itshallpass
19-05-14, 21:49
Hi, I'm 43, female, I've had panic attacks in the past, but haven't had one in over 10 years. Had one yesterday. I went through a big clinical depression about 14 years ago, and have had a couple smaller depressive episodes since. I've been on Wellbutrin 300mg for the last 3 weeks or so, dealing with this most recent bout of depression, during which time I thought my anxiety was improving. Also during this time, I've been having a strange feeling in my left arm, off an on, where my fingers and arm feel weak and strangely disassociated from me, like a perception that I'm not able to control that arm and hand normally even though it's functional. It's also achy. I've never had this symptom before and didn't associate it with anxiety. Well, yesterday it came on pretty suddenly while I was playing piano and the next thing I knew I was having a full blown panic attack with tingling in that arm, wooziness, difficulty swallowing, focusing, slowed speech, and, of course, PANIC. I forgot how scary that is. I'm still having the strange weak left arm symptom. Feeling pretty wiped out today. Consulted a doc yesterday while it was happening and it's not heart attack, stroke, or anything serious. I've also been having a lot of muscle tension over the last 6 weeks or so, which I now understand is also an anxiety symptom.
In the past, I would experience some kind of environmental trigger for anxiety, and my anxiety was more about my emotional state. But now I'm experiencing primarily physical symptoms of anxiety that are preceding an anxiety attack. I feel like anxiety has found a new way to sneak up on me. I was looking for the old anxiety patterns, never expecting it would manifest this way.
Thanks for listening. If anyone has had similar experiences, it would be reassuring for me to hear them.
In the past, I would experience some kind of environmental trigger for anxiety, and my anxiety was more about my emotional state. But now I'm experiencing primarily physical symptoms of anxiety that are preceding an anxiety attack. I feel like anxiety has found a new way to sneak up on me. I was looking for the old anxiety patterns, never expecting it would manifest this way.
Thanks for listening. If anyone has had similar experiences, it would be reassuring for me to hear them.