Hello all. My name is Nat. Im over in the US. Im a long time lurker on NMP and I cannot tell all of you how much I’ve leaned on your posts while going through this struggle. It helps to know I’m not alone in the battle.
My story is long, but here it goes. This all started for me after I had an intense episode of dizziness back in around June of this year. I was in a store and had this flushing feeling, intense dizziness, and felt as if I was going to pass out. I immediately ran out of the store, was trembling and shaking. Had no idea what was happening to me. I was scared out of my wits!! I ended up in the emergency room, and they found nothing that could’ve caused it. I, my friends, had suffered my first panic attack.
Over the last several months it has been a strenuous battle to determine what is real and what is not regarding my body and all the sensations I’m now aware of. I’ve been down the ALS rabbit hole, thought I had breast cancer, lymphoma, DVTs, pulmonary embolisms, a brain tumor, MS, Lyme disease...I’ve yet to be right about any of these things. I’ve been through MRIs, blood work, ultrasounds, xrays, nerve conduction studies and I’m sure I’m forgetting a few things. All my tests have been normal. Tonight it’s that my dog licked my face (near my eye) so naturally I’m waiting on that infection. :blush:
HEALTH ANXIETY IS EXHAUSTING!!!!!
Anyway, I’ve started CBT and that has helped some. I’ve tried a few different SSRI’s, to no avail because I’ve not been able to tolerate them. That’s almost led to a medication phobia at this point. I’m just posting to let someone know, who may be struggling that they aren’t alone. I’m also just wanting to let everyone know how incredible you all are. Thank you for sharing your stories. They’ve helped me so many times.
The panic attacks still happen sometimes, but I’m leaning to ride them out now instead of trying to run away. I always feel at a constant moderate level of anxiety, but I’m learning to recognize my thinking pattern to differentiate. I’m really ready for the day when I wake up and don’t have this struggle anymore.
If you read this long post, thank you. It helps me to share my story. If any of you have any brilliant advice please feel free to post on the thread. And God bless us all on our journeys to get well.
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