out of my comfort zone

[stefani_maria]

Hi all,

I am new to this, so here goes.. for quite a few months now i have been experiencing symptoms of anxiety. It all started when I was a passenger in my partners car one day. I felt extremely nauseous but didn't think to much of it as it had never happened before.I thought I must have been feeling ill or coming down with something. As time went on it got worse to the point where I would be sitting as a passenger in a car and would make the driver pull over to the side of the road because my heart started to race and all I could think was " I'm going to be sick."

Funny thing is no matter how nauseous I felt I never actually threw up. If that wasn't bad enough, overtime I would be laying in bed trying to sleep out of no where my heart would start to race again and the sickening feeling would come back.

One night I felt my heart race that fast that I was struggling to breath, the nausea came back and I feel extremely weak to the point where I struggled to walk to the car so that my mum could take me to the hospital.

I had blood test done that night at the hospital and they came back all clear. As days went on the symptoms would just come about when in a car weather it was me or someone else driving, I carried a vomit bag with me everywhere I went just incase.

A few nights had past and the very same thing happened, I was admitted into the hospital. Has a scan done on my heart rate and an X-ray done. they came back fine but I was severely dehydrated due to not being able to swallow any fluids or eat anything for days.

I was kept over night and on the drip. I went back to my local gp the next day and was given medicine to help with the nausea.

its been a few months now and I would have my days. I am under a massive amount of stress due to financial difficulties and work duties.

A week ago I was at a shopping centre getting lunch in the middle of a busy period and all of a sudden my legs nearly gave way, my body went numb and my heart was racing, I felt like I was going to be sick. I was scared because I was on my own at this point. I ran to the toilet and sat there trying to catch my breathe. I knew I had to leave so I did as quickly and calmly as I could.

I notice that I feel like this when I'm surrounded by a lot of people. I have never had this problem before. I am scared that there is seriously something wrong. My next step is to go see my doctor tomorrow to find out what is really going on.

any help would be appreciated.

Thankyou

[Croix]

Dear Stefani Maria~
I’m sorry things are so upsetting and worrying at the moment. Those attacks sound truly horrible and make you actions limited to cater for the chance they may happen.

As someone who has had anxiety and other things long term I know how you are feeling. Although I’m in a much better place now in the past panic attacks and other symptoms rather like yours, including dehydration, had pretty much taken over my life. I was often quite frightened.

I guess if you are like me you would want to rule out the straight physical causes for how you feel. I’ve had MRI, CAT scans, X-Rays plus umpteen other things. They all came back negative and I had to accept there were no obvious causes. I say had to accept because even with results in black and white I was inclined to disbelieve them.

Being treated for anxiety with a psychiatrist, therapy, meds and a change in lifestyle has –over time – made a huge difference.

If I was in your position I’d go and see my GP for a long consultation just as you plan to do and discuss the matter, setting out in detail how you have been feeling, and ask to be tested for anxiety and anything else that might be appropriate.

If you think you might have trouble explaining then I’d suggest writing everything down first and sharing the paper. If your doctor thinks it is the way to go you may end up with meds, a Health Plan, visits to a psychologist and therapy. Medical help was what I needed, I would not have improved by myself.

Apart from the medical side I found that support at home made a really big difference too. Do you have anyone you can talk to who will care and help, perhaps your partner or a parent or friend?

My primary cause of problems was my work, and I ended up being invalided out, losing my career and a whole lot of other things. You mention that work, plus financial matters, are a major hassle for you. Is there anything you can do to lessen the stress?

Assuming it is anxiety and not a purely physical cause there is a lot you can do to deal with the illness. As a start have a look at The Facts menu above for basic information on causes, symptoms and treatments. As well have a look around this Forum to see how others have coped.

It would be great if you could come back and say how you went. There are many here who have been in similar situations and their experiences can only help.

Croix

[stefani_maria]

Thankyou Croix for your reply.

Im glad to know that I'm not alone in all of this and it saddens me to know that so many other people are going through the same thing, if not worse.

Today I got up and went and saw my local doctor who I have been going to ever since I was a little girl. He is aware of all my recent symptoms. I explained to him today how I haven't gotten better since my last visit a few months ago and how I feel as thought they've only gotten worse. I went on to explain my symptoms now and he has diagnosed me with anxiety.

He has prescribed me medication.

He also suggested that I seek counselling which I am open to attending. I think being able to open up 110% to a professional, someone who's knows all details about my situation will help majorly.

Today, I have felt okay. I met up with a friend and went into a nail salon. I did feel a little anxious being out in a public place with a lot of people around. But I took deep breaths which helped with calming my nerves.

I can proudly say I am on my way to getting help and getting better and I'm glad there is such great support systems out there that are here to help those in need.

[Croix]

Dear Stefani Maria~

I'm really pleased things went so well with your GP. Meds, therapy and support were all necessary for me as I said. If you can get a psychologist with some subsidized visits under a Health Plan that is a pretty good way to go.

Do you have a supportive family who are there for you?

Now it has been confirmed as anxiety it will be somewhat easier to deal with. There is a thread here

Forums / Anxiety / SELF HELP TIPS FOR MANAGING ANXIETY

I've found very useful, even if rather long.

Another thing I find god is the free smartphone app called Smiling Mind which can help deal with attacks and also general anxiety levels. Breathing technique is explained in The Facts menu for dealing with attacks too.

I'm glad you were able to go out to the salon with your friend. Hopefully you will be able to venture out further and further into new situations without distress as time goes on.

We would be interested in knowing how things go

Croix