im new and hope someone has patience to read this

[btown]

hi. my name is brandon and i am new. i am a 23 year old male. i weigh 255 and i am 5'11. any ways i had an episode for about 3 to 4 months of panic attacks before i even knew what they were about 5 years ago. they went away for about 3 years and recently in july i woke up went to work and had a rockstar energy drink and i was on my way to san clemente to do a job(i work with a mobile service)and i started to get a heavy chest, sweaty, dizzy,lightheaded and super fast racing heart. i got brough to an emergency room cuz i didnt know what the heck it was. i mean i knew it was anxiety but it it was sooo powerful that i thought this cant be anxiety.

so the doctors did ekg's took blood and even exrays and said they found nothing of a heart problem. so for about almost two months i was fine from all the assurance that nothing was wrong.. but then they started coming back. and i have had them since the middle of september up to date. pretty much this is what happens. In the morning i am always jittery,shakey,nervous, and have a racing heart rate. even shortness of breath sometimes. it goes away once i get to work. then on the drive home from work the lightheadedness happens and i feel like i could faint but i know i wont. i drive to the next city over to practice with this band(i am a drummer by the way) and i notice the lightheadedness and shortness of breath happens on my 30 to 45 min drive home. its really scary and i constantly search for things online to find out whats wrong.

i recently went to the doctors twice got no blood work done and he insists that "its just anxiety". how can anxiety be this horrible? i have recently become mentally stronger with it but sometimes the symptoms get just too powerful and it forces me to not want to beleive its anxiety or panic.

and a little fyi.. all these symptoms happen mainly when im in a car. any one have any ideas? thoughts? opinions? im young and already stressing for my life!!!![V]

brandon town

[trac67]

Hi Brandon,

Welcome to the forum, you will get a lot of good advice here and make some new friends.

The following link is about the first steps to overcoming anxiety, I hope it helps :

First Steps to overcoming Panic and Anxiety (http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=942)

Take care

Trac xx

'Live your life with arms wide open, today is where your book begins, the rest is still unwritten'

[btown]

thank you soooooo much. i knew i needed a website like this. for the longest time i thought that it costed money to be on sites like this but i actually checked it out and wow here i am. how do we know its just anxiety though? or how do i not know its heart disease or something bad?

brandon town

[eeyorelover]

Hi there and welcome :)
I have anxiety when I'm in the car too so I know how frightening and sometimes just plain annoying it can be.
First thing I would suggest (if you don't mind) would be give up the energy drinks. They are LOADED with caffiene and that adds to anxiety.
Also maybe starting a journal of what you are doing, thinking, feeling, when you have anxiety may help to see if something is triggering some of the anxious feelings you are having.
I know that you will find lots of info and a great bunch of people here.
xxx
Sandy

[btown]

definatly found a great person like you! yea i havent touched an energy drink since this happend 5 months ago. but i still get anxiety! like the symptoms i get make me feel like how in the world can it just be anxiety? do i have a serious health problem? ahhhhh i get so scared when im on the freeway and its weird cuz as soon as i know i am getitng closer to home it goes away.. then the side effects are a huge headache and major fatigue

brandon town

[debstar]

Hi btown,

Maybe when you get into the car start some breathing exercises to relax you before you drive off. Before you go to sleep at night do some breathing exercises also.

A good exercise that I find with breathing is you breath in through your nose for two and then out through your nose for two and count as you go. I find that this works very quick.

Another good thing is BACH Rescue Remedy. A spray that you can get that helps to calm you. You can get this from a health shop or chemist. I find this helps me to relax.

I hope this may help you.

Deb

[eeyorelover]

AWWWWW :)
Thanx for that hun!!!
I know what you mean wondering how it can be 'just' anxiety.
I swore I had something horribly wrong with me that was causing all the feeling I was having. But anxiety can cause all kinds of different physical symptoms.
I get scared when I am driving (especially at night) and I get a rush of adreneline (sp) and then lightheadedness and the what if thoughts set in but you are right because when I get closer to home I do feel better.
You will hear alot of people talk about 'comfort zones' or 'safety zones'. It is a really common thing to feel safer and not as anxious when you get close to home. But whatever you do don't let that feeling keep you from going out and pushing those limits. I did for awhile and ended up stuck in my house and feeling absolutely miserable.
Anxiety is basically the way our brains cause our bodies to react to stress or danger.
The fight or flight thing.
It's the little successes that retrain the brain and then we can get back to being 'normal' (is there really such a thing as NORMAL anyway - lol)
Just learn as much as you can. There is alot of excellent info and personal stories on the main page that you can start with.
If you have any questions or just want to gab - just give me a holler and I'll be here with bells on :)
xxx
Sandy

[btown]

sandy u are my very first friend on this site i am proud to announce. one more thing as well i think alot of anxiety could have came from me being insecure with my wife(which i still am ) and it stresses me out the way she would react to it. but any way yes i feel like my muscles are gonna crumble and im gonna roll up into a ball when i have anxiety. im 23....... and probably the biggest sissy only when it comes to anxiety. im not depressed in any way but i cry sometuimes cuz i just dont get how a disorder like this can be so horrible:(

brandon town

[eeyorelover]

You definitely aren't being a sissy!!! Believe me - alot of us have been where you are. You are right anxiety/panic is a horrible thing to go thru especially if you don't have anyone you can share your feelings with. I think the worst part was before I told my family and I was all alone feeling like I was either dying slowly or going crazy and felt like everyone would think less of me if I shared that with them.
I believe that most of us who suffer from anxiety are people pleasers. We don't want to inconvenience anyone and feel the need to take care of everyone and everything else in our lives.
I'm not going to tell you to talk to your wife about what you are going thru. That is a decision that you have to make for yourself. But I will say that telling my family only helped my situation.
Also please know that there are people here who know how you are feeling and are willing to support you thru this.
Talk to ya soon
Your new friend :)
Sandy
xxx

[manmoor]

Hi Brandon,

A big warm welcome to you.

