Help and advice anyone!

[Missmilly]

Hi just wondering if anyone has had similar symptoms and experiences and how they have coped. I have been suffering from anxiety for 6 weeks now. It came on very suddenly at the same time as I developed a urine infection. The infection symptoms haven't completely gone despite tests from the doctors saying it has! And over the time of these Symptoms remaining my anxiety levels have rapidly increased. I feel as though my heart is constantly racing, I am unable to switch off but yet am constantly tired and having great difficulty sleeping. I have very little appetite and am struggling to eat much. Alongside the fact that my infection symptoms haven't cleared yet! I have been prescribed 10mg citalopram and have been taking them for 2 days now I am unsure of this lowest dose will have enough of an effect and how long hear effects will take to work? Has anyone else had a similar experience of sudden anxiety caused by an illness? I have never suffered from anxiety until the last 6 weeks and the sudden onset of these symptoms is very hard to deal with and I am struggling to come to terms with the fact that this may take a long time to treat and get myself back to normal! Advice appreciated!

[sial72]

Hi Missmillie
Did you take antibiotics for your infection?

---------- Post added at 13:51 ---------- Previous post was at 13:50 ----------

One of the side-effects from certain antibiotics is anxiety

[Missmilly]

Hi yes I have taken 3 courses of antibiotics amoxicillin and kefalexin twice I am currently half way through another course of kefalexin after a break of 3 weeks taking no antibiotics and my anxiety or infection symptoms didn't clear and maybe worsened in this time! Have looked at the side effects list in the packet and anxiety isn't stated but thanks for the advice :-)

[Bellshill one]

Hi . Is there anything else being going on in your life might have made you get panics. You should give the meds a few more weeks to work. Sometimes we are more inclined to get panics at different ages in our lives and when we are in different situations.

[Davit]

I take Keflex every day for chronic staph infection it does not cause anxiety but some of the .......cillins do.

[Missmilly]

No I honestly think all the anxiety has come from the infection and this constant feeling of a urine infection that hasn't gone away! Until 6 weeks ago there was no reason in my life to stress although since the anxiety and illness has started I have started to feel anxious about not getting better and everything in my life feels like it is falling apart like having to have time off work and putting a lot of strain on my relationship etc which I think is making the problem worse! I'm convinced it is all triggered by the infection symptoms tho and could be physical as of how sudden the symptoms have come. I am getting a thyroid test from the doctors to rule out that as a cause of anxiety and the other physical symptoms I am experiencing.

[Davit]

I have had hallucinations from infection, but it has to be bad. Anxiety is one of the signs my staph infection is flaring. It reminds me to take the Keflex

[Poppy Girl]

Hi
My anxiety came on out of nowhere or so I thought after having to have my gall bladder removed a couple of years ago. However, when my doctor got me to think back over my life for the year or so before that I realised that there were lots of small things that on their own weren't major stresses but added together all built up so that the op was the thing that "pushed me over the edge".
Your mind is like a bucket filling with slowly dripping water - eventually it will just overflow and the result for some is anxiety.
If you think back maybe you will find a reason. However, I also firmly believe, now that I am feeling better, that continually searching for the cause can prevent recovery. More important is to accept that this is how you're feeling for now but to reassure yourself that you will eventually feel better. It may take time but you will get there. It's also important to remember that medication by itself doesn't make you better but rather helps to calm your mind to a point where you can cope with the feelings that anxiety brings due to the excess adrenaline your body is currently producing. Once you can accept the feelings for what they are, just feelings that can't hurt you, recovery will not be far away.
Get out and about as much as possible as it stops you being focused on yourself and the way you are feeling :hugs:

[Davit]

Hi poppy.

As I said and Rennie said and you just said. The trigger is just a trigger, how you see it is what has the affect. Positive thought is the dipper that keeps the level in the bucket low.

[Missmilly]

Thanks poppygirl I do realise that positive attitude and trying not to search too hard for a cure will help me to relax more rather than thinking about my infection symptoms and anxiety all the time! However in my searching for a cause and a cure I have come across hypnotherapy and think I am going to give that a try as hopefully learnin to relax through hypnosis can help me to forget about thinking about my problems! If that makes sense for at least some of the time and allow my mind to recover at least! Alongside the citalopram I'm hoping this will help me to relax....anyone had any experience of hypnotherapy and the results they gained from it?

[Davit]

SCAM? Not again. you advertisers are persistent at the least. What do you get paid.

[MyNameIsTerry]

I have been dealing with panic attacks since I was in the 8th grade, I have developed anxiety and social anxiety as well within the last 3 years. Some days are worse that others and some days are better. However I have found a way to cope and control my anxiety and panic attacks at least to a certain extent. And although I am not 100 percent cured It has helped me out tremendously and I am starting to get ahold of myself.

I hope this helps somebody out there out because it is something I have wished I could change for nearly 10 years.

Take a look at

It is an excellent read and was very helpful to me :)

Hello "Snoopy Drew" or whichever of your other 4+ usernames you may want to go by.

Please ignore this market affiliate who is trying to sell a product called "Anxiety Protocol" for $59.99 through a fake blog. You will see the name Snoopy Drew in the browser bar when you are on the shopping website the blog will try to redirect you to and this was his/her (it does change, although it appears to be a corporate name on the website itself) first username spotted on here.

Still, at least you got your years with anxiety consistent this time so you are learning.

:busted::nicked:, oh and :finger:

[blue moon]

Probably peanuts Davit.....lol :D

[MyNameIsTerry]

There are a few things that spring to mind here, some of them largely unknown.

If you are experiencing symptoms of OCD after an infection there is a possibility of PANDAS in children (its debateable in adults still) and several immunology causes for this. Thats one angle to consider but you don't mention anything that could indicate OCD so I'm unsure. I can't remember offhand whether these issues can present as other anxiety disorders either though so its worth exploring to be sure. There is detailed information out there about it but its a rarer thing so less documented and its still quite new.

Another consideration is that antibiotics kill all the good gut bacteria as well as the infection. I know someone else on here who didn't have anxiety prior to antiobiotic usage although he did have other stresses in his life too. The fact you didn't and this developed from this angle is suggestive of a treatable roor cause other than mental (in my opinion). Candida overgrowth can cause anxiety/depression symptoms but its less well known again but there is loads out there on the net about it and you can redress this issue with probiotics, other supplements and dietary change.

The NHS & NICE have issued some guidance about use of probiotics alongside antibiotics but stated it should be under supervision as its still early days in terms of research.

[Mart0310]

Antibiotics can cause sharp anxiety rises, I was taking erythromycin once, which took my anxiety from 0 to off the scale within half hour of taking each dose. Amoxycillin, which is the same group doesnt cause me any problems strangely!

[MyNameIsTerry]

Yeah, I've had Amoxycillin a few times when I had an infected wisdom tooth and I was really in a bad way already with my anxiety. Didn't bother me at all. I did feel a slight increase but I reckon that was just me as I had issues with meds & supplements anyway. I did ask a pharmacist first if I could take it with my meds and he said it was fine.