
Heart Palpitations (constant 118bpm) that was my resting heart rate lol.
Nervousness
Lightheadedness
Tension Headaches
Sleep disturbances (electric shock/or adrenaline rushes through the body in sleep waking me up)
Tingly lips
Goosebumps on my scalp and face
Pacing
Constantly obsessed and thinking about my off balance etc. Could not focus on anything else!
No appetite
Nervous Stomach
Just an overwhelming feeling all over my body at times (like a fear)
Anyways... it's amazing how sensations can spin us out of more control. And their are sensations that may be new to us that we don't understand, which scare us more.
This labyrinthitis thing really really really through me off. I would say this was one of the TOP worst anxiety spells I've been through in YEARS.
BUT!!! THE GOOD NEWS!!!
Lastnight I snapped out of it. It's like a switch just went off! I didnt feel off balance at all.
I did take a half of a klonopin during the later afternoon, but even after it wore off I felt great all night.
My Dr. called me lastnight and asked how I was doing. I told him GREAT. He wants me to start taking 5mg of Paxil for like a few weeks then ween off.. along with my klonopin.
He put it perfectly... he said, In life, you are going to get colds, flus, infections, and even things like labyrinthitis (inner ear deals)... but your anxiety will always intensify these sensations usually, or your mind and thoughts will make it worse.
So guys. My point is, I'm feeling AWESOME today! I havent had to take any klonopin, and I did start the Paxil lastnight just a 1/4 of a 20mg tablet (so thats 5mg) lol.
I GOT OUT OF THIS FUNK! And YOU WILL TOO! Just have hope! And faith! And don't feel bad if you have to call your Dr. a lot for reassurance, or have to take a few meds here and there... but one thing I have to learn is... TO TRUST your Dr... especially if you are a health anxiety freak lol. Remember, Doctors are Doctors, and they KNOW what symptoms are worth doing an MRI, X-RAY etc. for... I used to BEG for an MRI... and my Dr would always joke with me and say "Chris, an MRI isnt going to show anxiety." LOL. It's true!
Other helpful advice. I've been keeping a Journal for over 3 years now. I've got 3 full! And they are a great tool to look back at previous experiences with anxiety and panic... and it can help you say "wow, can't believe I felt like that." Or even "wow, I had that symptom back then and Dr. said that was anxiety! okay i need to accept it." Stuff like that.
Also, it's good to talk about it, be open about it. My wife is awesome and is encouraging, (although there are times she get's a little sick of my episodes lol) My friends and my mom and dad are awesome people too to talk to about it. But there are some people you may want to not talk to like the ones who say "oh stop it your fine, just quit it." those are the ones who don't understand... so it's best not to bug them. lol.
Anyways. God Bless you all, there is light at the end of the Tunnel! =) I made it through once again! (knock on wood lol)
Until next time! .... Peace & Love!
-CNOTE-
28 male. Been an anxiety sufferer for 3+ years now. Mine are episodic and usually due to a symptom that freaks me out that spirals me down into an Anxiety Episode... which can last for weeks and weeks and weeks.
But through my experiences... I HAVE CAME OUT OF EVERY SINGLE FUNK! EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM!
I have not been on the forum in a while b/c I've been on an "anxiety remission" is what I like to call it, lol, for almost 7 months or more. That's the longest I have gone in 3 years without having an episode. And it felt great!
But anxiety decided to creep its evil head back up on me about 3 weeks ago. You can read some of my previous posts on here if you'd like. But in a nutshell, I experienced a strange tingle in my lips and left thumb, that made me panic... then slowly I downward spiraled into a full blown anxiety episode with irrational health thoughts etc. Then for days and days I began to become lightheaded, and totally off balance CONSTANTLY. I was REALLY getting scared and anxiety had JUST MADE THIS EXPERIENCE WORSE! I went to my primary Dr. who has been treating me for anxiety for 3 years and he said I probably have Labyrinthitis from swimming or allergies etc. and my anxiety is making it worse b/c I was thinking "Brain Tumor" etc.
