chris1
06-06-13, 21:56
Hi,
Not really sure where to begin, i had an operation about 6 years ago that went slightly wrong, basically i hadn't been given enough anaesthetic. Despite this i wasn't too bad afterwards. Some time later though while out getting a coffee i felt like throwing up and from there for about 2 years i had anxiety about going out in public.
I was at uni. at the time and it got to the point where i would stay in the house and avoid going out, when i did go out i would carry a carrier bag in my pocket, i would avoid going anywhere where i couldn't easily escape, it literally ruined my life. My friends who i lived with at the time were very supportive and we even went and did shopping late at night when no one was around however looking back i guess that was only making it worse. At no point was i ever actually sick though.
It eventually got worse and for some reason i started worrying about my heart, it got so bad that i could no longer walk up the street as my heart would be racing so fast, i spent about a week in bed constantly checking my pulse and barely eating. There was a couple of nights i actually thought i was having a heart attack. Then one day i'd literally had enough, i got up and went for a walk into town, i nearly didn't make it and stopped to sit down on a bench but persuaded myself it was anxiety and i managed to get to town. I can't even explain the feeling i had, the fact i was walking around in a shopping centre full of people, i hadn't had a heart attack and didn't feel sick, it was almost like a natural high, i felt so happy after all this time. After that i left uni and got a job. I did occasionally find myself checking my pulse and i still carried the carrier bag in my pocket but i was functioning like a normal person.
In the last 2-3 years it's been at the point where i was hardly thinking about panic or anxiety. Then recently about 3 weeks ago, it has come back, and for no apparent reason i can find. It is taking a different form now though, out of the blue i was driving to the shops and felt like i couldn't breathe, my chest was tight and it just felt like i couldn't get any air. i knew this was a possible panic attack and when it passed i was convinced it was, yet it didn't help. i went to the doctors who advised he couldn't find anything wrong with me, i explained how id suffered in the past from anxiety and panic. He actually said he would have taken a chest infection over a panic attack any day as he also used to suffer. i was glad for the reassurance yet i was conscious i was breathing which was making me have 2-3 minute panic attacks where it felt i couldn't breathe, i managed to control them and it seemed like it was getting better.
4 days ago i was out in the sun and felt a bit ill, i googled the symptoms which I'm notorious for doing and read about sunstroke, as it happened i did feel a bit shivery however felt better on the night. I went to work the next day, felt a little dizzy but generally ok. Although I'm sunburnt i don't feel i have a temperature and have been able to attend work and go about my usual activities. Then last night i Googled the causes of dizziness and now i'm convinced the dizziness has got worse. There has been a point today where it has gone. I've even gone and bought a carbon monoxide tester today to make sure it's not that. Google has also kindly told me it could be due to clogged arteries in the neck cutting the blood supply from the brain, thanks Google! I'm not even sure i'm dizzy if that even makes sense? It's like i've convinced myself it won't go so doesn't.
I feel like i'm losing my mind and that this won't get better, i'm going to see if i can get a doctors appointment tomorrow however i also Googled ways to help and came across this site. I just want to get back to the way i was so i can get on with life but this constant awareness of breathing and dizzy head are making it seem unlikely to the point of tears. Really hope someone can relate and offer some advice on this, sorry for the long post!
Chris
Not really sure where to begin, i had an operation about 6 years ago that went slightly wrong, basically i hadn't been given enough anaesthetic. Despite this i wasn't too bad afterwards. Some time later though while out getting a coffee i felt like throwing up and from there for about 2 years i had anxiety about going out in public.
I was at uni. at the time and it got to the point where i would stay in the house and avoid going out, when i did go out i would carry a carrier bag in my pocket, i would avoid going anywhere where i couldn't easily escape, it literally ruined my life. My friends who i lived with at the time were very supportive and we even went and did shopping late at night when no one was around however looking back i guess that was only making it worse. At no point was i ever actually sick though.
It eventually got worse and for some reason i started worrying about my heart, it got so bad that i could no longer walk up the street as my heart would be racing so fast, i spent about a week in bed constantly checking my pulse and barely eating. There was a couple of nights i actually thought i was having a heart attack. Then one day i'd literally had enough, i got up and went for a walk into town, i nearly didn't make it and stopped to sit down on a bench but persuaded myself it was anxiety and i managed to get to town. I can't even explain the feeling i had, the fact i was walking around in a shopping centre full of people, i hadn't had a heart attack and didn't feel sick, it was almost like a natural high, i felt so happy after all this time. After that i left uni and got a job. I did occasionally find myself checking my pulse and i still carried the carrier bag in my pocket but i was functioning like a normal person.
In the last 2-3 years it's been at the point where i was hardly thinking about panic or anxiety. Then recently about 3 weeks ago, it has come back, and for no apparent reason i can find. It is taking a different form now though, out of the blue i was driving to the shops and felt like i couldn't breathe, my chest was tight and it just felt like i couldn't get any air. i knew this was a possible panic attack and when it passed i was convinced it was, yet it didn't help. i went to the doctors who advised he couldn't find anything wrong with me, i explained how id suffered in the past from anxiety and panic. He actually said he would have taken a chest infection over a panic attack any day as he also used to suffer. i was glad for the reassurance yet i was conscious i was breathing which was making me have 2-3 minute panic attacks where it felt i couldn't breathe, i managed to control them and it seemed like it was getting better.
4 days ago i was out in the sun and felt a bit ill, i googled the symptoms which I'm notorious for doing and read about sunstroke, as it happened i did feel a bit shivery however felt better on the night. I went to work the next day, felt a little dizzy but generally ok. Although I'm sunburnt i don't feel i have a temperature and have been able to attend work and go about my usual activities. Then last night i Googled the causes of dizziness and now i'm convinced the dizziness has got worse. There has been a point today where it has gone. I've even gone and bought a carbon monoxide tester today to make sure it's not that. Google has also kindly told me it could be due to clogged arteries in the neck cutting the blood supply from the brain, thanks Google! I'm not even sure i'm dizzy if that even makes sense? It's like i've convinced myself it won't go so doesn't.
I feel like i'm losing my mind and that this won't get better, i'm going to see if i can get a doctors appointment tomorrow however i also Googled ways to help and came across this site. I just want to get back to the way i was so i can get on with life but this constant awareness of breathing and dizzy head are making it seem unlikely to the point of tears. Really hope someone can relate and offer some advice on this, sorry for the long post!
Chris