browne
10-12-2012, 10:05 AM
Just thought I would share my story.
I suffered Panic attacks as a kid, I would get them in cinemas, shopping centres & at school (crowded places). But it's only looking back at them now I realise they were panic attacks. I was bullied quite badly in high school which made me drop out. Because of this I've never really had a stable job. So life went on quite well through my late teens & early 20s, had lots of friends/girlfriends.
Cant really put my finger on it but I started becoming more withdrawn, self confidence plummeted started losing all my friends, until eventually at the age of 28 I had 2 friends left.. I've never had a fear of leaving the house, I could go to work just fine, but all me free time was spent in my bedroom, my friends would come over & play Xbox & watch movies, but I would always shoot them down if they suggested to go out anywhere. And as my 2 friends got girlfriends/had kids I found myself more & more alone.
Soon I was in my bedroom alone for 2-3 weeks at a time, only leaving to go to the shop to buy cigarettes/red bull & junk food. This went on for maybe 2 years.
So 30 years old now, May of last year while out shopping I suffered a bad panic attack, I'm sure a lot of you know the signs, heart pounding, feeling like you can't catch your breath, lightheaded & basically like I was about to drop dead. I was terrified. I was just getting over a flu & thought this might be related so I went to my GP who sent me for blood tests, as it turned out the nurse who did the blood tests would not be in the surgery for a week, so I made an appointment and went home. The next week I can only describe as the worst one of my life. I suffered horrible panic attracts that confined me to my bed, had a tight feeling in my chest & was just waiting for a heart attack. finally I got the blood test done & went back to see my GP for the results. When he said my bloods were fine, I broke down & cried, he immediately said I was depressed.
I was so shocked to hear all the symptoms depression & anxiety can cause. The doctor started me on Prozac & gave me a 3 week supply of Xanex & also mentioned I see a psychotherapist & gave me phone numbers. So immediately the Xanex worked wonders & sure enough the Prozac kicked in & about a month later I was a lot more relaxed. Because of this I decided not to see the therapist.
So I stayed on the Prozac for 7 months & had not suffered panic attacks at all for the last 3 months. So I felt really good about coming off the meds. I was getting out & about with friends, excercising more than I've ever done in my life.
So everything was going fine up until about a month ago, I'd suffered some minor panic attacks & had diarrhoea & nausea, The doctor examined me & suspected I have IBS & that & my anxiety were feeding off each other & they snowballed into full blown panic attacks and severe IBS. My stomach just feels sick all the time & I have no appetite what so ever & have lost 10lbs in the last 3 weeks.
I'm now back on Prozac and he has put me on 3 .50mg Xanex a day as I was so worked up last time I saw him, he also ordered an endoscopy just to rule out anything more serious.
I myself have made my first appointment with a psychotherapist for next Tuesday, I realise drugs on their own are not going to work for me & need help with what my GP calls a severe anxiety disorder.
Thanks for listening.
Ps. Has anybody gone through severe IBS?
I suffered Panic attacks as a kid, I would get them in cinemas, shopping centres & at school (crowded places). But it's only looking back at them now I realise they were panic attacks. I was bullied quite badly in high school which made me drop out. Because of this I've never really had a stable job. So life went on quite well through my late teens & early 20s, had lots of friends/girlfriends.
Cant really put my finger on it but I started becoming more withdrawn, self confidence plummeted started losing all my friends, until eventually at the age of 28 I had 2 friends left.. I've never had a fear of leaving the house, I could go to work just fine, but all me free time was spent in my bedroom, my friends would come over & play Xbox & watch movies, but I would always shoot them down if they suggested to go out anywhere. And as my 2 friends got girlfriends/had kids I found myself more & more alone.
Soon I was in my bedroom alone for 2-3 weeks at a time, only leaving to go to the shop to buy cigarettes/red bull & junk food. This went on for maybe 2 years.
So 30 years old now, May of last year while out shopping I suffered a bad panic attack, I'm sure a lot of you know the signs, heart pounding, feeling like you can't catch your breath, lightheaded & basically like I was about to drop dead. I was terrified. I was just getting over a flu & thought this might be related so I went to my GP who sent me for blood tests, as it turned out the nurse who did the blood tests would not be in the surgery for a week, so I made an appointment and went home. The next week I can only describe as the worst one of my life. I suffered horrible panic attracts that confined me to my bed, had a tight feeling in my chest & was just waiting for a heart attack. finally I got the blood test done & went back to see my GP for the results. When he said my bloods were fine, I broke down & cried, he immediately said I was depressed.
I was so shocked to hear all the symptoms depression & anxiety can cause. The doctor started me on Prozac & gave me a 3 week supply of Xanex & also mentioned I see a psychotherapist & gave me phone numbers. So immediately the Xanex worked wonders & sure enough the Prozac kicked in & about a month later I was a lot more relaxed. Because of this I decided not to see the therapist.
So I stayed on the Prozac for 7 months & had not suffered panic attacks at all for the last 3 months. So I felt really good about coming off the meds. I was getting out & about with friends, excercising more than I've ever done in my life.
So everything was going fine up until about a month ago, I'd suffered some minor panic attacks & had diarrhoea & nausea, The doctor examined me & suspected I have IBS & that & my anxiety were feeding off each other & they snowballed into full blown panic attacks and severe IBS. My stomach just feels sick all the time & I have no appetite what so ever & have lost 10lbs in the last 3 weeks.
I'm now back on Prozac and he has put me on 3 .50mg Xanex a day as I was so worked up last time I saw him, he also ordered an endoscopy just to rule out anything more serious.
I myself have made my first appointment with a psychotherapist for next Tuesday, I realise drugs on their own are not going to work for me & need help with what my GP calls a severe anxiety disorder.
Thanks for listening.
Ps. Has anybody gone through severe IBS?