Why now!

Christine3535 · Post by **Christine3535** » Mon Mar 24, 2008 1:19 pm

I am 47 years old and suffered from panic attacks over 20 years ago. My first experience with anxiety cost me my job and my life with my children, friends and husband for an entire year. I did not understand what was happening to me and developed so many fears I could not leave the house alone. Doctors would just give me meds and send me home as if this was nothing and I would wake up in the morning and it would be gone/or just chose not to discuss my problems at all. One day I woke up tired of this exsistence threw away the pills and took the biggest little steps I could to get my life back. I faced my fears one by one and got my life back. Now here I am again....Why Now!. My first panic attack happened about 4 weeks ago. I had gotten sick with a bacterial infection the doctor gave me an antibiotic to take and on the third day I became very shakey, heart beating so fast I could not catch my breath, my husband took me to the emergency room, they treated me for a heart attack, nytro patch, beta blockers, oxygen, blood thinner, the whole nine yards, then put me in the coronary unit for 3 days....the end result my heart was fine so go home....yet still I felt wrong inside, a week later I am standing in my living room, shaking again, heart beating out of my chest and I cant breath....once again my husband takes me to the hospital and once again they admit me in the coronary ward..and once again there is nothing wrong, both my doctors sat with me before sending me home and suggested that it might be stress...but why now I asked, up until I got the bacterial infection I was fine. I had no more stress than usual and loved to live life...now here I am with my heart beating and a bottle of zanax and valium next to me that I cannot bear to take. Why Now!

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Mon Mar 24, 2008 3:29 pm

Christene - mine also flared up after nothing for a few years and after seeing several doctors i basically found that i had a series of very stressful events in a short period of time occur...i wasn't dealing with them well and then i was feeling ill...i found, oddly enough that i had really bad allergies and the drs gave me a ton of allergy medicine...when i started taking all of those decongestants my anxiety started getting worse and it has been a struggle for the last couple of months to get it back under control... essentially i knwo for me - if i get sick, i get anxious and i needed help to stop worrying so much over my health...
i'm doing some things again that i used to do years ago when i originally had anxiety like yoga and breathing exercises...i also have cut my caffeine intake, smoking, etc. and am starting to feel better...
did you try stuff like that last time? it might help...i know you will get past this again it just takes some time

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Mon Mar 24, 2008 4:29 pm

christine

i got the flu on feb 1st and was laid up with it for roughly 2 wks, but never felt right after. i continued to look for a "physical" reason for my discomfort and found nothing. i have dealt with anxiety for at least 20 yrs, but i had never been debilitated by it until now. finally realized what was going on and started zoloft about 1 & 1/2 wks. ago. i cannot figure out how this all of the sudden became so dominant. docs don't know either--must have had time to catch up with me while i was stuck in bed.? i received my headstart booklet 3 days ago and am still waiting for my program. i have high hopes that these will be the tools that i need to get my life back. i have been to the website everyday since i got the info on it. my 15 yr old says that i am becoming a chat room junkie, but it is so nice to know that i am not alone. hope to speak to you sometime, thanks for the post. good luck! mel