Anyone else have seriously EXTREME anxiety?!? Please talk to me.

[Loopeylou92]

Im sure this will be all over the place but here goes.. ive had mild aniexty and depression in the past but have always gotten over it pretty easier with talking therapies and low dose of anti depressants.. that was until september 2018 at the age on 25 i had a fucking stroke!! This stroke has seriously RUINED my life (at the moment) i was 4 weeks postpartum whem i had the stroke. Luckily i have had very few problems from stroke.. fatigue, headaches, lost a small amount of sight in one eye, my brain is so self aware (you'd only know this feeling if you've had a stroke) anyway within a few days i started getting EXTREME general anxiety and health anxiety. Since having the stroke i have been to a&e 4 times thinking i was having another one or something else is seriously wrong and given my history my fears are investigated straight away by the amazing hospital i go to (seriously they're fucking incredible) i know im rambling now but just need to get all this off my chest. Im on mirtazapine and have just started propranolol which is great for my physical anxiety symptoms like racing heart high, blood pressure ect but after it wears off i am just filled with dread and fear about everything and anything!! Currently on a waiting list for counselling and get out and about with my baby everyday and trying to exercise more. Im basically doing every thing i can but im still an anxious mess. Someone please talk and tell me anxiety does get better. Never felt anything like this before. Sorry for the long post.

You've had a baby and a major health incident and it's barely been six months. That's a hell of a lot to deal with. I'm not surprised you're finding it hard. Humans have a great power to heal though. It sounds like you have a plan so you're putting yourself in the right place for recovery.

Thanks so much for reading and replying. I am trying to do all i can but i just wish the anxiety would just settle down a bit and give me a break. Im lucky to be alive i dont want to live my life like this.

Have you considered sertraline? Seriously changed my life in term of anxiety

Please try cbd oil even the mild dosage from Holland and Barretts will help.
I can't even begin to tell you how this has helped me. Seriously good for anxiety. I have been through a horrendous time at work and stress levels through the roof. Cbd oil boom no more palpations et etc.

Whiskerspete - really? I tried it before years ago but I've just started mirtazapine a few months ago so dont really wanna switch just yet but thankyou

Thank you maxbabi have been thinking about cbd oil for a while will look into it

Anyone else?!

Me! After significant life events. Currently on citalopram and diazepam but not really doing the job. Wish I had the answers.. am going back to the doctors to see if I can find any better meds soon. Its horrible.

Sorry to hear you're in the same boat haftseen. Its such a difficult time trying to get the right medications sorted. Im going to give the mirtazapine another month or so as ive just doubled the dose and its worked for me before. Care to share your story? Dont worry if not

Of course I'll share, I started off with panic attacks following leaving my ex, domestic violence issues, then the loss of my parents.

I had counselling and a course of citalopram which I thought helped, but soon after, I was back to feeling paralysed with panic, heart racing, not sleeping. I've had my dose increased now but I probably still have maybe 10 episodes in a day of extreme anxiety. It happens at work too and I'm literally shaking, and then end up with a blinding headache.

Some days are better than han others, but it's affecting my quality of life now, as physically and mentally I'm totally worn out. I'd love to feel "normal" again.

I am literally off the scale with my anxiety (general and health). I always think I’m having a heart attack and every scenario in life is the worst case. After having my son 9 months ago it got unmanagable. I’m 6 weeks into a high dose of sertraline (100mg) and I am noticeably better. No panic attacks for a couple of weeks now. Sorry you have had such a hard year x

Quetiapine- absolute life changer, and I think I’ve been through them all via go but you will probably need a psychiatrist for this. I only take 25 mg a night and I sleep soundly & no fatigue & zero anxiety. Have been on 50mg which is still a very low dose but made me super sleepy during the day. If nothing else is helping, ask you GP for a referral to discuss?

via GP sorry autocorrect

loopeylou I had a stroke in my mid 20’s (nearly 10 years ago now) and I know exactly how you’re feeling. I was lucky in that my stroke hasn’t severely affected me. I struggle to learn new skills and have a few short term memory problems but nothing that really holds me back as such.

I don’t consider myself to have anxiety as such now, it’s just a constant sense of dread. I’ve had counselling, tried yoga, had various combinations of medication and, as yet, I’ve found nothing that’s truly worked. Exercise and seeing my friends and family a lot helps relieve the worst of it. I struggle in that I think my feeling of dread is rational - I’m terrified for my dc’s (and my) future due to climate change. It’s something out of my hands that I can’t fix myself.

I was on holiday a few months ago and was walking in the darkness when it started snowing. I looked up and watched all the snowflakes falling and for a few minutes all my anxiety was gone. It was amazing just how calm I felt and made me realise just how constant this negative feeling grips me. It made me redouble my efforts to get rid of this feeling.

