My story
Apparently it’s an anxiety disorder…
Wow, where to start? About a month ago, I started having panic attacks out of the blue…It would either be an ache in my chest, the feeling that my blood flow is weak, feeling like I’m not getting enough oxygen when I breathe, or even a headache… All of a sudden ALL I could think about was “Something is wrong with me, something is seriously wrong. Do I have cancer? diabetes? A brain tumour?! WHY AM I FEELING LIKE THIS?!”
It was so bad one time that I felt I had to see a doctor immediately, so I went to the hospital…The doctors did no tests, I just sat in a room and spoke to an Doctor about my panic attacks. He said I have an anxiety disorder and gave me an envelope to see a GP. I went to my GP within the next few days and again told him my story, that I was SURE something is wrong, and handed him the envelope. All he did the whole time was look at his computer, basically ignoring me, then shoved some prescription drugs in my face and said “If you want to get better, take these”
How is that supposed to help me? How can I have faith in the medical system when as soon as they hear the words ‘panic attack’, it’s a psychological disorder. Is it not plausible that there is something medically wrong? However slight that chance may be? Is it not possible that the panic comes from a REAL physical illness?
I’m exhausted all of the time…My head feels cloudy and I can’t concentrate on anything. I’m living in fear of every feeling in my body, of every thought in my mind. I just want this to end but the end doesn’t seem to be in sight. I don’t know what to do anymore.
Andrew
September 8, 2010
Replies
actually andrew, psychological disorders CAN stem from the physical. you may not have a physical illness as such, but there are chemicals in your brain which impact your behaviour and thinking. imbalanced levels of certain chemicals may have a significant role in your panic attack. drugs help by regulating or returning the levels of chemicals back to normal. it has been widely used and is usually effective in treating many mental illnesses.
i also think that you may have an anxiety disorder. panic attacks can make you think you have some physical illness because of your symptoms.
if you want a second opinion, see another doctor. there’s no harm in doing that.
It really is ridiculous, I mean, isn’t it their job to listen to their patients and make an informed diagnosis? Not just see the words ‘panic attack’ on a piece of paper and make assumptions…
I actually do think I have anxiety, the fact that I feel so nervous and so scared all of the time is pretty much a dead give away. I’m just not 100% convinced there’s nothing medical behind it. After all, the anxiety could actually be coming from the fact that in the first place I am sick, right? I just don’t know where to start looking for a decent Doctor 
I totally get that too with the pains…It seems like every few days I’m focussing on a different area of my body, that something totally different is wrong with me…One week it will be aches in my chest, the next it will be a cloudy head with slight headaches and light headedness..It just seems to rotate between them all in a never ending cycle of fear.
The panic attacks usually come when I have no distractions, when my thoughts start to turn introspectively and I concentrate on how I’m feeling both physically and emotionally. Which is mostly at night time. It’s like… At night my mind races at a million miles an hour and I don’t get to sleep till the early morning, then I can’t stay asleep for more than 3 hours at a time and it absolutely exhausts me…Then because I feel exhausted it adds to the symptoms and I start thinking I’m getting even sicker…
It’s just a vicious cycle and I don’t know how to stop it!
just keep in mind that a lot of the time, your anxiety can make you believe you have a medical illness, when you do not. see a couple of doctors, and you can request tests if you want, but if they all have similar opinions then maybe follow their advice, and see if things get better. good luck
Thanks for your replies Grace and k, and I guess you’re right…I can’t stop thinking about how I need to see another Doctor but…I just can’t bring myself to take it any further than thought…It took me 2 weeks of feeling like I’m minutes from death to finally realise I need to do something, and to finally feel like I was taking a step forward, only to be given drugs and sent on my way feeling worse without a clue…I said above that I don’t know where to start looking for a Doctor but it’s not that…Even Doctors have looked at me like I was being silly with what I was thinking, I’m so sick of telling my story and having people tell me “it’s just anxiety you’re fine”.
Okay, it might be anxiety… WHAT’S NEXT?! I don’t want to take these drugs, I don’t want to have to wean myself off them, I don’t want to deal with the side effects. I see people on here talking about their dosages etc. and I just…I don’t want that.
I want to feel like somebody is helping me through this, but who can I turn to? I’m just so alone in my head, and my head is my worst enemy.
do you see a psychologist or counsellor as well? because they can provide help in a different way, and usually the combination of drugs and therapy is very helpful and effective. they can help you understand the triggers for your anxiety, perhaps how to reduce triggering an attack and give relaxation techniques to better control them.
well you have to weigh it up, the drugs and their side effects, or the anxiety? i understand neither are pleasant, but maybe if you stuck with it for a while, then later on you may be able to reduce the levels and even not require them. but unfortunately, it does take time.
hope things get better! 
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Hey Andrew. Well first of all, I think you should go to another doctor. I’ve been to doctors before that have acted like that and it’s just ridiculous! But my doctor sat down and discussed all these things with me (I have OCD) and in the end I was the one that asked for drugs!
I think you should consider the possibility that you have anxiety, but who knows really - you should probably see someone who will actually give you some more tests.
In the past I’ve had times where I’ve been obsessed with the thought that I might have some sort of illness and I start feeling weird pains that are psychological because I’m so nervous about getting them!
Is there any particular time that you get the panic attacks?