hello...do I belong here?

[guineverenj]

Hi, my name is Guinevere and I have anxiety. I am fortunate not to have attacks that stop me from driving or doing the things I love, I just lost my zest and it seems that in the last four weeks, I have created physical symptoms that I cannot control.
It was strange, one chiropractic manipulation and this started 30 days of anxiety riddled vision issues, nausea, sleeplessness and waking out of a sleep with rapid pulse and elevated BP.
I have been prescribed Lexapro which I have come to grips that I will take, so I hope that the side effects I am reading about just skip over me :)
The biggest hurdle I have besides the next 2 weeks of sheer agony worrying about the side effects, is the fact that I am going to have to ween off this meds at some point.
I am optimistic since these physical effects started "overnight", that once I give this a year or so, it will have regulated itself. I have managed for 45 years without serious issues...maybe a little too worrisome, but not unbearable.
I am highly medication sensitive and am tyring to make friends with the new little pills that are designed to better my life....
My symptoms come and go and I can have 4 or 5 days feeling fine and then out of nowhere, usually while sleeping, it hits me and wrecks the majority of the next few days...
I just wonder if I actually am a good candidate for meds...but the alternative is not pretty either. I just cant believe that in one month this has become so unbearable...
does this sound normal for anyone else?

[abartlett331]

Hey Guinevere. I know exactly how you feel and let me quickly tell you what I did. The first thing I should point out is that drugs will only hide your real problems. What I mean is that while the drugs may seem to take care of your symptoms in the short term, it's better to look for a permanent alternative. Drugs only postpone the inevitable. This is how pharmaceutical companies keep their residual income, by postponing the symptoms. Of course, if you want to avoid long term risks you can't take drugs forever and sooner or later you will have to stop. So instead of thinking about curing your symptoms for the time being, you should focus more on something that will help you in the long run.

Let me just say that anxiety is all mental. Meaning, that while it may be harder for you to control than others, it can be done. If you take time to yourself everyday to mediate, do yoga, run, and engage in physical fitness, your mind has less time to worry about being anxious. You're so consumed with positivity, clarity and overall well being that your sub-conscious starts to pick up on this.

The brain is use to patterns. If your constantly anxious and have been for some time, it means your brain has gotten use to feeling that way because it's been trained to do so. If you start focusing your brain power on more productive things to fill out your day, before you know it the day is over and you made it through without having time to feel anxious.

Also keep in mind that anxiety can be caused by passed experiences or a fear of something. That constant feeling that something bad might happen seems to over power some of us from time to time. Again, this is why staying busy doing productive things throughout the day will keep you distracted.

Another thing to try would be to simply take a deep breath, look around at your surroundings and just realize that it's not that big of a deal. More than likely nothing is going to happen and your day will continue to go on. Just take some comfort in knowing that there are some things that we just can't control. The only thing we can control is our own life and how we choose to live it. So live your life to the fullest and take control. Hope this helps and best of luck to you.

[guineverenj]

abartlett331...thanks for the response...this is exactly why I am so against the meds...I feel that because my soul doesnt want to take them, nor need them, I am just opening myself up for extra anxiety. I am actually having a really good day. enjoying taking care of my family and having a glass of wine. Tomorrow I have a CT scan with contrast to make sure the manipulation didnt cause anything. Something minor showed up on a previous MRI. ...I am awaiting those results before succumbing...I have scheduled my 3rd weekly counseling and have my second appt with the trainer at the medical spa I joined. I am practicing breathing and know that I am not in any immediate danger...I just have these terrible eye involvements that mess up my whole day. I feel outside myself and just crappy....not to mention a racing pulse and spike in blood pressure. I just dont feel like I am having the same kind of issues as a lot of unfortunate people on this site. I wish they had my minor problems for their sake, but my issues seem so overwhelming to me.

[abartlett331]

Great to hear your having a good day! Sounds like you're on the right track. I also occasionally get those sudden blood spikes which even cause me to get dizzy or headaches from time to time. Although, I am happy to say that I rarely get them now, due to being so busy staying fit and spending time with my family. Oh btw, a glass of wine sounds really good, cheers... :)

[ryseup]

I don't like meds either. I find they give me anxiety attacks just thinking about the side effects.