Anxious & new!

[FK123]

Hello everyone,
I've visited this site before, but recently had my anxiety flare up so I finally figured making some friends and getting some advice would be worth a shot!
I only had my first panic attack around 2 years ago, since then I was able to see pretty clear triggers for it (certain lighting, high stress situations etc)...but now it is health worries and I can't seem to shake this anxiety with my usual measures.
My symptoms are all on the left-hand side and are as follows:
-Temporary night vision loss in one eye (went to an opthamologist and he said my eyes looked healthy)
-Slight blurriness in vision
-slight electrical tingles in my arm and leg
-High pressure behind left eye/cheek area
-palpitations

All of these symptoms come and go but all started around a month ago and since then its all I think about. I feel like I'm losing interest/functionality in my daily life and its starting to get me quite down. I have a doctors appointment tomorrow so any tips on how to explain my situation would be great.

Anyway, nice to meet you all! Hope to make some new friends going through the same thing.

[alankay]

Don't forget to consider seeing a therapist/counselor to see if you can find a source for your anxiety. Some folks bury issues psychologically and need to expose and work them out but this is not always the case. Alankay

[Enduronman]

oie! FK!
I'm not sure if that's what Canadians say, just stuck it in there anyway,,
Happy New Year...and welcome..:)

Dr's visit:
1. I'm very anxious.
2. I have physical health worries.
3. I don't want to become a hypochondriac.
4. It's all I think about.
5. I feel depressed as well.
6. Please help, I need meds, and I will take them because I don't want to post on the new forum that I joined how petrified I am of a tablet or a guy named E-Man will kick my ***!

*The pressure thing behind the eye and cheek is probably just neuralgia related to this anxiety, pretty common actually, but should also be mentioned*...

Don't hide these thought, symptoms, ailments, from your Doctor tomorrow. The more OPEN you are, the quicker you'll get control of this..many of us have dealt with it for wayyyyy tooooo longggg...decades in some cases.

GAIN CONTROL!!!

Nice to meet you..your 3rd new friend.

Leave her alone Jesse!!! (he'll be along shortly now LMAO!!)

E-Man...:)

[Dahila]

Eman do not be mean to Canadians :rolleyes:
Yeah FK123 you should go through forum and read some of the threads, it will give you an idea how to proceed with the Doc, what to ask. this one is most difficult for me ; asking questions

[NeverToo...Fear]

Welcome to the site, FK ! Health worries totally suck, but good news is that you joined these forums. And here you'll find support and friends and useful information to help you deal.. :)

[Enduronman]

Eman do not be mean to Canadians :rolleyes:

LMAO!! Well,..is it oie???? OR what eh?....IDK!!! :)

[Dahila]

IDK I will give u IDK in a moment

[kris123]

E-man. It's 'eh. Usually in the form of a question, like nice weather, 'eh? As a Canadian, I don't use that one. I'm a Newfie...we have our own spin on the English language.

[kris123]

Seriously, there's a dictionary specifically for the our dialect here in Newfoundland.

[Enduronman]

I'm looking them both up now...:)

[Dahila]

Yes there is, and you guys speak a bit different than in central ontario. I was working for years with newfie and she was , she is fantastic, I really love her...:)

[FK123]

I really appreciate all the feedback guys! I have been in and out of counselling over the years but just recently started up again which i'm hoping shall help.
As for my drs appointment, problem is I'm not sure if I'm going in for reassurance that i'm not terminally ill as I have convinced myself I am, or for meds to get a handle on all of this. Will keep you posted.

Also good job E-man at trying to get the canadian lingo in there! I'm still trying to get a handle on it myself, not actually canadian but lived here for the last 4 years...dont know how I havent frozen to death yet haha

[jessed03]

Terre Nova (from Canada) is gonna come on and kick your ass Eman. The whole Oie thing is Jewish dude ;)

Out of interest, why are you doing counselling? I was under the impression counselling was too mild for proper anxiety.

Hypochondria has great recovery rates. I don't see why you can't live a great life.

[FK123]

Honestly I'm not sure. I guess I went back to what I knew (counselling) which had helped me get over some previous hurdles that weren't anxiety related. Like I said I have just started up, only an in-take appointment, so if need be I'm sure they can refer me elsewhere. Thanks for the encouraging words, trying to explain my situation to friends and family has been testing.

Just a question, do you guys find cutting alcohol out during bad anxiety spots helpful? Seems my adrenaline and mind take on a life of their own after a night on the booze :eek:

[jessed03]

Lol yeah it's helpful

Ok, so counselling is new, sure. Nothing wrong with it, just CBT usually works better, ya know?

Raise the game a little, you get beyond this. Change a few things around in the head, get new perspective on the mind. Easy peasy, it's gone.

Right now mind and emotion boss you. We've gotta switch that balance back to you bossing them.

Where are you from originally?

[FK123]

Had my appointment today....I was basically told all my symptoms sound like they are stress-related and if they persist to follow up with a neurologist (ahhhh). Was offered a sertraline prescription but advised to try my luck with CBT first. Not sure what to think, except my symptoms are still there although I wish they werent!
I'm a big mish-mash racially. My dad is from the middle east, mum is from the UK and here I am now in Canada! I'm so impressed by the wide variety of age/races on this forum, it's great :)

[jessed03]

Ah I see. Pretty exotic mix, half middle eastern, half British and living in Canada!

Good luck with your CBT

[Dahila]

It does not matter who we are, we still suffer with the same **** you do:) Good luck with the CBT