Hey Loopeylou, I'm with you. I started on Sertraline in October after ten months of private counselling, and it's made all the difference. Give everything you've offered a chance, when the fog clears life is evem better than you even remember it being

Haftseen - so sorry to hear about your parents that must be so tough. You sound so much like me. Propranolol is great, I'd ask your doctor about it. It reduces all the phycial side effects of anxiety. My pulse used to be between 90-100 all the time even when resting for a good hour. I did it earlier and it was 65. Im still anxious like mad. Over thinking everything but atleast the phycial side of it isnt as bad.

RLOU30 - i also think i am always having a heart attack had two doctors appointments in two days about it. Im literally there every other day. Glad youre feeling a bit better seems like a high dose though. Thankyou. Hopefully this year will be better for us both.

Inthekitchensink - thanks havent heard of
Quetiapine before i will look it up.

Meowththatsright - you dont understand how happy i am to hear from someone who has been through what i have. What caused your stroke? Or was it just one of those things? I have also become a bit forgetful and a bit scatty. Dread is a great word to describe it. I suppose time heals (hopefully). I also fear for stuff that is out of my hands

Grincheux - thankyou hope you feel better soon. How much is private counselling if you don't mind me asking?

I paid £45 an hour. I'm fortunate to earn a full time wage so I could afford it, but it really was worth every penny. The knack is to get into a routine and go every week, it's not something you can just dip in and out of to begin with. The NHS offer some counselling but it's often inconvenient, unsctuctured and unpredictable timing and a long waiting list.

Me really bad anxiety and depression where for a few years i didn't leave the house for a few months at a time, last summer i decided to take the plunge and go to the cinema and i really enjoy it, its the only place i get to actually belly laugh but i still get anxious 50+ visits later.

Right now i am really anxious, at christmas which i find really stressful i started waking up to go to the toilet urgently and sometimes needing to go to the toilet urgently whilst awake, it abated for a while but recently i have been having troubles with ESA and other things and it returned and also shoulder/ neck and arm pain, and the urination issues have come back. I went to the doctors Friday, did a urine test and my urines fine, and i need to go for a blood test to see if i have diabetes, my mum is diabetic and so I've been testing myself daily and I've been between 4.1-5.1 so although its not fully indicative my blood sugars seem generally in check.

But the doctors appointment itself was horrid, i was in the GP on time but the receptionists made me wait for 5+ minutes to check in ( i was the only person in the queue and they weren't seeing to anybody and there were 4 of them to be told my appointment was upstairs in a new hub where i went straight away and signed in and sat there for another 5-10mins. Then when in the actual appointment she asked me what was wrong and i explained as well as giving some other personal information that i thought was relevant as it involved urination and i could see her openly eye roll and make i cant be arsed looks, i said that i think its anxiety related because it seems to be when I'm stressed and she quite abruptly dismissed it, asked if i got thirsty and asked if i was generally tired but said that she didn't need to ask ( i hadn't slept properly in 3 days) both of which were genuinely no. I then said about my arms and she again got impatient and abrupt and said i was late, i pointed out that i wasn't it was the receptionists. I was bad and going to the doctors atleast once a week at one stage because i was so anxious, the doctor told me not to blame everything on my anxiety and i pointed out my history and she told me i didn't need to become a hypochondriac about stuff, which jarred me.

Anyway, since i have been constantly thirsty and tired and generally more anxious in my stomach, low level headaches and all my little sensations are heightened because I'm worrying more. Just before writing this i was eating a late dinner and got a sudden surge of anxious energy.

I feel like I'm going backwards again.

Grincheux - 45 an hour isnt too bad i suppose. Yeah nhs counselling seemed okay last time but the waiting list is 4-5 months.

Frustratedteddylamp - aww sounds like you're having a terrible time. Its so hard to decide what's down to anxiety or what is actually another health issue. Im also at the doctors every week. Mine are so nice and understanding though.

loopey unsure of the exact reason I had a stroke. I have a genetic disorder that greatly increases the risk of stroke but generally only in people who are also overweight/ smokers/ generally unhealthy which I very much wasn’t. Just bad luck I guess but I’m obviously grateful that I wasn’t left physically disabled by it in any way. How about you?

Are you concerned about having another stroke in the future? I have to say I very rarely think about having had a stroke as it was so long ago now. Since reading this thread though I’ve started to wonder if some of my anxiety is some deep rooted fear that I’m going to have another stroke.

Is it antiphospholipid syndrome by any chance? Im being tested for that.. Mine was a few risk factors pregnancy, not keeping up with blood thinning medication and possibly this syndrome. I am too grateful i dont have any serious long term effects either.
Yes im constantly scared of having another one and now i am also scared of having a heart attack from all this stress and anxiety. So sorry if ive bought up any anxieties for you!

Meo would you mind if I ask what disorder? I have MTHFR and have a higher risk of stroke.

I have a variety of connective tissue disorders, including Marfans Syndrome. It’s actually quite a good thing that I’m thinking about it again loopey, it reminds me how lucky I am to still be here.