Feeling better

[SMITHANDREW12]

Hi all, over the last couple of months i have not been to good. I have been in and out of hospital with dizzy spells, headaches, blurred vision, feeling faint, tingling sensations, palpitations, chest pains, blood pressure megga high ( 220/135) convinced i was having a stroke, and in fact being told by an emergency doc i was having a stroke, However i wasn't. What i did notice was once i was in hospital i started to feel better. I had Ecg's by the bucket load, X-rays, blood tests, kidney liver tests, electrolyte diabetes tests, the lot all clear, nothing, nowt. What i was noticing during my episodes was i was having problems with my breathing and i was acutely aware of every little twitch, every pain, i had become very focused on my inner body, anything anywhere near my heart was an impending heart attack. For me the most important thing after all the tests was accepting there was actually nothing wrong with me heart wise, that most of my problems were anxiety brought on by my fear. I was told to cut out caffeine and Alcohol by my doctor, but i don't drink that much how is that going to help. I cut out the caffeine and Alcohol, and straight away i noticed a difference, the palpitations awareness lessened, the inward focus was not as intense the tingling sensations went and i am sleeping better even on less sleep time. I have noticed on the odd days i have a "bad" sleep the anxiety and tension creeps back. Learning to relax the breathing was also important, listen to how relaxed your breathing is when you first wake up (try and spend a little time getting use to how your breathing should be) and how it is when you are having problems, i found after lots of google searching the best way to get my breathing back is by take a single deep breath and holding it for 25 seconds which resets the parasympathetic part of your brain and lets you body take over your breathing again, you will have to try this a few time to get it right. Its also good to try and have a lie down on your bed in peace and quiet ( no noise at all) when you are having an episode and try and relax you will eventually feel your breathing slow down your body relax and the episode subside. Hope this helps.

[AnxiousMAMA]

Thank you For Sharing this. I started having severe anxiety/depression issues just last fall, which was a few months after losing a close family member and giving birth to my 2nd child. I noticed immediately my blood pressure was always high, so I constantly worried about this. Although I had put on weight from the baby, so I thought for sure I could lose the weight, so much harder when your a stay at home mom who lives on caffeine to function. So I've had all these symptoms also. Dizziness, heart palpitations, strange aches and pains, migraines, numbness, tingling, eye pain, it all rotated from month to month with my cycles. I continuously tell myself to change my dieting habits, i shall take your advice and try no caffeine and see how well I do. How long did it take you before you noticed a difference?

[SMITHANDREW12 in reply to AnxiousMAMA]

Honestly a couple of days, not touched caffeine since, though the wife tried and had pretty bad headaches, though she doesn't suffer with anxiety.

[Agora1]

AMEN to deep breathing. It is something that is always with us if we just use it.

[shellyhelpme]

Hi Andrew,

It's hard to believe all these health issues can all be pinned on anxiety isn't it! Omg can I relate to what your saying about feeling better when your sitting in the emergency room. Its because you feel safe, plain and simple.

Im 56 and I have suffered from anxiety since age 16. However it grew horns about age 47. Like you, I didn't realize it until I was overwelmed by heart attack like illness and numerous er visits.

I'm happy to share with you I solved it with the help of a shink. It took me a couple years of medication trials and being honest with the therapists but I did it.

I'm now on 3 meds. I'm here to say, it can be done!