accepting anxiety as a diagnosis

[tanns]

Last Nov. 22 I experienced my very first panic attack (actually multiple ones) and the months after were filled with horrible anxiety, panic and fear.  I tried six months of lexapro which didn't seem to help.  I have seen three cardiologist because it took me this long to accept that I had a panic attack and not a heart attack.  After a year of tests, cardiac and others, I have no diagnosis accept anxiety.  This is hard to accept as I have no history of ANY anxiety, depression or panic.  I certainly don't have a fairy tale life but I have nothing I can complain about.

To the problem, I have a pain on the left side of my chest, usually under the left breast that causes instantaneous anxiety when I feel it.  This is a learned response I'm sure based on the fear of the last year.  I guess my question would be, if the chest pain (always only on the LEFT side, heart area) is coming FIRST and the anxiety seems to come SECOND, is this still anxiety causing the pain?  

If I have no KNOWN cause for anxiety, can it ever go away?


Thanks for any responses, insights or opinions!

[AWadd]

I have had a TON of problems for almost a year now and after a ton of tests I am basically left with nothing but anxiety as a possibility anymore, too.  The thing I hate the most is that being diagnosed with this makes me feel even more out of control -- I can't believe my brain can make me feel THIS bad.. at times feeling like I am dying even.  I guess anything is possible.

[Lightwise]

"sickntired22". You might want to look into getting a test for LYME disease. I am not trying to feed your paranoia or anxiety, but LYME can do a ton of harm to a person from mental to physical problems. Warning though if you do get a LYME test, do it with a LYME LITERATE DOCTOR in your area, not just the basic ELISA test your HMO will order. Just a thought. I will be seeing one myself for my various physical symptoms which all my doctors said were "anxiety" related. Are you an "outdoors" type person ? You might even be in a high risk area or have visited one ? Do some online research. God bless you and I hope you resolve your issues.

[sickntired22]

Hi I'm 22 years andhave been diagnosed with anxiety which i already knew i had a mild form of. It started when i was pregnant, i guess. I began having pains in my arm, but i also had hypertension while pregnant, but had it as a child as well. Then after i had my baby everything was fine until i started taking birth control pills. I began experiencing arm pains and leg pains, i shrugged it off until the chest pains. This is when i began to worry. One day I took my pill after a busy morning chugged down some coffee and was out all day without anything to eat, it was three in the afternoon and i was heading home, when i felt a sharp pain in my arm, chest, and back. There was also this bubbling sensation in my back, I could feel my heart rate climbing, i went straight to the hospital, and said "I think I'm having a panick attack", they looked at me and said 21 female that's it, after they checked me out, they sent me on my way. Ever since then i've been sick. Sorry i failed to mention that prior to this episode i was getting infections in my fingers and toes for no apparent reason, one got real bad. I was also sick a lot, and when i became sick, i became really sick, like fever and really bad chills which i had never experianced before. i could have just been having a new baby made me run down. after the episode with the arm i've had irregular heart beats, and bouts of serious tachycardia lows of 140 and highest 230bpm in the hospital, prior to this happening i was on celexa for my anxiety which made me sicker, and had felt like my heart stopped, i started to black out, everything became numb, i was alone with my at the time tree month old so i fought it with all my might, even going as far as to pound on my chest which seemed to help in some form because i could feel when my heart beat come back but it was hard and fast that's when it when to 230, every episode besides that i was lying down and verry relaxed.I've had symptoms ranging from burning in the back of head with dizzyness, pain in arm legs, chest and back(left side), pain in jaw and front and back of neck, numbness in face, bluish tinge to lips, fainting, irregular heart beats, dizzyness black outs, and taste of blood in my mouth, and sudden severe head pains. The doctors basically think i'm crazy because i've been there so much and they haven't found anything wrong with me except the obvious ANXIEY.I've been taking good care of myself the past year and avoid everything from pop to staying up past 11pm. I'm so young i wan't my life back. My heart seems to feel much better now, except now at night i get nausea and sometimes faint. Could this really be anxiety, or something else. Please help me, i'm desperate

[Aruba417]

Yeah, I understand what you mean about SSRIs...I'd like to get off meds altogether. I've tried before, and was good for about 4 months without it, then one night I was driving in a bad rain storm, and I felt a little nervous (which was expected during a bad storm). But then all of a sudden my heart started skipping and all the symptoms came back as a full blown panic attack that lasted and lasted and lasted. So I ended up back on meds.

