Tired of it....what has worked for you? - Anxiety Message Board

Editor · 06-09-2006, 07:26 PM

Greetings,

For the last year plus I have had non-stop fogginess/dizziness. I have had PVCs that are driving me nuts. I feel like my IQ is about 30 or 40 points lower than it used to be. Having a conversation that requires thought makes my head spin. I have had an MRI (brain), an EKG, Echo, etc. Everything looks "good." My blood pressure is high (140s over 87-95) but other than that, okay I guess.

What has worked for you? I tried Celexa, but that had some unwanted side effects. I feel as if my life is never going to return to any kind of normalcy. All I want to do is watch TV and drink Merlot. LOL!

Has anything helped you?

Regards, Brenden.

KrazyAS · 06-09-2006, 09:27 PM

Hi-

have you ever had your thyroid checked?? I'm 26, and for 3 years I had the worst anxiety of my life. It came out of no where. I tried zoloft, and 3 months later passed out on it. I then tried paxil,and for a week I could not get off the couch. I was then given xanax, and for 2 years i lived on xanax and lots of alcohol ( i was a bartender) to get me through the day.

Finally last year I ended up in the Er three times in 2 months with horrible symptoms, such as severe dizziness. Every test came back fine, so on the third visit the ER dr. asked me why i took xanax. I told him that i had anxiety, and he said that he wanted to test my thyroid. Well, what do you know, I had a thyroid problem the whole time. And you can rarely tolerate anti- depressants with an untreated thyroid problem.

Brain fog, high blood pressure, heart problems, and dizziness are all symptoms of thyroid problems. I suffered for 6 years- please rule this out. I had 4 ekg's, 2 cat scans, and blood work that came back fine everytime because they don't check your thyroid routinely.

Editor · 06-10-2006, 12:30 AM

Thanks for the reply. I have had the TSH test done twice. It was normal. Although, I understand that the TSH test is not the most accurate, but it is the most common and catches most thyroid problems. What kind of test did they give you?

Regards, Brenden.

hry33 · 06-10-2006, 09:44 AM

to editor
do you snore heavily

you may have a sleep disorder such as sleep apnea, these cause cronic fatigue and exhaustion, sadly docs often dont think of them

KrazyAS · 06-10-2006, 12:58 PM

hi brenden-
Yes, most dr.'s only test your TSH, but there are numerous cases every year where people have hypothyroid symptoms and have normal TSH's. You need to get a Tsh, free t3 and free t4 test. Also, you need to find out what exactly your TSH reading was. Lab ranges can go from (.5-5.5) because dr.'s use the old standards, but new data shows that a tsh should be below a 3.0, and some say a 2.0. For example- My tsh right now is a 4.238. My dr. says that it is normal, but I am very symptomatic still so I know that it is not normal.

My anxiety started when i graduated college in 2002, and i bought numerous anxiety books. All my books just stated how to treat anxiety with medication or self hypnosis techniques, but none stated the actual root to the problem. Finally this year, while spending hours searching for thyroid books, i found the book "Don't Panic. Taking Control of Anxiety Attacks" by R. Reid Wilson. This book actually states medical conditions that can mimic symptoms of anxiety. It would have been a life saver to me 4 years ago because I would have investigated actual medical conditions that could have been related to the cause of my sudden anxiety attacks. I wouldn't have accepted the " you have anxiety, so deal with it" diagnosis. But you never know- my brother has had anxiety for 10 years and he has no medical conditions, so everyone is different.

Hopes this helps!
ang