mrstress
07-12-2014, 06:30 PM
So after plenty of google searches for various anxiety symptoms wondering if that is what I'm feeling, I've decided to tell my story here, and maybe gain some insight. I know the internet is no substitution for a real doctor, but I'm a bit suspicious of my doc; he seems to agree with whatever I say. First I thought my dizzyness was from heat exhaustion and dehydration. Well ok technically he thought that was the cause. Said to drink more water. Then I suggested allergies, and he prescribed Nasonex. Then I suggested anxiety, and he agreed. Thought that did really seem to be it...so at least he was right. I've been diagnosed with an anxiety disorder, and I was in Fluoxetine, then it worked so well I stopped taking it last winter. I felt great...until it got hot out again. Now I'm back on it. But anyway..here's the complete story from the beginning. It's long, but I feel the complete backstory is important here.
As a kid, I've always been anxious. I've always worried about things out of my control. And convincing myself that something terrible is going to, or is, happening, is just like me. I once convinced myself I had SARS because I had a nasty cold and it was right after a flight...from Florida, not Asia. At another time I convinced myself that my heartburn was a heart attack and I was going to die. I couldn't sleep, I had to sit on the couch watching TV until I fell asleep. I also suffered from some boughts of depression when I was in my teens and early 20's as well. Fast forward to 2 summers ago. My car broke down and needed to be dropped off at the mechanic. No one could give me a ride back to my place, but google revealed it as a mere 3 mile walk. I once backpacked in New Mexico 60 miles in the mountains, so I figured, even thought I was now 10 years older and out of shape, I could manage a measly 3 miles. Well I didn't. Halfway through I could feel myself getting a bit dehydrated. It wasn't crazy hot, only low 80's, but I might not have been very well hydrated. I was probably 2 miles in when I was really hot, my head was pounding, but I trudged on. I got probably within a few blocks from my place when I started getting light headed, my feet and hands tingling, and then I start to feel everything going dark. Fortunately I found someone outside that helped me re-hydrate and gave me a ride home. I stayed inside, drank tons of water, and had the AC cranked.
The very next day I felt ok, so I drove off to my parents house. They were on vacation and I had promised to mow the lawn. After an hour of mowing the lawn in probably that same heat (mid 80's) I was completely exhausted. I was well hydrated that time, and even drenched myself with the hose to keep cool. Once I was done I got in my car and blasted the AC. But the entire drive back I was feeling dizzy, like I was a bit buzzed from drinking. Then my feet started tingling. Fearing a total blackout I pulled into the first driveway I saw and asked the people there for a glass of water. I kind of wind up pushing my way in (I asked if I could come in and before getting a response just walked in) and sat in the AC. But no matter what I felt still completely out of it. I wound up calling an ambulance, and the paramedics checked me out. Their theory was I exhausted myself going to mow the lawn just one day later, but I was ok. Later on that week I wound up going to the doctor who told me the same thing. This was his first suggestion for my dizzyness. Keep drinking water.
Well that didn't go away. My dizzyness, which was worst when driving, continued on for a while. I could drive ok, as long as my car was kept FREEZING cold. To the point I was shivering. Some other symptoms made me think maybe I had developed some seasonal allergies, so the doctor prescribed Nasonex. I took that for a while, but it didn't seem to do much. Another doctor thought it was a sinus infection. She prescribed antibiotics. Still, no real progress. I was able to function in general, but driving was a challenge that worried me every day. And I couldn't walk down the aisles of the grocery store without getting dizzy...which of course made me anxious. That pattern continued until around November, when one night my face and ears were so hot I couldn't sleep. I had my window open, my apartment freezing cold, and I was still hot. The poor night's rest made me feel terrible driving into work the next day, which made me dizzyness even more worse. That was when I went to the doctor asking for something to ease my anxiety. Then he started thinking my dizzyness was anxiety. So he started my on Citalopram.
That seemed to really help, thought I did keep increasing the dosage. Every time, I would get used to the side effects, feel a lot better, then the dizzyness would come back. He increased the dosage to the max, and so switched me to Fluoxetine. I think I was on 30 or 40 mg eventually. I can't remember. I don't really remember if the dizzyness ever went away, or if I just forgot about it. But eventually I felt fine. I could drive, I could go to stores, and overall I saw a major change in my anxiety with social situations. I was doing things I had never done before, because I no longer feared them. I felt great. So great that by this last winter, around December, I weened myself off them. I thought I was ok. And I felt fine up until this summer, with the heat.
I've always been a bit sensitive to heat...I've always said I run hot. I wear Tshirts in the dead of winter. Since my heat exhaustion incident 2 summers ago I've had a couple more events, that may have been heat, or may have been plain old anxiety. I was at a football game, on a cool 70 degree day, but sitting in the direct sun. I was roasting, since I was wearing a black jersey over a black long sleeve shirt, and jeans. I didn't want to drink too much water since I didn't want to get up to pee a lot, but before halftime I started feeling really dizzy. I went down, drank 2 water, got some food, and eventually went back up to the seats, feeling like crap the entire time. Thought I felt ok enough to make it through the game and the long walk back to the car. My 62 year old diabetic father, dressed similarly, didn't drink any water at all...and he was completely fine.
