Hello: I was just writing to tell you guys know that the Dr. wants to start me on an SSRI. Man, I dunno. I'm nervous about it, but the psych said (and I agree), that I should take it and see if it works so I can know for sure whether or not this is my problem. I had a question for any of you who know - what's the deal with missing a day of the meds - will I start feeling like I'm having a stroke or something? Also, how easy is it to get off them if I don't like them. Also, do they make you feel out of sorts, like you are not yourself (not that these episodes don't do that already)? I asked the Dr., but I feel like she was giving me the routine schtick.

i was alamed to read 50 percent of panic disorder suffers also have gerd ohhh..well i belive that i got that out the blue too..to note on the first panic attack thing i was at work chillin on top of the world no pressure i was fine in life no worrys at all..i was going to work over that dat excited about the extra payday when my heart began galloping and i sweating..called almbulance said i had anxiety i was like ya right so this is 4 years ago..when through all the heart tests than,and im doing it again now because im scared.the heart rate can come on while you are relaxed anxiety will than come with it..i know excatly what you are talking about..i take a benzo too xanax now for 4 years some docs warn against it some say it is ok..it works but it wears off and duringthe day kinda rough..ive taken ssri's,and maoi's but the side effects were terrible..how they excpect you to work like that especially im a unloader guy on semis?hmmm?i gotta be on game xanax just does enough so i will suffer until i cant take a medical leave and try one of them again..advice i give to you have anxiety,its hard to belive but we get it in our 20's your symptoms match those of it..i wish i could help more just relax and pray..hopefully one day we will all be better..

Trish, Thank you so much. My situation sounds much like yours. After the high bp dx I went a little berserk. Cut out all salt, was concerned all the time b/c I couldn't understand how I got it. Plus I was already stressed anyway. To answer your questions, the 2 psychs don't think I have it, b/c they said that I seem to be pretty well adjusted, and they can't pinpoint any patterns in my episodes. The connection to food also makes them think it could be chemical or eletrical misfiring on the vagus nerve (but there's no test that would confirm this). They have said that it's possible that I have anxiety, and no specific triggers, but that it's rare. Usually people develop patterns over time, but mine seem to come whenever, wherever. There are times when I feel myself stressing out about my health, and have a panic attack - but I can tell b/c I usually feel anvious and worked up. The ones that concern me, are the ones that seem to come out of the clear blue sky. Like the other day I was on the phone with my friend and felt some little sticking pains between my breasts and within a second, I felt my heart galloping in my chest for about 10-15 minutes. After that I was sooo nauseous. I had to lay down for the rest of the night.

Lawchick, The phobias begin after the attacks, it happens when we wish to not be in a place where a previous attack has taken place, or while driving, or generalized fear of "having an attack" while out and about. Panic attacks at first just happen out of the blue, no anxiety is needed, although stressors over the last year can indicate if you look back that your body was doing too much, or other factors in your life, getting married, new house, new baby, new or loss of job, etc. If your doctor has done the proper blood work test to rule out overactive/underactive thyroid, etc. Your heart tests are doing well, I would in my experience believe you do have panic disorder. Question, I can understand your GP thinking you do, is there some reason why your two pyschologist don't ? The inital extreme dizziness could have been panic itself, the high BP, starting on a beta blocker, Im on that too, and does then to make one weak and tired in the beginning. Having high BP, and rapid heartbeat can make one dwell on your health. Same again happened to me, first attack was at 28 years old, no history in my family, and Im relatively thin, my cholestrol, etc. was good. That is what frightened me the most, after having the attack, horrible enough itself, I was fine the next day, I didnt dwell on it, I went to a GP in town and not my regular doctor, as a month before I had my son and was anemic during my pregnancy. I thought possibly I was iron deficient. He told me you have high BP, here take these pills. WOW, I freaked, shook on the way home, and had attack after attack, after attack for days. I was born with a heart murmer, and I obessessed about my heart and blood pressure. Four days later my regular doctor had seen me and told me, but I already had cluster panic attacks by then, that after having a panic attack, your blood pressure would be elevated for up to 24 hours due to the hyperventilation symptoms that went with the attack. He stated the reading the doctor gave me was borderline and I should have been monitored for at least two weeks before saying OMG, You have HIGH BP, thus freaking me out. I get the tingling sensations, but pretty much can handle it now since Ive experienced those for 13 years and know its the anxi

