Anxiety Attacks

[Martinski]

I've grown up with a heart problem called Ebsteins Anomoly. Every year I have tests done to determine how it is going, and whether I need surgery. I am now 18, and just recently had another examination and have learned much more about my condition and how serious it can be. Ever since that last examination my life had been shit. At times I would feel exhausted, ears ringing, hallucinations and feeling more and more out of touch with reality. It lately had gotten much more worse, i began having heart palpitations and what not. I thought that all these symptoms were because of my heart and had come to the point were i could barely get up and walk.

Two days ago, i had to be hospitalized and was in a serious panic. The doctors did many different tests concerning my heart and determined that there was absolutely nothing wrong with my heart. I was shocked. It turns out the entire ordeal was ALL MENTAL. Since then, I have slowly been recovering and feel much better.

I was just wondering if anyone else has anything to say about anxiety and how it can affect you..

[dEkOr]

i watched a show on panic/anxiety attacks a couple weeks ago. i know a big portion of the population gets these attacks. they happen often when people are away from home like in the car, or in the grocery store, and once they start getting an attack they know right away and have to go home. they get short breath, REALLY scared, and the effects u described. as far as i know the panic attacks can be helped by going to a psycologist, but for some people theyll never go away. hope this helps, a bit....

[jeef]

i've had panic attacks before, at some points i'd even pass out, it's probably better to treat it earlier rather than later cause things can get really bad, you won't leave your home etc.

see your doc, he might give you some xanax or ativan to get through the hard times, if your problem persists you'll probably end up on 20-30mg of paxil a day

[jeef]

forgot to mention that many of the symptoms come from hyperventilation so breathing technique is essential to helping yourself

[Itz B Tek]

Do you smoke weed by any chance?

i remember last yr i smoked some shit that was laced with somthing gthat i thought was gonna kill me....its not like it was strong weed but it IMMEDIATLY made me dizzy and STRONG hear palpitations.....and i got scared as shit...

ever since then ive been having wierd days and shit like one day ill feal like im high but im not u know....and then another day ill feal like im dieing and it sux..

doctors told me that its a panic attack....i didnt tell them i smoked the weed....and refused a drug test since i told them i neevr did ANY drugs...

anyway, i havnt been smoking since....scared the shit out of me....

[M/2FI573R]

YEAh, one time I had a panic attack, it was from fucking beating my meat for the whole day, I passed out and alot of other shit happened, well when I woke up It felt like my dick was gone.... and I still had a fucking boner, wtf is up with this

well anyways to the point, you can get panic/anxiety very easily, it comes in all different way mentally and physically.

[Just Saul]

I had an anxiety attack right before I went into surgery. I was just really nervous I guess. If you've seen the Sopranos, Tony and Anthony Jr. both have panic attacks. Anthony's is triggered by being put under a lot of pressure.

[MisterTurret]

Anxiety is a messed up thing. It can give you phantom pains (what you had). It can make you screw up a job interview, get in a car accident. It can make you avoid asking out a girl, or stay at home on a Friday night. Science hasn't yet discovered this but the mind plays a larger role in our lives than anyone thinks. There was a scientific study done a while back that stated that if you do not experience the feeling of love in your life (or arent married or have a girlfriend for a large portion of your life) your body functions decrease by about 30%, which doctors say does more damage to you than CANCER and SMOKING!!!! WHO WOULD HAVE THOUGHT NOT EXPERIENCING LOVE CAN BE MORE HARMFUL TO YOUR HEALTH THAN SMOKING??? . Your body can do 3 times as much as your mind think it can. I know it sounds lame with all this chi and inner spirit crap, but you should probably do some form of meditation, itll bring the your mind and your body closer together. There is you (still havent figured out a scientific name for it, 'spirit?'), your mind and your body. Ahh hell this spiritual shit is all confusing.

[aLDo1]

i had a really bad panic attack back in tenth grade when i smoked too much weed and had an out of body experience where everything was in slow motion n shit. had em ever since.

[intalex]

Anxiety attacks are pretty creepy. I remember I got one, and I was trying to run away from work, but I couldn't find the door. Fun stuff.

[Martinski]

Originally posted by Itz B Tek
Do you smoke weed by any chance?