And of course with all of the anxiety symptoms that come with that were...
Irrational Scary Thoughts (what if thinking)
Heart Palpitations (constant 118bpm) that was my resting heart rate lol.
Nervousness
Lightheadedness
Tension Headaches
Sleep disturbances (electric shock/or adrenaline rushes through the body in sleep waking me up)
Tingly lips
Goosebumps on my scalp and face
Pacing
Constantly obsessed and thinking about my off balance etc. Could not focus on anything else!
No appetite
Nervous Stomach
Just an overwhelming feeling all over my body at times (like a fear)
Anyways... it's amazing how sensations can spin us out of more control. And their are sensations that may be new to us that we don't understand, which scare us more.
This labyrinthitis thing really really really through me off. I would say this was one of the TOP worst anxiety spells I've been through in YEARS.
BUT!!! THE GOOD NEWS!!!
Lastnight I snapped out of it. It's like a switch just went off! I didnt feel off balance at all.
I did take a half of a klonopin during the later afternoon, but even after it wore off I felt great all night.
My Dr. called me lastnight and asked how I was doing. I told him GREAT. He wants me to start taking 5mg of Paxil for like a few weeks then ween off.. along with my klonopin.
He put it perfectly... he said, In life, you are going to get colds, flus, infections, and even things like labyrinthitis (inner ear deals)... but your anxiety will always intensify these sensations usually, or your mind and thoughts will make it worse.
So guys. My point is, I'm feeling AWESOME today! I havent had to take any klonopin, and I did start the Paxil lastnight just a 1/4 of a 20mg tablet (so thats 5mg) lol.
I GOT OUT OF THIS FUNK! And YOU WILL TOO! Just have hope! And faith! And don't feel bad if you have to call your Dr. a lot for reassurance, or have to take a few meds here and there... but one thing I have to learn is... TO TRUST your Dr... especially if you are a health anxiety freak lol. Remember, Doctors are Doctors, and they KNOW what symptoms are worth doing an MRI, X-RAY etc. for... I used to BEG for an MRI... and my Dr would always joke with me and say "Chris, an MRI isnt going to show anxiety." LOL. It's true!
Other helpful advice. I've been keeping a Journal for over 3 years now. I've got 3 full! And they are a great tool to look back at previous experiences with anxiety and panic... and it can help you say "wow, can't believe I felt like that." Or even "wow, I had that symptom back then and Dr. said that was anxiety! okay i need to accept it." Stuff like that.
Also, it's good to talk about it, be open about it. My wife is awesome and is encouraging, (although there are times she get's a little sick of my episodes lol) My friends and my mom and dad are awesome people too to talk to about it. But there are some people you may want to not talk to like the ones who say "oh stop it your fine, just quit it." those are the ones who don't understand... so it's best not to bug them. lol.
Anyways. God Bless you all, there is light at the end of the Tunnel! =) I made it through once again! (knock on wood lol)
Until next time! .... Peace & Love!
-CNOTE-
Erin, the big "D" is something I have experienced MANY of times. I had it for 2 or 3 months STRAIGHT once a couple of years ago, after doing a 3 month video project with a big star in my town... and my nerves were just intense through the whole video shooting and editing process.
It was ALL anxiety... I thought I had stomach cancer or intestinal cancer lol. Dr. finally did a stool sample b/c I made him, I checked out FINE.
YOU ARE FINE. Anxiety messes with the stomach. I read something a long time ago that the brain and the stomach/intestines are VERY connected with nerves and all that.
Peace and Love.
Youre good! =)
ps; I'M HAVING AN EXCELLENT DAY! Tension headache is slightly there, but I've been a hoot today at work. =)
It was ALL anxiety... I thought I had stomach cancer or intestinal cancer lol. Dr. finally did a stool sample b/c I made him, I checked out FINE.
YOU ARE FINE. Anxiety messes with the stomach. I read something a long time ago that the brain and the stomach/intestines are VERY connected with nerves and all that.
