Do i have a panic disorder

[mark160111]

Hi

The last 3 weeks i have been struggling with my breathing. constantly it hasn't stopped. i never feel comfortable. it gets worse from time to time and causes me to have panic attacks.I have a feeling in my chest and it wont go. its not a pain. more like a weight on my chest and chest tightness. When i breath in it just doesn't feel normal. I have experienced heart palpations,not that my heart is racing but that its feeling irregular, I have also had a feeling in the left side of my tongue, lump in my throat, flem stuck in my throat and i cant seem to cough it up. pain in my temple. and headaches. Im tired, but the main problem is my chest. I'm finding it hard to work and sleep aswell and just relax. The heart palpations always seems to come at night. Irregular.
I have gone to the hospital and done a chest xray,Heart EKG, bloods,urine and the doctor listened to my chest. he said all was fine. i went to my doctor and he said he thinks its a panic disorder. i don't feel stressed. i was also perfectly healthy up to this. The doctor gave me 250 micrograms of zanex for when i need them. if i feel a attack coming on. But i don't feel they help much. I have lost 1.8 stone in the last month because i think my diet is all over the place. I just don't feel hungry or i feel nauseous. I cant stop belching for some reason. When i belch i feel better for a while.
I don't no what to do now. to keep going the doctors or hospital or what to say to the doctor.
Any advice?

[em1]

hello and welcome to the forum Mark :)
You poor thing,can i just say that all the feelings that your having will stop,it's all to do with anxiety,even tho you don't feel stressed your body is tired and this is its way of coping.
I lost over a stone and half and my eating was all over the place when I was bad.
I did find things like nourishment drinks helped me when I was not eating that well at all and bananas as they would fill me up.
Are you on any medication? If not do you want to go down that line or try other things to help you?

[DrStrangeluv]

Hi

The last 3 weeks i have been struggling with my breathing. constantly it hasn't stopped. i never feel comfortable. it gets worse from time to time and causes me to have panic attacks.I have a feeling in my chest and it wont go. its not a pain. more like a weight on my chest and chest tightness. When i breath in it just doesn't feel normal. I have experienced heart palpations,not that my heart is racing but that its feeling irregular, I have also had a feeling in the left side of my tongue, lump in my throat, flem stuck in my throat and i cant seem to cough it up. pain in my temple. and headaches. Im tired, but the main problem is my chest. I'm finding it hard to work and sleep aswell and just relax. The heart palpations always seems to come at night. Irregular.
I have gone to the hospital and done a chest xray,Heart EKG, bloods,urine and the doctor listened to my chest. he said all was fine. i went to my doctor and he said he thinks its a panic disorder. i don't feel stressed. i was also perfectly healthy up to this. The doctor gave me 250 micrograms of zanex for when i need them. if i feel a attack coming on. But i don't feel they help much. I have lost 1.8 stone in the last month because i think my diet is all over the place. I just don't feel hungry or i feel nauseous. I cant stop belching for some reason. When i belch i feel better for a while.
I don't no what to do now. to keep going the doctors or hospital or what to say to the doctor.
Any advice?

Hi Mark, there's no doubt you are having panic attacks. Now about the Xanax... It's a benzodiazepine, or a tranquilizer that you can build tolerance to, and you are taking a baby dose. Although really really good and helpful in the short term, you don't want to get dependent on it, Xanax alone won't do it. You need to see a psychiatrist for something more long term and suited for your body chemistry. You also need therapy to figure out what started your attacks in the first place, maybe you've been anxious all your life, maybe you had health scare, or lost relatives, your job. The dynamite just kept building up inside of you, and then one day came the fuse...

Panic attacks are but the "spikes" on an emotional rollercoaster that is anxiety. You know how you cry when you are really sad, same goes for panic attacks, you freak out when you are really anxious, your body starts pumping adrenaline, which under normal circumstances is helpful( like running away from a tiger).. But there are no tigers... There are many people with actual heart conditions that do not feel light headed/shortness of breath or have difficulties sleeping or eating.

I remember that when i was having panic attacks I lost about 20 pounds, i really didn't feel like eating, also i could not get any sleep. It's not only your conscious self that's "under attack".

[Joboy30]

Hi

The last 3 weeks i have been struggling with my breathing. constantly it hasn't stopped. i never feel comfortable. it gets worse from time to time and causes me to have panic attacks.I have a feeling in my chest and it wont go. its not a pain. more like a weight on my chest and chest tightness. When i breath in it just doesn't feel normal. I have experienced heart palpations,not that my heart is racing but that its feeling irregular, I have also had a feeling in the left side of my tongue, lump in my throat, flem stuck in my throat and i cant seem to cough it up. pain in my temple. and headaches. Im tired, but the main problem is my chest. I'm finding it hard to work and sleep aswell and just relax. The heart palpations always seems to come at night. Irregular.
I have gone to the hospital and done a chest xray,Heart EKG, bloods,urine and the doctor listened to my chest. he said all was fine. i went to my doctor and he said he thinks its a panic disorder. i don't feel stressed. i was also perfectly healthy up to this. The doctor gave me 250 micrograms of zanex for when i need them. if i feel a attack coming on. But i don't feel they help much. I have lost 1.8 stone in the last month because i think my diet is all over the place. I just don't feel hungry or i feel nauseous. I cant stop belching for some reason. When i belch i feel better for a while.
I don't no what to do now. to keep going the doctors or hospital or what to say to the doctor.
Any advice?

Hey Mark!

I'm not chiming in with any advice in particular, but I hope you take comfort in knowing that I recognise your experience as being so similar to mine when I first started having panic attacks.. it was dreadful, and I feel it's grip didn't let me go.. with the symptoms and heavy chest, laboured breathing etc etc. For me, they came out of nowhere too, or seemingly.. but the more research you do on this, the more you will see that a lot of peoples first experiences were like this.. out of nowhere :) Don't let that freak you out. When I was were you are now.. It was so scary and confusing, that I thought I would NEVER heal.. but I did! It's a process, but I assure you, it won't be like it is now for you. I'm no doctor, but one thing I will say is, don't only just talk to your Dr... that's obviously a very smart and sensible move, but perhaps go see a natural therapist as well, and counsellor, who can help you identify where they may have come from, and also ways to manage it etc. I know you feel that you aren't stressed or anything, but that doesn't mean that there isn't perhaps a trigger somewhere.

The main thing is, you are obviously in good shape, as confirmed by your tests.. that is great! The rest is just very uncomfortable sensations. I've been there, you will beat this :)

All the best,

John

[Em-jay Morales]

Hi Mark, same thing as my husband has panic disorder too. During his consultation with a psychiatrist he felt releived. Knowing that it can be cured. He then started to shout out loud while driving and we started to cry together while eating. Hopefully, you both can get over it and be well.

Regards