still getting anxiety!

Treatment and medication
1

hey,

ive been on cit for just over 5 weeks now. ive been up and down feel like being on a rollercoaster. i have still been having anxiety here and there mainly when i wake up and if i have some appointments to go to. i get very anxious when i go to the dr. because he makes me feel like im wasting his time. im pretty sure i suffer from health anxiety and panic attacks.

just wondering has anyone else felt like this after 5+ weeks from being on it. i do feel a bit happier and most of my physical symptoms have gone. has anyone else had palpations? im sitting here feeling a little anxious but i dont know what for its just come on all of a sudden! ah anxiety sucks!

2

It's still early days for you, so anxiety at this stage is still quite common.  It can take 3-4 months with some people to feel the full benefit, so hang on in there.  For me personally, although I felt well after about 8 weeks, it was a good 5 months before I felt completely at ease from all symptoms.

Doctors ... bah!  I've had exactly the same with some, making me feel like I shouldn't be wasting their time.  Some just don't realise how their attitude affects us .....  a smile and encouraging words makes all the difference to our well being.

You're doing well - stick with the meds, keep going forward and you'll find things will improve as time goes by.

K x

3

Hi Cassandra.

That's the thing with anxiety, you don't always know why you are anxious. The anxiety comes with the adrenalin surges. The palpitations are from the adrenalin and anxiety. I have suffered with anxiety for many years.

I am on Fluoxetine and this does help however I do get times where anxiety rears its ugly head and completely throws me. I just have to tell myself that it is just anxiety and that it will pass. I know it's hard and I wouldn't wish it on anyone. Try to breathe anxiety away. Slow deep breaths. And try not to let yourself get over tired.

Anxiety is always worse in the mornings because all the chemicals need to settle down again from a nights sleep.

Hope this helps.

Hugs.

Helen. x

4

hey,

thanks both for your replies its very reassuring! i wouldnt wish this on anyone either it sucks so much! and you are right the dr should be more understanding im thinking of changing. i mean i know i go there and it just sounds like one things after another but you cant help how you feel and with having the voice in the back of your head saying it could be something else makes it even worse. but he made me feel like i was just wasting his time and like i should just get over it. its hard to switch your mind of when you have felt like this for over a year and they dont understand.

thanks for making me feel better!

cassandra

5

Good Morning Cassandra,

Has any one had these symptoms? Join the club!

I went on sick leave back in November with work related stress. I started on 10mg then a month later up to 20mg and then up to 30mg where I am now.

My body and mind was already in decline living on drink and the odd J to relax in the evenings so, I'd be able to face the next day. The buzzing in the ears, palpitations, shortness of breath and unsteadiness (when not drinking!) became worse. I saw my Doctor, who is just fantastic (as she understands a lot about stress, depression etc., etc.,), advised me to try Cita.

I must say always remember a GP is a General Practitioner and some are just that! While others do have their "specialist subject". The crux of the matter is, if you feel like that your Doc has that attitude find out if there is another Doctor within your surgery who knows what they are talking about and with no disrespects to any Doctor transfer over? In the meantime keep coming here you, like the rest of us, have taken the first step to getting better or the best we can hope for.

Okay, after my Doctor and partner (Bless her, we had known eachother for over a year, but had only just started dating in August) convinced me a "sticking plaster for the brain" was the best idea, I agreed.

As Cita took effect so came extra buzzing in the ears, weird feelings, being spaced, slight nausia, slight panic attacks and then came the anxiety attacks, man I never thought I would suffer from such things, let alone stress and then anxiety! Apparantly, as I have found through my Doc and especially here Cita can cause anxiety before it treats it!!!

So here I be, almost four months in and the anxiety attacks or just feeling generally anxious have virtually gone, so have the others, bit of buzzing now and again (that is usually if work gets into the conversation or me head, so we try to avoid that subject).

 With the ups come downs which all depend on the individual, as does side effects and how well drugs work. So I suggest hang in there and keep in touch with the wonderful people here, you want advice, reassurance or just a chat you've found the right group!

Good luck,

David x

6

hey david,

i hope everything is going well for you know! thanks for replying. i suppose aswell is they dont know what it feels like if they havent experienced it before. i never knew this was all anxiety and i was always searching for what was wrong until i found that they all rolled into one.

definately have ups and downs but the ups are starting to out weigh the downs.

i have an appointment next week with the dr so if i dont like how he makes me feel this time then i definately will be changing.

im lucky to have found this forum and be able to ask questions for reassurance it helps alot!

im glad everything has settled down for you atleast i know theres light at the end of the tunnel!

cassandra

7

Hey, it's totally normal, same happened to me, and I thought that was as good as it gets, but 4 months in feeling amazing, took 3 months till things levelled out for me. You will be fine.

