Gumbo
01-03-2006, 05:53 AM
Well this is my first post on here and Ive got a feeling its gonna be a long one so anybody who is in a rush I suggest come back later :)
My problems all started about 18 months ago. I was 26yrs old and went on vacation to Washington DC from here in the UK to follow my local Soccer team. The team was appalling but that was nothing in comparison to the second week of the holiday and the after effects. We went to Richmond, Va for the second week of the "tour" and on the first day I ended up in ER. I went into a small bar near the hotel that specialised in beers from all over the world. It was hot and humid so i figured that Id pick one that looked like and refreshing - cant remember the name but it had red or amber or something in its name. Anyway, a few minutes after having a gulp of this beer my tongue started throbbing and swelling up and my breathing was becoming very difficult. Panic set in. Oh god Im gonna die here in this bar Im thinking :( I calmed down a little and drank some water which seemed to help. The throbbing died down and the hot air in my throat cooled and became welcome again. I can only assume from this that I had an allergic reaction to something in the beer. Being an idiot, I thought Id have another sip to make sure it was something in the beer. Sure enough my tongue started tingling again so I drank a lot more water and decided to go back to the hotel for a lie down. I was a little shaken up but pretty much alright, I fell asleep and woke up ready for the evening meal. This seemed to go well but when returning to the room I felt a tightness in my throat again and the panic set in. Two minutes later I was in a taxi cab to Richmond Hospital and two minutes after that I was in a bed next to a guy who had been shot! That really helped calm my nerves!! :D The doctors put me on some kind of oxygen/medicine mix to try and open my airways, Ive suffered with asthma as a child but this felt very different and very scary 3000 miles from home. The Doctors couldnt find anything wrong with me, they pumped me with antihistamines on a drip in case it was effects of the allergic reaction but it didnt really help. I stayed in the US for a full week hardly leaving the hotel room and terrified that I was going to suffocate on the flight home. I was given Xanax tablets for the flight to calm me down, they helped a little. I survived the flight and as time went on at home my breathing got easier. Then one day after shifting some furniture around my throat tightened again and breathing was hard. I tried to stay calm and learned really to cope when my breathing became difficult although there were many occasions when I thought I was going to die from it. The Doctor at couldnt really specify the cause and sent me to an ENT Specialist who said he thought it was part anxiety and part excess stomach acid coming back up into my throat and causing problems. Im a big guy and he said that with anti-acid tablets and diet I would be fine. I was still far from convinced that acid-reflux as he called it was the cause but I went along with it and my breathing over time is generally much better and only flairs up now and again. Thats a good thing i hear you say. Well that was only the start of it.
A few months after getting back from the US I woke up one night with stabbing pains in my chest and pains down my left arm and leg. My father died in 2002 of a heart attack and being overweight I honestly thought it was the end for me that night. It wasnt, needless to say. More trips to the doctors and a Cardiologist again said that I was fine but I should lose weight to help prevent me from getting heart problems and to reduce my worry about heart problems. There seems to be a recurring them here about weight loss. So I tried very hard and lost about 80lbs! I felt fitter and healthier but was still getting chest pains and panic attacks and was prescribed some anti-depressants and a visit to the local Psychological Nurse. She also seemed to think it was anxiety causing my problems probably brought on with my shock in America. Then I started getting dizzy spells, followed by tingling, pains and extreme tiredness in my arms and legs. I often woke up in the night with an upset stomach often in tears and thinking I was going to die. I stopped wearing a watch because I somehow thought it was causing my problems (dont ask Ive no idea where i got that from!). The dizzy spells got worse and for the last 12 months Ive felt dizzy and had jelly like legs pretty much all the time. Normally fine when Im sat down but when moving about its there 99% of the time. Ive also developed strange tight head pains giving me a very surreal feeling in just one side of my head, followed by vision trouble with little sparkles and floating things. The Doctor thought we better rule out anything more sinister and sent me to a Neurologist. He did some simple tests and an MRI scan and said there was no sign of any type of mass on my brain. So there goes a tick against another box. In essence my heart, brain and lungs have all been diagnosed as ok but everyone apart from the Brain guy said Im fat :)
So the next stop was a hypnotherapist who claimed to have plenty of experience with anxiety. A few weeks and several hundred pounds (money not weight :) ) later I was no better. I have now been sent to a Psychologist who wants me to try relaxation techniques to improve my state of mind and body but so far I havent seen any improvement.
So why am I sharing this with you all? Well I suppose Im kind of hoping somebody can say yep that sounds familiar it is caused by anxiety and worry. Im not really having panic attacks anymore thanks to reading a book called The Linden Method but I still worry about what is wrong with me. I go to work everyday but dont get much done and I dont go out and see my friends nearly as much as I would like (about 1 a month if Im lucky). I still worry every-time I know Im going to drink alcohol (no doubt because of my experience in the States) and all in all Im rather fed up of constantly feeling dizzy, off balance, hot, tired, the strange feeling on one side of my head and generally quite unwell. Mentally I have good days and bad days thinking it cant be anything serious or the doctor would have found it or Id be dead. But then I think it cant be anxiety because surely that would be triggered by something whereas my feelings are pretty constant. Maybe somebody out there has experienced similar sensations and can tell me the more I ignore them the more they will go away but as it stands trying to ignore them has done very little.
