greig1978
10-06-2015, 08:47 AM
After reading a lot of posts on here I realize my anxiety & depression is certainly not as debilitating as some but at the same time, I do feel like I'm in need some re-assurance/tips/help in coping with my 'out there' thoughts & 'all in my head' symptoms ... A bit about me, I'm 37 with two children (12 & 13) and have never really suffered from long term anxiety or depression. I was a little panicky at times as a child (which always seemed to stem around fearing death) .....but apart from that I have had life experiences which have caused short term anxiety or times where I haven't felt my best for a couple of weeks, etc. but it always went away...that is until a few months ago (July) when I had a massive panic attack after drinking (heavily) the night before....like most people I honestly thought I was going to die. I had many of the 'typical' symptoms (which I've read about), like racing heart, dizziness, a detached feeling like I wasn't even on the planet, shaking, roasting hot (which at the time I thought was extremely high blood pressure). I couldn't sit for any length of time, walking made my heart beat even faster and this feeling lasted about 6 hours before I eventually asked my sister to call the doctor. As I was out of town, they sent an ambulance (a little embarrassing ..) and performed all the standard tests, i.e. blood pressure, ECG, blood sugar levels etc...the conclusion...asymptomatic hangover....so this should have made me feel better right, the fact I had literally just overdone it & life would be back to normal the next day.....mmmm not for me. The anxiety since that day has been unbearable at times, initially the horrid feelings only seemed to appear if alcohol was involved but I stopped drinking all together for about 7 weeks (even now I can have one or two drinks but that's it, if I start to feel light headed at all my anxiety kicks in) but still these symptoms persisted, albeit not nearly as bad as the initial 'panic attack' but still enough to make me feel miserable. I eventually gave in and seen my GP - after explaining all about 'the morning after the night before panic attack' she asked if anything major had happened in my life over the past year - so it's probably safe to say it's not been a great year but I'll not bore you with the details - that said, I felt as though I dealt with everything OK at the time but maybe I didn't really, maybe it was just all building up? Who know's....anyway she prescribed me propanolol (40mg) which I take once per day (I could take up to 3 a day but I also have a fear of tablets so stick with 1!) which I think helps a little as I don't seem to get as many racing heart beats but it doesn't really take the anxious feeling away. On top of the anxiety I also suffer from tinnitus. I've had this for many years but generally it didn't bother me too much - but it's definitely got worse as my anxiety levels increased, to the point where some days I honestly think I'm going to go crazy with the constant buzzing/ringing in my ears....even the sound I hear is a little hard to explain and put into words...anyway that is my story, just wondering if anyone else has just recently started suffering from anxiety/depression but has lead a perfectly normal 'ish' life to that point...any hints/tips on coping strategies are most welcome too...
I would also like to wish everyone the best of luck in their recoveries :-) Now where can we all get that 'magic pill' with no side effects ;-)
I would also like to wish everyone the best of luck in their recoveries :-) Now where can we all get that 'magic pill' with no side effects ;-)