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Does It Get Any Worse


guvna2004

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Im 20yrs old and im Male. In July 2002 i started smoking what i call 'weed' other names are hash, herbs, pot, the first time i smoked it i got 'Paranoid' that bad i thought id die, after that incident i continued to smoke it when friends did for a few more months, then started getting paraniod again. In November 2002 i was still very anxious and paraniod. For years befor that i was scared of eating food quickly incase i choke and die, which led me to have an eating disorder on and off. As i was saying in November 2002 i choked on a bon bon sweet, and managed (obviously) to get it out. I was so scared i went to the doctors right away just to make sure i did choked and never had a reaction or anything, after i went the doctors he said it was a panic atack and gave me BETA Blockers to slow my heart down, this made me even more scared so i went to ER the same day and they dismissed me without even doing checks. Ever scicne that day i was really nervous and couldnt stop thinking why the doctor gave me beta blockers. In January 2nd 2003 i was playing the X-BOX when for no reason my heart rate was racing really fast, and i was scared, but i just left it. Scince then up until now ive noticed loads of things with my heart and every day i think about dieing ect. I have Skipped Beats, Irreguar Beats, and sometimes it feels like my heart is racing but when i check my pulse its normal. I stand up and always feel like im gonna black out, and have to stop for a second. I get all the symptons you guys do. I went for an ECG andthe doctor said he'll put me on an ECHO because he said one part of my heart was a little bit muscular then the other ( that could have been due to the day i had my ecg, i cycled 6 miles in 18 mins to get to the hospital as well as having a panic attak in the hospital).. I didnt got to the ECHO, things dont really get worse they just repeat, 1 day i could be fairly normal , next day really bad, and so on. Its anoying. I excersise regular, ive just recovered from an eating disorder and i want to be normal. Id love to here other people posts, do you have the same as me? im only 20 and have to put up with this , im also a budding musician, im a music producer and rapper, and im trainning to be an english teacher, please give me some inspring help as thats what i need now, im scared it will stop me in the future. Loads of love to you all

JAMES

ps. i have

-ANXIETY/PANIC ATTACKS (sometimes severe) no meds.

- All the heart probs, skipping, irregular, fast, slow

- eating disorders that come and go

ive had all this for about 2 years 2 months now. can i actually be normal?

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Guest tearose

good mornin' james, I'd didn't sleep too well but I felt like I should try to muster a little strength to respond to you. So here I am with my coffee and a drop of brain power...

I am not sure if you have the diagnosis of POTS or not. Did you get an autonomic workup? Do you have a dysautonomia? You need to know what exactly is it that you are struggling with. Your symptoms could be secondary to another problem. You really need an excellent, dedicated internist to work with you through all your health issues. Create a personalized "medical team" if you need several specialists.

I'm sure these symptoms of choking and panic attacks are all adding to your worries but you can get these under control with help! I do think you are a normal person who has challenges that have to be addressed!!! Stand up for yourself and kindly, demand good medical care! You MUST however, stop doing things that can hurt you!!! Take the step that makes you enter into the adult world and take responsibility for YOU! You, James, have within you all you need to be that successful musician/english teacher you want to be!

Life will give you enough challenges, don't fool around with your health. I find from my personal experience that if I have health issues that are causing me concern, I will keep going to the doctor until the answer is found! I think you will begin to heal once you get some answers.

I hope my words came out as compassionate as I feel towards your situation...

all I say is with heartfelt concern and support, tearose

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I second everything that Tearose said! I often have anxiety, panic, skipped beats, arrhythmias, etc. I have POTS and Mitral Valve Prolapse (MVP). Have you ever been dx'd with MVP? It can be associated with many of the symptoms you describe as well as POTS. MVP is normally a benign condition of the heart, but it can cause some scary moments. Like Tearose said, PLEASE find a physician or team of specialists that will do the proper tests on you to determine what's causing your symptoms. A tilt table test, a heart echo, etc. are some of the normal tests for dysautonomia and cardiac conditions. Symptoms of dysautonomia can vary day by day or minute by minute. Like you said you can feel pretty good one day and then have a flare up of symptoms the next day. They affect everyone differently. Until you are able to see a good doctor and get testing...you may want to try something simple like increasing your fluid/water intake and adding Gatorade (for electrolyte balance) to see if it eases your symptoms at all. Best of luck James. Keep your head up and don't give up! B)