Thanks outlaw - I appreciate you taking the time to respond. Re: meds - the psych just started me on a Benzo - she said take it when I get symptoms and see if they get better. This would help me know if it's anxiety or not. I don't take it very often - I worry about getting addicted. And usually when my heart rate gets high, (during episodes its been as high as 160), I'm so freaked out I don't remember to take it. Also, if the episode isn't that bad, I don't take it - I keep waiting to see if it will escalate. Do you have alot of fear or anxiety before your attacks, or do the symtpoms freak you out? I'm just not that afraid (I don't think). :confuse: I dunno.

well luckily you have insurance im on a new job so im screwed etc go to a free clinic..ive had ekg,and full blood work up yet i worry..i get the racing heart rate to,like a 100,my bp is normal though pretty much im also 24 years old..one thing i can relate to is i have bad acod gerd to,you must diet watch what you eat no caffine,beer,fatty foods etc sucks..i also been on a ppi for 2 years at times it works other times i will flare up just the way it is although it is scary and real you will be ok..i tgink you as me worry about your health a lil much look at the teat youve had done and your age does heart disease run in your family becarefull what anxiety/hypochondria can do almost housebound for some folks some days i dopnt want to leave but i do im scared all the time i say you got anxiety and the future will be good thats what i think of myself to..than there is the what if????what if this what if that?its hard when you got chest pain and fast heart rate not to worry you on any anxiety meds??respond back and read they boards its full of people like us..

I forgot to add that I'm on a beta-blocker for the heart thing, but it still happens - though less frequently and less severely. Thanks again. I'm so sad.

Hello: This is like my 3rd message, but I'm new to this whole thing. I joined the site a few days ago. This is my problem - the docs don't know what's happening with me, and I'm just trying to find out if my symptoms are consistent with those of a panic disorder (docs think it might be, but 2 psychologist doesn't think so). I'll try to keep it short, and would appreciate any insight. Thank you in advance. A year ago I started having these wierd episodes - I would be standing or walking and suddenly feel dizzy, and my face and scalp would feel tingly. That would be the whole episode. I was also getting this new type of headache across my forehead, and I was definitely under stress. Once I went to bed and wasn't sure if I was sleeping or awake because my mind would race with incoherent thougts - mostly questions and terms from textbooks. I couldn't figure out if I was dreaming, but it was like I couldn't escape the thoughts (I only recently remembered this). Around that time I began having a quick pulse - not pounding, and not terribly alarming, but somewhere around 100 bpm at rest. I thought it was odd. Diagnosed with high BP, (I'm in mid-20's). Doctor dismissed it as coffee, virus, stress, blah blah blah. Within a few weeks I couldn't really stay out of bed for very long, because I would be so dizzy. Spent most of the day laying down. I chilled out for a few months and felt a little better, though still getting these episodes less frequently - and I thought it might be metabolic, since I had to eat all the time or my symptoms would get worse. After a better few months, I was sitting one day talking to a friend and felt some weird pain in the center of my chest, when suddenly my heart was racing and pounding. OF course I thought I was going to die - actually said this - and went to the hospital. They did a bunch of tests. Nothing. After this episode had much stomach acid (prone to reflux). This was the first of the onslaught of episodes that followed. I was scared all the time - constantly had to pee, trembling, shaking. Had about 6 ER visits. Stress echo, doppler echo, ekg's, chest x-ray, endocrine tests, all showed nothing. Now on a monitor for a month. My stomach is a catastrophe. I have BAD acid - and thought gastritis m