Dr recommended Endocrinologist for stress levels?

[willowoman]

Hi! I am so thankful that I found such a forum, as its comforting to know there are others going through what I am as well.
I have been having some serious stress issues lately and I have been recently diagnosed with Norepinephrine levels over 128% higher than normal. My doctor wants to send me to an endocrinologist even though I told him I am having some severe stress in my life right now. Every day I wake up with the feeling my heart is going to explode. My job is also creating more stress for me as I do not like what I am doing and the supervision at my work is a nightmare. Its a very fast paced atmosphere to which they do not give you any time to catch up on things . I do not know what to do in the mean time to get myself to calm down and I fear I am going to have a heart attack every day. I have never had high blood pressure and for the first time in my life (I am a healthy 43 year old woman NOT overweight and have no history of High BP) I have been told my BP is higher than normal. I am not myself and this has been going on for over two months and I just can't take this feeling any longer. Should I ask my PCP to prescribe me something just to slow me down a bit until I see the Endocrinologist?. I am not sure which avenue to turn here. I can't decide if its the NE levels causing me to feel this way or the stress shooting my NE levels up...which comes first...Stress or does NE cause you to feel stress?
Sorry for rambling just not sure what to do..

[Robbed]

There is a 99.99999% chance that it is the stress that is causing high levels of norepinephrine. You are certainly not alone here, especially when it comes to stress on the job causing you problems. As for taking medication to help you with this sort of thing, medication works for some people some of the time. But it is not a free ride - side effects can be significant. Rather than taking medication, it would probably be better to deal with your stress in other ways. If you don't feel like you can learn to look at your work in a more positive light or get along better with people you work with, then maybe you should look into a change in your job/career.

[danstelter]

I agree with Robbed. Look for other ways to reduce your stress levels. Do you exercise regularly? Exercise is a great stress/anxiety reducer. Also, a change in job/career sounds like a good idea as well. You are currently not enjoying your job, and that is not good because your job is where you spend most of your time in your life. At bare minimum, you should see if you can find a place that would make you happier to work at. Medication is not a "cure" either. It can be helpful, but very often at the cost of difficult-to-mange side-effects. In many people, medication does not help at all because medications work differently in different people. Medication can also stop working after a short period of time, depending upon the person. Doctors only react to circumstances. Following these other methods will reduce your stress level and prevent future stress, which is much more effective in the long-term.