Advice

[Stresshead1977]

Hi all, iam just after a bit of advice, preferably through experience if possible.

I have suffered from anxiety for over 3 years now, always health related. When i first started suffering with symptoms they were dizziness, muscle pain and stiffness, chest pain, stomach pain, nausea, brain fog, headaches, problems with my ears feeling blocked.
Everytime a new symptom began i always thought it was something serious, namely cancer.
Anyway to cut a long story short after countless blood tests, cameras in my body and scans and them never finding anything wrong iam still alive and kicking and have manged to get my anxiety under some sort of control.
The problem i have is despite being a lot less anxious, sometimes not at all, iam still suffering from a few symptoms. I just can't shift them no matter what i do.
They seem to kick in when my brain is not occupied doing something.
I can be sat at home doing nothing and i start feeling tired and spaced out, within 10 minutes of me being at work and me having something to occupy my brain my symptoms vanish, like magic lol.
I have a few other symptoms which are muscle pain and stiffness and stomach upset but they flip flop and i never suffer them all together.
My doctor thinks anti depressants are the only way i will finally shift myself off them. Has anyone suffered the same problems and been helped with medication?
Iam a bit reluctant to take them and have refused them before.

Thanks in advance.
Paul.

[Fishmanpa]

The way I see it is you nothing to lose but your anxiety. At worse it doesn't work and you spend a month or so trying, and at best you gain a better quality of life.

I used this analogy in another thread.

Think of taking a walk in the rain. Right now you're getting wet and cold. Imagine taking the same walk with an umbrella. It may still be raining but at least you'll stay dry.

Positive thoughts

[Stresshead1977]

Thanks fishmanpa, i guess it's finally admitting i have a mental health problem by taking them which is putting me off. Stuff like that always happens to other people, dosen't it?
I think it's time to bite the bullet and take them, as you say nothing to lose.
My biggest fear is going back to where i was, walking around crying, 4 or 5 visits to the doctors a week, ambulances at my house, spoiling family holidays in the sun because of a bloody mole on my arm which i was convinced had changed shape. From the outside it's comical but i was living a nightmare.
I have come a long way in the last 12 months and feel almost cured but not just quite.
Hopefully medication can complete my recovery.

---------- Post added at 18:36 ---------- Previous post was at 18:08 ----------

Has anyone else had the symptoms without the actual anxiety?

[hyg]

Hi Paul
I was just like you years ago. Constantly thinking I had something wrong with me there was hardly a week went by where I wasn't either at the docs or having over the phone consultations.
I suffered with headaches heart Palps bad indigestion tight chest to name a few. I had scans for this and that which just added to my angst. My GP was lovely but didn't suggest any anti anxiety meds then I moved to a new area and had a new GP and he basically diagnosed anxiety and put me on citalopram. At first I didn't want to but after a month I stopped worrying so much and slowly I started to forget about my health issues . I stayed on the meds for 2 years. For me it was better to take one tablet a day than self medicate with OTC meds for my self diagnosed illnesses.
Like you I laugh when think back to some of the times I thought I had brain tumors / heart attacks etc but at the time it wasn't funny.
I had been off ADs for 18 months but have recently started sertraline as anxiety was creeping back in and I wanted to nail it .
I think you should try the meds and get your life back. You'll be surprised how many people are on these- people who you never thought would be !:)

[Stresshead1977]

Thanks hyg, makes me feel better knowing iam not alone.