pootle
08-09-04, 03:01
Hi, my name is Pootle (Real name is Andy but it's a bit too common to use on message boards and chat rooms ^_^).
I found this website completely by chance (searched in Google) after my GP gave me a very out of date list of sites for panic and anxiety that no longer exist:(
I'm a 27 year old from Kent and first started suffering from panic attacks and general anxiety when i was 15. Since then i've been prescribed more types of medication than i can remember and been referred to countless Doctors and CPNs with varying degrees of success.
I've spent the last four or five years taking Venlafaxine (Effexor), and for the first time i've been able to lead some kind of normal life. I now have a wife and two step-children, and we run a mail-order company from home. I'm amazed at what i've managed to achieve in this period of time, i even owned and ran a Computer Games shop for a while (not bad for someone that used to be too scared to leave the house).
Unfortunately, about six months ago, my GP suggested that i try weaning myself off of the Venlafaxine to see how i would cope without it (bad idea.....).
The withdrawals weren't as bad as i thought they'd be (venlafaxine has a bad reputation for withdrawal symptoms) and everything seemed okay for a while. About a month ago things started getting bad again, i began worrying about death pretty much all the time and began noticing chest pains and other physical symptoms again (no matter how many ECGs, chest X-Rays and blood tests i have, no-one can convince me that there isn't something wrong with my heart).
Things came to a head when my wife went to visit her sister for the weekend and took the kids with her (i've never been very good at being left on my own for periods of time). I spent the whole 3 days in a constant state of panic, too scared to call anyone, and convinced i was dying.
I've now started taking the Venlafaxine again and am suffering badly with side-effects. I'm more anxious than i was when i was left on my own for 3 days, my heart is racing constantly and i'm suffering from constant palpatations and an occasional irregular heartbeat. I've also been unable to sleep for days and am getting more and more confused and paranoid. The doctor says that all of this will pass in time (and has prescribed me Diazepam until the side effects wear off) but i really don't know how i'm going to cope with all this.
This is the first time i've been really ill since i've been married and working. We recently moved house and i don't know how we're going to keep up with the mortgage if i can't work. My wife also sometimes suffers from depression and, although she's been amazingly supportive and helpful so far, i'm worried that she won't be able to cope. All of these real-life worries keep kicking in every time i manage to relax about my symptoms :(
Anyway, i'm glad i've found this website, it makes such a difference knowing that you're not alone, and i find it so much easier to talk about things this way.
Andy (pootle)
I found this website completely by chance (searched in Google) after my GP gave me a very out of date list of sites for panic and anxiety that no longer exist:(
I'm a 27 year old from Kent and first started suffering from panic attacks and general anxiety when i was 15. Since then i've been prescribed more types of medication than i can remember and been referred to countless Doctors and CPNs with varying degrees of success.
I've spent the last four or five years taking Venlafaxine (Effexor), and for the first time i've been able to lead some kind of normal life. I now have a wife and two step-children, and we run a mail-order company from home. I'm amazed at what i've managed to achieve in this period of time, i even owned and ran a Computer Games shop for a while (not bad for someone that used to be too scared to leave the house).
Unfortunately, about six months ago, my GP suggested that i try weaning myself off of the Venlafaxine to see how i would cope without it (bad idea.....).
The withdrawals weren't as bad as i thought they'd be (venlafaxine has a bad reputation for withdrawal symptoms) and everything seemed okay for a while. About a month ago things started getting bad again, i began worrying about death pretty much all the time and began noticing chest pains and other physical symptoms again (no matter how many ECGs, chest X-Rays and blood tests i have, no-one can convince me that there isn't something wrong with my heart).
Things came to a head when my wife went to visit her sister for the weekend and took the kids with her (i've never been very good at being left on my own for periods of time). I spent the whole 3 days in a constant state of panic, too scared to call anyone, and convinced i was dying.
I've now started taking the Venlafaxine again and am suffering badly with side-effects. I'm more anxious than i was when i was left on my own for 3 days, my heart is racing constantly and i'm suffering from constant palpatations and an occasional irregular heartbeat. I've also been unable to sleep for days and am getting more and more confused and paranoid. The doctor says that all of this will pass in time (and has prescribed me Diazepam until the side effects wear off) but i really don't know how i'm going to cope with all this.
This is the first time i've been really ill since i've been married and working. We recently moved house and i don't know how we're going to keep up with the mortgage if i can't work. My wife also sometimes suffers from depression and, although she's been amazingly supportive and helpful so far, i'm worried that she won't be able to cope. All of these real-life worries keep kicking in every time i manage to relax about my symptoms :(
Anyway, i'm glad i've found this website, it makes such a difference knowing that you're not alone, and i find it so much easier to talk about things this way.
Andy (pootle)