YEAH!!..

i was thinking about that. I've been having panic attacks ever since i smoked my first joint. stopped after a while and have been off of it for 3-4 months. Weed really changed my life.. i think its because whenever im on weed i feel like im not in my body, and that has sort of carried over to whenever i start to panic and it scares me.

Im seeing a specialist about it tommorrow, hopefully he will help me. But i havent been the same ever since i first started smoking weed. Also, same thing happened to my sister, who also began having panic attacks after smoking weed.

For the past week i have been feeling tired and have been having these weird feelings just walking around, even when i get like 12 hours of sleep. Its scary shit. The doctor prescribed me some drugs, but im scared to use them since they cause drowsiness and are known to get you addicted to them.

[Itz B Tek]

tell me what this specialist says....

looks like smoking WAS infact the problem...i guess some people react negativly...and it fucks up the nervous system...

[Wulf]

You should try going on Paxil if you continue to suffer from this, the stuff works well at releiving stress, helps you focus, and you shouldnt get any more panic attacks. I have been on it for over a year and I feel much better. But if you decide to go on it, you better hope it is something you want to take the rest of your life. When you go off it, you have some real bad side effects while it starts coming out of your body.

[suffocate]

Anxiety sucks.. OCD has tooken over my life, i used to be so bad off, i wouldnt touch anything (i was afriad it had germs, so then i started washing my hands until they became raw.. and much worse. as with the panic attacks, i have them also they really get bad.. i start like passing out and shit

[pArAnO]

Originally posted by Wulf
You should try going on Paxil if you continue to suffer from this, the stuff works well at releiving stress, helps you focus, and you shouldnt get any more panic attacks. I have been on it for over a year and I feel much better. But if you decide to go on it, you better hope it is something you want to take the rest of your life. When you go off it, you have some real bad side effects while it starts coming out of your body.

what's Paxil? do I need prescription? how much per.. month? one pil a day/week/month?

anxiety is ruinning my social/love/school life...

[suffocate]

paxil = kinda like prozak..

[Wulf]

Parano, paxil is your answer. Yes you need a prescription, the things are a little on the pricey side (im not sure about in the US though, in canada they are covered by health care (well 90% of the price)). I had the same problem, I was feeling very anxious and shitty, and it just ruined my life.. I couldnt talk to people, I just couldnt do shit. The stuff changed my life..

Ask your doctor about it, tell him what you are feeling, and tell him you are interested on going on Paxil. Prozac is diferent than paxil, they target diferent symptoms. Zoloft is another drug I have been on, but that was more for depression when I was younger. Paxil is targeted at stress and anxiety. When you go on it, you wont notice a change for a few weeks while it gets into your system. But when it does work its way in, you will feel alot better.. And it isnt an artificial feeling, you feel completely normal.. It isnt 'faking' what you are feeling. It is actually making the electric charges in your brain stronger, so you can think clearer, and it should get rid of the problems you are having.

I sympathise with you, since I gone through same thing in the past few years. It isnt cool.

[Martinski]

The problem i have with drugs is that nobody knows what kind of damage they can do long term. Most modern drugs have not been tested for more then a couple of years. I also would HATE to become dependant on a drug.

The specialist that I saw at the hospital who diagnosed me with extreme anxiety told me gave me a prescription for a drug called Lorazepan (or Ativan Sublingual), but said that he only recommends it for severe attacks. He also said that it is habit forming (addictive). I haven't used the drug and don't intend to unless I feel like im going crazy.

I'll talk to the specialist im seeing tommorow and see how it goes. I'd like to stay off drugs for as long as i can. But we'll see how things go.

[Wulf]

Do you dissolve Lorazepan under your tongue? I forget the stuff I took, but you just stick it in your mouth when you feel an anxiety attack coming on, and it will calm you right down. It makes you very tired, but atleast you wont have an attack. I could see how it could be habit forming though, but its better than suffering from the attacks all the time.

[Martinski]

Originally posted by Wulf
Do you dissolve Lorazepan under your tongue? I forget the stuff I took, but you just stick it in your mouth when you feel an anxiety attack coming on, and it will calm you right down. It makes you very tired, but atleast you wont have an attack. I could see how it could be habit forming though, but its better than suffering from the attacks all the time.

Yeah thats the one.

Thing is, i feel tired enough from all the stress. Plus, its too early to be taking any drugs. Does Lorazepan make you feel pretty normal though? or does it make you feel high and out of place?

thx for everyones input btw, it's helping a lot.