Peace and Love.
Youre good! =)
ps; I'M HAVING AN EXCELLENT DAY! Tension headache is slightly there, but I've been a hoot today at work. =)
I'm so glad you posted this. I go through "episodes" too and I've been under a lot of stress..just moved into a new apartment and started a new job. So I've noticed my anxiety spiking pretty badly. I was noticing dizziness and being off balance. Then that subsided and now I'm constantly feeling sick to my stomach and had a random issue with the dreaded D yesterday and that sent me into an anxiety frenzy. I was scared to eat because I was scared I'd have to rush to the bathroom and the nausea was killing me. But like you I try to keep everything in perspective and rationalize. I caught myself wondering if I was having gallbladder problems, then that moved to other random diseases. I stopped myself before I could get incredibly anxious and looked up anxiety symptoms in my new book and circled upset stomach, nausea and diarrhea and everytime I started worrying I looked at the circled symptoms.
Xanax does help my stomach tremendously so obviously its not something horrible or else my stomach wouldn't feel better after xanax. I hope I can get through this quickly. Thanks again for the encouraging post. I needed a pick me up today.
Xanax does help my stomach tremendously so obviously its not something horrible or else my stomach wouldn't feel better after xanax. I hope I can get through this quickly. Thanks again for the encouraging post. I needed a pick me up today.
Yay! You have a good history of being able to do well when anxiety pops up. You know how to employ your coping mechanisms and you have a fantastic doctor who gives you a lot of reassurance. You are so lucky!
You tell him I said he is a Jewel, and that he'll never fully realize how his patients appreciate how he cares. I'd be honored to work among an MD like him. There are a lot of wonderful docs out there, but yours TRULY goes above and beyond...b/c he really cares.
You got this Chris...keep us updated as usual. Thanks for sharing your story, it helps a lot of people!!
You tell him I said he is a Jewel, and that he'll never fully realize how his patients appreciate how he cares. I'd be honored to work among an MD like him. There are a lot of wonderful docs out there, but yours TRULY goes above and beyond...b/c he really cares.
You got this Chris...keep us updated as usual. Thanks for sharing your story, it helps a lot of people!!
Wow what an awesome post!!! You made my husband and I laugh with the Dr. joke, that is quite funny!!! You know your experience sounds similar to mine because what you wrote seems A LOT like my sitation! The last time I had an anxiety episode was about three years ago and one day after drinking way too much I woke up dizzy and off balance. I was ok the first few days but when it didn't go away quickly I got an anxiety episode that lasted for about 2 months!!! I was going crazy, first I thought I had a brain tumor so I went running to the doc and she said I had a bulging eardrum and told me that that is why I felt off balance, she said "It's probably a sinus infection" so she gave me antibiotic. So I went home super happy because I wasn't dying just yet. Later on at night I realized that I felt no symptoms of a sinus infection... so that just totally made me go crazy. Then I tried taking celexa which actually gave me panic attacks so I had to stop taking it and tried ativan and effexor but had to stop those because they gave me more side effects that scared the living daylights out of me. I stopped eating I was soooo anxious I could not sit still long enough to eat!!! So I lost about 15 lbs. then I did the worst thing I could do... I googled... and Lord I found out that being dizzy was a symptom of MS so then I started twitching all over and that lasted for about a month I was positive that's what I had. Finally I was given zoloft and was starting to do quite well. I had my life back....then this weekend I got a terrible stomach ache and bam the anxiety crept it's ugly head out again, now I'm twitching again and my lips tingle and that freaks me out.. What I'm really worried,scared,sad etc etc.about is that as I get older I'm probably going to have more aches and pains and how am I going to deal with this, by getting hysterical every single time something hurts??? What happened to getting older and wiser? I feel like I am going backwards, never in my life has an anxiety issue stayed with me for two whole loooong looong months. Seriously, I was getting a bit suicidal which is odd because people like me with imaginary health problems (lol) are terrified of dying right? Or is it living with an illness that scares the crap out of us??? I guess it's both. Thank you for your post and for trying to give us some hope out of this tunnel! It seems so dark.=( you have a gret doc what I wouldn't give so mine would call me....I've never even heard of that!!!! In the words of Napoleon Dynamite...Luuuucky lol! Take care
Thanks guys! Glad I can be encouraging! You guys help me all the time! Today was an awesome day, then tonight got a wee bit off. My tension headache returned. Ibuprophem didn't touch it. I hear tension headaches start from the neck and shoulders actually.
