Worse all of a sudden?

[Shepard]

Blegh..last two weeks have been extra crappy and have sent my health anxiety through the roof.

Usually, I wake up feeling ok, few hours later the symptoms start and the cycle continues.

Now, for the last two weeks I'm waking up feeling like I was hit by a bus. Achy, nauseus, a bit dizzy and it worsens throughout the day, and night brings on the worst of it( feel like I'll stop breathing, pass out and die at any moment)

What I'm feeling the most though, is like I'm on the verge of losing conciousness all day..almost a very mild version of falling asleep and fighting it..I'm off balance all day and I feel like no matter what I do I always end up breathing wrong, and of course, as we all know, that does nothing but worsen things. I have moments where I feel like I'm accepting its anxiety and not some fatal heart condition( this has been non stop for 13 months now, so..obviously no heart problem) but I can't seem to convince myself. These feelings are constant, all day until I fall asleep, it's hard to fight this with almost no mental breaks.

I should also mention, I had my third EKG a week ago, felt like death was approaching while I was laying there..but EKG only showed a fast heart rate, should have been enough to convince me but, nope.

Vent over. :)

[Chloe]

Hey Shepard,

My story is somewhat similar than yours. I've been struggling with anxiety/depression for the past year and having being doing really well the last few months, than BAM 2 weeks ago things started to change I started getting panic attacks again, waking up with extreme anxiety and refusing to leave the house or do anything!

I am currently taking 30mg of Lexapro of a morning and my doc has added 15mg of Avanza to help so I am hoping this will help!

Are you on any medication?

:)

[Shepard]

Just Xanax, recently upped my dose to .5. Not a huge fan of SSRIs so I've avoided them. The Xanax certainly doesn't do much for the symptoms, but it does stop the worry and fear, which makes ignoring the symptoms easier.

[missmello]

Hey Shepard. Your symptoms sound exactly like mine at the moment. Went for an ekg this week and doctor said it looked normal. I'm being put on a holter monitor next week for 24hrs. I try to convince myself its just anxiety, but the symptoms are so strong its very hard to convince myself that my mind is doing this to my body. I feel crappy all day, and force myself to go to sleep. I have klonopin but don't really take it, I don't know maybe I should, but I feel more runned down than anything else, not in panic mode.

Are you doing therapy at all? I'm going this afternoon, hoping it will help. Exercise helps too, but I feel it doesnt make it completely go away. But like you said, if we've been feeling this for so long, there's nothing wrong with us, just anxiety.

[u4ea]

Hey Shepard - reading your post is like reading about myself! I'm having the exact same symptoms! This all started in February, and is still lingering; and just like you described, I usually wake up pretty OK, then a couple hours later it starts. But the last two days, I've felt crappy right from the minute I step out of bed - same symptoms you're describing.

Sucks, the light headed and the - verge of passing out feelings really freak me out....which is probably why I notice them so much more : \

[Shepard]

I'm not seeing a therapist, doc wants me to but most of the people I'd be ok with seein are booked. I know why this crap started(heart fears after losing dad to heart attack in 2011), I know what to do to stop it..I just can't seem to stick to it.

U4, I've been lightheaded every day non stop for over a year now. Only time I don't notice it is if my mind is completely shut off to the symptoms and I don't realize I'm not thinking about them, which has happened 3 times in the last year.

It makes me laugh sometimes though, I've noticed that for the last 4 nights, at exactly 9:30pm I begin to feel like my breathing is restricted and I'll suffocate at any moment. I've been trying to fight off the urge to jump up and pop a xanax when I feel this way, 4 days in and it seems easier to just tell the symptom that I choose not to fear it(fear is a choice!). While it still makes me a little nervous, I'm able to laugh at it for being so obvious.

[Judie]

I'm not seeing a therapist, doc wants me to but most of the people I'd be ok with seein are booked. I know why this crap started(heart fears after losing dad to heart attack in 2011), I know what to do to stop it..I just can't seem to stick to it.

U4, I've been lightheaded every day non stop for over a year now. Only time I don't notice it is if my mind is completely shut off to the symptoms and I don't realize I'm not thinking about them, which has happened 3 times in the last year.

It makes me laugh sometimes though, I've noticed that for the last 4 nights, at exactly 9:30pm I begin to feel like my breathing is restricted and I'll suffocate at any moment. I've been trying to fight off the urge to jump up and pop a xanax when I feel this way, 4 days in and it seems easier to just tell the symptom that I choose not to fear it(fear is a choice!). While it still makes me a little nervous, I'm able to laugh at it for being so obvious.
Well Shepard, You are the perfect example of Negative gets you here and Positive can get you out ! The mind's a pretty amazing thing isn't it ? Just the very idea that the mind is acutely aware of the 9:30 time frame. Your mind has a sharp memory and loves to associate time and place to anxiety. The first night at 9:30 was just the anxiety acting up but after that the mind formed the association ( Fear on Fear, the double whammy and so goes anxiety) Many think the Negative Thought that roots anxiety ( the first attack) is low self worth, self esteem injured along the way. After the first attack comes the fear of the attack. Too tough things to overcome, but certainly doable. I can't speak for anyone else but there certainly was a connection there for me with an injured self esteem. I think you have a really good handle on the fear aspect. You know that you need to work on the acceptance that the symptoms are meaningless and that you haven't gotten quite by the fear reaction ( but you are working on that, so good for you) It seems to me that you need to work on the second aspect, or the root cause of the anxiety now. Getting away from the negative, not allowing your mind to go to the Negative on any subject. When you start thinking negative around 9:30 at night say "stop" loudly and with purpose in your head and then imagine a door slamming...change your thoughts immediately to a better time, a time when you felt confident, really happy, see the clothes you wore, feel how good you felt. Always remember to switch Negative to Positive...on any subject...bad break up..perhaps...maybe it was for the best ...we really weren't well suited etc...Every night at 9:30 I feel my breathing restrict becomes " tonight at 9:30 I am going to block anxiety simply by refocusing my thought".Silver Linings are everywhere, focus on them. We control our minds, anxiety does not. Positive thoughts feed positive health, negative thoughts feed negative health ( anxiety ) Be Well, let me know how that 9:30 showdown goes when you simply say to yourself " I've got better things to think about then this "

[u4ea]

It makes me laugh sometimes though, I've noticed that for the last 4 nights, at exactly 9:30pm I begin to feel like my breathing is restricted and I'll suffocate at any moment. I've been trying to fight off the urge to jump up and pop a xanax when I feel this way, 4 days in and it seems easier to just tell the symptom that I choose not to fear it(fear is a choice!). While it still makes me a little nervous, I'm able to laugh at it for being so obvious

Interesting - my most troublesome symptom is that of feeling like I can't breathe. I too often feel like popping an Ativan (in my case); but I've gotten better at trying to fight the urge...

Ehhh - hang in there my friend : )