Molly Cherry
25-10-12, 00:47
Hi Everyone
I wanted to post here to let people know my story in the hope to tell people that there is hope !
I was diagnosed with health anxiety in June 2012. It started out as just small tweaks in my head and then progressively got more violent. Sound familiar?
I was convinced that I was about to have or had deep vein thrombosis , a stroke, a heart attack, a brain tumour, ice pick headaches, some very strange leg rashes. I would walk around thinking that I was literally about to die. I was taking painkillers constantly. I was working a very hectic summer and some days while working my feet would tingle non stop - I had to get diazepam from the doctor to calm my anxiety so that I could actually get to work and just be normal. At one point I would be standing dealing with a member of the public and in my head it basically was saying " I AM GOING TO DIE , I JUST FELT A TWINGE IN MY LEFT ARM AND MY CHEST ! " - It was absolutely horrific. I would quiz people all the time about illnesses - just so that I could see if I had one of them. I was constantly on google typing in my symptomns.
One thing which helped me so much was this forum here. I would lie in bed every night inbetween shaking , checking my pulse and being curled up so tense - reading this forum and other peoples stories that it would finally help me drift off.
Eventually I went to the doctor again and then went every single day for the next two weeks ! Every day !!! I was trying to see as many doctors in my local practice so that I could get a second and third opinion from them but I realised I was starting to come across slightly odd. I was offered paroxetine from one of them and I didn't take them because I read that they could make anxiety work ( i googled side effects ) - I have no idea if this is fact or not re this medication - but it was in my head anyway. I then was told to take Citalopram 20mg.
citalopram! - Nightmare at first. In the first three or four days I felt like a nightmare. I was reading on here about how other people coped with their reaction to this drug and it seemed that what I was going through was very common. I had an iron taste in my mouth and my stomach felt so nauseous. My brain was very fuzzy, my sinus were blocked. I got a terrible cough ! I felt like I had the flu. It did go away though - after about two weeks I started to feel better. I have been on them for 8 weeks now and I have to say that I feel much more positive about life. I am starting to see things slightly clearer now and I can prioritise responsibilities and get on with exercising and living !
I would suggest yoga and meditation. This helped me alot at the beginning of my experience. It takes 2 or 3 mins. I was at the stage where I was breathing into toothpaste boxes due to panic attacks and checking medication packets for possible interactions with citalopram !
Although I am only 2 months in I learned from reading about my illness and trying to explain it to my partner that I could understand it. I am only 27 years old so I want to be free from this. I wish you so much luck on your journey with health anxiety and I hope you get some respite soon. Go your own way ! xxxx:)
I wanted to post here to let people know my story in the hope to tell people that there is hope !
I was diagnosed with health anxiety in June 2012. It started out as just small tweaks in my head and then progressively got more violent. Sound familiar?
I was convinced that I was about to have or had deep vein thrombosis , a stroke, a heart attack, a brain tumour, ice pick headaches, some very strange leg rashes. I would walk around thinking that I was literally about to die. I was taking painkillers constantly. I was working a very hectic summer and some days while working my feet would tingle non stop - I had to get diazepam from the doctor to calm my anxiety so that I could actually get to work and just be normal. At one point I would be standing dealing with a member of the public and in my head it basically was saying " I AM GOING TO DIE , I JUST FELT A TWINGE IN MY LEFT ARM AND MY CHEST ! " - It was absolutely horrific. I would quiz people all the time about illnesses - just so that I could see if I had one of them. I was constantly on google typing in my symptomns.
One thing which helped me so much was this forum here. I would lie in bed every night inbetween shaking , checking my pulse and being curled up so tense - reading this forum and other peoples stories that it would finally help me drift off.
Eventually I went to the doctor again and then went every single day for the next two weeks ! Every day !!! I was trying to see as many doctors in my local practice so that I could get a second and third opinion from them but I realised I was starting to come across slightly odd. I was offered paroxetine from one of them and I didn't take them because I read that they could make anxiety work ( i googled side effects ) - I have no idea if this is fact or not re this medication - but it was in my head anyway. I then was told to take Citalopram 20mg.
citalopram! - Nightmare at first. In the first three or four days I felt like a nightmare. I was reading on here about how other people coped with their reaction to this drug and it seemed that what I was going through was very common. I had an iron taste in my mouth and my stomach felt so nauseous. My brain was very fuzzy, my sinus were blocked. I got a terrible cough ! I felt like I had the flu. It did go away though - after about two weeks I started to feel better. I have been on them for 8 weeks now and I have to say that I feel much more positive about life. I am starting to see things slightly clearer now and I can prioritise responsibilities and get on with exercising and living !
I would suggest yoga and meditation. This helped me alot at the beginning of my experience. It takes 2 or 3 mins. I was at the stage where I was breathing into toothpaste boxes due to panic attacks and checking medication packets for possible interactions with citalopram !
Although I am only 2 months in I learned from reading about my illness and trying to explain it to my partner that I could understand it. I am only 27 years old so I want to be free from this. I wish you so much luck on your journey with health anxiety and I hope you get some respite soon. Go your own way ! xxxx:)