AceFace
29-09-15, 10:59
Morning all, first post here but here goes.
I'm in my late 30s and have been fit and healthy for the past 15 years or so. A few months ago I had what turned out to be a big panic attack in the night, I'd had a couple of these before but on a much smaller scale. I called an ambulance and had all sorts of tests done but the results were fine, nothing wrong with me.
Fast forward a few months and I'd start getting really anxious all of a sudden. It's got to the stage over the past month where I'm having anxiety issues every day, including two or three huge panic attacks where I was convinced I was going to die. It's now a case where I'm getting anxious about the thought of getting anxious if that makes sense. I have absolutely no idea where this has come from, I exercise a hell of a lot, have never had social issues or anything like that, but now this is taking over my life.
I've had all sorts of heart and blood tests and am absolutely fine, yet I'm convincing myself that there's something wrong with me and that I'm going to die. I have two young kids and can't stop worrying about how they'll cope if I go. I lost my dad when I was my daughter's age (6) and thought this may have all of a sudden triggered something off in me, so have been having therapy but that's not unearthed anything at all that may pinpoint these issues to that. There's no trigger for these attacks other than my mind playing havoc. I've stopped drinking (used to enjoy a few beers of an evening) and have cleaned up my diet but this anxiety just won't go away.
I'm at a loss as to what to do. The doc gave me Citalopram which made me even worse and caused a couple of very nasty panic attacks, so I came off that. I've got a small dose (2mg) of Diazepam which I've only taken three or four times when I feel it's absolutely necessary, and as mentioned I've tried therapy. I'm now starting to suffer a lot when out and about with the kids on my own as I'm constantly worrying what they'll do if I keel over with a heart attack. I get a lot of chest discomfort now as well, but my heart rate remains constant. I know there's nothing wrong with me, I just can't stop worrying though.
So what now? I'm going to try acupuncture, never done it before but anything that may help has to be worth a try. Is there any other medication that doesn't give bad side effects but isn't habit forming like the Diazepam can be? Any other methods that will stop my constant negative thoughts about my health and death? It's hard to take as it's come out of absolutely nowhere, I'm not depressed and although I'm quite an uptight person, there's nothing causing me any more stress than usual. It is starting to really get me down sometimes though.
I'm in my late 30s and have been fit and healthy for the past 15 years or so. A few months ago I had what turned out to be a big panic attack in the night, I'd had a couple of these before but on a much smaller scale. I called an ambulance and had all sorts of tests done but the results were fine, nothing wrong with me.
Fast forward a few months and I'd start getting really anxious all of a sudden. It's got to the stage over the past month where I'm having anxiety issues every day, including two or three huge panic attacks where I was convinced I was going to die. It's now a case where I'm getting anxious about the thought of getting anxious if that makes sense. I have absolutely no idea where this has come from, I exercise a hell of a lot, have never had social issues or anything like that, but now this is taking over my life.
I've had all sorts of heart and blood tests and am absolutely fine, yet I'm convincing myself that there's something wrong with me and that I'm going to die. I have two young kids and can't stop worrying about how they'll cope if I go. I lost my dad when I was my daughter's age (6) and thought this may have all of a sudden triggered something off in me, so have been having therapy but that's not unearthed anything at all that may pinpoint these issues to that. There's no trigger for these attacks other than my mind playing havoc. I've stopped drinking (used to enjoy a few beers of an evening) and have cleaned up my diet but this anxiety just won't go away.
I'm at a loss as to what to do. The doc gave me Citalopram which made me even worse and caused a couple of very nasty panic attacks, so I came off that. I've got a small dose (2mg) of Diazepam which I've only taken three or four times when I feel it's absolutely necessary, and as mentioned I've tried therapy. I'm now starting to suffer a lot when out and about with the kids on my own as I'm constantly worrying what they'll do if I keel over with a heart attack. I get a lot of chest discomfort now as well, but my heart rate remains constant. I know there's nothing wrong with me, I just can't stop worrying though.
So what now? I'm going to try acupuncture, never done it before but anything that may help has to be worth a try. Is there any other medication that doesn't give bad side effects but isn't habit forming like the Diazepam can be? Any other methods that will stop my constant negative thoughts about my health and death? It's hard to take as it's come out of absolutely nowhere, I'm not depressed and although I'm quite an uptight person, there's nothing causing me any more stress than usual. It is starting to really get me down sometimes though.