yasmin, health anxiety, too many symptoms to count!

[rosa123]

first of all can i say thank god i found this i actually thought i was losing it. So it started with one panic attack which is fine and now im at the stage where its half 4 and im awake so i can phone an ambulance when im dying which im convinced will happen at some point tonight (the same as every night). it started with chest pain, tight/stabbing pains then countless ecgs and a heart xray later nothings wrong. Now i seem to have everything; stiff neck, aching arms/legs, awful headaches and random stabbing pains and lots of muscle twitching, feeling like my ears are blocked and blurred vision and of course standard anxiety symptoms like throat closing up and nausea. Ive read all about health anxiety and i know im supposed to realise its all in my head but that little voice in my head is saying "no this time its serious", im too scared to take antidepressents due to my fear of side effects of medication. Now ive just been doing more research and people are saying the birth control pill (particularly yasmin which im on) has started their panic attacks/anxiety.
sorry for the essay but if anyone could let me know if similar things are happening to them could you let me know im really desperate and want my life back plus that rational side of me is sick of pestering the doctor who probably needs to see people who are actually ill!

[nomorepanic]

Hi rosa123

A huge warm welcome to nmp.

You'll get loads of advice and support here and make some lovely friends along the way.

Best wishes

[gaaron]

Mornin' Rosa, welcome to NoMorePanic. I don't have HA, but you've answered your own question. Maybe when that 'voice' raises it's head, just tell it firmly to go away. Sounds daft I know, but it works for me (under different circumstances). And you're not pestering the Doctor, he won't know there's anything wrong if you don't see him and explain the situation. Take care xx :)

[paula lynne]

Hi Rosa, welcome to the forum. Reading the info on panic and anxiety in the left hand column is amazingly helpful. There are also some great books/CDs out there which are really beneficial, my favorites being
Susan Jeffers - Feel the fear and do it anyway (on tape) She talks a lot about the "Chatterbox", that negative little voice in your mind, and how to turn it off.
Dr Claire Weekes - Self-help for your nerves (book)

Its also worth taking a look at your diet. You can use the "search" facility here to type in a key word on almost any subject, and loads of helpful info will turn up. Hope you feel better soon. Paula
:welcome:

[Vanilla Sky]

Hi and welcome to NMP :welcome:
Paige x

[V_Rossi]

Hi there
I also wondered if going on the pill again (after a 7 year break) has caused my recent anxiety and panic attacks.
After all the pill does mess with your hormones - which in turn effect your mood!!
I also strongly thought this was the case with me.
I had tried several pills as many of them made me a blubbering wreck -
I was on tri-minulet this time - it has 3 coloured pills - and I came off it last month as i strongly think the connection is a bit weird - as my anxiety and panics began in OCtober - I went back on the pill in July....
Just a thought
How long have you been on the pill and do you have bad PMT - i get it really bad - where I can be very irrational for a whole week of the month, get so teary and just feel like my brain has been possessed by the devil
hugs
Rossi x

[gaaron]

Hi VRoss, sorry about delay in reply. I think maybe have a word with doc if you think it's the pill that's messing with your hormones x

[rosa123]

Thanks for the advice first of all!
I went to the docs and he's referred me for counselling but I'm sure the waiting list is huge, in regards to the pill i started it in september and november was when the daily anxiety started, before then id always suffered the occasional panic attack but nothing i couldn't deal with.
I do get bad pmt and can also be a blubbering wreck which is really odd since i very rarely cry anyway. I'm only on the pill because iv'e had amenorrhoea for the past 2 years, i didn't take my pill yesterday and I'm going to stop and see if anything improves and probably hassle my doctor to find out the real reason for the amenorrhoea!
But yes you'r right anything messing with your hormones is probably not a good idea! x