Doctor, Doctor, Gimme the News!
So I go to the doctor today and I’m like “I have this weird tense, tight feeling in my throat and chest and it can be a bit hard breathe in a nice full breath and it comes and goes all day long and sometimes it’s accompanied by this weird pulsing feeling in my chest, like right under this denty thing in my neck. It has literally come from out of nowhere and it’s starting to freak me out because, you know, not being able to breathe properly and stuff, well…it’s a bit uncomfortable.”
And after I hear scary things like “obstructive airway disease” and take a breathing test and get an EKG, both of which were completely normal, praise the sweet baby Jesus, she tells me she thinks I’m suffering from anxiety.
Anxiety?
Me?
Are you effing kidding me?
I’m not anxious. I’m SO not anxious. Nope. Not a bit. My life is pretty easy and I’m relatively happy and I AM NOT ANXIOUS, DAMMIT!
So she suggests I try some Xanax, which I know would make a lot of people ecstatic because hello? Doesn’t EVERYONE love Xanax? But me? Not happy.
So I tell her I don’t like that idea, that I’m NOT a tranquilizer kind of person, that I’m already prone to drowsiness and laziness and that being tranquil would not be good for me. But she says it would be more to rule out other things because if I feel better, then it’s obviously not some horrible life-destroying lung disease or heart problem and I won’t need that echocardiogram she ordered for me.
*SIGH*
I begrudgingly agree to take the devil pills just to see what happens and to prove to her that she? Is so TOTALLY wrong.
So I take a half of the lowest dosage available. And I fall dead asleep. But when I wake up? No tight chestiness, no weird pulsing heartbeats in my throat, no feeling like I’m breathing through a straw.
I’m cured! I’m cured!
Well, as long as I don’t mind taking de sleepytime pill 2x a day and possibly dozing off at inopportune times — you know, like when I’m driving? Ha. I kid.
But I still don’t get it. How can you have anxiety when you DON’T FEEL ANXIOUS?????
So anyway, tomorrow I’m getting on a big flying machine and going to Camp Baby. I can’t really write about it here because of ad networky things I promised to honor and obey but I can say that I’m looking forward to seein’ mah girls and, you know, releasing all that anxiety that I didn’t know I had. Of course, there are many others I wish were going but hopefully they’ll all be at BlogHer this summer (where nursing babies are totally welcome!)
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Your anti-anxiety meds make you sleep? So that’s how to cure anxiety? Just sleep all the time? No wonder I was fine in college.
Wouldn’t, you know, narcolepsy be a little stressful though? Is this like a perpetual motion machine?
I had the exact same thing happen to me—went to the doctor with FEAR about chest pains and was told anxiety was bringing them on. I did take medication for a bit and incorporated a lot of exercise into my routine. It got better. And I stopped taking the meds—and it hasn’t come back! But the definitely make sleep even more enticing.
Ashley
I have the SAME THING happen to me. But I know mine is due to anxiety attacks. I hate it. I always say that it’s difficult to “catch” my breath. It just doesn’t seem to “catch” and I yawn all the time trying to get a big deep breath to “catch”.
Amy’s last blog post..Life Sucks
Well, I totally hope this pill does the trick, because I do, in fact, have a terrible, horrible lung disease with symptoms just as you describe, and I wish I could cure it with just one pill. Good luck to you!
I think sometimes your body knows things that your mind does not.
sleep? I’ll sleep, if that will take care of my anxiety. Of course, it’s never that easy. I hope your meds help, or better yet, that you start improving to the point you no longer need them!
Daisy’s last blog post..Walk on, Girlfriend!
I know you’ve headed out (have fun!)…
… but if you want some natural, holistic and healthy remedies for anxiety that even busy blogger moms can manage (:) ) email me.
I’ve got some great and helpful things, especially for night.
Julie Pippert’s last blog post..Atonement (Part 1 of ?)
