just how do you know if nothing is really wrong? - Anxiety Message Board

angel1064 · 10-25-2004, 08:17 PM

how do we know....all these horrible symptoms we feel when having an anxiety/panic attack....how do we know its not something "real" this time?

lexdc1 · 10-25-2004, 08:30 PM

I know exactly how you feel. Every time I get a new symptom, it's like - 'this is it. This is the big one' But, so far, they've all gone away. Sometimes it takes a while...like a couple months. But, my doctor said that when something is wrong, the symptoms are persistent and they usually will get worse. People like us get these symptoms and dwell on them forever, so how could they ever go away when we can't stop thinking about them? Right now it's my armpit. My friend just had an infection and got a swollen lymph node. All of a sudden, my armpit started to feel funny, I was a little wheezy and I assume the worst. What else is new. Now, I just have to wait it out till my brain gets sick of thinking about it, and moves on to something else. Sucks eh?

Graciecat · 10-25-2004, 09:03 PM

Once I had every blood test, every heart test, every x-ray and every other test know to man...some more than once and everything was always perfect I finally had to realize that the Doctor was right and what I had was panic disorder.
My Husband told me one time that a heart attack doesn't last for weeks or months on end and if I really had all of the terrible things wrong with me that I was convinced that I did I wouldn't be here anymore.

My attacks would come on for no reason at all, nothing in particular would bring them on I'd be fine one second and freaking out the next.
My Mother, Grandfather and several other people on my Mom's side of the family suffered with panic disorder, so for me they were an inherited thing.
So if got to the point that since I had no idea what was or wasn't going to freak me out, I just stopped doing everything.

I know it's hard, but there just comes a time when you have to stop dwelling on every little thing you feel.
I never thought I'd be able to do that, but I just got so sick and tired of worrying about everything all the time 24/7 365 that I just had to let it go and realize that I wasn't going to let it beat me.

I don't have attacks anymore and I've weaned off of my medication and I'm doing fine, I haven't felt this good in ages.

Like I said I know it's easy to say just let it go and don't dwell on things, but when I finally did that, that was the turning point for me.

fmor76 · 10-25-2004, 09:07 PM

Well, I know exactly how you feel... For me its not bodily ailments though... for me its the inlaws, or my baby, or my husband, or the gazillions of other things that I think and worry about daily. Its crazy...it never ends.

I wonder sometimes if there are actually people out there that feel normal, that don't worry and over obsess about things. I could enjoy my life so much more if I didn't worry so much.

Its like you don't have a disease, and your not sick, but you think you are so you in turn make yourself sick by worrying and then having anxiety...???? See what we do to ourselves?

angel1064 · 10-26-2004, 07:23 AM

last night for example...i am not on any meds except for xanax as needed ....this has worked for me for 10 years now...altho i was almost panic free for 8...so its only been in the last 3 or 4 months that it has resurfaced. and no i wont go on any other meds. i tried the AD's and i want nothing to do with them. i beat this 10 years ago with out them and i can do it again. just started therapy again last week after all these years.

but anyway, last night as i was leaving work (a hospital)...i had been fighting nauseau all night...i have gastritis....i got stressed over the hours of fighting it and as i was leaving and walking to my car i jsut got this real cold type sweat....and of course it escalated from there...to the point that as i was driving all i could think about was turning around and going back to the hospital...i felt like i couldnt swallow even tho i could take a deep breath...so of course all i could think of was this is different...never felt this cold type of sweat before...it must be really something wrong....xanax took more than 45 minutes to work...i think cause i waited too long...i dunno...all i can say is that this tires me out...it cunsumes me and tires me....so today i feel fine...i am on guard tho...just waiting for it to happen again.