Anxiety after heatstroke (or other traumatic event)

[Phontane]

Hi everyone.

I am a 32 year-old male that suffered from an exertional heatstroke in May during a 10k race. I woke up in a hospital and got released the same day. After three days I could not sleep anymore and got worried about possible damage to my organs, including brain damage. My neurologist said that I am totally fine and gave me Lexapro to calm my anxiety. After taking two pills I went crazy and had suicidal thoughts. I stopped taking the pills and got better but the anxiety and the sense of doom gradullay returned until it got so bad that I checked myself into a mental ward. There, they said I went through a mixed manic episode and put me on Risperdol and Depakode. When I was released and spoke to a new psychiatrist, he said I should not be on that medication since I am clearly not bipolar but suffer from GAD and was traumatzied through the heatstroke. I am now off the Risperdol and he gave me Klonopin to deal with the anxiety. However, everyone says that Klonopine is highly addictive and I am reluctant to take it, although it is often the only way the symptoms become tolerable. I have also started seeing a psychotherapist. Anyone went through a similar ordeal...? I would really like to know what is going on with me. I wish I could treat my anxiety without medication but it almost seems impossible.

[PeterDavies]

That is some pretty harsh medication that they put you on.

It is normal for anxiety to be "triggered" by some sort of event. After a car crash, for example, many people suffer anxiety when they get back into the car.

How is you treatment with the psychotherapist going?

[fernandogress]

Heat stroke can happen unexpectedly, without any symptoms of heat exhaustion. If someone is experiencing symptoms of heat stroke, it is important to seek medical attention at once.One of the primary functions of the nose is the humidification of the air that we breathe.
Heat stroke may also be referred to as: heat contractions, sunstroke, heat exhaustion and heat fatigue. This health state is often life-threatening. This situation occurs when people exert or play in scorching, sticky places and their body liquids are lost during sweating, causing dehydration the body to swelter. Heat sickness may be observed as an array of illness involving the body’s failure to deal with heat.

[NigelWalmsley]

I had a situation last summer very similar to what you are talking about. I went for a hike in the Berkshires on a very sticky day with full sun. I was with two other people and we were following a trail but didn't know distances. I didn't have water and what was supposed to be maybe an hour-long walk turned into a five hour ordeal. Yeah, cue up the Gilligan's Island theme music.. (a three hour tour, three hour tour...). Anyway, there were some cool streams along the way and I really think I might have been in real trouble without running into them. I actually lay down in the stream at one point and even drank the water straight knowing that it would be better for me to get the liquid rather than worrying about getting sick from any contamination in the water. Long story short, we made it back to my vehicle, I turned the air-conditioner on full blast but I didn't feel better. I ended up checking my self into the local emergency and I was there for about five more hours flat on my back with a saline drip to re-hydrate. I've had panic attacks off and on (not too frequently) since 1979. Following this particular episode I noticed that getting hot and dehydrated definitely made me feel very anxious so now I am always super vigilant about taking plenty of water with me whenever I'm out walking, biking, etc. It is also important to think about what you wear out in the sun. I'm a guy, and I'll have to admit that when I'm out in the sun, I sometimes carry an umbrella with me. For Pete's sake it makes my feel like some kind of shrinking violet but you know what..I don't care. Let'em laugh. It helps a great deal.

[dtrotter]

I didnt have that before, but my kids did. He almost got drowned in the swimming at the age of 3. Since then, he can't sleep and such. well, what i did was, slowly got a psychologist to work with me. I prohibited the therapist to prescribe any drugs to my kids, we work from getting him to swim again and then things become better from then.