Take Care

Mandyxx

[anxious]

Hi Brandon,

and a big warm welcome from me too,

anx xx

Laughter is a tranquilizer with no side effects

[jo61]

Hi Brandon, there are some great people on this forum who won't judge you and think you silly. We're all suffering in some way and you can be reassured you'll get support. I gave up all caffeinated drinks a couple of years ago and it's really helped my anxiety. Well I have the odd one if there's nothing else son offer but am not drinking gallons of coffee a day like I used to.

Jo xx

[sandie]

Hello Brandon

I am so pleased you have found NMP - this site and the friends I have made here, have been my lifeline in the last 8 weeks.

What you describe is truly dreadful, but it will help you to know that you are not on your own; reading the postings help me understand what is happening to me and has had helped me find coping mechanisms. Today I am having a good day - because I slept better than I have done in weeks. Tomorrow may be a bad day - either way, I know I'll get messages of support and help from friends I've made here. There isn't a day that goes by when I don't shed tears, have negative thoughts, and feel physical discomfort as a result of the anxiety. I know the answer is within me and only I can truly fix it, but not without the help and support for my family and friends - and people on NMP who understand.

Anxiety manifests itself in REAL and truly awful pain sometimes - frigtheningly so. People who haven't experienced depression, anxiety Panic Attacks and the physical symptoms these can bring, can sympathise, but not fully understand.

I do agree with the posting about Rescue Remedy. www.BachFlower.com will give you a lot of information about the products. Having used the Rescue Remedy since finding it on this site, and finding it so useful, I am now also using Bach's Cherry Plum drops in water - and although not advised, when I feel reall bad, I put a few drops on my tongue.

Please keep posting - keep us all informed of how things are, and take some reassurance there is light at the end of the tunnel, although some tunnels are longer than others. I still can't see my light, but I know it is there and I take each day as it comes.

Take care

Sandie

[btown]

omg all u people are amazing and care so much and it makes me so happy<3333333333333333333333333333

brandon town

[yorkylover]

Hi Brandon,welcome to the site.Theres lots of help and support here.You are not alone.
MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU

Ellen XX

[normalwisdom]

Hi Brandon

Welcome to NMP you will find a lot of good advice here and the people are soooooo nice.

I have a problem while driving also my panics started again while driving and I know its awful but I am getting better, the only thing I can say is just keep doing it, it can be hard. After my "episode" in my car I kind of gave up and it didn't help, so you are doing the right thing, keep going, even if you have to pull over a few times you will get there eventually!:D Sorry waffling now.

Take Care

Steph

[maz55]

Hi Brandon

Welcome its great to have some support, so any time you want its here, dont beat yourself up, dont try to hold it all in that wil make it worse, go to the woods or beach or anywhere quiet, and cry shout scream let out what you are feeling, tell a tree, it really does help. Rescue remedy is also very good,lavender oil is a godsend a long hot bath with oil in it will help to relax you.

MERRY XMAS HON ENJOY IT

[spuds]

Hi Brandon

This is a great site with lots of support. From your story, I would guess that you have your big panic attacks in the car because that's where you had your first one. It could well have been brought on by the Rockstar energy drink - these drinks have massive amounts of caffine, sugar, and other stimulants in them. If you'd been drinking coffee already that day, it might have been too much. I read a big article in National Geographic about the stimulant effects of caffine - it's really bad for you. I have decaff tea and coffee now - too much real coffee or tea makes me shaky and agitated. It definitely makes my anxiety worse. Also, are you getting enough rest? If you are working and playing in a band at night, you may be exhausted. If I don't get enough sleep my anxiety is definitely worse.

I think that you feel worse when driving because when you get in your car now you (subconsciously) link that place to your first spell of feeling ill. Also, for many of us cars and busy roads are difficult because they are harder to 'escape' from if we do feel ill or panicky. This is how it started for many of us here - one incident which led to a general state of anxiety.

My advice is cut out all caffine in drinks or chocolate. Cut out alcohol. Eat small frequent meals, not big ones. Don't eat late at night. I would follow the advice of Dr Claire Weekes in her 'Self Help for Your Nerves' book - let the panic come, don't fight it, it is an unpleasant feeling that's all, it will pass.

I think you are doing fantastic to keep going when you are feeling so bad. Good luck

[spuds]

Someone on No Panic gave a link to the Resonance site which had a section on heart palpitations. I don't know if this has already been posted but, due to spamming of the forum, it has moved. There is a doctor there, RLR, who patiently answers heart-related questions. This is the new address. The 'Heart 101' sections are helpful in understanding palpitations.

[baxwalker]

Hi Brandon and welcome

I agree with Spuds - when you are in your car, to a certain extent you are in a 'trapped' situation, particularly if you are on a motorway/freeway where it's not easy to escape from.

My first episode four years ago happened in my car in heavy traffic. I was feeling very relaxed on holiday so it came as a big and very unpleasant surprise.

However, it doesn't seem to affect my driving safety - not one accident in all my driving career of 45 years. But... it is often the trigger for the panic feelings I get.

How do I get round it.

Always leave early so no worries about being late.
Practice breathing exercises.
Have the radio on to distract me and keep me company
No caffiene before/during the journey
Have regular breaks on longer journeys
Sit at travel stops and spend about 15 mins with a drink and a simple crossword book (always keep one in the car)

Hope this helps

Best wishes

John

[Lindalou64]

welcome brandon
most of us know exactly how ya feel...........you will finf great info and support here by the way you from bean town??? im from Ma thats why i asked........take care and merry christmas and a better yr to come..................Lindaxx[8D]