New member, diagnosed one month ago.

[AaronB]

I posted this in the Introduce Yourself section but I wanted to post here as it seems busier.

Hi I'm Aaron, 29 years old. I have been diagnosed with an anxiety disorder a month ago, after having symptoms for quite a few years.

I was referred to the Cardinal Clinic in Windsor and have so far just has an hours consultation, who confirmed the disorder and prescribed me Propranolol. I struggle to take tablets, which apparantly is part of my anxiety and have a fear of choking when taking them. At first I got about a weeks worth down, which was a huge acheivement for me as this is the first time in my life I have been able to take them. I feel good after swallowing it, like proud of myself and celebrate with a cigarette (sounds silly I know) but it boosts me up. Unfortunately though for the last two days I haven't been able to take them, have wasted ten capsules, and still not got one down. I am going to try again today but am not holding out much hope.

I'm concerned about my headaches though. I was told by my GP that my headaches will be caused by the beta blockers, but its fine to take paracetomol with them. However, for the last two days my headaches have got worse, and I'm not taking the beta blockers, and paracetomol doesn't seem to help. I even looked up symptoms for brain tumours I am that worried :-/

I'm here to basically talk to people who know where I'm coming from, learn some advice, even give some advice if I can, anything, just to try and relieve the situation.

I have an appointment tomorrow with the phsychologist, and I'm praying she can help.

Any advice welcome, and thank you so much for creating this forum.

Aaron

[dreamer100]

Hi Aaron!

I am a sufferer too-you are not alone.
Although i do not have the symptoms you have, I have some tips that may help:

If you cant take tablets use a rescue remedy spray
Try to distract yourself by doing something-anything! And start with simple steps.

I like music but do not listen to my old favourite tunes as they remind me of past. Solution? I bought a cheap MP3 player and listen to new stuff only which i download at random.

You could also write a journal in a simple notepad or on PC
This helps put worrying thoughts down on paper and somehow this helps.

hope the info above is of help:

[AaronB]

Thanks for the reply,

I have the Bachs rescue remedy liquid but it doesn't seem to help me much, I managed to get a Propranolol Capsule down just after writing my first post and that has helped. Just hope I can continue to get them down now.

I do try to distract myself, although sometimes I feel like I have no energy whatsoever, and kinda feel almost paralysed to my sofa!

I too like music, I play guitar and used to be able to play consistently for over an hour, and I sing and write music aswell so am trying to channel myself into that but sometimes I just can't.

I like the idea of a journal, I will give that a go.

Thanks very much for your input.