I felt ok around heat for a while after that one (that was before going on the meds), thought I always stayed indoors during the hot days anyway. Last summer I went to a festival and was outside from 2 PM on. It was low 80's, but bright and sunny, not a single cloud. I had on my sunglasses, hat, dressed in light colored clothes, and drank a ton of water. About 8 bottles in a 3 hour period. But eventually I started feeling dizzy again. Thinking it was low blood sugar (I was hungry) I went to get a rack of ribs. I carried this rack of ribs to a shady spot to eat, and once I put them down my arm was cramping up really bad. I couldn't get my muscle to relax. I made it through that night, staying till the end, but I spend most of the time from then on until the sun went down, in the shade. A month later I was on vacation and out kyacking in the sun, feeling just fine. It was 10 degrees cooler, but still.
So now we come to this summer, where everything seems to be going wrong. As I pointed out, I've been off the meds since last December. I've been feeling fine. In May I went for a walk in a park, only about a mile, thought it was a good 80 degrees out and I was in direct soon. I couldn't do more than a mile I was so hot and thirsty. But I didn't feel like passing out. A few weeks later I went out for lunch at work. It was probably in the mid 80's. I was sitting in the back of my friends convertible, wearing a black shirt, and even thought we were moving most of the time I felt like I was on fire. Then we ate outside, which despite being covered felt like it was 100 degrees to me. I felt out of it and slightly dizzy the entire time, but still ordered a beer with lunch. But I couldn't wait to get back inside. Once back at the office I drank a ton of water and felt like crap the entire time. And once I was at home I felt freezing in the AC, even thought it was no colder than usual. This same symptom occured every time I had one of my "heat incidents".
As June went on things only got worse. I was feeling hot and kinda dizzy just being outside for a minute. I was at my parents house gathering up the camping gear for a trip planned the next weekend. Just packing everything up and taking it to my car in the heat (upper 80's), I was sweating, and as soon as I started driving I was dizzy again. I wound up canceling the trip due to these persistent symptoms and the fact that it was supposed to be upper 80's that entire weekend. The Sunday night the weekend I was supposed to be camping I couldn't sleep. I was feeling hot in the face and ears all night and kept waking up. The next day going to work I felt light headed. That lasted all week, eventually rising to a point where I didn't go to work because I felt light headed. I was already planning on going to the doctor but I moved up that appointment to as soon as I could get in. He said he still thinks it's anxiety, said to start taking Fluoxetine again, and took some blood just in case. I didn't hold back in describing my symptoms, telling him about every little thing bothering me. He's sure it's anxiety.
(contiued below)
As a kid, I've always been anxious. I've always worried about things out of my control. And convincing myself that something terrible is going to, or is, happening, is just like me. I once convinced myself I had SARS because I had a nasty cold and it was right after a flight...from Florida, not Asia. At another time I convinced myself that my heartburn was a heart attack and I was going to die. I couldn't sleep, I had to sit on the couch watching TV until I fell asleep. I also suffered from some boughts of depression when I was in my teens and early 20's as well. Fast forward to 2 summers ago. My car broke down and needed to be dropped off at the mechanic. No one could give me a ride back to my place, but google revealed it as a mere 3 mile walk. I once backpacked in New Mexico 60 miles in the mountains, so I figured, even thought I was now 10 years older and out of shape, I could manage a measly 3 miles. Well I didn't. Halfway through I could feel myself getting a bit dehydrated. It wasn't crazy hot, only low 80's, but I might not have been very well hydrated. I was probably 2 miles in when I was really hot, my head was pounding, but I trudged on. I got probably within a few blocks from my place when I started getting light headed, my feet and hands tingling, and then I start to feel everything going dark. Fortunately I found someone outside that helped me re-hydrate and gave me a ride home. I stayed inside, drank tons of water, and had the AC cranked.
The very next day I felt ok, so I drove off to my parents house. They were on vacation and I had promised to mow the lawn. After an hour of mowing the lawn in probably that same heat (mid 80's) I was completely exhausted. I was well hydrated that time, and even drenched myself with the hose to keep cool. Once I was done I got in my car and blasted the AC. But the entire drive back I was feeling dizzy, like I was a bit buzzed from drinking. Then my feet started tingling. Fearing a total blackout I pulled into the first driveway I saw and asked the people there for a glass of water. I kind of wind up pushing my way in (I asked if I could come in and before getting a response just walked in) and sat in the AC. But no matter what I felt still completely out of it. I wound up calling an ambulance, and the paramedics checked me out. Their theory was I exhausted myself going to mow the lawn just one day later, but I was ok. Later on that week I wound up going to the doctor who told me the same thing. This was his first suggestion for my dizzyness. Keep drinking water.
