View Full Version : Anxious all day. Normal life gone.
Hi!
The minute I wake my anxiety is there. (usually about 5 a.m.) I shake and feel so strung out and agitated. The thought of doing anything, not just going out but even having to make a meal or do housework sends waves of panic through me. I can't cope with anything. I feel so useless.
I take half a tablet of seroquel at night to calm me and it does for a few hours. Just prescribed sertraline a week ago. 50mg in morning but reduced to 25mg as I was having terrible side effects. I still feel my anxiety has ramped up awhole lot since I started taking it. I can't stop shaking for most of the day and feel so agitated. Anyone know if this will settle down if I take them a bit longer? I also keep getting palpitations which I didn't before. Feel like I will never be well again.
gtrgrl3369
25-04-09, 15:26
It could be caused by your meds. They have alot of side effects and if you have taken them before and have not had any effects, it doesnt guarantee that you wont this time. My anxiety and panic was just like yours. I would wake up with it and very agitated. It got to the point where I would not go to sleep because I knew what the next day would bring. I learned to take a few minutes in bed every morning before I get out of bed to breathe and try to center myself. I am doing well now but still get it when I am overtired or stressed. Take care.
:hugs: hi judy, firstly im sorry your suffering right now - like the previous poster said it could be your new med - i find this very frustrating, becasue obviously we take them havign faith they will make us better and sometimes that is not the case, and we can be left feeling worse and very confused as to whether this is normal or we should stop them - i would go back to your gp asap and tell them you feel worse - you can make decide yourself as to whether you continue a med or not, you dont have to have persmission.
what other help are you getting, do you have friends and family who care? or are you struggling alone? anyway i can assure you that this wont last, have you ever been like this before? i have been like this on a number of occasions and i can guarantee you it wont last forever - but you do have to start helping yourself too - by reminding yourself that this is anxiety and no matter how bad it actually makes you feel you are not ill, mad or about to die - even though i know it feels like you are, take care, emmaxxxxx
Thank you both for your replies. I'm glad that you both seem to have come through your problems. It does give me hope that I will too eventually, although it doesn't feel that way right now.
I have an appt. tomorrow at the doctors so I shall see what she says then.
I have never been on medication before. This is the first time I have suffered this badly although with hindsight I had been suffering on and off with anxiety symptoms for a few years. I just didn't recognise it as that. Maybe if I had I could have dealt with it before it got so bad.
Yes, I do have family round me Emmas. They are being very supportive but as time goes on and they don't see me getting any better, I think they are at a loss to know what to do to help me. I really am trying to help myself too. I don't work but have not stopped going out to shops etc. although it has become very hard. I'm determined not to give in to this illness. I feel awful in the house too anyway, so staying in wouldn't really help.
I felt really quite good by last evening and find it so hard to understand why I can feel like that and wake up the next day as bad as ever.
Sorry to rant, but it does help. Especially when people who understand how I feel reply to me.
Thank you again.x
:hugs:well im really glad that you have your family and in sure thye will get upset and frustrated for you that you are not feeling better quickly - but youve jsut said it yourself, it didnt actually happen overnight - it takes time to reverse it and also tiem to learn that no matter how ill you feel it is due to anxiety adn it isnt going to kill you or make you mad - i know tha tis hard to beleive becasue feelign like this grinds you down totally - but others ahve recovered, so it stands to reason you will do too.
i think the reason it just keeps coming back each day is becasue we are waiting for it to jus tmiraculously go and for us to be as we were - it doesn tactually work like that - your body is flooded wiht adrenaline and other stres hormones and you need to rest and relax so they will stop rushing around causing you to feel all these horrible symptoms. you also need to learn to breath properly and you also have to try to stop demanding it to go - you will get better slowly and gradually and one day you will realise you dont feel so bad and you arent so scared of how you feel? this is how it was for me anyway:blush: have you read any books - like claire weekes? that is a great start to properly understandign why you feel like you do - also there is a site called nopanic - thye were a big help to me - gettign as much understanding helps - as does cbt - you will be able to go on a waitign list for that on the nhs is they feel that will help, but you can also buy cbt based books too which would give you somewhere to start - also just keep coming to nmp and chatting to others and readign their stories will help you to feel less alone with this, take care, emma:)
Thank you for your kind words emmas.