The first drugs I ever tried was Paxil. I think it made me depressed. I wasn't feeling my GAD or getting panic attacks any more, but I was EXTREMELY tired all the time, and was CONSTANTLY - I mean CONSTANTLY yawning. Like BIG, HUGE yawns. I could never get enough sleep. It was nuts.

Now I'm on Effexor, and it has seemed to be the right medication for me. But I'd like to someday get off them altogehter.

[ricky69wvill]

If you look up "Levaquin ADR" online, or read the book "Bitter Pills" you will not believe what you are reading about this drug.  It can cause horrible physical problems (snapped tendons, muscle aches, fibromyalgia, etc) in addition to psychotic reactions, anxiety, paranoia, etc.  I too had an issue with Levaquin, and it started me on a couple of years of anxiety and panic attacks.  I thought I was losing my mind.  Stay away from that drug it can be poison.  Your anxiety issues may be due to having been "floxed" which is basically the term for getting messed up on a fluoroquinolone such as Levaquin or Cipro.  If you don't believe me search online - you won't like what you read.

[tomslik190]

On 11/29/93, my heart beat oddly, irregularly, and forcefully for a second or 2 and then I immediately felt miserable....like I'm halfway to passing out, losing consciousness, in the middle of a heart attack...ALL THE TIME.  I also belch alot and have a constant dull headache.  After a complete cardiac workup and seeing several other medical professionals (over 15) all I kept hearing is that it's anxiety (because everythign else was ruled out).  One of the Drs. told me to read the book "Hope and help for Your Nerves" by Dr. Claire Weeks.  It gives good advice and a solution to banishing anxiety.  If I do have anxiety, I still believe it is secondary to the physical discomfort, not the other way around.  It's worth a shot if you can find the book and if you truly suffer from anxiety.

[anacyde]

I can relate to that.  My first panic attack happened on November 1, 1999.  Much like you I had no history of anything and I had extreme difficulty accepting anxiety as a diagnosis.  Being a rational, professional person who even studied psychology in college and worked in the field...I didn't recognize it.  Or more likely, I couldn't accept it.

It gave me a new perspective.  Reading about a disorder is not the same as feeling it.  I suppose this will make me a more compassionate professional.  I knew the symptoms of a panic attack, I just never realized the felt so...real.  I imagined a panic attack much like being very anxious about something specific.  I suppose, though I knew it was a definition, I couldn't wrap my head around the idea that these very very real and frightening physical symptoms I was experiencing could all be manifesting from my HEAD.  Like you, I was sure it was my heart.  It wasn't.  Then I came up with a bazillion other things, ranging from MS to cancer to who knows how many other things.  It took many long months, but I finally accepted it.  Only then did I have the ability to conquer and overcome it.

It took years and some time on medication, but I finally stopped having them.  In the beginning, I was having several a day, then several a week.  As I got stronger and understood my opponent more, the attacks became monthly, then every few months.  It's now been about two years.  I won't say it can't happen again, I'm a work in progress.  I'm just saying you CAN overcome it, but you must first accept it for what it is.

If you have no known cause for anxiety, can it ever go away?  ABSOLUTELY.

Go grab some self help workbooks on anxiety.  Find one that speaks to you.  It will be worth the investment to get your mind thinking in the right direction.  Usually there is a cause, it's a matter of unearthing it.  Though chemical imbalances are often to blame, "nurture" plays a bigger role by FAR.

SSRIs suck for treating anxiety, in my experience, and my experience is vast in this area.  My husband also suffers from anxiety disorder, and the SSRI meds made him almost nuts.  He takes Buspar, an anxiety-specific medication.  Aside from some dizziness if he doesn't eat enough when he takes it, he has only good side effects - unlike the three SSRI nightmares we went through.

Just my two cents.

Hang in there.  Yes, yes and yes, you absolutely can beat this.