I started to feel a little spacy tonight too, not off balance like before, just some visual head movements would feel not right and with the tension headaches (which I've had for 3 days now) I caught myself worrying about it again for a second tonight. I kind of started feeling panicky... I took half a klonopin stretched my neck some, took a hot shower and now I'm in bed. Still feeling a tad anxious in bed right now... But I just wrote in my journal... Encouraging words. I also do an Irrational and Rational diagram in my journal. I write down all my irrational negative scary thoughts down, then next to it in the rational side I write down why not to worry about it and what the most rational cause is. It really helps.
Gnite for now! I'm gonna keep on keepin on! I know I'm not too far from a 100% recovery!
These tension headaches are from anxiety I have put myself through the past 3 weeks. Duh! It's nothing serious! :) see that's what I tell myself.
Sometimes it's easy for us to get a new symptom and try to connect it with your previous symptoms and it scares you more causing more negative thoughts and then anxiety.
My negative thought was " the off balance and dizzy and lightheadedness I've had for 2+ weeks have gotten way better, the anxiety almost completely left today... But now I've got these constant 3 day tension headaches... You think it IS a tumor?"
Now if I read back over that, it sounds resiculous to me. My dr always told me. If taking a klonopin calms you down, relaxes you, takes away a tension headache... Do you think that would stop a tumor from it's effects?" the answer is NO! If klonopin wouldn't take away your symptoms of a tumor.
So that's a good bit of advice for you anxiety freaks like me to remember. If a symptom is elevated by a relaxer... It's almost more than likely ANXIETY and STRESS related.
2 people can stub there toe... But those 2 people will react completely different in their reactions to it. That's like me and my health anxiety!
Leaving you all with that for tonight! Gnight!
I started to feel a little spacy tonight too, not off balance like before, just some visual head movements would feel not right and with the tension headaches (which I've had for 3 days now) I caught myself worrying about it again for a second tonight. I kind of started feeling panicky... I took half a klonopin stretched my neck some, took a hot shower and now I'm in bed. Still feeling a tad anxious in bed right now... But I just wrote in my journal... Encouraging words. I also do an Irrational and Rational diagram in my journal. I write down all my irrational negative scary thoughts down, then next to it in the rational side I write down why not to worry about it and what the most rational cause is. It really helps.
Gnite for now! I'm gonna keep on keepin on! I know I'm not too far from a 100% recovery!
These tension headaches are from anxiety I have put myself through the past 3 weeks. Duh! It's nothing serious! :) see that's what I tell myself.
Sometimes it's easy for us to get a new symptom and try to connect it with your previous symptoms and it scares you more causing more negative thoughts and then anxiety.
My negative thought was " the off balance and dizzy and lightheadedness I've had for 2+ weeks have gotten way better, the anxiety almost completely left today... But now I've got these constant 3 day tension headaches... You think it IS a tumor?"
Now if I read back over that, it sounds resiculous to me. My dr always told me. If taking a klonopin calms you down, relaxes you, takes away a tension headache... Do you think that would stop a tumor from it's effects?" the answer is NO! If klonopin wouldn't take away your symptoms of a tumor.
So that's a good bit of advice for you anxiety freaks like me to remember. If a symptom is elevated by a relaxer... It's almost more than likely ANXIETY and STRESS related.
2 people can stub there toe... But those 2 people will react completely different in their reactions to it. That's like me and my health anxiety!
Leaving you all with that for tonight! Gnight!
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