8

Hi there, settling down is more like it. This morning I have had a bit of spaciness and from earlier until now low buzzing in the ears! It is a bit like being in the tropics with the insects making that continual buzzing sounds on hot sunny days. But I am not in the tropics! I'm in the blustery, rainy sometimes hail sometimes sleeting SouthWest! Well, one can dream I suppose! LOL!

Back to a more serious note, I suggest you keep an eye out for discussions posted by or joined by melanie00616 especially regarding hormones v chemical imbalances which can apply to us all. However, as Ann, my other half, says very interesting especially from a female point of view and well worth knowing about.

I hope that the light at the end of my tunnel which disappears now and agaiin, is purely down to curves in the track! After all we have to keep positive!

Reagrds,

David

9

Totally relate to you all. Would you guys agree, though, that even when the meds are working and we feel on the mend, that we will still react anxiously if life throws us stress ? I mean, if life is still stressful, that Meds can't completely take our anxiety away?

10

Yes, I would agree, they just get you out of the constant cycle, they allow you space to make changes and have some perspective and rationale.

11

hey there,

yes the ringing in the ears is awful ive had it for 9 months! they told me at first was a middle ear infection but i went back to another doctor because i was getting that and dizziness and they did a hearing test and they said i have menieres disease because i lost a little hearing in the ear (which im doubting now seems the dizziness has gone away and the ringing is going down).

yes i did have a quick ready the other day will have to go back and see the rest of the discussion thanks!

cassandra

12

hey jen,

i agree with you the meds wont take everything away but they will help to only make you feel anxious when needed i guess like being in a bad situation not just sitting at home doing nothing at all to bring it on. it foes have to get worse before it gets better but it is great to know that were not the only ones suffering from this. i was actually quite amazed when i found this site to realise how many people in the world are going through the same thing. and its great that everyone encourages and gives advice to ease each others mind. no one knows what its like until they go through it. i admit i never did and now i am just shocked at what it can do to your mind an d your body!

13

I struggled on for a period with significant side effect !!My recommendation is don't do the same go and see the GP sooner than later and share your issues!!

14

This is an illness you can't explain to people properly, because the actual experience is something way beyond what anyone could ever imagine.  Many doctors don't understand the enormity of this illness - no we can't just switch off, this illness is on our minds every single second of our days and is torture.

I was ill for many years before starting on this medicine, which I recovered on.  Whilst you're getting better you'll be up and down a lot, but eventually the ups will outweigh the downs and you'll begin to find yourself starting to enjoy things again.

It takes time ..... much time to recover.  There'll be that little voice in your head always looking on the negative side too ...... well just let him be there.  You're moving forward all the time.  Expect many downs along the way, but just move through them and you'll get there.

Took me a good 6 months before I felt completely at ease.

I think doctors should be made to have this illness, then they'll know what we have to endure.

K xx

 

15

hey guys,

just lookin for reassurance! i know it sounds stupid and you probably all have had it but do you get the feeling something is in your throat and someone choking you? i dont feel that worried about it( in the back of my mind i am though) but i dont feel anxious is this just another side effect from the anxiety or cit? i cant help but slightly think im going to choke but i know it will be fine. its weird but thats how i feel.

16

Hi Jen

Yes, definitely when this medicine works and makes you better, you will be able to react normally to any life situations.

Ive taken this medicine for years and have recovered from depression.  Whilst on this meds I lost both my parents within weeks of each other, which was devastating.  I grieved for a long time and probably had tears daily for about a year ...... BUT ... this was completely different to feeling depressed and anxious.  This was normal reactions to loss.

So yes, though I have recovered from depression and anxiety, I still felt extreme sadness and loss etc, but it didn't bring back my depression etc.

This medication will allow you to have normal reactions to life's stresses, which are a completely different feeling to being depressed and anxious.

Hope that makes sense. :-)

K x

17

hey david,

how have you been? havent seen much from you in a while (we must be in different forums) hope your doing well!

18

Good Morning Cassandra,

Haven't gone anywhere, still here.

I have had roughly a days downer a week for the past three, so I decided to up my med to 40mg onn Sunday and see how things go. Buzzing is back and dreams too, although at the mo I can cope with them. I just hope it is the side effects with the increase and it will again settle down because, this is my limit now. I just want to level out and mend!

Mind you the forum seems a little quite these past 5 days! I wonder if everyone is getting better? Mind you there have been one or two I cannot comment on having only been here 4 months and don't have the experience to comment. (Or I don't want to! LOL!).

Things with you okay?

Regards,

David

19

glad your still about! i hope you start feeling better. i upped my meds to 40mg aswell last week ive had a few bad dreams here and there. still anxiety a bit and the palpations. which at the moment i have a 24 hour halter monitor so we'll see what the results are in a week or so.

yes it does seem a bit quiet and im like you i read them and if i dont have any experience i just dont respond. its amazing what other symptoms people have suffered with anxiety there is a wide range!

glad to hear from you tho!

cassandra