[tanns]

It's very interesting that you mention Levaquin.  About four months after this happened I got a horrible ear infection in my left ear.  I was treated with the wrong antibiotics for about a week and when they finally could see in my canal at my eardrum, it was covered in blisters.  The doc gave me Levaquin because of its strength and the ability to work on the bacteria that causes the blisters.  I had anxiety out of control.  I never, ever read the side effects of medications so I had my husband look and sure enough, there it was:  anxiety as a side effect.   I would like to find some type of therapy.  The University of Florida in Gainesville has a Psychology dept where some of the docs deal with medical anxiety.  I think that is what I have....maybe?  I just don't know.

Thanks to all of you who shared your stories and opinions!!

Best wishes, t.

[ekypoo]

I too have anxiety, in my case it was triggered by a reaction to an antibiotic (Levaquin).  About 1 hour after I took my first dose, I had a panic attack like I never had before and it lasted for about 2-3hours.  I didn't attribute it to the Levaquin until I took a second pill and the same thing happenned.  In any case, since then I guess it triggered a bit of an anxiety disorder (more generalized than panic).  I have seen an excellent psychiatrist for my anxiety and have found that changing my thinking (Cognitive Therapy), along with medication (Remeron, nightly and Klonopin, as needed) have greatly improved my quality of life.  It's hard to accept an anxiety diagnosis because you become so convinced that it is physical - the emotions feel so real, you think it can't all be in my head.  The good news is that with help you can conquer anxiety and life can be as wonderful as ever.  Good luck to you~ :)

[Aruba417]

Wow, I'm so glad this forum was created!

I feel the SAME EXACT SYMPTOMS as you have described, and I have also had a hard time accepting the fact that it could be anxiety. It's been about 4 years since my first panic attack. I was 21 and it was really scary. I also had plenty of tests including a hospital stay and cardiology testing and even tried a chiropractor. But I think I've for the most part learned to accept it. But after 4 years, it's still hard when you feel the chest pain first, THEN the panic follows. So I know exactly what you're going through...even with the jaw aching. It's not a fun feeling thinking you're going to die from a massive heart attack and having everyone say "you're fine, you're fine". I was in California and could FEEL and SEE my pulse skipping beats and I ended up dragging my husband to the ER with me while we were trying to enjoy our vacation. I just KNEW something bad was going on. But after staying overnight in the hospital and passing my stress test with flying colors (and a good dose of muscle relaxers), they released me. It didn't mean I felt much better, but that there was "nothing wrong with me pysically". It really sucks.

I hope this gave you some sort of comfort!

[jwinst]

I know what you are going through. Even though I am aware that I have anxiety issues, I still freak out everytime I get a pain or weird feeling in my chest. I also get palpitations frequently. I have been to the cardiologist and checked out, but I still have a really hard time accepting that all of these pains are just from anxiety. Everyone, whether they have an anxiety disorder or not, gets aches/pains. The difference is that the pains do not send them into a panic. I believe that my body overreacts to everything and believes it is in danger when in reality there is nothing wrong.
I am currently in therapy and trying to see if anti-anxiety meds help me. I do not know why I have the anxiety. I have the normal stressors of any 24 year old. I would suggest that you look into therapy. This anxiety can get really bad really fast. I know. I wish that I had seen the warning signs a long time ago and tackeled the problem then.
I wish you the best.

[tanns]

Another thing I fogot to mention was an achy, dull pain that occurs on the left side of my chest where your hand would be if you were saying the "Pledge of Alligance".  It also causes my left jaw and front jaw area to be achy. The pain or discomfort seems to trigger anxiety that is uncontrollable and is not something I can control.  My chest feels heavy and it is really hard to be me.  I am not LOOKING for something to be wrong, something FEELS like it is and that is the problem.  

Thanks for listening!!

[borninquisitive]

First, to your chest pain. Have you given thought that this very well may be muscular pain. A great book, worth every penny:

"The Trigger Point Therapy Workbook: Your Self-Treatment Guide for Pain Relief, Second Edition" by Clair Davies, Amber Davies, and David G. Simons

If you can afford it, have you given thought to visiting a chiropractor?

As for anxiety, have you given thought that it may very well be the fault of neuro-transmitters?

I use to doubt this but as time moves on, beginning to think that anxiety, in spite of a good life...could very well be due to neuro-transmitters.

At any rate, fear is very debilitating. I think underneath the anxiety...suspect we'd find a great deal of fear.
Stress/anxiety can wreak havoc on the system and the priority is, to get it under control.

Best,
~Kate