Reassurance Needed.

Mental health
1

Tough day. Is this really anxiety? Looking for someone who can empathize with me. First, I have this awesome life, but can't live it since I live in all of this anxiety hell. I have always been anxious, been on meds, they stopped working, went off and had (have) withdraw symptoms. Now, worst anxiety ever for at least a year.

Anyway, here's my symptoms: Wake up feeling weak/sick/spaced out/shaky. Push through work with shaky body and brain fog. Smile a lot and fake it a lot. Have moments of hunger and fleeting bouts of happiness/normalcy..but mostly feel nervous and sick all day.

I have ear pain and head conjestion and on and off back pain too. I've quit caffeine too, so maybe it is giving me this constant cold?

Does anyone else with anxiety feel week and have a full/spacy head all of the time? How sick can anxiety make you feel?

I keep thinking I'll go to the ER, but I've tried that and they sent me home with a big bill and no answers. 

My doc just keeps giving me more Xanax (I try really hard to not take it, but tonight I did because I feel so sick, shaky, sad, worried, anxious).

How can a normal person (I'm pretty normal, nice, easy going, fun-well, I used to be) feel this horrible for a year?

I have had two days the last 6 months of feeling perfectly and wonderfully normal. Oh, it was so nice. Sunday I golfed 18 holes and felt OK and actually felt pretty good at dinner. Then it all comes back.

Thanks for listening, I appreciate you all.

Hugs.

2

OMG you have described me here.lol . I so feel your pain right now I'm having the fear, anxiety and shakes. I also been on meds off them back on. It's a vacious cycle we ride. Fixing to take a Xanax myself. I hope u find the right meds and help u need . Feel better God bless

3

People with anxieties don't always have horrible lives. Its like lightening - it can strike randomly. I've always been an anxious person myself. I first went on meds in my 20s. Got over it and then it recently resurfaced but with a vengeance. I'm now 40. I too wake up feeling weak, dizzy, shaky - and I'm on meds! Anxieties can do so many things to your body. It's essentially stress. Just think of all that tension, sure it can cause back pain or neck pain or headaches. I lost 20 pounds in three weeks because of my anxieties. Fortunately I am seeking help. I'm currently on medication, in therapy, and occasionally I participate in group therapy. I chose medication because of the severity of my anxieties. I apparently also had bipolar II so that makes the anxieties incredibly worse. If you don't want to take meds, I would recommend therapy. They can help with coping skills and it's just a stress reliever to unload on someone without judgement. If you do want to medicate see a psychiatrist, not a general practioner. Keep in mind, mental health is complex. You want help from someone that specializes in it. Your GP may not have much experience in mental health which is why they probably gave you Xanax. While benzos are amazing, the effects are short lived, habit forming and your body can build a tolerance to it. After time you'll need to increase your dose and eventually the high doses may no longer be effective. Not to mention the horrific crash you experience after it wears off. Xanax is intended for one off situations - such as someone who is tense flying. Just something to take the edge off. Very seldom is it recommended for long term use. Amyway, I completely understand what you're going through. It is hell. It feels overwhelming and it's frustrating to be a prisoner of your own mind. If you seek out treatment, I know you can get better. You've already started your treatment plan in posting to this forum. 😊 And don't forget to breathe. I rolled my eyes the first time I was told that but there are breathing techniques/exercises that do help to alleviate some of the symptoms. Not a cure all but every little bit helps. I wish you more good days.

4

An anxiety disorder can come with symptoms you never knew could be symptoms. So yes it can do this. Use xanax in an extreme moment only. Its a emergency kind of thing, has anyone offered you buspar? Or just a mild  or low dose anxiety medicine? Usually its a really good idea to be in therapy. I perfer behaviorial therapy and regular therapy many do both. 

Yes it lowers the immune system. More suseptible to colds and such. Considering you are noting a lot of chronic congestion look at your diet. You might have an allergy or food intolerance happening. Also something that happens with anxiety. Tmj is a big one as well a dentist can tell if you have tmj and tell him your ear and congestion issue he might be able to help. They have allergy nasal sprays as well if youndo have issues. Flo nase and such.

hospitals a tremendous waste of your time and money. They will be of no use. There are urgi centers for the basics if you feel ill or the need. Theynwould let you inow if you needed a soecialist as well. Which i found out myself. They told me to go one for some issue with my eyes. So they do know too. 

Im going to be very honest this is a life long thing that can come and go. Its way better to go and get real help then even think you can ignore it or battle it on your own. They have tons of books on it to help you. They have cbt workbooks too, and dbt ones to teach techniques. Pinterest is a good helper as is you tube. 

