Suffering from panic attacks!!

[arzu926]

I have been having chest pains lately and after a trip to the emergency room and several doctors they told me that I am dealing with anxiety attacks. Has anyone else gone through this?? I have been on meds for a week and so much has been going on lately. I left my job to be a substitute teacher and will graduate from college in 2 weeks so I wanted to get some experience in hopes of getting a contract. Everything was going so great and wham!! I hope to get better as my family is so far away in Turkey and I miss them so much. Any advice would be great on how to cope. Have a blessed day.

[Philmontienne]

Hi arzu, that's no fun at all And I'll bet substitute teaching is enough to drive anyone crazy!

What kind of meds are you on? I've heard that some anti-anxiety drugs can cause severe withdrawal problems. How long a prescription did you get and did the doctors recommend any follow-up?

If you have health insurance through your school, make an appointment asap with a therapist (who may recommend a consult with a psychiatrist--the experts on these meds). My current school's student health insurance runs through mid-August--do you know about yours?

Good luck on the teaching. Do you have any mentors in teaching? If you substitute various places, hopefully you will meet a few experienced teachers who can help you out a lot. At least it would give you someone to talk to about your work related concerns. Hang in there!

[tm2chng]

arzu,

My suggestions are these:
Avoid sugar and caffiene as they are triggers for anxiety.
Exercise, It's a great stress releaser and can combat any negative feelings you are having.
Educate yourself- Know what panic attacks are and arent. Yes they are very scary, but know that they wont hurt you. Mainly they are exaggerated feelings and you can bring down the level of your anxiety.
Practice lowering your stress levels during an attack by possitive self talk and focus on your breathing so to make sure you arent over breathing. Alot of times if you can get your breathing under control , the other symptoms will die.
Lastly. Dont avoid your normal routine. Work through these attacks as they will not hurt you.
If you are taking meds for anxiety, I suggest you get into cognitive therapy for them as well.
Let us know how you are.

~Lisa~

[Barbara Ray]

Originally Posted by arzu926

I have been having chest pains lately and after a trip to the emergency room and several doctors they told me that I am dealing with anxiety attacks. Has anyone else gone through this?? I have been on meds for a week and so much has been going on lately. I left my job to be a substitute teacher and will graduate from college in 2 weeks so I wanted to get some experience in hopes of getting a contract. Everything was going so great and wham!! I hope to get better as my family is so far away in Turkey and I miss them so much. Any advice would be great on how to cope. Have a blessed day.

I suffered from panic attacks/anxiety a while back - I was given meds - I can't recall which ones - they really didn't help. HOWEVER - I started working for a Psychologist and mentioned these panic attacks and she recommended deep-breathing and meditation (I started praying again) - sounds too simple - doesn't it? Well, it worked! Those attaks eventually went away on their own AFTER things in my life balanced out. I know it doesn't sound like it now - but things will even out in your life as well. From the way you signed off "Have a blessed day" indicates to me that you're a spiritual person. So, I would suggest that you set time aside each day to pray. That time alone will help make you feel better. We all have the tendency to handle our problems on our own or go to the "professionals" - and forget that the "Master Healer" is just a conversation away. Try to be positive - and get rid of those stressors in your life that you can.

I know it sounds like I'm preaching - sorry - but I do have some experience in this area and I can tell you that when I tried doing things on my own and felt praying was a "waste of time" things just got worse! I'm 63 years old - I finally got back to where I'm supposed to be spiritually and got RID of my stressors and TODAY am just about the happiest I've ever been in my LIFE. My "motto" today is - LET GO AND LET GOD! - It works IF you work it!

God love you!

[whippetlady]

Are chest pains your only symptom of these panic attacks? I don't mean to be nosy but it's common that young women are blown off by docs when they have heart problems. "YOu can't possibly have heart trouble, you are too young and a female" I have heard of women leaving the ER with traquilizers and then having a major coronary in a week. I really am not trying to scare you but being educated on heart matters is up to you.

Also, there are may BENIGN heart conditions that can cause chest pain. There are some conditions where the heart beats out of rhythym. And sometimes chest pain is simply the symptom of GERD, a type of acid reflux. Ask yourself if these docs really investigated the cause of the pain.

