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13 years ago 0 +0 / -0 21

@ loves trees,

thanks for the encouragements and suggestions.

I'll continue with the program, and I'll definitely continue posting.

@ Davit,

I don't really like taking pills, more than that pills that are potentially addictive, or that have loads of side effects, so I'm hoping this program is going to start to work for me soon. I know it's a lengthy process, I don't expect over night results, so I'm trying to take it easy.

thanks

Alex

13 years ago 0 +0 / -0 6252

I would have to say relax, take the pills, do the program and throw the pills away when CBT has removed the need for them. That is what I did and it worked for me.

Just me though. Some people do it without pills. Some people don't do the CBT and just stay on the pills. I didn't like the side effects although some people don't seem to get side effects. They must have a good balance.

Davit.

13 years ago 0 +0 / -0 356

Hi ALex,

A good massage therapist or even yoga instructor will take each of your pains seriously and not dismiss them. They are real because you feel them.

Deep breathing and diaphragm breathing and chest stretches helped me a lot with breathing deeper but it did take at least 3 months or more before i could take deeper breathes. It doesn't feel like it is doing anything in the beginning , but it is gently stretching out the chest area.

13 years ago 0 +0 / -0 21

Hi Josie,

thanks for replying.

I am working with my family doctor, and since my initial "problem" was a very fast heart rate, I have also worked with a cardiologist - I use the past tense as in his opinion I don't need to continue seeing him. He had me undergo a lot of tests and ruled out any cardiac problems.

Also this coming week I have an appointment with a neurologist.

As far as my family doctor I think she is not even listening to my complaints anymore - I've seen her one too many times (in her opinion) and she keeps reassuring me that it's all anxiety and stress and that I should go home, relax, take the pills she prescribed and I will be OK.

I will definitely continue with this program and I hope that with your help (and I mean the entire "community" here at paniccenter) I will be abe to soon post under "success stories".

Alex

13 years ago 0 +0 / -0 12049

Alex,

Thank you and welcome to our support community. You have described your symptoms in detail, are you working with a doctor? I see that you are being active in your progress. Stick with something and see if it helps. You will be able to narrow down what works and what does not. Do take the anxiety test and take a copy to your doctor as well. This may help better assess the situation for you both.

Keep posting with us, as you can see the members are very supportive!

Josie, Health Educator

13 years ago 0 +0 / -0 21

Thanks a lot love trees.

I will definitely re-start some physical exercises now that my cardiologist gave me the green light, and stretching sounds like something I can definitely do.

I've already started some breathing exercises, I have yet to see if/how they help - sometimes they make me dizzy - at least for now.

I've tried a chiropractor a while back, but it just did not work for me. Now I'm working with someone specialized in Bowen therapy, and I should not overlap any massage therapy over this, but I do want to give it a try - I only have to find a reliable massage therapist.

What makes me stop and wonder nowadays is that most of my symptoms are so physical and so different almost from day to day. Today it may be some aches and pains, tomorrow it could be chest discomfort, the day after I might feel like fainting and so on... I never know what to expect, and that makes my anxity levels soar sometimes. I guess I turned into a bit of a hypochondriac, on top of everything else. Even as I'm typing my arms and my legs HURT, and as much as I try to ignore/dismiss the pain, or attribute it to anxiety it's pretty darn hard. It's not something I want to just accept as a symptom of anxiety and accept that it might go away in time, once I complete this program, or who knows when. Enough of my whining though.

Alex

13 years ago 0 +0 / -0 356

Hi Alex

we have not met yet. welcome to the site. I joined over a year ago and was looking for a panacea to help me because like you, i am a help seeker - which is a good thing but a frustrating thing where you have several symptoms / pains in different parts of the body. Like you say in your post here, just determining which symptoms are due to what ailment or vice versa is a challenge.

I believe that the medical paradigm is incomplete. We don't know everything there is to know about how the body works yet and any doctor who thinks we know everything is wrong and I think most doctors would admit we don't know everything. we know even less about how the mind works.

I have found relief over the last 2 years via different 'treatments'. Some of which are just lifestyle changes that sound simple and are simple but can still have profound effects. A good example is that exercise and gentle stretching to open up my chest has improved my ability to do deep breathing (box breathing included) which has probably lessened the severity of my panic a little bit because when I breathe now, I get more oxygen.

But a year ago I would have never thought that increasing my lung / diaphragm strength had anythig to do with anxiety or moods.

Just one thought, several of the symptoms you list have to do with blood flow or muscle tension around the neck area and upper body. Stretching could help. I am not saying that is all that is needed. Please don't misunderstand. I know there is a place for medication. I also am a fan of deep tissue massage by a therapist that you trust.

Keep posting. I believe each of the ailments you are experiencing can be immproved if not eliminated.

13 years ago 0 +0 / -0 21

Hi all,

I've started this program a couple of days ago, and some of you were already kind enough to read my posts and answer some of my questions.

What I'd like to figure out is whether some of the symptoms I have are due to anxiety or they're something different altogether.

Here is a more or less complete list:

racing heart; shortness of breath; chest pain (excruciating at times) ; numbness and tingling in arms and legs; numbness and tingling in various parts of my body: scalp, face, belly; shaking (particularly in my legs); dizziness; faintness; lightheadedness; waves of energy moving through my body; a buzzing feeling in my arms, legs, sometimes the entire body; headaches (horrible) ; hyperventilation; pain in my neck and shoulders; jaw pain (like a toothache but not really); muscle aches in my arms and legs; and there might have been others that I don't recall at this point.

I realize our minds are quite powerful, and that it's possible for all these to be "artificially created" in order to elicit a certain response from us. I've read about the symptoms of panic attacks, and now looking back, I know that this is what I have experienced. This is what pretty much brought me to this website and forum. Still, after talking to my family doctor and my psychologist, there is a bit of confusion in my mind. Both of them said that, my symptoms are due to panic attacks, they even explained to me the "fight and flight" story (which I am quite familiar with by now), but both of them stated (independently from one another) that the muscular pains (specifically the chest pain, the neck and shoulder pain, and the muscle aches in my legs and arms, aches that I started having recently) plus the headaches (which I'm having on an almost daily basis) are actually symptoms of depression, not anxiety.

(My doctor even prescribed some anti-depressants which I have not started using as they have quite a long list of side effects and create addiction).

What is your opinion/experience on this?

Thanks,

Alex

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