 

5

You are a true gem (and a great writer). Thank you for your encouraging and empathetic words. I would like to go on medicine and have it work, but I am so afraid it will make me worse as I went downhill pretty fast on the meds (although they worked ok for years). I plan on going to counseling starting next week. Good advice. I am so sorry that you are feeling like this. I would not wish this hell on my worst enemy. Again, thank you.

6

What excellent advice and support. Thank you. Yes, it's been a life long battle for me, but I've had many good years and then BOOM, back it comes. I think someday they will find that anxiety sufferers are missing a necessary mineral, process, or something that makes us susceptible to anxiety. Anyway, until then it's therapy and maybe meds for me again. Oh, I wish meds would work for me. A little magic pill would be pretty awesome. But, I am afraid they will make me worse. Yikes. I am going to therapy, getting my blood counts, seeing an energy and anxiety chriropractor, eating right, taking vitamins and minerals, and praying. Next week i'm adding yoga to the hopeful mix of remedies. Bless you!

7

hi I've sent you private message, hope it helps. take care

8

Hi.. I am new here. I am not a dotor but have had panic disorder and GAD for at least 10 years. For me... anxiety is a rollercoaster. I have days where I am ok.. and days where it is unbearable and I am certain I will die of unrealistic circumstances. I have been to the ER numerous times.. and sent home with no answers and a load of embarassment. For me, SSRIs have worked. Benzodiazepines like Xanax can be very addictive and have withdrawals(I am sure you are familiar with it) so that concept actually made me more nervous about them.. but I might be taking on a short term prescription for my insomnia. Unfortunately I was not educated on my medication or my disorder and randomly quit my SSRI medication thinking I was "ok". Now, I am suffering through getting back on the SSRIs(Prozac specifically). I just wanna say... what you are experiencing is VERY similar to what I have experienced with this. Quitting caffeine is good if youre trying to dodge panic issues... at least in my experience. The shakiness.. well for me that never goes away. I am always trembling even on medication. But for others I have heard it can go away. But the worrying... tension.. random muscle pains.. feeling sick, tired, and sad (likely as a result of suffering through the rest of the symptoms). All of it is very "normal" for anxiety sufferers I believe. So you are not alone! If you have never been on non-benzo medications and have the opportunity.. a trip to a psychiatrist may help. At least it has for me. Medications arent for everyone and SSRI medications take some time to work.. and take time to find the right one... but they can and have saved the lives of people(including myself). I know when you have a good day and it comes back with a vengeance it can be extremely discouraging, so I wanted to end this with my very best wishes. 

Also.. it may be worth checking out mindfulness meditations. My therapist suggested it and it is a fantastic help for moments of high anxiety.  Even just a short 2 or 3 minute "breathing meditation" can make a huge difference for me. I wish you the very best, hang in there!

9

I'm glad I could be of some help. This is the toughest battle many of us will ever have to face and I tell myself that for every day I get through it, the stronger I am. We can't allow this to break us. We deserve to live life and not just get by. I'm in the same boat with you about the meds. I don't think my meds are effective but I'm also scared to death of changing it. What if the change makes it worse. Its a gut wrenching feeling but we have to take risks to move forward right? Try the therapy first. It may work very well for you and I hope it does but try not to be afraid if you do need medication. And keep in mind that our make up changes so what may have worked before may not work now. That's ok. The great thing about medication is there's a ton of choices. Its better than only having one option, finding out it doesn't work and then having nothing else to try. Breathe, keep good thoughts, and continue to write when you need some support. 😊

10

Anxiety is pretty powerful stuff. Anyone who doesn't suffer from it tells us it's all in our head and as horrible as that is to say it's exactly that, "in our head." Being in your own mind for to long can cause some pretty scary and real symptoms that can cause anyone to go crazy. I've suffered with anxiety sense I was a kid and I'm now just coming to understand it. The more I'm in my own head with my fears the more severe my anxiety gets and the more real my symptoms become and it's not easy to just turn it off. I still can't seem to just turn my thoughts off and still suffer with scary anxiety symptoms but i have had a few times where I was able to just tell my mind to shut up and get over it. Not many times because I believe people who have anxiety have overactive brains who never just shut up but Being on this site and hearing everyone else's stories gives me hope though that I'm not alone and have someone to talk to when the anxiety is to much to take. I know how exhausting it can be to go through this but atleast us anxiety sufferes have each other!!