is this derealization?

[Nitsuj242]

So as of lately i'm noticing it's getting harder and harder to breathe along with chest pain, pressure, a runny nose, wheezing when I breathe out plus my heart is pounding crazy fast and hard. Anyhow I have no idea what this is. Is it asthma ? Or allergy induced asthma? I pray to god it is only that. So with my anxiety problems of course i'm also thinking COPD or My lungs are going to collapse!! So as there is always something going wrong with me...with all of this going on I also have started feeling really weird and weak in my abdomen with shaky knees and feelings light headed/dizzy. I used an inhaler of albuterol but it has done little to help me. I'm now swallowing gunk and after a couple of hours i'm just now starting to feel a little better. Anyhow while all of this is happening I suddenly got an overwhelming sense of terror that hit me and I felt weak then I thought" what if I'm already dead and I went to hell'? "That this is why I feel so awful everyday and nothing makes me happy anymore and that nothing seems enjoyable"? At the moment the idea was so scary yet it seemed like it was real. Yet I felt like I wasn't real or in an actual physical body! Wow, have I just experienced derealization? P.S. Does anybody also have any idea what might be going on with my breathing problem? Thank you very much and god bless. Happy Easter to all.

[Nitsuj242]

Hey there, thank you for replying to my post. I'm glad you got it figured out and that it was harmless. Sheesh this kind of stuff is scary isn't it?! If it persists I will probably have to get back in and see if he'll give me a chest x-ray, bloodwork and a lung function test. I'm being told by many they think it's just seasonal allergies but i'm just baffled as to how can allergies make you feel so awful like you are gonna stop breathing and die? =/ Maybe allergy induced asthma? I'm swallowing gunk after I use my inhaler and it helps a little. About the depersonalization. Wow, that is crazy how real it can seem, huh? I'm glad to hear you also have this. Not that I wish this upon anyone but to know i'm not alone. Ha! Good point, if we we're already dead and in hell there wouldn't be any Taco Bell, Red Lobster, music and family. :P XD I guess what i'm trying to get at also is that it is unfortunate but I don't even enjoy those things so that's why it led me to believe I died, that I didn't know it and was in hell. =/ Anyhow ,thank you very much Penny...you made alot of sense on this. :) Happy Easter to you to! :)

[Nitsuj242]

Hey there and thank you very much. Yes, I have been evaluated but it was mainly bloodwork and my heart I had checked out and these symptoms seem to be new unfortunately =/ I have been told it's most likely allergies or allergy induced asthma by my parents and by a nurse on a 24 hour nurse hot line. The nurse also said that allergies are really bad right now and that she has been receiving numerous calls about it. ..so that has helped me chill a bit. It has been scary. Nursegirl, I have a question if you'd be so kind to reply again: can anxiety cause abdominal pain all over your upper and lower abdomen? I'm seriously freaking out thinking I have pancreatic CA due to this abdominal pain plus I'm experiencing weight loss, itching, a couple of dark urine's, and oddly colored BM's.(sorry tmi) :P What would you recommend just to be safe an abdominal ultra sound? I DID just get bloodwork done and am still waiting on the results for several days now though.(uhgg I hate waiting) Would it show up on the blood test if something CA related was creating the problems? Anyhow I agree totally with you though on that at some point(hopefully sooner then later) in time I have to have faith in what the Dr/tests say. This seems to be a problem for me and i've noticed others on here with the same problem of not trusting the Dr/tests thinking they missed something. Oh hey, i'm the Buspar and Hydroxyzine but it isn't doing much to help. I'm also in therapy now and the therapist is very nice and direct which I like about her. I'm going to see about getting on better anxiety meds to. Maybe atavan? I dunno. Thank you! Have a great easter and thank you for replying to this post. :) :) :)

[nursegirl6572]

Actually, stress doesn't CAUSE pulmonary disorders, although it can exacerbate the symptoms of one (like asthma, COPD).

mrsscared, sorry I don't recall, but haven't you been medically evaluated for these symptoms several times?  If so, you HAVE to at some point start trying to have faith in what the doctors have told you.  If you had a breathing problem due to a medical issues, they would have found it.  If you haven't, it goes without saying, the while your symptoms sure sound anxiety related, it's always better to get checked out medically, just to rule out a possible reason for the symptoms.

Also, I don't recall what you're doing to address the anxiety?  If you haven't started treatment, you need to.  Anxiety has a great way of not going away on its own, and actually getting worse if left untreated.

I know the sensations are terrifying, but that's all they are, sensations, emotions, fear.  The more you panic, the more you will worry, and the more you will panic.  It's an unending cycle, and it requires the help of professionals to teach you how to break it.

[Pennyalexis]

Lots of lung ailments seem to be caused by stress. I have horrible anxiety and was feeling those symptoms about a year ago. It hurt so bad to breathe that I thought I was having a heart attack (at 17 mind you). Ha. But anyway, I went to my doctor and he diagnosed it as pleurisy...a harmless but very painful inflammation of the lining of the lungs. I'm no doctor, so I cant say that's what you have, but that's what I had. Also, you do seem to be experiencing some depersonalization symptoms BUT everyone thinks about reality at some point. I often question if this is hell all the time. But I gather myself up and reason that hell wouldn't allow such wonderful things like good food, music and family. Ha. As long as you don't feel alone, you will feel better. Everyone questions reality. It just takes that rational part of you to reason that your anxiety makes you think and believe things that aren't necessarily true. Happy Easter!