couldn't read your letter until I responded in some way. I have experienced a lot of what you describe. My advice would not be to take the Effexor. I have had nothing but disaster with doctors and medications. Thank God for this web site. It has put a lot of things into focus. It is nice (in a sad way) to know there are others out there and that there is a diaognosis other than insantiy!

I hear you - I feel very alone in this situation.

Lucy, Please see your doctor and take with you our anxiety test. This may better help assess the situation. We thank you for sharing your story and sympathize with you. You need to take it one step at a time. Speak to your doctor about further tests,dosages and medications. We are always here to help, please post often for support. Josie ______________________________ The Panic Center Support Team Edited on 4/6/2005 @ 10:48:17 AM by The Support Team

I feel desperate too. I'm not sure whether my anxiety and panic is caused by the worry that I have a life-threatening illness or whether my symptoms are caused by my anxiety. Over the last few years I have amassed an amazing number of worrying symptoms and have had mixed reactions from doctors who often suggest that I am depressed partly, I feel, because the onset coincided with the death of my mother from motor neurone disease. When the muscle twitching started, my latest doctor referred me to a neurologist in addition to doing several blood tests which all returned normal. The preliminary neurology appointment was inconclusive, the consultant seemed quite dismissive and uninterested, but he has organised for me to have an EMG. First symptom I noticed was 7 years ago - a burning feeling in my feet and tingling in my legs. This was followed by digestive problems (diagnosed as IBS by my doctor) and I also started having problems with receding gums. About 18 months ago I started noticing tingling and burning in my hands which then developed into twitching of both hands which soon spread to all-over twitching, rippling and jerking muscles. In addition I have real problems with sleep, my muscles get very tight (especially shoulder and neck) and I get cramps in my feet. My muscles often feel weak, uncomfortable and trembly. I sometimes panic that I can't swallow and my mouth sometimes feels like it doesn't belong to me when I am talking. I can have days in a row where I am relatively untroubled by symptoms and they are worse in the week before my period and for the duration of it. I have surfed the net endlessly, it seems, and find my symptoms crop up in websites on Fibromylagia, CFC, candida and the perimenopause. As I am now 47, the latter seems the most likely perhaps? The only reassurance I can find is that many other people seem to have similar sets of symptoms to me. Would taking anti-depressant pills help? I am training to be a child and adolescent counsellor and have weekly therapy during which my symptoms are at their most severe. What could this mean? Though my life remains fairly normal in the sense that I can do my job (teaching) as well as studying for my counselling qualification, I often feel that I am on the verge of not being able to

I to am scared of meds and the side effects,but if you have a chemical imbalance only thing that will work is meds..i hear what your going through i feel for you,im a 24 hour 7 day a week anxiety person..it easies up,and than comes back in diffrent forms..it tricks the mind,and the attacks are bad,but the after effects,and the daily living is hard alays feeling off and foggy gets old..i guess you have a choice ahead off you..i hope you get better,and this site is great to help,people can relate well here. outlaw

Antipanic2424, I really understand the way you feel perhaps even better than your doctor do, but I can tell you... if he thinks that anxiety and panic are your problem, then you should go for med. antidepressant take a while before they work,(for me it took 7 weeks on lexapro or escitalopram)I can tell you for definit:it was worth waiting cause I was feeling so bad with these muscles weakness and pain which is similar to sun burns and and the list is endless.... I think feeling like that don't give you the energy to do anything, so my advice to you is to go for med and we will be there to support you. I was also reluctant to take them, then it was the psy who told me to start them before trying any therapy in order to be able to concentrate and do the things more efficiently. good luck I will be checking for your progress ;)

A lot of your symptoms are the same as mine. Effexor has saved my life but make sure you are well aware of the withdrawal symptoms it has. The brain shivers are no fun. But I'm grateful for that med. I too thought I was dealing with MS but surprisingly depression and anxiety mirror many of the same symptoms as MS. It's scary and someone should maybe do a study or something. Anyway, do your research on Effexor first before you say OK. take care!

Antipanic, There are many resources that you can use. Ask your doctor and pharmacist regarding your medication dosages and side effects. You may want to try breathing techniques. There are many books and videos dealing with these techniques. This may help lessen a panic attic. Please also try our program, as it includes an area for a Panic Diary that may be useful to write down your everyday feelings. Hope this helps, Josie ______________________________ The Panic Center Support Team.

Hi everyone. Thank you so much for all of your responses. My mind just keeps going in circles. I am pretty sure I need to talk to a doctor again, I just for the life of cannot decide on which one. Probably a neurologist, with a symptom list like that, does anyone agree? I have had a horrible weekend so far. Last night I had an awful anxiety attack, I had to drink beer to try to "calm down". I mean, I felt like I *had* to drink it, like medicine. It was all I could think of that would work. I am not currently on any meds and of course, don't have access to any anti-anxiety meds. Today, all I've done is cry and eat junkfood. I tried to get out of the house with my husband earlier and I was miserable the whole time. Carsick, dizzy, the bright outside lights seemed so glaring that it just made me a nervous wreck, we had to turn around and come home. I sat in bed and had what I believe to be a short panic attack, about 10 minutes long or so, then I just cried on and off in bed the rest of the afternoon. It is 5p.m and I am just getting up around the house. If the doctors offices were open today, I just may have called already to take my primary care phys up on the Effexor she offered me a week ago. But I am almost afraid to even do that! What if the side effects bother me? What if it makes me worse? She seemed to downplay my anxiety and play up the depression, so maybe Effexor isn't really the best choice for me. Maybe I need something different. How do I know? I hope you continue to respond. This board is a real lifeline for me right now. I'll keep checking back. AP

Hi Just to let you know I've also had all your symptoms - and they are all very scary. I've been watched for MS now for over 10 years because I had "Optic Neuritis" 3x's and it is closely linked to MS, but I had an MRI scan in October and ruled it out. My neurologist said that an MRI scan is 100x's more sensitive to pick up MS than having a symptom. I think it would give you some peace of mind to rule it out (and they generally look at the whole head, so brain tumors, etc would show up). I stil get all these symtoms and they don't last "30 mins", but hours, days & weeks. I've only had this since October too. Take care