HealingWell
Search Close Search
☰

Am I the only one?

Support Forums
>
Anxiety & Panic Disorders
✚ New Topic ✚ Reply
❬ ❬ Previous Thread |Next Thread ❭ ❭
Posted 1/24/2011 10:35 PM (GMT -5)
Hi,

I read through others posts quite often finding it helpful to know im not the only one who feels like this, though I never do post anything on the boards often if at all!

Ive had anxiety my entire life as long as I can remember im 28 and have been on just about every medication and tried CBT for years. I got to the point where I was medication and even therapy free for about 3 years then it all went downhill from there! I can no longer take any of the SSRI'S or SNRI's or any antidepressant for that matter anymore. They worked for me for several years now when I take them they just make things worse!

I guess the downhill spiral started when I was diagnosed with Lyme disease I already have awful health anxiety so that was the beginning of my anxiety demise again! Ive been suffering with constant dizziness, racing thoughts and the feeling like im walking around on a boat all the time not to mention constant nausea and just a sort of out of it sick feeling. My Lyme doctor assures me the Lyme disease is gone (he's been a Lyme doctor for 15 years) Though with my health anxiety I keep thinking well maybe its not gone maybe thats whats causing it but then again I have a million other stressful things going on in my life and have for years so that doesnt help!!

Well before I type a novel I guess my main questions are does anyone have constant dizziness and balance issues? Ive had all the balance tests and they can find no cause for them! What do you do if you cant take medications but you feel like death and cant function normally!??

Ive had every test Heart tests, blood tests of evey kind, spinal tap,MRI's, EKG's well EVERY test that they can give you and still they can find no reason for why I should be feeling this way! I feel like im going nuts trying to find answrs to all

this!

If I cant take any of the antidepressants then what? My doctor has pretty much said well just handle it the best you can and get on with your life!! Yeah great advice!! Thats kinds of hard to do when you cant function normally and do day to day things that you need to do!

Any advice or is anyone is a similar situation? I have no clue what else to do!

cry   Jess

Posted 1/24/2011 11:43 PM (GMT -5)
Hi Jess, I am sorry to hear that you are suffering so much right now. I do get the dizzies, but my symptoms are transient. Do you always have this feeling...all day/everyday?

Can you tell me in more detail about your therapy experience? Maybe it was not a good fit with your therapist? You can be resistant to treatment if you are not compatible with your therapist. Perhaps trying again with a fresh start could make the difference.

I also suffer health anxiety, and had panic syndrome. I am in recovery with the help and combination of therapy, suppliments/vitamins, self-help books, exercise and this community. I do not take medication, so for some, it is possible to use alternative methods to beat this.

If you would like to share more, or hear more of my story, post back. There is hope, you just have to find what works for you:)

Be well,
Scaredy Cat
Posted 1/25/2011 12:54 PM (GMT -5)
Ive been with my Doctor since I was 12 and have tried several therapists that work under him and many had good ideas and suggestions though when I tried them they never worked for me! I have horrible health anxiety that started when I was 9 and had mono for 3 months and had to stay home then was diagnosed with Lyme disease when I was 20. On top of that I have always been an axious person to begin with.

Ive have done CBT for years and have been on every kind of medication and have ready every anxiety self help book that I could find and order off amazon and still I feel awful! I guess you could say I dont have the same fears as most do. I know many cant leave their home from fear of crowds or large stores or germs or having to interact with people. Those things I dont mind it's the fact that I dont feel right and im dizzy all the time and just feel like im living in a dream! I force myself to go and do things over and over but even after doing them I should feel a sense of accomplishment but instead im sore, dizzy sick to my stomach and so exhausted that I cant see straight.

I know my nervous system is in complete overdrive and my nerves are telling me that everyday but how to calm them down I have no clue! Ive tried meditation,supplements exercise with is hard because im so tired from not sleeping well and having my body be in overdrive 24/7. I just feel like im losing my mind I know the things that I should do but when I do them I dont feel any better and it's driving me nuts. I just dont feel good at all and all the Dr's tell me im fine accordding to all their tests. Though I dont see how I can be fine if I cant even function day to day and dont feel like myself!

It's so frustrating because as a teenager I was able to use both CBT and the help of medication to live a life I was happy with and my anxiety was manageable and now Im worse than ever and ive tried all the things I did back then and they helped not the slightest! I just dont know what else to do and I have no insurance right now so trying a new Dr is not an option until my insurance kicks in.

Jess

Posted 1/25/2011 1:16 PM (GMT -5)
I'm sorry to hear that nothing seems to bring your relief...but as with any chronic illness, you just have to keep trying different things at different times, until something clicks.

