Really bad anxiety

[James86]

Hi my name is James and ive had major anxiety for about two years now and its getting to the point where i cant take it anymore.
I get a tight chest which with astma can be really horrible, i also get heart palpatations and chest pains.
But the worst is my throat i always feel like im not taking in enough oxygen as well i feel like theres always a lump at the back of my throat which makes me constantly clear my throat and cough to the point where my throat is so raw .
The doctor gave me 20mg Citalopram but for a while now ive been fooling myself that the meds were working.

I was just wondering if anyone else has similar problams and if theres somthing better than citalopram.

[thecubing]

James i know exactly what your going through i too have asthma which makes shortness of breath even worse.
Ive experienced or rather am experiencing the exact symptoms you just described this lump in my throat makes it difficult to feel like im catching a good breath
this has led to extremely bad cases of insomnia.

i too was prescribed citalopram but have yet to take it out of fear of side effects and just because i dont like taking drugs.
i have started therapy and it has been a great relief even after one session.

In all honesty all i can is hang there and know that your not alone when you are experiencing these symptoms

[fernandogress]

First of all anxiety and heart attacks are TOTALLY unrelated. You cannot have a heart attack because of anxiety. You may and will feel that way but it just wont happen. A pulse rate, although elevated of 100 or 110 is not that high. Only a resting heart rate of over 150 should be seek help. Medication can help your anxiety as can deep breathing and slowing your thinking. One of the worst vicious cycles of anxiety is the fear that something worse is wrong and you feel more fear. Nothing serious is wrong but the anxiety is certainly real.
You are definately not alone, many of us here suffer from anxiety. I have found that since I have gotten sober the anxiety has progressed and sometimes it is to the point I can not even leave the house.

[coops025]

Oh ive been there with the heart palps and chest pain, first thing that goes through your head is oh my god heart attack, but dont worry its not. Lets face it though when we have a panic attack we will automatically think the worst :(

My heart palps and chest pains are completely gone now and all i can do is tell you what i did and hope it helps you out. Well the first thing i did was stop drinking coffee, i love coffee :( then anything that conatined caffine. I wanted to take as much pressure off my heart as possible so then i stopped having suger, or anything that gives you an engergy boost, i took a small amount of asprin daily to thin my blood to allow my blood to run more freely.

Later on i read more into vitamins and came accross Magnesium which most Anxiety suffers are deficient in, this allows your muscles to flex more easy and yes your heart is a muscle too so i bought some and it worked well. It is known that a lack of magnesium can cause palps in all muscles like twicthes also so it makes sense.

Last but not least "chest pain" the scary part for most. One day i was driving home and it came to me, why dont i try an indigestion tablet and see what happens? So i went to my supermarket and bought some, within an hour my chest pain had gone!! yes this pain i have had for months just went!! i continuned to take a few more day by day for around a week and it has never come back.

So thats my story in this i really hope it works for you guys.

Oh by the way 20mg Citalopram i was on for a while it made my heart race so you might want to look into that med.

[Knawx]

Avoid caffiene like the plague. Caffiene automatically tells your brain that you are in a stressful situation. That's why it makes people jittery.

Also remind yourself that their are others out there who are having the exact same issues you are. It helps alot knowing there are people sharing the same problems you have encountered.

I have found that Xanax works great for panic attacks. I usually carry a .5mg with me and if I have a severe panic attack I will break it in half and take the .25mg, then if I am still struggling I will take the other half.

Xanax is good for a quick fix, but you might be better off taking something like paxil, or pristiq. These are medications that you can take for a few months, then if you want you can ween off of them, unless the symptoms come back in which case you can take them for the rest of your life if needed.

My friends mother has been on paxil for 28 years. I didn't even know she had anxiety, she lives a very normal life.

Your not alone my friend, always keep that in mind. It helps :)

[dragonslayer428]

Ask your Dr about Inderal. It is sometimes given to solo musicians before they go on stage. It reduces hypertension and a rapid heart rate.

[Gojira]

Amitryptalin (sp?) worked best for me, night time was always worst.
It helped me sleep so well and has cleared up my anxiety tenfold.
Been on it 5 days, and the past 4 days I slept.
The only reason i'm up now is cause familys here and being loud, blaaa!

[Jen3535]

How can you tell the differance between an asthma attack, and a anxiety/panic attack.

I sometimes eat, or smoke, drink something. Then i feel like i cannot take a deep breath, after walking about, fretting the deep breath comes, but i some times feel a wheeze afterwards, once i cough the wheeze goes