health anxiety

[Lovebug101]

I am a type one diabetic I have been for 29 years. I am 34yrs old & insulin dependent. For me it has caused depression managing my condition everyday. I have a hard time differentiating my blood sugar levels and panic attacks since they are 100% comparable. It has taken a toll on my life. I often have a rapid heart rate that worsen when I eat so I have become afraid of eating. I often wake up during the night with a racing heart rate that wakes me up out of my sleep and I start to panic. No matter what the doctor tells me or how much I am reassured I still think I’m going to have a heart attack and die. I take clonazepam, lexapro and trazodone. I lost my 25yr old brother due to a heart attack caused by low potassium it happened very sudden. I can still hear my mom’s scream in my head when she called to tell me her son is dead. He was admitted into the hospital 2 months prior for low potassium they treated him and let him go. Now I think the doctors are missing something and I question if something more could have been done. The anxiety and depression has effected my life majorly and I want to get back to my old self. My blood pressure runs on the low side 100/58 but my heart rate is the opposite. Resting HR is generally 88 after eating 115.

[LadyZen]

My daughter has a lot of health anxieties, where she can't differentiate if it's a real symptom or if she's panicking. I told her I think it's good she is aware of her physical symptoms, but at the same time, she shouldn't be dismissive of them, but also not worry. It's a delicate balance.

One thing that helps me whenever I've been seriously sick is my father's words to me. He tells me not to worry. He grew up in a war-torn impoverished country, and he saw people survive the worse ailments. My grandmother survived several miscarriages, and she was diabetic. She didn't have medicines or vaccines. She suffered broken bones and blackouts. But she lived until 90. We're all alive today, right now, because we're strong mentally and physically. (This isn't to denounce modern medicine though. That's important still.) But I just hold onto my father's words to give me peace of mind.

[Lovebug101 in reply to LadyZen]

Thank you for your kind words. I’m sorry to hear about your daughter I hope she finds peace and is freed of her worries soon. Sometimes we get so into our own thoughts and those are enough to make us question everything that is going on in our lives.

[LadyZen in reply to Lovebug101]

Same for you too.

[Tokyolightsjanuary]

Sorry you're going through all that, last year I was also on trazodone and Lexapro for MDD. I'm type 2 diabetic so I understand what you mean about the racing heart feeling like a heart attack. Same thing happened to me last week I went to the ER and they gave me hydrozyne for anxiety cause there's nothing wrong with my actual heart. Even today I heart a racing heart beat, it's such a scary feeling. Not that it will fix the situation, but taking very deep breathes and remembering that there's people around you that'll come to your aid is what helps me a little. Side note, trazodone made me sleep more than it did help with the depression but everyone is different so hopefully it'll work out great for you. I'm sending you good wishes, you're gonna be okay!