Am I crazy?

[jlauren1]

I have been suffering from what I think is anxiety for four years now. I most recently was sent to a cardiologist because I am having severe heart palpitations and my EKG was abnormal. After going though everything they could think of it (of course) the tests came back normal. As of late it feels like it is getting more and more out of my control. My head feels a ton of pressure throughout the day and I am scared to take any medicine. I feel like a crazy person, like something is really wrong with me. Maybe it's a tumor. Even as I write this I feel crazy. I have started to drink at night to make myself sedated enough to go to sleep.
My doctor put me on 60mg Cymbalta a few years ago after I told her my friend was on it. It really jacked me up and maybe that is why things have gotten worse. I stopped seeing her but am back at square one. I am a 26 year old female. Any advice would be great. Thank you

[Ryan21]

I have been suffering from what I think is anxiety for four years now. I most recently was sent to a cardiologist because I am having severe heart palpitations and my EKG was abnormal. After going though everything they could think of it (of course) the tests came back normal. As of late it feels like it is getting more and more out of my control. My head feels a ton of pressure throughout the day and I am scared to take any medicine. I feel like a crazy person, like something is really wrong with me. Maybe it's a tumor. Even as I write this I feel crazy. I have started to drink at night to make myself sedated enough to go to sleep.
My doctor put me on 60mg Cymbalta a few years ago after I told her my friend was on it. It really jacked me up and maybe that is why things have gotten worse. I stopped seeing her but am back at square one. I am a 26 year old female. Any advice would be great. Thank you

My advice to you is to visit the doctor and tell them your symptoms. It sounds like you just have anxiety, but the only way to find out for sure is to have a doctor diagnose you. If you do in fact have anxiety then that is actually better than if there was something physically wrong with you. Anxiety and panic can not harm you.
I understand that you feel like a crazy person but trust me you AREN'T. Everyone that has anxiety feels that way from time to time. The pressure you feel in your head is most likely just anxiety/stress related. Feeling anxious can give your body all sorts of weird sensations but none of them are life threatening. I get headaches sometimes from anxiety and used to think I had a brain tumor as well, but that obviously wasn't the case.
As far as the drinking goes, I wouldn't recommend it. At least not in large quantities. I am a 24 year old male and I drink sometimes but if I have too much it just makes my anxiety worse.
I know it can be tough but get back on the horse and face this anxiety. It is important to note that anxiety always subsides eventually because that is the way our bodies work. I am certain that things will improve for you.

If you are looking for some good reading material on anxiety. Check out
Panic Away by Joe Barry. You can find it really easily for free if you use bit torrent.

Hopefully I've been able to help you out! Take care.

[coops025]

Pressure in your head is an Anxiety symtom i also experianced.

Dont worry this is something that will go but you need to distract your mind and watch what you eat/drink. Stay away from stimulants such as caffine and suger i cant stress this enough.

Heart flutters or palps are another scary symtom of Anxiety which needs to be treated with Magnesium which you can but from lots of places, just make sure you dont buy cheap stuff as its very poor. This will take a couple of weeks to take effect.

[jlauren1]

Thank you both so much.

[thehatchedegg]

It always amazed me that most of us with anxiety have an abnormal EKG & off to the cardiologist we go. Uh, we are so freaked out why would it not be abnormal.

After a clean bill of health try to relax. Next step is to heal your body, the mind will follow. Watch your food limit caffeine, sugar & start nourishing and fueling your body. Water, water, water - mild dehydration has a lot of anxiety type symptoms. It's the old eat to live not live to eat saying.

After that exercise is a huge help. Check into interval training to help manage the stress. It's just going to take a change of lifestyle. You can do it. It will all get better, it did for me.

Wishing you all the best,
Amy

[jlauren1]

The weird part is that I do exercise regularly but one time in spin class my heart started palpitating so bad that I had to stop. I felt like a freak and it made me believe even more that something could be wrong with my heart. I just can't wrap my head around having anxiety while I am exercising. Thanks for the reply.

[thehatchedegg]

I know that feeling! We become hypersensitive, feeling every little change in our bodies. When those things happen, slow down and drink more water. Know you are ok. Those movies play in my head too about being misdiagnosed and the heart attack is just waiting. Or I will pass out while working out, well it never has. The more you exercise the better you will feel. Maybe spin class is a little much. try intervals on eliptical or treadmill. Slow 90 seconds, fast 90 seconds, slow 90, fast 90....repeat. This will help you recover.

Don't give up.

Amy

[ThePhoenix]

The weird part is that I do exercise regularly but one time in spin class my heart started palpitating so bad that I had to stop. I felt like a freak and it made me believe even more that something could be wrong with my heart. I just can't wrap my head around having anxiety while I am exercising. Thanks for the reply.

I have had the same thing and I know of a couple of other people that have as well, of course the more you become aware of it the more pronounced it becomes and the more worried become...hence the cycle begins and gets worse!

I wouldnt worry about the EKG, if they ruled out everything theres nothing to be concerned about. I think abnormal ones are probably more common than normal ones at times, as for the feeling crazy and pressure in your head. Been there too! :)

Pressure is a definite anxiety symptom, as is feeling crazy! Definitely stick with the exercise though. Its a big help!

[dtrotter]

It's normal to feel like your heartbeat is insane, do beware that you are already 26 years old. If your heart has any problem, you will be dead by now. However, the feeling of your hear will be freaked is only intensify by your own emotion and thoughts. So yeah, your heart can sustain pretty high heart rate actually.