Anxiety Support Group
Anxiety is a physical condition marked by intense and persistent feelings of distress, fear, angst or dread. General anxiety caused by routine day-to-day stresses usually passes quickly and is experienced by almost everyone at one time or another. However, such feelings that linger over time and are very difficult to cope with, and which lack a clear cause, may indicate...
On April 12th I took a small vacation to Arizona and noticed I was feeling unusually tired (I had a lot going on at work though so I chalked it up to stress). While at the mall I had a mini-panic attack (dry mouth, racing heart, feeling light-headed, shakiness). Well I continued to feel tired and exhausted when I got back from my trip and when I went to work I had a massive panic attack. It was so bad my supervisor asked if I wanted her to call an ambulance and I said yes. I was shaking, short of breath, heart racing, and certain I was going to faint at any second because I was so light-headed. Well at the ER they ran all the standard tests (iron level checks, thyroid, blood count, heart monitor) and they said everything was normal.
Well ever since that day (12 crappy weeks ago) I just haven't felt like my normal self. The ONLY thing that has offered me enough relief to still do "normal" activities like go to work and go to the grocery store are benzodiazepines. I took .5 - 1 mg of Xanax every day for 10 and a half weeks straight and then switched over to 2 mg of Valium for the longer half-life (my intention is to taper my dose down and come off of it because I know these are highly addictive).
Things have slowly gotten better as the weeks pass but I want to get off of these meds and feel normal again. Every day I still experience some level of anxiety, disordered sleep (some nights I have AWFUL insomnia and sleep less than 3 hours, other nights I have to drag myself out of bed and feel like I could sleep all day), ache-y joints, and exhausted and heavy limbs.
My doctor wants to put me on an antidepressant but I had a really, really bad reaction to the SSRI Lexapro a few years ago and I also tried a non-SSRI (Trazodone) and it made me feel extremely groggy and hung-over. I just don't have a lot of faith in antidepressants.
I'm currently seeing a therapist 2-3 per month and taking some vitamin supplements that were approved by my doctor (Vitamin B-Complex, magnesium, calcium, zinc, and vitamin D).
I'm not really sure where to go from here. I feel like I'm just waiting to wake up and snap out of it one day like this was all just a bad dream. Just needed to vent and share my story =(.
Well ever since that day (12 crappy weeks ago) I just haven't felt like my normal self. The ONLY thing that has offered me enough relief to still do "normal" activities like go to work and go to the grocery store are benzodiazepines. I took .5 - 1 mg of Xanax every day for 10 and a half weeks straight and then switched over to 2 mg of Valium for the longer half-life (my intention is to taper my dose down and come off of it because I know these are highly addictive).
Things have slowly gotten better as the weeks pass but I want to get off of these meds and feel normal again. Every day I still experience some level of anxiety, disordered sleep (some nights I have AWFUL insomnia and sleep less than 3 hours, other nights I have to drag myself out of bed and feel like I could sleep all day), ache-y joints, and exhausted and heavy limbs.
My doctor wants to put me on an antidepressant but I had a really, really bad reaction to the SSRI Lexapro a few years ago and I also tried a non-SSRI (Trazodone) and it made me feel extremely groggy and hung-over. I just don't have a lot of faith in antidepressants.
I'm currently seeing a therapist 2-3 per month and taking some vitamin supplements that were approved by my doctor (Vitamin B-Complex, magnesium, calcium, zinc, and vitamin D).
I'm not really sure where to go from here. I feel like I'm just waiting to wake up and snap out of it one day like this was all just a bad dream. Just needed to vent and share my story =(.
My Doc prescribed 1 mg of Lorazepam that I sometimes take at night to help with my insomnia. I noticed that if I take it for a couple days in a row, I start to feel almost like what you described above: feeling dragged out, groggy, and the "heavy limbs." Maybe part of the physical feelings you are having could be from the Valium (just a thought). I wish you well!
I think that your body and mind needs to heal. Be kind to yourself. Try putting any negative thoughts that come into your mind into positive ones like how you would speak to a friend. You seem to be doing what they tell us to do. I am messing with my diet too now to see if it helps. I know that there are other tests that they can do too. More comprehensive thyroid, etc. My chiropractor had a machine that tests vitamin deficiencies for a lot cheaper than the doc. Good luck and hope you feel better soon.
I also agree with Blue. I have always had the sneaking suspicion that there is some root CAUSE of my anxiety and depression (as well as a slew of other non-descript issues including tiredness, arthritis, IBS, headaches, etc.) so I went to an alternative doctor.
They tested everything as well as testing me for my MTHFR gene. Well, I have a mutation that predisposes me to EVERYTHING I've been struggling with. The one root cause is this gene mutation and it's easily addressed.
Another indication that I may have the mutation is that I cannot tolerate wheat or dairy. It upsets my stomach.
The blood test also showed that my folate and B12 levels were low. And those vitamins are ESSENTIAL to good mental health.
People with this mutation cannot convert folic acid (what's in wheat and grain products that are enriched or fortified as well as what's in most multi-vitamins) to usable folate so the folic acid just builds up
and becomes toxic while you're not getting the folate you need.
I've been on the vitamins for a week and my daytime anxiety is dropping. In fact, when I have an anxious thought it kind of drifts through and leaves. I still have nighttime anxiety but I hope that calms over time. My stomach is far better and my headaches are less intense and less frequent. My arthritis is also better.
What I'm learning is that while pharmaceuticals have negative side effects, vitamins often have positive side effects.
As a note - my alternative dr told me that vitamin B12 is best taken as a shot. If you can't tolerate shots, the liquid form of B12 under the tongue is better than the pills.
I was also told that the daily recommended allowance of vitamins is a minimum in order to prevent serious illness. It is not the therapeutic range.