Hello and welcome to the group! You are not alone in this. I have been having a lot of bad days lately where I struggle with constant symptoms lasting for most of the day. It is both frustrating and physically exhausting. It can really take it's toll. Medication can alleviate symptoms, but it doesn't treat the cause so it is good that you will be seeing a therapist. Have you tried exercising? It does help release stress, as the symptoms are caused by a build up of adrenaline in your body from the anxiety. It sometimes works for me. It's just an issue of motivating myself to actually exercise. I hope therapy goes well and that you feel better soon and can experience some relief from the constant anxiety.

Try looking at this page. It lists over 100 symptoms. It's been helpful.

http://www.anxietycentre.com/anxiety-symptoms.shtml#symptomslist

A very warm welcome from the DS family! I know you will never feel alone while you hang out with us... No, you are not alone. I have been dealing with a panic attack and horrible anxiety for the past 3 weeks and just now starting to feel a bit better the last 2 days. I agree with exercising. I just turned my dining room into a weight room with weights and a trampoline. I also bought a punching bag for outside. Again, welcome!! Hugs Gramybear

First of all, thank you guys for replying. I actually was exercising every day before I got hit with this anxiety again. But I stopped because it felt like it was getting worse with exercise. Because one of my symptoms is constantly feeling like I can't breathe. So it sent me into a panic when I would exercise. I'll be bringing all of this up at my appointment. I'm going to be open to whatever the dr suggests. I have nothing against people who take medication but to me it just feels like a band aid. But I've used it in the past to sort of 'give my kind a break' while I learned other ways to help. So maybe that will happen again this time. This will be my first time getting any kind of therapy/psychiatrist help so I'm hopeful and excited but nervous too

Thank you gramybear! I also have a workout room and miss it so much because working out waa keeping me in a good place. But I'm too scared to workout right now.. I guess i should have stated that I have extreme health anxiety. So anything that makes me feel like something is wrong with me sets me off quickly

Hey Gabby. I've been enduring what you're describing every since I was your age--I'm 43 now. When I was a little older than you, I married and had a child. About 7 years into my marriage, my wife gave up and divorced me. I don't know if it was my panic disorder or what, but she divorced me, maintained primary custody and threw me out. I never stuck with a therapist because of my inability to find one that really worked for me, plus co-pays were a bitch. There's nothing I didn't try and I had pretty long stretches of relief. There was the time I whipped myself into shape and trained for my first 5k race. I continued to jog until my back gave out. The exercise was some of the best relief I got over the years. Here are some other things I've tried (and this is a long, ongoing list):
meditation, deep breathing,and soothing music
alcohol
prescription drugs (most of them)
marijuana
chamomile and other natural herbal supplements
diet and exercise
self-CBT (I didn't know I was practicing CBT until someone told me because it didn't specify that's what it was)
massage therapy
otc meds for sleep like Benadryl

The longest stretch of normalcy (or lack of constant panic), was when I was taking a lot of benzos (Valium, Xanax, Clonapin), and Remeron. But after 10-15 years, the zombie feeling and being hooked on meds was bothering me. I tried to come off once before, but the constant psychosis and panic was too much. This last attempt is 55 days strong now and I haven't gone a single day in the last 4 weeks or so that didn't involve horrific, terrifying, psychotic-laden, suicide thought-filled insanity. Sometimes it lasts many hours and I have to work, drive--everything through it all and it's TERRIBLE! I don't want to give in just yet because although I am totally alone (I haven't held someone's hand in years), I do have one friend. And though he lives two hours away and has a perfect wife, children, and life, he says that I'm super important to him and he's been talking me out of suicide for over 20 years now. Yup, I have one friend. My issues stem from childhood neglect and abuse that didn't hit me until my 20's. It really sucks. I love to laugh and have fun, but it's so difficult through this panic and anxiety that hardly stops. I made an appointment to see a therapist this Thursday and hopefully can get back on a the right track. I miss being alive and being happy. I'm getting older and it's tough to find a nice lady. I feel like if I wasn't so alone, my problem wouldn't be as bad because so much of my anxiety is related to my loneliness. The other day, I left work and felt SO, SO SUPER BAD, I just needed someone to work out my kinks in my neck and back, plus I really wanted to be touched so I went for a massage. That helped SO much more than I imagined it would. I went in with an out of this world panic. It was 10/10. When I left the hour long massage, I was totally serene. I didn't have a care in the world. My body, mind, heart--it all felt good for like 4 hours. It was miraculous. If I had that every day, I would need any medication! I suppose now that I've experienced that bliss, I should be trying to figure out how to get that. How can I afford a $75 massage every night? Maybe I can find it cheaper? I don't know, but I wanted to tell you that you're not alone. And I wanted to relate what has worked for me since I've tried everything. To recap, here's what worked best for me for my worst panic:
Acute, crippling panic: Clonapin definitely worked very well for many years, but you do build a tolerance and you get numb to the world. I can't condone long term use.
The two best CBT audio series I've leaned on : Anthony Robbins',
"Personal Power" and Paul McKenna--all of his stuff
Chamomile is surprisingly effective (get the whole flowers from the herbal store, Amazon, or Ebay and use a tea infuser. ( have to use a lot and also use a tea bag and honey because raw chamomile tastes gross and the chamomile tea you buy at the grocery store only has a small amount.
Deep tissue massage works probably the best
Exercise to the point of exhaustion (sweat and raging endorphins) works very well too.
Remeron helped with sleep, but like Clonapin, you build a tolerance and trying to come off of higher doses is BRUTAL AND IMPOSSIBLE. You get something called serotonin syndrome which is like constantly getting your head shocked with 110 volts. It's disturbing.
Ironically enough, I almost forgot to mention that after 20 years of drug use, mostly prescribed, combined with my withdrawal, my concentration and memory is AWFUL. I am having a difficult time remembering so much so journaling is important. I don't do as much as I should, but I definitely try. I've been doing more now than I did as a young man. Okay, I know that was a long ramble, but I think I spit out the main points I wanted to make. I suppose everyone is different and I of course cannot guarantee that what has worked for me has worked for you, but I guess If I didn't believe there was a reason for me to be here, I wouldn't be here. Amidst my desperation, I guess I still hang on to a glimmer of hope that things will one day be okay and I'll not be alone and I won't panic all the time. I can't tell you how many times I just wished someone would call me and say, "hey--I wanna talk!". That never happened, though. I understand where you're coming from. If you ever wanna talk, lemme know and I'll share my email address and even my phone number because after all these years, I've come to realize that without each other, we have nothing. That's all we have--each other. Stay strong and I hope you get well soon.
My best,
J

Yes, shortness of breath and a feeling that something is wrong with your heart is a common symptom...
I started feeling this since i got diabetic and it was been worrying me like anything...\
I did mri scans, angiographies n everything that can be done to make sure my heart was ok.
The doctor told me its just my worry and anxiety that i feel that is making me have shortness of breath..

One solution was he told me to listen to fav music or take deep breaths .... with the belly. Most of all, accept that anxiety happening and it will lessen...

Hope it helps, you are not alone... Cheers :)