I thoguht as you described it… sounds like anxiety. But honestly, think about this. You’ve had a tough year with family trouble and spousal worries and car issues and with all of that background stress, even if you don’t have gobs of day-to-day worries right now, your body has taken a massive hit of stress hormones this past year, and it is bound to have some effect. Hope you have a GREAT time this week and let yourself have soem of the kind of fun that might just help more than pills. (I, btw, would be reluctant to take them, too, for many of the same reasons, I think.)
Have I told you lately that you have a GREAT blog? I love the way you write. I have no idea who you are, but when I read your writings, I feel like I can hear your voice, and, oddly it sounds a lot like mine. I hope you don’t mind but, I’m putting a link to your blog on my blog. Keep up the great work, and btw, did you ever get that silver ring clean and untarnished? I wish more people really knew the meaning of the symbol for peace.
I had what I later self-diagnosed as a panic attack one random Friday night. It was completely bizarre and I still can’t figure out what triggered it. Hasn’t happened since.
mayberry’s last blog post..To infinity…
As you take the pill the sleep symptoms may be less and your anxiety may be better. Give it a month or so. I also was sent some tapes by Debbie Lane and they are self hypnosis. They have helped me with some of my stress as a result of my chemo therapy for my Ovarian Cancer. I listen to them a few times a week. It is teaching me how to breath and meditate. You may want to try the same.. her site is http://www.wisdomhypnosis.com I found her from another site and its amazing..
Good luck, Dorothy from grammology
remember to call your gram
Dorothy Stahlnecker’s last blog post..Educating our Children, our most precious natural resourse..
Be careful with that stuff. If you take it long term, depression can be a side effect.
Glad you got to feeling better so quickly. My identical symptoms turned out to be a heart condition, BENIGN, but a heart condition nonetheless. A different kind of pill helped me out.
Yeah, I know all about physical anxiety without being anxious…it’s weird, isn’t it?
Have fun with the ladies…I can’t wait for July and the trip to San Fran!
Physiological responses to anxiety are horrible. They can come out of the blue for no reason at all. It’s bizarre
Loralee’s last blog post..Sideblog: Worst tattoos ever
My wife has the same problem and now my 18 year old daughter is having the same thing…Oh S..T maybe it’s me that’s causing the anxiety. Now I am the one anxious!
Chris Austria’s last blog post..Smiley Face
I am sorry to hear you are suffering with anxiety. There is help beyond medication. Has the doctor discussed further work in that regards?
Feel free to contact me off the blog if you would like any assistance I might be able to offer.
That’s the thing, though. You THINK you know what anxiety feels like but there are all sorts of anxiety. Fortunately, when you’re sleeping it’s very difficult to be anxious. And now that you’re celebrating with lots of bloggy goodness at that camp nobody is supposed to talk about, all will be fine.
Karl’s last blog post..Lots of Stuff to Mention
I had a couple of panic attacks in the last few weeks. I am sure they are a short term thing (my marriage just broke up 6 weeks ago). They started with the same feelings you described. I ended up getting a small amount of valium and only take them if I really really start to feel I can’t cope (because they are mega addictive). (Haven’t had a tablet all week so don’t start thinking I’ve been zoned out all week).
Good luck with getting this under control. It can be tough.
theotherbear’s last blog post..Brief Hiatus
Well, look on the bright side: at least you’ll finally get some sleep!
On a serious note, I’m sorry to hear about the anxiety issues. I know SO many people who have problems with anxiety. I swear there is something in the water.
I was feeling the EXACT SAME WAY last year, felt like an idiot telling my doctor, and she prescribed Lexapro, which is in the anti-depressant class of drugs but helps with anxiety too. And it doesn’t make me sleepy either.
I think it’s more common than we realize, and I think it has a lot to do with pressure, and stress. I was having anxiety attacks trying to pick out DVDs at Blockbuster, I swear. You are SO not alone.
Elizabeth’s last blog post..Social Spark combines paid blogging with social networking
Oh God, now I feel horrible for complaining! I’m sorry!
My friend had the same reaction when the doctor told her the same thing….Now, two years later, she is convinced that the meds are a gift from God.