I do have a couple of Claire Weekes books. Yes, they are very good and make loads of sense. When I feel so bad it's really difficult for me to try to put into practise what she says. Maybe I should start reading them again so it all sticks in my head.
Am really anxious right now as i am going to shops shortly. I also belong to a walking group who meet on Mondays and Wednesdays. I had been going even though I felt bad until last week when I just felt so faint that I couldn't go. I'm stressing about whether or not to go today already. I also have doctors at 4.30 and am anxious about that also!
I was seeing the psychiatric nurse once a week but she was ill one week, off for two weeks holiday, then she had to cancel last weeks appt. so I havn't seen her for a while. I don't think that has helped.
I'm ranting again but it helps talking to people who understand.
Thanks.x
:hugs: no judy you are not ranting! i rant, not you:blush:
i think when you feel like htis you just cannot convince yourself that there really isnt anything to worry about - like you said you felt so faint you couldnt go - well in my own experience the opnly way i conquered it was by accepting i felt bad and doing most things i wanted to do - im not saying its easy but it is the only way - please just go on your walks - id love to be in one of those groups - dont give things up and live to regret it - life becomes so much harder and lonelier when you give normal life up die to anxiety - hav eyou been to nopanic? they have alot of good info and self help, but really i think one of the best things is just coming here and talking to other who understand:hugs:
Thank you again Emma!
I will try to go for my walk. I guess it's the worry of being away out somewhere and feeling so bad and maybe collapsing or something. I suppose somebody will pick me up if I do anyway!:D
Is the No panic site just the information given on the left hand of this screen, or is it another site?
I will certainly keep coming on here and talking to people. It's a great site.
You sound like you are doing ok Emma and I'm so glad for you. You are very caring and seem to give good advice to a lot of people as I have seen some of your answers to other peoples posts.
Will let you know how today goes. :hugs: x
I'm exactly the same, from the second I get up in the morning I feel sick and anxious to the minute I go to bed. I think it could be the meds making you feel worse as they tend to make you feel worse before you get better. Just give it 4 weeks and if you feel no better then go back to your Dr and let them know as the meds may not be right for you. I'm not on meds at the mo (just come off Prozac after they didn't agree with me) and feel awful all the time. I can barely leave the house I feel that sick, it's terrible
It's a horrible way to feel isn't it? Every day seems like a lifetime to get through.
I went for a shortish walk yesterday and felt awful the whole time, but I suppose at least I did it.
I also saw my doctor and after only 11 days on sertraline has decided I should stop it for a week as I feel worse (although she admits that any good will not be evident for about 3 or 4 weeks) on it. Then if I don't feel any better I have to start it again!!! Help! I don't know what to do. Now I'm frightened I will feel ill just stopping it completely like that. She says i won't because it's such a low dose. 25mg in the morning, but i'm not convinced.
:hugs: hi, no you wont feel worse - if you do its because of your hightened state of anxiety anyway, plus these meds may not have worked for you like the previous poster and they could have actually made your anx worse! i took prozac twice sucessfully and on the third time they made me very ill, like you cat, they actually started this all off! and tha thas happened to alot of ppl on here:lac: which is par tof the reason you get ppl who are against meds - they do work but not ALWAYS, and they can even makes things WORSE.
i have has this type of anxiety many times and each time it has gone - id like to say it gets easier - but it doesnt, ,but i do know why its happening and i know tha tif i accept it goes quicker than if i just struggle with it and really really just want it to go NOW!!!!!! it never does - that thinking just makes it worse - you will be back to your old self soon but firs tyou have to accept that no matter how bad you feel you are actually well and this anxiety will not drive you mad or kill you! this is hard but its true or i wouldnt be sat here now!
also mojo, you went on your walk and although you didnt feel that much better if at all - you may have felt worse if youd have stayed in the house? also you figured out that if something did happen to you - which is unlikely and is just one of the thoughts that go with anxiety - you knew tha tppl would help - and they really would, most ppl are good ppl:yesyes:
NOPANIC is another website - which is a charity for panic and phobias etc based in telford - you can get self-help material from them, take care, emma
MOJO, you should be fine stopping the meds now as you've only been on them for 11 days so not really long enough to get withdrawals. Good luck, I really hope you find something that helps soon.
