My Experiences....

[PR83]

Hello,

Fairly new poster to this forum, I'm a 29/m w/ a history of anxiety and I'm trying to find a permanent solution to deal with it. I feel like I have developed a certain type of agoraphobia, mainly with a rapid beating heart. This is really hindering my life as I can't work out/go to the gym or even go for a hike because having a fast heart beat/breathing fast makes me feel out of control and extremely uncomfortable. I've developed a cough too, which I blame on the anxiety but it just makes me feel so weak. I had this fear of fast heart beat when I first had anxiety, around 19, but I was able to overcome it with a low dose of paxil. I'm back on paxil now, which helps a little. I also wonder if this has to do with my dad having a stroke around the time when I first started having panic attacks. I've become very health conscious since then but maybe I should get some counseling for this? I do worry a lot about having a stroke/heart attack.

I know I should just dive right into it, working out(shock therapy?) but what are some goals I could set for myself or things I could do? Any help appreciated and I will be looking at any past posts for help. Thanks!

[alankay]

First ask about upping the dose of paxil. If the rapid beat is really bothering you ask your doc about a beta-blocker like atenolol. But I think an increase in the paxil would be the smartest first move as well as reading up on anxiety, CBT, etc. For many health anxiety is part of the larger anxiety picture. Just another symptom which an increase in the paxil might help given a little time for the med increase to help. That would be the first thing I'd ask the doc about. See how that helps then consider adding a beta blocker. Alankay