just about everything

[softspoken247]

I am 24 years old and have been smoking since i was 14. i have had a terrible experience with alcoholism which has tapered down (but not stopped) over the past year with help from alcoholics anon. i have always had alcohol in the home growing up and throughout my teens and twenties i would literally drink up to 12 drinks a night. blacking out became a bit of a nightly thing amongst many other issues.  when i turned 23 i began having terrible issues with anxiety attacks that became debilitating for some time. i feared the worst but through experience and medication (ativan) i have come to find that i will definately live through each attack. as i began to gain control of my anxiety i came to realize that there were many other symptoms that were very real in a physical sense. the symptoms include difficulty getting to sleep, pain in joints and muscles, weakness, excessive heart palpitations (skipping almost every other beat for periods of time lasting up to an hour), feeling of empty stomach with pain even after eating, pain in chest (perhapse from stomach), difficulty breathing (which could last all day), and dizziness. my main concern is probably my heart. its awkward activity is definately the onset of recent anxiety attacks. ativan was given to me by my local physician who continues to write it all off as anxiety. ativan seems to temporarily soothe the anxiety but many symptoms remain. i do not wish to undermine his professional opinion but i must seek another as i feel inside of me that anxiety is perhapse a symptom of something much more destructive. after extensive research online i came across a page explaining the symptoms of a patient who suffered from thyroid problems. i thought that perhapse it could be an answer. if not is there anyone who can help me see a bit of light. it has truly gotten to the point where my entire life has been put on hold because of this mess. even if this means that all i find is an answer and not a cure then at least i know what im facing. i appreciate any help! thank you!

[softspoken247]

thank you much for you help! it has been a year that ive been living in this condition and my biggest hope is that perhapse i will pull out of it at some point. i hear many stories from friends and people on the net that they experienced the same issues and over a period of time it just stopped. i would love nothing more than to be in good heath again simply because i feel like a better more productive person. the main reason why i dont want to rely on the ativan is the possibility of addiction. i am very careful with it and use it only for attacks. the problem is that sometimes attacks could be nightly. i have been to a mental health specialist but unfortunately i have not been scheduled for a visit with them due to high volume of patients. is there any other inexpensive path i can take that you could recomend?

[softspoken247]

thank you for your help as is gives me something to take with me to the hospital instead of my symptoms. :) i did somequick research on testing for thyroid issues and i noticed something that says the tests are often inconclusive. do you know anything about why or if there has been any more recent developments in thyroid testing? perhapse my biggest fear is that something is definately wrong but the test shows that it isnt.

[ChitChatNine]

Hi, I agree with the above poster.  If a thyroid panel comes back normal, you may want to consider some 1 X 1 counseling that may help explore the root of your anxiety which may be subconscious (that would be assuming your labs and phys. exam is normal, etc.)  I'm not a dr. at all, but have suffered from PTSD about 25yrs ago and hda taken Ativan for 2yrs and fully healed.   But you need Thyroid bloodwork first in my opinion

WELCOME to our Community!

C~

[redheadaussie]

Hi there. Unfortunately alcoholism can cause thyroid disorders. I would suggest you go get TSH, Free T3, Free T4 and a liver function test done. Often once the liver is damaged from alcohol the body has trouble making use of the T4 our thyroids produce and the liver is part of the process in converting it into usable T3 for you to function normally.
  Your symptoms may or may not be all related to thyroid issues, but I would strongly suggest getting those tests done and find out from your doctor.
  Once you get those tests done they should show if you are hyperthyroid, which is likely from your symptoms, or not.
Well done on cutting back on the alcohol, it is a hard path to keep on. I have had experience with it in my family.
Cheers!