Is this Anxiety?

Mental health
1

Hi all, new here but have been reading posts for a few months.

I am having persistent anxiety, basically everyday, I am woken up at around 4/5am with a excited/dread feeling in my chest area. I don’t have a raised/racing heart rate, it is just that feeling something horrid is going to occur or that I am dying. It started in March this year, at that point I had been on Mirtazapine for 4 months for depression and insomnia. Until March I had seemed to be on the mend the boom this intense feeling of dread/giddy excitement. Basically all day, everyday. The Mirtazapine also seemed to have stopped working and also no longer helped with sleep so the does was upped but basically did not help the anxiety. I started to become convinced I had cancer. I have since learnt this is quite a common thing to think, but there was no way you could convince me otherwise. I was presenting with some persistent abnormal pooing so had a bunch of tests and checks, all normal. Even had a colonoscopy, normal. I came off the Mirtazapine as it was agreed is was no longer helpful to stay on it and eventually I started feeling a lot better and the dread/anxiety reduced, it did not go away and I still was waking around 5am with it but exercise seemed to keep stuff in check. I am also attending CBT once a week which is helping.

Then around August bank holiday weekend the dread feeling suddenly seemed to spike again, so since then it has ratcheted up in intensity but this time I actually do not feel particularly of low mood and I definitely do not have racing thoughts.

This dread feeling is just there. Again, I don’t have a raised heartbeat or sweats, some times it feels like my heart is pounding but checking my watch my heart rate remains normal. I do get feelings of nausea but I don’t vomit and also mild burning/knawing in stomach, almost like being hungry but not, if that makes sense.

i can be difficult to sift stuff out as I do feel tired all the time, i put this down to the sleep debt from not being able to sleep past 5am most nights. i also seem to be unable to nap anymore even if I feel wrecked.

Exercise and breathing/grounding techniques now just seem to take the edge off rather than getting rid of the sensation and where as it used to go away by 5pm it can now persist into the evening. I am still working as it does help keep my mind focused on other stuff but that feeling does creep in now. Again it seems to be just the feeling of anxiety/dread. This has lead to me convincing myself I am dying again. Doctor’s seem certain just Anxiety but what concerns me is how I never had anything like this before and it powered through the Mirtazapine when I was on it.

Docs are suggesting Sertraline but I am hesitant. I don’t want to go through more hell for it not to work.

I have also tried Propanolol but this just seemed to make the feeling of Doom worse.

Do I have an anxiety disorder or should I be asking for more tests? I am bloody frightened.

2

it sounds very similar to what i had
I found propranalol made it worse at first but eventually i found it helped. But i reduced my dose from 40mg tablets to 10mg three times a day
I felt over stimulated at times and that feeling of dread and being very anxious.
The feeling of palpitations but heart rate was normal
I’m about ten days now without those feelings. Before that it was every day for weeks and for the majority of the day.
I’m sure it was anxiety like the Dr told me even though at the time i didn’t feel i was particularly stressed.
I still feel a bit anxious but less and less so as the days go on.
I’m pretty sure it is anxiety related

3

Thanks for the response. It is reassuring to know I am not only one with this experience of anxiety, I am glad you are getting a handle on it too , are you taking anything else or just the propranolol?

Yeah overstimulated is how I feel I think. I don’t really have any racing thoughts or stressors that I am consciously aware of (That is not to say there isn’t, the subconscious mind can also be a trigger from what I have read), it all seems to start with this horrible giddy feeling. I then start to get upset and scared by the feeling and I guess that starts me off questioning what it is then the inevitable “going to die” thoughts happen. And all through this my heart rate is barely going past 52 bpm (I have a low heart resting heart rate, i have been assured it is not Bradycardia on multiple occasion).

This morning the dread feeling woke me at 5:30 and was pretty intense. Was unable to get back to sleep this time so will likely feel like crap as the day goes on. What does point to this all being anxiety is now that I am writing this, the feeling has eased somewhat, it does seem to ease if I can distract myself/get focussed on something else.

I do find though that it can sometimes just creep in when I am focussed on something else so not a totally foolproof tatic.

I am walking everyday for at least an hour and previously that seemed to really dampen the feeling/get rid of it for the day, but at the moment it is just taking the edge off.

Apols for turning my reply into war and peace!

4

I didn’t think it was anxiety because i wasn’t anxious at the time.
But i had a really bad day at work and had an argument with a customer. I was really angry about it for a couple of days. Then the week after I had a health scare that lasted a few weeks.
But about a week after i thought all was good the anxiety attacks started.
I did feel worse when i woke up. It eased off during the day but some days i just felt off all day long. Especially on the hot days.
At night the feeling of fear crept back.
My heart was slipping beats and i was quite worried.
I could sit watching tv and feel ok but then from nowhere i was really nervous.
But the doctor said it was anxiety. So i just kept at the propranalol and tried to shrug it off and about two weeks later it more or less stopped. I didn’t take anything else. I almost did but i wanted to ride it out without taking anything stronger but i almost did ask the doctor for some different meds.
I’m still anxious about it returning and my heart still feels a bit weird at times.
I think these things just take time even when there’s no reason to be anxious anymore.
Its opened my eyes because I’ve never felt anything like it ever.
Just thought no way can stress do this to you.
But seems it can.

5

Yeah I really would not wish this feeling on my worst enemy. I have had panic attacks and the odd acute Anxiety attack in the past but nothing like this. Hardest part for me is accepting it as anxiety, my brain almost wants it to be something else. I would prefer to be able to get through this as drug free as possible I think but depends how intense it gets. My experience on Mirtazapine was not good and Sertraline seems to have a whole host of “fun” side effects.

I have a pill cutter so trying a lower dose of propranolol today. Trying 10mg like you. So far it as not mucked me up so fingers crossed.

6

I think I’m about 15 days without any real bad panic/nervous feeling. It did last a while.
From late June until about two weeks ago. It seemed to get more frequent and more intense for a while. Then it seemed to last for long periods until it started to happen less frequently.
I think I was pretty similar to how you’ve been so hopefully it will just go away. I’d be very surprised if it wasn’t just anxiety like mine was

7

i really hope it is, I got myself into a bit of a state on Wednesday as the 4am cortisol waking anxiety that keeps waking me up is intense at the moment. I basically convinced myself I had an adrenal tumour. At the time such thoughts seemed extremely rational but now while I am having a period of respite it’s like the memories of a different person.

The GP did arrange a blood test for me though which I had this morning, I have no doubt it will be normal. I probably do need to consider proper meds I think.

I may see if I can try Citalopram tho as if I do struggle with it at least I have a few friends who have been on it and some who are still on it to talk to should I need support.