Well that didn't go away. My dizzyness, which was worst when driving, continued on for a while. I could drive ok, as long as my car was kept FREEZING cold. To the point I was shivering. Some other symptoms made me think maybe I had developed some seasonal allergies, so the doctor prescribed Nasonex. I took that for a while, but it didn't seem to do much. Another doctor thought it was a sinus infection. She prescribed antibiotics. Still, no real progress. I was able to function in general, but driving was a challenge that worried me every day. And I couldn't walk down the aisles of the grocery store without getting dizzy...which of course made me anxious. That pattern continued until around November, when one night my face and ears were so hot I couldn't sleep. I had my window open, my apartment freezing cold, and I was still hot. The poor night's rest made me feel terrible driving into work the next day, which made me dizzyness even more worse. That was when I went to the doctor asking for something to ease my anxiety. Then he started thinking my dizzyness was anxiety. So he started my on Citalopram.
That seemed to really help, thought I did keep increasing the dosage. Every time, I would get used to the side effects, feel a lot better, then the dizzyness would come back. He increased the dosage to the max, and so switched me to Fluoxetine. I think I was on 30 or 40 mg eventually. I can't remember. I don't really remember if the dizzyness ever went away, or if I just forgot about it. But eventually I felt fine. I could drive, I could go to stores, and overall I saw a major change in my anxiety with social situations. I was doing things I had never done before, because I no longer feared them. I felt great. So great that by this last winter, around December, I weened myself off them. I thought I was ok. And I felt fine up until this summer, with the heat.
I've always been a bit sensitive to heat...I've always said I run hot. I wear Tshirts in the dead of winter. Since my heat exhaustion incident 2 summers ago I've had a couple more events, that may have been heat, or may have been plain old anxiety. I was at a football game, on a cool 70 degree day, but sitting in the direct sun. I was roasting, since I was wearing a black jersey over a black long sleeve shirt, and jeans. I didn't want to drink too much water since I didn't want to get up to pee a lot, but before halftime I started feeling really dizzy. I went down, drank 2 water, got some food, and eventually went back up to the seats, feeling like crap the entire time. Thought I felt ok enough to make it through the game and the long walk back to the car. My 62 year old diabetic father, dressed similarly, didn't drink any water at all...and he was completely fine.
I felt ok around heat for a while after that one (that was before going on the meds), thought I always stayed indoors during the hot days anyway. Last summer I went to a festival and was outside from 2 PM on. It was low 80's, but bright and sunny, not a single cloud. I had on my sunglasses, hat, dressed in light colored clothes, and drank a ton of water. About 8 bottles in a 3 hour period. But eventually I started feeling dizzy again. Thinking it was low blood sugar (I was hungry) I went to get a rack of ribs. I carried this rack of ribs to a shady spot to eat, and once I put them down my arm was cramping up really bad. I couldn't get my muscle to relax. I made it through that night, staying till the end, but I spend most of the time from then on until the sun went down, in the shade. A month later I was on vacation and out kyacking in the sun, feeling just fine. It was 10 degrees cooler, but still.
So now we come to this summer, where everything seems to be going wrong. As I pointed out, I've been off the meds since last December. I've been feeling fine. In May I went for a walk in a park, only about a mile, thought it was a good 80 degrees out and I was in direct soon. I couldn't do more than a mile I was so hot and thirsty. But I didn't feel like passing out. A few weeks later I went out for lunch at work. It was probably in the mid 80's. I was sitting in the back of my friends convertible, wearing a black shirt, and even thought we were moving most of the time I felt like I was on fire. Then we ate outside, which despite being covered felt like it was 100 degrees to me. I felt out of it and slightly dizzy the entire time, but still ordered a beer with lunch. But I couldn't wait to get back inside. Once back at the office I drank a ton of water and felt like crap the entire time. And once I was at home I felt freezing in the AC, even thought it was no colder than usual. This same symptom occured every time I had one of my "heat incidents".
As June went on things only got worse. I was feeling hot and kinda dizzy just being outside for a minute. I was at my parents house gathering up the camping gear for a trip planned the next weekend. Just packing everything up and taking it to my car in the heat (upper 80's), I was sweating, and as soon as I started driving I was dizzy again. I wound up canceling the trip due to these persistent symptoms and the fact that it was supposed to be upper 80's that entire weekend. The Sunday night the weekend I was supposed to be camping I couldn't sleep. I was feeling hot in the face and ears all night and kept waking up. The next day going to work I felt light headed. That lasted all week, eventually rising to a point where I didn't go to work because I felt light headed. I was already planning on going to the doctor but I moved up that appointment to as soon as I could get in. He said he still thinks it's anxiety, said to start taking Fluoxetine again, and took some blood just in case. I didn't hold back in describing my symptoms, telling him about every little thing bothering me. He's sure it's anxiety.
(contiued below)