I need some help....

[condogirl]

I am going to try my best to make a long story really short...

I am a 39 year old female and have been a mess for the past 2 months. My family and I went on a cruise and when I got off the ship I was feeling like I had sea legs... completely normal according to what I was reading online but then I started to have this odd light headedness about me and a weird burning sensation in my arm and chest. I started to look that up and saw that it could be a heart attack so after a few days of feeling like that I went to urgent care and they did an ekg and it was normal. Said I had vertigo and some anxiety based on what I read and sent me home with some meclazine for the vertigo and told me to follow up with my pcp when I got back home. Took one pill and felt better so I decided to leave my kids with our friends and went out with my husband. Wasn't feeling so well when we were out and then took the 2nd pill. About 2 hours later I felt like my throat was closing and my heart was racing so I took a benedryl thinking it was an allergic reaction and drove myself to the er (didn't want my kids to wake up and not find their mom or dad home!). They did another ekg, chest xray, stuck a scope down my throat... everything looked normal other then some mild hyperinflation of my lungs which the doc said would be expected since he felt I was having a panic attack. He then said how did you get to Florida and when I said we drove he said oh.. we should do some blood work and make sure there is no blood clot. Blood work came back elevated so I had to get a cat scan with contrast which came back normal. He said follow up with pcp.

Fast forward... back home, actually feeling ok and the a week later all my symptoms came back so I went to my pcp (I haven't been there is 7 years b/c I am usually a very healthy person and work out 6 days a week, just go to my gyn yearly) he did some blood work and everything came back normal. Symptoms didn't go away so he did some more blood work and checked vit b12 and sed rate, again normal. He said I want you to go on celexa and have some ativan just incase. I told him I never had an issue with anxiety and I rather not start on celexa but I will take the ativan just incase I need it.

In the meantime, I decided, I know my body, something is not right and I went to an ENT, Cardiologist, Spine Specialist, Neurologist, Eye Doc... had brain and cervical spine mri's with contrast and echostress test.. again, everything normal. Not one doc is thinking that this is anything serious and thinks that the only real symptom is the lightheadedness and everything else is anxiety related.

Because I don't understrand anxiety, I don't get how a person could feel so sick. I wake up lightheaded and have major bouts of feeling like my chest is tightening and I can't breath even though I have been reassured that I am healthy. Would theses symptoms be contsant with anxiety? You would think that it would go away after hearing over and over again that I am fine.

Please,someone help.. I can't deal with feeling like this anymore. I guess I just have to be sure that this is indeed anxiety based before I start popping pills.

Thank you,
J

[alankay]

Yeah having as many medical tests as you've had and hearing what your feeling I bet it's anxiety. It can happen at most any age although more common in late teens and twenties. If the ativan helps, it's anxiety. Docs are very good at finding physical problems with blood tests(Internal Medicine) and Today's imaging(Radiology).
Just to see what happens I'd take 1/2 tablet of celexa for a week or two and then go to the full dose and wait a month to see how you feel. Starting slow like that often avoids or minimize side effects. Also limit caffeine and alcohol and get some aerobic exercise.
Also write down stresses in life and see if you can figure out what might be causing this anxiety. Something must be at home or work, etc, as if you were predisposed to anxiety it would have developed long before 39, in general. Are your folks OK, etc. PM me any time. Alankay

[Meche]

Hi Condogirl, my experience is very much like yours. I'm 38, healthy and up until 2 weeks ago didn't have any anxiety/stress issues. Sure, like everyone else I have general everyday concerns but nothing to warrant how I have been feeling the past 2 weeks. It started with pains in my hand, arm, shoulder. Because of the job I do I was told it was RSI symptoms and to take a few days off. I did this but then started feeling dizzy, getting headaches, feeling sick, and an overwhelming fear that something awful was about to happen - I would literally start trembling and my body would be achy afterwards because it was so violent. My sleep patterns then went up shit creek and I would wake during the night in a panic. It was so scary that I developed a fear of going to bed which resulted in no sleep, which resulted in feeling very tired and more anxious. Vicious circle eh. Geneal tests have revealed nothing and was told I was having panic attacks. Like you I do not feel right within myself and convinced something medical is wrong with me because I know my own mind/body and this is NOT normal. I don't understand how anxiety can manifest itself so suddenly in somebody who has no fears/worries and no history of it. I am waiting for blood results for various ailments (mainly thyroid) to ensure there is no underlying medical issue. I was put on diazepam to help me sleep which I took for a few days but it made my head feel fuzzy so stopped taking it. My sleep patterns are now more or less back to normal and I haven't had any attacks in over a week but I have developed a nervousness because I'm so frightened of it happening again.