It's awful isn't it Emma, when I got the Prozac I looked up the side effects (as I always do with new meds) and saw they were bad for anxiety. I mentioned this to my Dr who assured me she had seen a lot of people get better with there anxiety while taking Prozac. I was on it for 4 weeks and felt so awful the whole time, I've not felt normal since I stopped taking it nearly a month ago either.
I'm scared of trying new meds so leaving it for a while to see if anything helps such as herbal meds etc (I'm taking Magnolia and Rhodiola Complex at the moment).
Well done on going for a walk MOJO. I managed to pop out with my Mum yesterday for 2 hours, felt a bit anxious while being out but I managed it. I had something to focus on rather than just sitting in the house watching tv
Thanks for the advice about coming off the pills emma. I'm sure you are right I just got myself in a state about stopping it and felt all weird! I feel a bit calmer now.
The doctor was really nice, she said she was sorry that I was suffering this but we would find a way through it and that it was quite possible that before she finds that way I will find my own way through it.
Last night I felt really good from about tea time. Maybe because I had spoken to the doctor, but it does give me hope that I can eventually be well. If it can happen even for a few hours then I guess it can happen for longer.
I will also check out the No Panic website thanks.
I just saw that you posted another message Cat80. Thanks you also for your advice. I hope we both will be feeling a lot better soon. It's great to be able to go on here and speak to like minded people though isn't it? I think you're right about going out. Sitting in the house just gives you too much time to sit and worry about all your feelings.:hugs:
:yesyes: :hugs: yes thats how you ge tbetter because you realise you have this little spell of normality and tha tif you can feel like tha tyou know you havent lostthe ability to feel calm - i think you will get better now.
dont underestimate the damage that the wrong meds can do - my pshycologist told me that they can and do make things worse to the point that thye can actually cause all of this:wacko: if you are depressed and anxious then fair enough i think prozac will work, but if your mainly anxious i dont think they do? i think its best to find your own way through?
and now you cat are worried about taking anyhting else, so it has affected you that badly? that happens to loads of ppl - after a bad episode on anti d's thye end up with a phobia of meds - please dont let this happen to you - th e4 weeks taking the prozac that wasnt working has had a big impact on you and your mental state, thats all, nothing more - i had no prob taking any meds before but since i have struggled for years and years and only recently have i started to recover - for some ppl antid's are not going to be the answer, and sometimes if you do it alone it can be harder but also more long lasting and deeper, you make whole changes to yourself na dyour life and you become a different person to the one you started out as - amybe a bit battered and tired but essentially stronger and kinder to yourself and everyone else - thats just my take on it becasue i couldnt take meds so i had to find out how to fdeal with all of this and in the process i changed and i now dont think about going back to how i was because i wasn tas strong as i am now, even if i dont actually ever rid myself of anxiety and panic i know tha ti can survive it and tha tthe odd panic attack here and there wont actually kill me! take care all, emma xxxxxx:hugs:
Yesterday after not taking my sertraline was actually the first day I didn't feel anxious inside, if you know what I mean. I had odd feelings in my head but compared to other days I was good. Today I feel awful again. I'm all anxious and strung out. What is happening? I'm struggling again today with all this after having a better day yesterday it seems harder to cope with again. I don't know if this means I'm better with the pills or better without them. I suppose it's too early to say as the doctor said to stay off them for a week. Can anybody calm me a bit, I'm getting into a right state here. Help!:weep:
stacey2712
29-04-09, 10:53
I know excatly how everyone feels, i have really bad anxiety problems which are related to my phobia (fear of being sick), how long will this last? iv'e managed to get through it before but i had a stomach bug 3 weeks ago and my life has completly disappeared, i wont go out and panic if i have to for the fear il be sick. The anxiety is so bad i feel sick almost all the time and i can't get a grip, anyone else going through the same?
Powered by vBulletin® Version 4.2.5 Copyright © 2024 vBulletin Solutions Inc. All rights reserved.