Amy1981
06-27-2012, 04:57 PM
Hi everyone :)
My name is Amy, I am 31 years old and have 2 boys, 10 yrs old & 6 yrs old. *deep breath* 2 1/2 weeks ago, I had the extreme displeasure of having an anxiety attack. (The ER Doctor told me it was an anxiety attack, not a panic attack, because I didn't have chest pains, or other such pains, I don't know if there is a difference between anxiety/panic attacks, or not, but that is what I was told) So, I felt terrified of something, I don't know what, and I even knew that there was nothing to be scared of, I was getting ready for bed for goodness sake, and I felt fine, until all of the sudden bam, I felt super hot, shaky, my heart was racing, and I was TERRIFIED. An hour later, I waved the white flag and went to the ER (this was on a Sunday night around 11pm). Two hours later, and after a million blood/urine tests to make sure there wasn't something else going on, they started an IV and gave me Ativan....wow, 20 mins later, I felt normal again, except for being exhausted from the fight I had just been in, and boy was it a fight. Almost 3 hours of feeling like I needed to crawl out of my own skin...and it sucked, big time. They sent me home with a referral to an anxiety counselor, and a prescription for Xanex, which I have not taken, Xanex scares me after reading about it. (Yes, I am one of those that the pharmacy should NOT give the side effects thingy to :)
So here I am, 2 1/2 weeks later, and although I haven't had another attack like that, where I have felt THAT terrified, I have this general feeling of uneasiness (butterflies in tummy, short spells of that "whoa that scared me" feeling) most days. There have been a few days out of these past 2 1/2 weeks where I have felt almost normal, but almost every day, I can feel the anxiety in the background, trying to push it's way forward. So far I have been lucky, and have been able to talk myself out of letting the anxiety break through and cause an attack, but on days where it's always there, it really is mentally exhausting, constantly fighting with myself about these irrational fears.
I am to the point where I can definitely admit there have been A LOT of stresses in my life recently. My husband and I separated about a month ago, my Gramps passed away about 2 months before that, I am in the process of switching jobs (same company, same position, just different location)...those are just a few of the major stresses lately. I guess I didn't realize that I was feeling this stress, to this extent, until that Sunday night. Looking back now, there were definitely signs that this was coming, even before the major stresses I mentioned above. For the last 3 yrs or so, I have had occasional "panicky" type feelings, that I have always just shrugged off....obviously that was a huge mistake.
I did start seeing the counselor, who I really like, however I'm not sure he takes as aggressive of an approach as I would like, at this point in time, I just want to feel normal again, and I want to stop fighting this uneasiness that I feel almost every day, and I want that to happen NOW, however, I'm pretty sure that's not going to happen, is it? Ugh... I have read a lot of posts, is there any one in particular, that I should focus in on, to learn to stop this uneasy feeling?....or does anyone have any advice? I have started meditation, which I should have been doing loooooong before now, so much easier to fall asleep :) .... I also take B Complex Vitamins, suggested by the counselor I am seeing. Are my expectations way too high? It's been 2 1/2 weeks, I just feel like I should be having more days without the uneasy feeling, than I am having with it.
Thanks in advance guys....I know you are constantly having to reassure people....know that what you do, is priceless advice to "newbies" like myself :)
Amy
My name is Amy, I am 31 years old and have 2 boys, 10 yrs old & 6 yrs old. *deep breath* 2 1/2 weeks ago, I had the extreme displeasure of having an anxiety attack. (The ER Doctor told me it was an anxiety attack, not a panic attack, because I didn't have chest pains, or other such pains, I don't know if there is a difference between anxiety/panic attacks, or not, but that is what I was told) So, I felt terrified of something, I don't know what, and I even knew that there was nothing to be scared of, I was getting ready for bed for goodness sake, and I felt fine, until all of the sudden bam, I felt super hot, shaky, my heart was racing, and I was TERRIFIED. An hour later, I waved the white flag and went to the ER (this was on a Sunday night around 11pm). Two hours later, and after a million blood/urine tests to make sure there wasn't something else going on, they started an IV and gave me Ativan....wow, 20 mins later, I felt normal again, except for being exhausted from the fight I had just been in, and boy was it a fight. Almost 3 hours of feeling like I needed to crawl out of my own skin...and it sucked, big time. They sent me home with a referral to an anxiety counselor, and a prescription for Xanex, which I have not taken, Xanex scares me after reading about it. (Yes, I am one of those that the pharmacy should NOT give the side effects thingy to :)
So here I am, 2 1/2 weeks later, and although I haven't had another attack like that, where I have felt THAT terrified, I have this general feeling of uneasiness (butterflies in tummy, short spells of that "whoa that scared me" feeling) most days. There have been a few days out of these past 2 1/2 weeks where I have felt almost normal, but almost every day, I can feel the anxiety in the background, trying to push it's way forward. So far I have been lucky, and have been able to talk myself out of letting the anxiety break through and cause an attack, but on days where it's always there, it really is mentally exhausting, constantly fighting with myself about these irrational fears.
I am to the point where I can definitely admit there have been A LOT of stresses in my life recently. My husband and I separated about a month ago, my Gramps passed away about 2 months before that, I am in the process of switching jobs (same company, same position, just different location)...those are just a few of the major stresses lately. I guess I didn't realize that I was feeling this stress, to this extent, until that Sunday night. Looking back now, there were definitely signs that this was coming, even before the major stresses I mentioned above. For the last 3 yrs or so, I have had occasional "panicky" type feelings, that I have always just shrugged off....obviously that was a huge mistake.
I did start seeing the counselor, who I really like, however I'm not sure he takes as aggressive of an approach as I would like, at this point in time, I just want to feel normal again, and I want to stop fighting this uneasiness that I feel almost every day, and I want that to happen NOW, however, I'm pretty sure that's not going to happen, is it? Ugh... I have read a lot of posts, is there any one in particular, that I should focus in on, to learn to stop this uneasy feeling?....or does anyone have any advice? I have started meditation, which I should have been doing loooooong before now, so much easier to fall asleep :) .... I also take B Complex Vitamins, suggested by the counselor I am seeing. Are my expectations way too high? It's been 2 1/2 weeks, I just feel like I should be having more days without the uneasy feeling, than I am having with it.
Thanks in advance guys....I know you are constantly having to reassure people....know that what you do, is priceless advice to "newbies" like myself :)
Amy