[Philmontienne]

EXCELLENT points whippetlady. I had GERD trouble a few years ago and the chest pain freaked me out until I knew what it was. I rarely have any trouble now, but I let it get worse and worse for awhile (all the time under stress and drinking way more coffee than usual along with an awful diet). The chest pain itself practically gave an anxiety attack.

[Anna]

I was suffering from horrible panic attacks and was given a ton of tests and put on meds. During that time I had a ton of stress... I just was laid off from my job of 11 yrs., I found out I had Ulcerative Colitis, I had more people in my home to support, it seemed like in every relationship I had in my life (whether it be my dad or a friend) there was something going on that made things difficult, I was feeling really bad about myself, etc. It sounds like you, too, have a lot going on right now - you will NOT believe how much that affects your health! I have not had one panic attack in 8 months! Once I got a handle on things in my life the panic attacks totally disappeared. Do all you can to fix those things that aren't working, to let go of those things you can't fix... and take care of yourself! Do something every day that helps get rid of the stress... whether it be taking a walk, reading, watching a movie, shopping etc. You WILL get thru this it's NOT worth risking your health over.

[Anna]

also one more thing...

Are you really hard on yourself? When you face a certain situation (it could be talking in front of your students, or meeting a stranger on the street and having small talk) do you doubt yourself? Because negative self talk will set off panic attacks, at least it did for me. Someone else in this thread mentioned positive self talk, and it does help sooooo much! It takes a while... but try to catch yourself if you start being negative and replace it with something positive... after a while you will find it gets easier and easier. And one day it will hit you how confident you've become.

[arzu926]

Thanks so much you guys. My doctor isn't really sympathetic and just keeps writing prescriptions. I have an appointment on Monday with a pulmonary specialist just to play it safe. I just want to get my life back and be normal again. The chest pains are the absolute worst and I've made an appointment with a counselor at the College for tomorrow. I've also made a huge change by accepting Jesus in my life a few months ago. This is a huge change from growing up a Muslim.

[Bubbles]

I take 40mg of Celexa a day for panic attacks. I started meds only after trying every holistic, exersize, breathing therapy thing I could.

I 2nd the comment on being a substitute teacher. You are lucky your head did not explode.

[Naturegirl]

I always knew my severe panic attacks were psychological in origin even when I had my first one at the age of 13.

Getting very real, painful chest pains out of the blue does not sound to me like it's most likely due to panic attacks. You're very smart for checking it out further and going to the pulmonary specialist.

[tm2chng]

arzu,
Congratulations on accepting Jesus !
I agree that if chest pains are your main symptom definately get further evaluations. Let us know how you are doing !

~Lisa~

[whippetlady]

Originally Posted by arzu926

Thanks so much you guys. My doctor isn't really sympathetic and just keeps writing prescriptions. I have an appointment on Monday with a pulmonary specialist just to play it safe. I just want to get my life back and be normal again. The chest pains are the absolute worst and I've made an appointment with a counselor at the College for tomorrow. I've also made a huge change by accepting Jesus in my life a few months ago. This is a huge change from growing up a Muslim.

wow- that's quite a change in belief systems! Here is a nugget for thought- was that all YOUR idea, or did you feel pressured? I don't mean for you to actually answer that, sweety. But I remember when I was a young woman, back when Dinosaurs roamed the earth, that I did things for the men in my life that went against all my values. Bear hunting springs to mind...

Also, I think you need to shop for a new doctor. All those rx can simply masking the problem.

[arzu926]

No, actually my fiancee is Catholic and I wanted to do this on my own. I wanted to learn more about God and I feel a stronger connection to him in Christianity rather than Islam. I'm asking God to give me strength every day.

[shananigan]

I also suffer from Panic Attacks. I do take meciation when I feel it coming on. It is important to remember that medications for anxiety are addictive, but if you are using them only for times when you feel something bad is coming on, there is NOTHING wrong with taking care of yourself. Chest pain and shortness of breath are typical signs of several things....including panic attacks.

[arzu926]

Well, I went to the pulmonary specialist and I don't have asthma and the CT scan came out negative. So, I went to see a gastrointoligist (sp?) and it looks like I have esophagitis. Can you believe that? My doc diagnosed me with panic attacks yet the pain I was having was horrible heartburn!! Thanks for all your support guys. I'm going to head to the medical board and see if anyone has ever uses Prilosec Otc. I'm so hungry but it's irritating to eat.

[shananigan]

I hope all goes well for you!