First time

[Siobhan13]

Hi all, I'm new on here but thought it might help talking to people going through the same thing as I have zero support at home. I'm 24 and for the past few weeks have been getting racing thoughts, that combined with a fear of falling to sleep, I get all works up thinking I won't wake up. I seen my doctor last Thursday who told me I was having intrusive thoughts and referred me to therapy. As of Monday just gone I've been really struggling, I tried white chestnut and until Wednesday I felt it was working, Wednesday evening I had sudden nausea, and vomited twice. I haven't been sick since but the nausea is still there, my mind is foggy and I feel detached and that I'm not 100% focused. Is this normal? I'm not sleeping at all, my doctor has seen me again Thursday just gone and prescribed me hydroxine? I'm fearful I might react badly to the, so yet to try them. I'm constantly losing concentration and my appetite is pretty much vanished, anyone have these problems? I've been to the walk in centre this morning due to nausea and chills still and just felt awful and she's gave me tablets for a water infection but I'm still not convinced. Help!

[Megan21]

I've got anxiety and depression and have similar symptoms - nausea, feeling hot and cold, no appetite at all and feeling detached from what's going on around me. I often wake at night and can't sleep as my mind is racing and my chest feels tight. I've started on anti depressants but its early days yet.

We are all affected in different ways and don't think you are unusual, many of us on here have similar symptoms to what you're describing. Take your meds but remember you'll often feel worse before you'll feel better. Good luck xxx

[Siobhan13]

Thank you for replying. I'm grateful.

What medication have you been prescribed? X

[Megan21 in reply to Siobhan13]

I'm on citalopram 20mg xx

[Megan21 in reply to Megan21]

I was on 10mg and felt terrible then started to feel a bit better after about a week, I've just been upped to 20mg and am in the feeling rotten phase again. Dr said this was normal though its not easy to go through xx

[Soosh in reply to Megan21]

I really hate that phase. :/

The thing that gets me through it is knowing I got through it before.

[Megan21 in reply to Soosh]

That's what I keep telling myself, just got to be patient - which is hard for me !

[Hidden]

Me too. All familiar symptoms. I get intrusive thoughts too. Try not to push them away and let them pass through. Or think about them and rationalise. I say "oh yes, that one again". Meds can help too and cbt. Best wishes. X

Ps. Nausea and chills can be symptoms of anxiety but always best to check dr. X

[Siobhan13]

I've been to the doctor Thursday and he sent me for blood tests, I went to the walk in centre and she said I've got some bacteria in my urine sample so has given me antibiotics for that. But yet in still unconvinced I'm debating taking myself to a&e for sheer peace if mind! Xx

[Soosh]

I remember a few years back when I first started going through similar things. The sleep deprivation (self inflicted or otherwise) was the thing that messed with my mind the most. It's probably what's causing the fogginess, that and the lack of regular meals. It's a vicious cycle; you don't eat because you're anxious and your anxiety is worse because you're not eating. The detached feeling could be depersonalisation/ derealisation (or even part of sleep deprivation). It's your minds way of coping with the overload of anxiety you're feeling. I read somewhere that... (hang on I'll find the book ) ..."during these feelings of unreality, your anxiety levels actually drop significantly. Your body is acting on your behalf to save you the unpleasantness of experiencing any more anxiety". It's completely natural and basically means that your mind is trying to save you from any more stress. You just need to relax into it and remind yourself that it's normal and that it's protecting you. Lots of people who suffer from anxiety and/ or panic attacks have the same experiences.

When I was having issues sleeping and getting my mind to switch off I tried meditation/ relaxation music downloads (thunderstorms seem to work for me, but maybe bird sounds is more your thing? Or whale music? :P). Give it a shot, you never know. Guilty secret; Fleetwood Mac best of album (blame my parents for my vintage musical influences) switched into my brain via an Ipod is my musical soporific. It's what got me through oh so many nightly panic attacks.

Hmm.. could the nausea and sickness be unrelated maybe? Do you get migraines? It's possible that anxiety has caused you to have a migraine. It might not be the White Chestnut that made you sick, so maybe you should try giving it another try, as it seemed to be helping. I know how easy it is to write something off after you think it's made you puke. I have a LONG list of things I don't touch because of this. I have a massive fear of vomiting; it's part of my anxiety DNA. But I also get horrendous migraines that make me vomit sometimes, so I also know that sometimes it's just a reaction your body's having because of something going on in your brain and not to get too paranoid about what I've eaten/ ingested.

I worried about the idea of taking prescription medication for so long, but it got to the point that I knew I needed help and that help might just be in the form of a small pill that would take some of the weight of depression off my shoulders and ease the anxiety off to manageable levels until I've got the strength and support structures in place to be able to do it myself again. One of the best decisions I made, but it's not the solution for everyone. Maybe therapy on it's own would work better for you.

You never know until you try, but don't push or rush yourself into a decision you're not ready to make. Just ask yourself if it's something you need to do for you. For your mental and physical health.

Understanding what's going on and why it's happening is a good first step. A friend that gets panic attacks gave me a book that helped me understand things a lot better (Panic attacks by Christine Ingham). I've also seen recommended on here books/ audio CD's by Dr Claire Weekes.

Sorry about the essay length of this reply. I hope there's something in all that that helps in some way. I know how much anxiety can start to take over everything and how overwhelming it can seem, but it is something you can get passed. You just need to find the right way of getting through it for you.

~Soosh x

[Siobhan13]

Thank you so much for replying.

As its my first real experience it's hard to understand, I find I'm keeping myself to myself as I can't fully engage in conversation with people but again that may be due to the fact I've hardly slept this week. I'm trying to eat small things abit at a time and hoping to take the edge off that way, I've also not been in work since Tuesday so I'm finding that might be another reason as I'm out of a routine in that sense. It's very hard as you can't always find a trigger. But I really appriciate your words and advice it does mean alot, and reassure me that I'm not alone.

I'm emotional as I'm getting no support at home, my boyfriend is away in the forces and I found he wasn't very supportive either. So I think again that is another thing causing me to stress and get emotional.

I will keep you posted xx

[Megan21 in reply to Siobhan13]

I'm in a similar position as its new to me too. My husband is away a lot working so I've been on my own a lot too, trying to cope with 2 kids and a demanding job. It's so hard to admit that you're struggling but everyone on here is very supportive and no one will judge you. Xxx

[Soosh in reply to Siobhan13]

No problem.

Yeah, I understand. I found that I started isolating myself from a lot of people because I was feeling a little unsteady with myself, in how I was feeling, so I found it was hard to talk to people who didn't know this had happened, but knew me, y'know? (that made sense in my head ) Good plan, I think just so long as you're getting something into your system it'll help you feel a bit better in the long run.

I haven't been on this website long, but if there's one thing I know for a fact; it's that you'll always get support here when you need it. We all know what it's like, so can empathise and help when we can. I think people who haven't been through something, especially something that's not physical like a broken leg, find it hard to understand. I'm around if you ever need to talk.

Feel better. xx