Dont think Ive missed anything. Anybody got any thoughts/suggestions for me? Im getting a bit fed up with it to be honest :(
My problems all started about 18 months ago. I was 26yrs old and went on vacation to Washington DC from here in the UK to follow my local Soccer team. The team was appalling but that was nothing in comparison to the second week of the holiday and the after effects. We went to Richmond, Va for the second week of the "tour" and on the first day I ended up in ER. I went into a small bar near the hotel that specialised in beers from all over the world. It was hot and humid so i figured that Id pick one that looked like and refreshing - cant remember the name but it had red or amber or something in its name. Anyway, a few minutes after having a gulp of this beer my tongue started throbbing and swelling up and my breathing was becoming very difficult. Panic set in. Oh god Im gonna die here in this bar Im thinking :( I calmed down a little and drank some water which seemed to help. The throbbing died down and the hot air in my throat cooled and became welcome again. I can only assume from this that I had an allergic reaction to something in the beer. Being an idiot, I thought Id have another sip to make sure it was something in the beer. Sure enough my tongue started tingling again so I drank a lot more water and decided to go back to the hotel for a lie down. I was a little shaken up but pretty much alright, I fell asleep and woke up ready for the evening meal. This seemed to go well but when returning to the room I felt a tightness in my throat again and the panic set in. Two minutes later I was in a taxi cab to Richmond Hospital and two minutes after that I was in a bed next to a guy who had been shot! That really helped calm my nerves!! :D The doctors put me on some kind of oxygen/medicine mix to try and open my airways, Ive suffered with asthma as a child but this felt very different and very scary 3000 miles from home. The Doctors couldnt find anything wrong with me, they pumped me with antihistamines on a drip in case it was effects of the allergic reaction but it didnt really help. I stayed in the US for a full week hardly leaving the hotel room and terrified that I was going to suffocate on the flight home. I was given Xanax tablets for the flight to calm me down, they helped a little. I survived the flight and as time went on at home my breathing got easier. Then one day after shifting some furniture around my throat tightened again and breathing was hard. I tried to stay calm and learned really to cope when my breathing became difficult although there were many occasions when I thought I was going to die from it. The Doctor at couldnt really specify the cause and sent me to an ENT Specialist who said he thought it was part anxiety and part excess stomach acid coming back up into my throat and causing problems. Im a big guy and he said that with anti-acid tablets and diet I would be fine. I was still far from convinced that acid-reflux as he called it was the cause but I went along with it and my breathing over time is generally much better and only flairs up now and again. Thats a good thing i hear you say. Well that was only the start of it.
A few months after getting back from the US I woke up one night with stabbing pains in my chest and pains down my left arm and leg. My father died in 2002 of a heart attack and being overweight I honestly thought it was the end for me that night. It wasnt, needless to say. More trips to the doctors and a Cardiologist again said that I was fine but I should lose weight to help prevent me from getting heart problems and to reduce my worry about heart problems. There seems to be a recurring them here about weight loss. So I tried very hard and lost about 80lbs! I felt fitter and healthier but was still getting chest pains and panic attacks and was prescribed some anti-depressants and a visit to the local Psychological Nurse. She also seemed to think it was anxiety causing my problems probably brought on with my shock in America. Then I started getting dizzy spells, followed by tingling, pains and extreme tiredness in my arms and legs. I often woke up in the night with an upset stomach often in tears and thinking I was going to die. I stopped wearing a watch because I somehow thought it was causing my problems (dont ask Ive no idea where i got that from!). The dizzy spells got worse and for the last 12 months Ive felt dizzy and had jelly like legs pretty much all the time. Normally fine when Im sat down but when moving about its there 99% of the time. Ive also developed strange tight head pains giving me a very surreal feeling in just one side of my head, followed by vision trouble with little sparkles and floating things. The Doctor thought we better rule out anything more sinister and sent me to a Neurologist. He did some simple tests and an MRI scan and said there was no sign of any type of mass on my brain. So there goes a tick against another box. In essence my heart, brain and lungs have all been diagnosed as ok but everyone apart from the Brain guy said Im fat :)
So the next stop was a hypnotherapist who claimed to have plenty of experience with anxiety. A few weeks and several hundred pounds (money not weight :) ) later I was no better. I have now been sent to a Psychologist who wants me to try relaxation techniques to improve my state of mind and body but so far I havent seen any improvement.
So why am I sharing this with you all? Well I suppose Im kind of hoping somebody can say yep that sounds familiar it is caused by anxiety and worry. Im not really having panic attacks anymore thanks to reading a book called The Linden Method but I still worry about what is wrong with me. I go to work everyday but dont get much done and I dont go out and see my friends nearly as much as I would like (about 1 a month if Im lucky). I still worry every-time I know Im going to drink alcohol (no doubt because of my experience in the States) and all in all Im rather fed up of constantly feeling dizzy, off balance, hot, tired, the strange feeling on one side of my head and generally quite unwell. Mentally I have good days and bad days thinking it cant be anything serious or the doctor would have found it or Id be dead. But then I think it cant be anxiety because surely that would be triggered by something whereas my feelings are pretty constant. Maybe somebody out there has experienced similar sensations and can tell me the more I ignore them the more they will go away but as it stands trying to ignore them has done very little.
Dont think Ive missed anything. Anybody got any thoughts/suggestions for me? Im getting a bit fed up with it to be honest :(