Anxiety and fainting

[kestral]

Had an episode where I went hot and weak and had to lay on the floor as I felt i was going to pass out. I have fainted before and taken to hospital before being released without any problems found but live in fear of this happening again.
My wife has had a cancer operation last year and is having tests for some other things which increases my anxiety of health conditions and treatments.
I suffer from anxiety generally which has increase because of the fear of fainting and can't find a way to control it.

[ankietyjoe]

Sorry to hear about your wife.

In terms of your fear of fainting, although it's unpleasant....what's the worst that can happen? The answer is you've already found out. Pretty much nothing. Fainting is incredibly rare with anxiety, it's one of the least common side effects. Why did you faint before? Did they give you a reason?

[kestral]

Just told me I was ok with no problems, I am on 20 g citalopram which the doc won't increase do to my age. One medic said my blood pressure tablets might have some effect on hot days when BP drops because of the heat. Diabetes type 2 but that always checks out ok in these episodes.

[ankietyjoe]

Just told me I was ok with no problems, I am on 20 g citalopram which the doc won't increase do to my age. One medic said my blood pressure tablets might have some effect on hot days when BP drops because of the heat. Diabetes type 2 but that always checks out ok in these episodes.

I think that's pretty much all you need to know.

Fainting is the opposite of what your body wants to do during anxiety. Anxiety is there to keep you safe (ironic, I know) and fainting isn't much use if you're fighting a crocodile, right?

[Lissa101]

Kestral, I'm a fainter too and I have fainted because of my anxiety - its not a rare symptom for me. However, it's generally not dangerous. I worry about fainting at work and being sacked/embarassing myself and also while driving. Neither of these things have ever happned of course and I faint, on average, only about once every two years. Its not something we should be concernced with really but it feels so horrible at the time, doesn't it? My mum has lung cancer so my anxiety is always high at the moment to and this has a cascade of effects, as you probably know, which end up making us ill and exhuated and this, in turn, cuses us to feel weak and faint. So, bottom line, manage the anxiety and everything else will improve. easier said than done, especially when you have someone to worry about x