bluesunset
24-06-15, 05:46
n March, I had my first panic attack which started with a numb left arm. I thought I was dying and having a heart attack and I called 911. I had no idea what had happened to me and when they told me it was a "panic attack", I was in disbelief. It took me days to recover from it, but soon I started resuming my normal college life. After a few days of being fine, I started experiencing strange symptoms: numbness & tingling in limbs, depersonalization, trouble sleeping, crawling sensation on head, numbness in face/forehead, pressure behind the eyes and on the bridge of my nose, and a pulling sensation on my back upper teeth. These symptoms were 24/7 and I could not believe they came from anxiety. However, I was in school, so I did my best to work through them. As soon as I got accustomed to them, my symptoms morphed!!
About a month later, all my previous symptoms had dropped and I was presented with new ones: heart palpitations, fast heart rate, chest pain, nerve pinching, twitching, pressure on the shoulders and chest, and dyspnea. I had to leave school early because these symptoms caused so many small, frequent panic attacks that I always thought something was wrong with my heart. Also bc my anxiety's physical symptoms occur first, which in turn makes my mind anxious, and makes me start to obsess over whether or not I have heart failure or some other heart problem. I went to the cardiologist and found out I had mild mitro valve prolapse. He said there were no symptoms for this and no cause, but upon googling it myself, I found different answers. My stress test came out fine and I had a holter monitor. The doctor said he noticed some times of very high heart rate, but the rate wasn't beating abnormally so that I was fine. However, soon my chest pain and palpitations became so constant that I could no longer sleep. The second I'd start drifting off, I'd start experiencing a falling sensation, stop breathing, and jump up into a panic attack accompanied by a violent heart beat. I was prescribed ativan for 2 weeks in order to help me sleep. It didn't help much with the anxiety, but knocked me right out. I soon stopped taking it on my own, and experienced a much more mild version of my previous anxiety. I was actually able to go out and do a few normal things.
Fast forward to right now! I had a horrid panic attack in a cab about a week ago. It was even worse than my first. It was so bad that I told the cab driver I was dying. My heart was beating so hard and fast that it hurt and burned my chest and I felt as if I were blacking out. I ended up in the ER and they kept me for a while to monitor my heart rate, which went down in a few hours. That incident scarred me so badly. Since then I have barely been able to leave my house. All my symptoms are even worse. I now also always feel exhausted and heavy and in pain. My chest always hurts and always beats fast, especially with the smallest bit of exertion. I am scared to sleep. Scared to go out. Scared to eat even! I've convinced myself I'll have a heart attack or go into cardiac arrest randomly and no one will be able to save me. My doctor had prescribed me 10 Mg of Fluoxetine (the generic prozac), but I never took it because at one point I had been feeling better. Today I took my first pill because I'm constantly scared of dying and I don't know what to do anymore. However, taking the Prozac itself has made me even MORE anxious. I read the paper from the pharmacy with side effects and articles online about how it can lead to dangerous heart arrhythmias that can cause cardiac arrest. This is my main fear already with the anxiety, so knowing this is putting me into anxiety 10 fold. I keep thinking that my heart rate is already so fast and jumpy and that this will push it to be worse or interact with my MVP. I honestly don't know how to go about this as I am terrified. I keep imagining myself dropping to the ground and dying and I am only 19.
Should I take this medicine? Is it worth it? Is it safe? Could it potentially damage my heart or kill me? If anyone has any experience with it and anxiety, please let me know! :)
About a month later, all my previous symptoms had dropped and I was presented with new ones: heart palpitations, fast heart rate, chest pain, nerve pinching, twitching, pressure on the shoulders and chest, and dyspnea. I had to leave school early because these symptoms caused so many small, frequent panic attacks that I always thought something was wrong with my heart. Also bc my anxiety's physical symptoms occur first, which in turn makes my mind anxious, and makes me start to obsess over whether or not I have heart failure or some other heart problem. I went to the cardiologist and found out I had mild mitro valve prolapse. He said there were no symptoms for this and no cause, but upon googling it myself, I found different answers. My stress test came out fine and I had a holter monitor. The doctor said he noticed some times of very high heart rate, but the rate wasn't beating abnormally so that I was fine. However, soon my chest pain and palpitations became so constant that I could no longer sleep. The second I'd start drifting off, I'd start experiencing a falling sensation, stop breathing, and jump up into a panic attack accompanied by a violent heart beat. I was prescribed ativan for 2 weeks in order to help me sleep. It didn't help much with the anxiety, but knocked me right out. I soon stopped taking it on my own, and experienced a much more mild version of my previous anxiety. I was actually able to go out and do a few normal things.
Fast forward to right now! I had a horrid panic attack in a cab about a week ago. It was even worse than my first. It was so bad that I told the cab driver I was dying. My heart was beating so hard and fast that it hurt and burned my chest and I felt as if I were blacking out. I ended up in the ER and they kept me for a while to monitor my heart rate, which went down in a few hours. That incident scarred me so badly. Since then I have barely been able to leave my house. All my symptoms are even worse. I now also always feel exhausted and heavy and in pain. My chest always hurts and always beats fast, especially with the smallest bit of exertion. I am scared to sleep. Scared to go out. Scared to eat even! I've convinced myself I'll have a heart attack or go into cardiac arrest randomly and no one will be able to save me. My doctor had prescribed me 10 Mg of Fluoxetine (the generic prozac), but I never took it because at one point I had been feeling better. Today I took my first pill because I'm constantly scared of dying and I don't know what to do anymore. However, taking the Prozac itself has made me even MORE anxious. I read the paper from the pharmacy with side effects and articles online about how it can lead to dangerous heart arrhythmias that can cause cardiac arrest. This is my main fear already with the anxiety, so knowing this is putting me into anxiety 10 fold. I keep thinking that my heart rate is already so fast and jumpy and that this will push it to be worse or interact with my MVP. I honestly don't know how to go about this as I am terrified. I keep imagining myself dropping to the ground and dying and I am only 19.
Should I take this medicine? Is it worth it? Is it safe? Could it potentially damage my heart or kill me? If anyone has any experience with it and anxiety, please let me know! :)