Stress Center Peer Support

My name is Christopher Jones. I am a 30 year old, thin male who has been having a lot of anxiety these last few months and I am wondering if anyone here has had a situation similar to mine.

In October, I quit taking fluoxetine 10mg that I had been taking for 6 months before daily...cold turkey. I realize now that that was a BIG mistake. After about 2-3 weeks, I started having severe panic attacks, constantly worrying about dying young or having a heart attack. So, I went back to my doctor. He put me back on the 10mg fluoxetine and I have now been back on it for about 6-7 weeks. My anxiety has gone down considerably, but I have still been having some odd feelings that while certainly get worse with more anxiety...the feelings are always going on!

My arms and upper back get this "cold-burning" sensation off and on that worsens when i'm panicking, but it's driving me crazy! Not only that, but my left shoulder muscle feels REALLY tight most of the time. Besides that, I have had a cough now for about a month ( just beat a fever and cold last week...cough still lingers ). Also, my feet are irritable when I lie in bed at night...I can't let a blanket lay on 'em!!!

So i've done a few things to try to help in regard to the arms:

1) I work from a computer most of the day, and I had realized that my posture is bad...lol. So, I have gotten a chair that helps me sit up straighter.

2) I have been getting a 1 hr. massage on my shoulders and arms at least once a week for about 3 weeks now. It helps, but the feelings soon return.

3) I exercise nightly by riding my bike for 30 minutes. Besides that, I occasionally walk a city block or two during the workday.

4) I eat much less than I used to and focus mostly on fruits, vegetables, nuts, eggs, and meats ( Salmon, Tuna, Chicken, Turkey, and little red meat ).

5) I have stopped drinking caffeine almost cold-turkey ( I used to drink 40 oz. a day of Dr. Pepper..now it's a 12 oz. can once a month ).


So, I feel that I have been making good strides to improve my health and finally beat this panic!!! But I still worry almost all the time about my arm and my feet. I worry that I might be having a heart problem or circulatory disease or something!?!?!? I wanted to let y'all know because I sincerely need some moral support right now. Please tell me that this really IS all in my head?!!

Thank you for reading! Bless you all

You sound like me at the start of this program. You have to trust it will help you. Work in refocusing your thoughts away from the negative that permeate your minds. My doctor told me the physiological feelings are nerve endings that react to stress. So, you have to learn to relax. The relaxation CD is great for that. Also, you need to consider a more rigorous exercise regiment so you can sweat. Lucinda teaches that we have to increase our protein intake - so, you may want to look at your diet. I suggest you get the book "Letting Go of Your Bananas" by Dr. Daniel T. Drubin and What to Say When You Talk to Yourself by Shad Helmstetter, Ph. D. Lucinda has a book also that helps. These books and this program help you work to reverse your negative thoughts: Use them. Keep fighting the temptation to worry about the body symptoms. Work to change your thinking and things will fall into place.

Lima,

Thank you so much for such a wonderful response! That really helps alot! I actually came across this website because I bought Lucinda's "From Panic To Power" book a couple weeks ago. It has certainly been a huge benefit to my self-transformation so far; sometimes, I just get caught up in "old habits" as it were. My doctor told me that my "burning sensations" were somatica, or "all in my head" as well. And while they have gotten better as I have relaxed more, the muscle tension and stuff just don't seem to go away altogether. My arms are definitely not worked-out like they used to. Could I just need to join a workout program with a trainer to build my muscle back up? Do you think that would help, or do you think that the muscle tension is an additional side effect of anxiety?

Thank you again!

It's not all in your head, just find the strength to get up and decide that tomorrow is going to be better than today. Distraction works for the panic, be around positive, supportive people. I know how hard the physical symptoms are, it's scary but it will pass. Be courageous and remember that it wasn't always this way and change is inevitable. It all gets worse if you don't sleep, so find a way to sleep. You are all in my thoughts and prayers.

Working on a computer all day could absolutely cause a lot of muscle tension and tingling. I did it for many years and had some pretty bad pains and tingling in my upper back, arms, and shoulders. It can cause a lot of muscle tension, and so can anxiety. I would suggest frequent stretching during the time on the computer, and learning some techniques for muscle relaxation. My problems with this have pretty much dissipated since I'm not at a computer all day and have learned how to decrease my anxiety levels.

Hey guys,

I am sitting here at my desk at work and I got this slight pain in my jaw and when I coughed shortly afterwards, I got a pain in the upper left of my chest and almost in my neck. Only when I cough. So of course, i'm thinking "heart problems" again. I had to get up and walk around for a bit. I still get this tremor sensation in my chest off and on. When I check my pulse though, I don't feel any skipping beats; I think it's gas. Please tell me i'm okay....

Jones AZ-
That sounds just like gas. I have had those same symptoms and went to the doctor to find that it was gas. Try to take some Pepcid AC or over the counter anti-acid medicine and watch the results. The doctor told me to do that and I did, and I noticed that it got better. He said that it was all stemming from anxiety and that I was causing the gas build up there in my chest wall. He diagnosed it as chest wall inflammation and he said I could take the Pepcid AC and it would get better and it did! I keep that on hand for acid reflux etc anyway so when my chest feels funny or I notice those feelings I just take one and I feel relief. Try that and see what happens. Anxiety causes a lot of different physical feelings.

Psalms,

Thank you so much. I am feeling a lot better now as "surprise"..my anxiety went down. I am really trying to get through these difficult times. It's amazing how different the mind is while in a panic mode.

I recognize what you write about "funny feelings" in your arms, I have that too, almost constant. It´s the anxiety that causes it, or more specific the adrenaline and cortisol. It is nothing to worry about! It will go away when you don´t do anxiety anymore

A New Day...do the funny feelings feel like a slight painless numbness, or a burning sensation?

By the way, I know i've said this before, but everyone's help is REALLY beneficial and I appreciate all of your kindness in assisting putting my mind at ease. Thank you so much!