Peak
10-05-2015, 02:26 AM
I'm freaking out at the moment. I want to believe this is yet another anxiety attack but it's gone on for so long now and brought symptoms that I've never had before which is making me more concerned that it's not anxiety. But of course this has raised my anxiety levels again.
So last Thursday I went to my doctors about another unrelated matter but whilst I was there I asked about medication for anxiety. When my doctor asked why I thought I needed them I explained my history and that I have had counseling etc but there were still days when it gets on top of me. She looked quite shocked at what I've been through and embarrassingly I broke down a bit in front of her. She prescribed me Propranolol which I've been taking for 4 days. The only real difference I can feel is that it's lowered my resting heart rate from 80 to around 65.
In the past when I've felt anxious I've had ectopic heartbeats and/or fast heart rate and/or feeling light headed and/or that general fight or flight feeling where you feel jittery and shaky. In the past when I've had full on panic attacks I've had very rapid heart rate, ectopic heartbeats, feeling very light headed, massive fight or flight feeling, very high blood pressure. The last time I had a panic attack was after a few years ago after a counseling session that got particularly stressful and emotional and a few days later whilst on a short break away I had a full on panic attack, thought I was having a heart attack and ended up in A&E.
So over the weekend we were away again but pretty much as soon as we left I started to feel hot and sweaty. Now I'll be honest and say I'm very over weight and due to a family bereavement I've been off work for a month and have been doing very little physically but even so I don't normally break into a sweat after 20 minutes walking. After getting on a train I thought it would pass but it didn't and in the end I started feeling clammy. This continued through the whole day. Admittedly we spent most of the day walking which around which is certainly more physical activity then I've had in a while and yes I would expect to be a little moist when doing this but this was more than that and I could tell that my skin was cold but I felt hot inside. Other than this though I had no other symptoms.
Later that evening we got back to our hotel and after having a cool shower I felt fine, normal temperature etc. I then went out again to a concert and again felt absolutely fine.
The next day I wake up, feel fine, have a shower, feel fine, get dressed and just about to leave the hotel and then came the cold sweats again, all day they lasted. When we finally got the train home I started to again feel normal but then when we walked from the station to our home the cold sweats started again. Later that evening I started feeling a bit dizzy but so did my wife and we think that may well have been anxiety about her going back to work today (I'm still signed off sick). When we got home last night I took my blood pressure and it was normal for me which means raised 140/85 (when I get really anxious it's more like 185/95) and my heart rate was normal.
This morning I woke up and felt immediately anxious, worried about what these cold sweats mean. Googling them pretty much says it's either a panic attack or a heart attack. I'm sat here now feeling hot and sweating and having to put a fan on but then after a few minutes it gets too cold and I have to turn it off. But then I get too hot and have to turn it on again. My BP today is again around 135/80 so normal for me but whilst my heart rate is around 65 I'm getting the odd ectopic heartbeat and I'm feeling strong fight or flight.
I want to believe this is just another panic attack but for three days and after I've started medication to control it???? I've never had cold sweats before for anxiety other than fleeting moments, not ones that have lasted for hours.
Has anyone else experienced this, does this sound like another panic attack? Really don't know what to do or think.
So last Thursday I went to my doctors about another unrelated matter but whilst I was there I asked about medication for anxiety. When my doctor asked why I thought I needed them I explained my history and that I have had counseling etc but there were still days when it gets on top of me. She looked quite shocked at what I've been through and embarrassingly I broke down a bit in front of her. She prescribed me Propranolol which I've been taking for 4 days. The only real difference I can feel is that it's lowered my resting heart rate from 80 to around 65.
In the past when I've felt anxious I've had ectopic heartbeats and/or fast heart rate and/or feeling light headed and/or that general fight or flight feeling where you feel jittery and shaky. In the past when I've had full on panic attacks I've had very rapid heart rate, ectopic heartbeats, feeling very light headed, massive fight or flight feeling, very high blood pressure. The last time I had a panic attack was after a few years ago after a counseling session that got particularly stressful and emotional and a few days later whilst on a short break away I had a full on panic attack, thought I was having a heart attack and ended up in A&E.
So over the weekend we were away again but pretty much as soon as we left I started to feel hot and sweaty. Now I'll be honest and say I'm very over weight and due to a family bereavement I've been off work for a month and have been doing very little physically but even so I don't normally break into a sweat after 20 minutes walking. After getting on a train I thought it would pass but it didn't and in the end I started feeling clammy. This continued through the whole day. Admittedly we spent most of the day walking which around which is certainly more physical activity then I've had in a while and yes I would expect to be a little moist when doing this but this was more than that and I could tell that my skin was cold but I felt hot inside. Other than this though I had no other symptoms.
Later that evening we got back to our hotel and after having a cool shower I felt fine, normal temperature etc. I then went out again to a concert and again felt absolutely fine.
The next day I wake up, feel fine, have a shower, feel fine, get dressed and just about to leave the hotel and then came the cold sweats again, all day they lasted. When we finally got the train home I started to again feel normal but then when we walked from the station to our home the cold sweats started again. Later that evening I started feeling a bit dizzy but so did my wife and we think that may well have been anxiety about her going back to work today (I'm still signed off sick). When we got home last night I took my blood pressure and it was normal for me which means raised 140/85 (when I get really anxious it's more like 185/95) and my heart rate was normal.
This morning I woke up and felt immediately anxious, worried about what these cold sweats mean. Googling them pretty much says it's either a panic attack or a heart attack. I'm sat here now feeling hot and sweating and having to put a fan on but then after a few minutes it gets too cold and I have to turn it off. But then I get too hot and have to turn it on again. My BP today is again around 135/80 so normal for me but whilst my heart rate is around 65 I'm getting the odd ectopic heartbeat and I'm feeling strong fight or flight.
I want to believe this is just another panic attack but for three days and after I've started medication to control it???? I've never had cold sweats before for anxiety other than fleeting moments, not ones that have lasted for hours.
Has anyone else experienced this, does this sound like another panic attack? Really don't know what to do or think.