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Treating Panic Attacks and Social Phobia

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DoctorQuestion
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Treating Panic Attacks and Social Phobia
Posted: 01-29-06 10:44am

This story jumps a bit back and forth different countries, bear with me. i was on a 10 month trip to asia.,

I have been told I have Post Traumatic Stress Disorder about one year ago after being trapped in a 32nd floor apartment in asia during a 4.7 earthquake which shook the building for more than a minute. I then had to sleep in the same apartment for the next 2 months due to financial restrictions. I used to lie in bed almost every night and get "rushes" where i thought it would happen again and my body would tense up in expectation of the "event". A few days later I had a HUGE panic attack which lastet about 3 hours, i was walking around town freaking out prayinmg to god to take me and let me die.. i had chest pains and got these "rushes" that convinced me i was preparing my body for a heart-atack. i went to the emergency room in taiwan, they did chest xray and EKG and everything came back normal.

I then went to Hong Kong for a month, during that time i was sitting in a restaurant one evening and suddenly just felt lightheaded and weird. The next 2 weeks were spent in bed, i was so weak i could almost not walk.. i felt heavy, pains in my body, went to the doctor, he said it was some sort of flu, i took meds, didnt really help..the condition just slowly got better. Then I flew back to taiwan for 2 months to work as an english teacher. I had mild panic and anxiety feelings sometimes esp at night sleeping in the same apartment. also sometimes before teaching i would get this feeling pass through my body which can only be explained as a sheet going through me that made me convinced i was about to have a stroke or faint. nothing happend. Then that same weird feeling came again of being weak, i went to the doc.. he said my throat was sore and gave me strong meds..í lay on the couch for 3 days and got better after that.

I then went to thailand where i witnessed a friend of mine get hit by a drunk driver literally one meter from where i was standing talking to her, she miraculously came away with no serious injuries but as it happend my whole body froze, my chest just immediately seized up and felt totally bloated and stiff..i sat in panic and confusion for over a good hour before i got back to remote normality. Then I went to thailand for a holiday and spent one week alone in a hotel room having panic attacks almost every night, walking to the emergency room to have my heart seen to, they took blood (found some virus but said notning serious), etc.. everything came back clear. THis didnt stop me getting insane panic attack alone in the room and walking about 3 kilometers at midnight to the hospital only to talk myself out of going in when i got there and returning to bed to try and sleeop with the help of some beer. I also had this persisting dizziness feeling that i had had for about 3 months now.. not vertigo spinnig but more an unsettled feeling, sortof SUrreal or weird sensation when walking around in shops or crowded areas or just walking.. made me feel bizarre. NOt once did i actually fall or faint. I went to the ear specialist and he said it was labyrinthitus and put me on beta histine and stemetil. it helped slighlty. I mention here that i have had tinnitus already for 5 years and wondered if he missunderstood and thought i had only JUST started having tinnitus. anyways.

Then i flew back to europe, mianly to get a real opinion of my condition. My doctor was not very thourough in seeing me but just said its post tramumatic stress disorder and that i should rest and try to get back to a normal life. This didnt work too well since i live at home iwth my mum who is suffering much worse than me and she exhausts me. then i went to denmark to work with some friends, and found myself getting exhausted by the slightest things. i felt like fainting, felt weak. no rael energy, depressed..etc.

now i go through weeks of feeling pretty ok, then i have days of extreme fatiugue, feeling of chocking when i try to talk to people and have to breathe in deep and hold my breath to be able to speak. i feel pains in my chest, my left nipple feels very sensitive, i have a tense feelikng in my stomach... i then get more panicky whenebver the symptoms worsen and get convinced i am about to die. I just wonder why its been almost a year now and i havent felt "normal".. not full energy, not full happiness, not focused or determined.. just weak, and scared.

I have been abck to the doctor many times and he says the same thing all the time, its anxiety, its nerves, its stress.. but i cant believe that.. íts jujst bizarre but the answers dont seem to be realistic.. how anxiety can cause so much weakness and pain? can it?

Sorry this is incredibly long but this has been going on so long it is rúining my life. i also dont know what steps i am supposed to take? I am 28 eat well and yet have so little energy and get exhausted easily... is it chronic fatigue syndrome? but there was a period of 3 weeks in october last year where i went on tour with a band and had to work incredibly hard and sleep very little but i had almost NO symtoms and no tiredness.. only afterwards did my symptoms get bad when i came home. I am SO SO SO confused.


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DoctorAnswer
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Anxiety & Stress Answer A317
Posted: 02-09-06 14:56pm

It doesn't seem that you are suffering from some post traumatic stress disorder because I don’t see any trauma in your case. The symptoms you mentioned are not caused by any real disease. I believe you are suffering from panic attacks and social phobia. It is a kind of anxious-depressive neurotic disorder. I recommend you to find yourself a good psychiatrist or mental health professional because your problem is very complex and you will need expert help.


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