Have you tried the on-line CBT? Here's the url to Moodgym-a lot of people have tried it and found it helpful

http://moodgym.anu.edu.au/welcome

It's worth a try, and keep posting here:) Hoping you have a symptom-free day!
S.C.
Posted 1/25/2011 5:06 PM (GMT -5)
Your cure is to realize Anxiety causes all those symptoms you have and by worrying about'em you only give your anxiety that much more power. You actually have a choice as to whether you want to be affected or not, and if you choose not to be then your symptoms will fade away. Don't spend, or actually waste, time feeding your health anxiety, that is truly not a life to live! Your so worried about dying that your not even living you know? just be free my friend
Posted 1/25/2011 11:21 PM (GMT -5)
Thanks I will try the CBT online and see if it makes any difference!

As for realizing its my anxiety I do that everyday and often times get mad because my brain is telling my body to think and do one thing, but it just does and feels how it wants. I feel like im in a constant fight all day and night I got to sleep dizzy with my nerves and my stomach a mess and my muscles hurting, exhausted and wake up throughout the night and then in the morning feeling the same way. Often times im too dizzy to even drive not that im scared or anxious to drive but because its dangerous not only to myself but others on the road, so I feel like im fighting a losing battle!

I currently cant work due to extreme exhaustion ive had since being treated for Lyme disease I havent worked in 3 years now. The doctors tell me maybe its Fibromyalgia or just stress or anxiety or lack of sleep. Just doing things around the house makes me exhausted which in turn makes me more dizzy! My doctor has tried to put me on several medications for Fibromyalgia though all they did was create worse sleeping problems and create more anxiety!

I feel like im the only one in the world who just feels sick and totally out of it from anxiety! I cant even pin point one thing im anxious about it's more about the fact I feel so sick and messed up and tired and no matter what ive tried Im not able to fix it or make it any better!

I have a million things I want to do and would love to do like exercising and walking around the mall and staying out late with friends and yeah sounds weird but I want to work. Though they way I feel everyday is keeping me from doing all of these! It's hard to do much of anything when you feel like your walking around on a boat all day and have no sense of balance! My husband and I would love to have kids but im so exhausted and dizzy and anxious all the time it's not something I could handle everyday! Its so frustrating because I used to be the one with all the energy that was up early and going all day working two jobs where I was on my feet all day long and was going to school full time and still having time to stay out late on the weekends and I never felt this anxious a times I feel like my brain is trying to eat me! Lol  

It makes me so angry because I honestly do all the things I know how to do to try to feel better and nothing has been working! I even have an education in natural medicine and have tried I dont know how  many things and have been let down by them all!

When I think of most peoples anxiety I think of random panic attacks or anxiety that comes and goes, not the constant no stop anxiety that I have day and night I feel like im living in some anxious sick feeling nightmare that I cant get out of!

I feel like such a failure because I cant do more to better myself or to help my family then what I can physically and mentally handle right now! Ugh it just feels like it;s never going to get any better.

Thanks for reading my novel of venting! Lol

Jess

Posted 1/26/2011 3:08 AM (GMT -5)

Have you ever tried any of the benzodiazepines medications? I have suffered with panic disorder, OCD and depression since I was 17 (I'm now 41) and I too have been on a bazillion meds. I'm now on Effexor and a benzo called Klonopin (clonazepam). I've had inner ear problems from a child, and it can make anxiety much worse. I've noticed that the Klonopin helps me very much with dizziness. Yes, it does have dependency issues (especially if abused), but I've been on the same dose for a long time and it still seems to work. I've switched from numerous antidepressants, but I always stay with the Klonopin.

God bless!!!!

                              Tom 

Posted 1/26/2011 11:30 PM (GMT -5)
Yeah im currently on Klonopin Im prescribed to take 1 mg 3 times per day though I only take .25 or .5 once to twice if that! I also have anxiety about taking the medication ive been on and off  benzo's over the years was on xanax but it didnt last long maybe 5 hours if that then the rebound anxiety was awful. I was prescribed the Klonopin about a year and a half abo as needed then about a year ago the 1mg 3 times per day! It also worries me because I hear so much about dont take the benzo's they are very addicting and then you cant ge off them and the withdrawl is worse than heroin withdrawl and on and on from many people, so that alone scares me I cannot afford to feel any worse!

As you can tell I also have anxiety about taking medication since many ive had really bad reactions to. I cant take any of the SSRI's or SNRI's they increase my anxiety ten fold even after taking them for months and cause awful insomnia! I wished that they worked for me because so many find them so helpful! :(

The Klonopin also makes me very tired and I already have Fibromyalgia so I also have to be careful because I cant add to the fatigue I already have! It seems like a lose, lose situation! Then again maybe the extreme fatigue is from being so anxious and worked up all the time day and night! Im scared to take the amount im prescribed becasue of the fatigue but then again I question what if it actually helps the anxiety in turn helping the fatigue!

✚ New Topic ✚ Reply