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Hi James I want to welcome you on board. I agree that you need to have some furthur testing done to figure out more about what is going on. The fact that you have panic attacks does not make you not normal either does your anxiety. What is normal anyway???? But it is so hard to feel normal when this is going on. I have been there. I am doing much better with treatment. Having panic attacks is awful and I feel for you. Hopefully with further testing you can get some treatment to ease the symptoms. Don't be afraid to ask any questions. There are a lot of wonderful people here.

Best Wishes,

Dawn

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Hi James.

You might have dysautonomia and you might not. Irregular heart rate and panic attacks could be just heart related not necessarily autonomic related. The trick is to find out what is causing what.

A suggestion, if you haven't already done this is to stop smoking pot. Pot can lower blood pressure which in turn can mess up your heart rate. I'm sure Pot didn't cause your problems but if you already have heart problems pot might make your symtoms worse. And in some people pot can make anxiety worse, not better. I know it did with me. It used to crash my blood pressure and make me anxious.

Hope you find a doctor that that put the pieces together for you.

Also, keep up the bike riding if you can. And take it one day at a time.

GayleP

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James,

I agree with the others. I would see if you can get a tilt table test to determine whether you have POTS. In the meanwhile, drink plenty of fluids and take things as easy as you can until you get a diagnosis. Excercise is good if you can handle it, but be careful about overdoing it. When my POTS started coming on following a virus, I felt weak and run down, but kept trying to push myself to keep up my hectic work, exercise and social schedule. I think this made things a lot worse for me.

-Rita

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Hi James! Greetings from a fellow artist!

I'm so sorry to hear about all the trouble and anxiety you've been experiencing. I agree with Tearose on all counts. It's important to find out soon just what all is going on with your body to be able to treat it.

I know it's hard, but you have to take care of your mind and body through this. Keep up the exercise if you can and keep talking to us. We've all been through rough spots too, so we can sympathise and give advice. The medical world can seem very daunting at times, but we'll be here to help you through step by step. Take things one at a time and you'll find some answers. Don't give up!

With love,

Angela

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James,

If you get that many panic attacks and anxiety, you really should consider meds or psychotherapy. No one should have to suffer like that. I have an anxiety disorder that was well controlled with a low dose of antidepressant and clonazepam for 10 years, although since I developed POTS last year, the anxiety has resurfaced. I am in the process of trying new treatments.

Best to you,

Amy

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For me POTS had one of the principle symptoms of feeling wired and when i was at my worst i was incredibly anxious.

This was a great shock for me because i had never had any anxiety at all before its onset in my life. My friends used to complain about me being the opposite - quite careless and calm to the point of being sluggish.

When pots came on i lost heaps of weight, started trembling like someone with an overactive thyroid, and was wired and anxious - hyperactive and jittery, yet spaced out and dizzy at the same time.

Im not trying to say that you definately have POTS, but if you have POTS symptoms and were diagnosed with it, you would expect to get anxiety as a symptom rather than a seperate entity - or if you already have anxiety, POTS would bring it out - your adrenals are on overdrive with my form of pots.

Weed/hash/etc doesnt help anxiety in any way - and some people suggest that it can actually bring out latent mental illnesses. It also drops your blood sugar and pressure which would make your symptoms worse (if pots was your problem), and can dehydrate you too.

My advice would be to try licorice root as well - it can help with adrenal problems as well as orthostatic intolerance - valerian is another good herb.

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I agree with you all and thanks for all the information. I think it was anxiety due to weed that brought it out, as you said 'it can bring out mental illness issues', i think it did, ill go and get an assesment and get it done and dusted, it'd be nice to have a diagnosis, put my mind at ease. ill stay in touch, meanwhile email me at: slproductionz@hotmail.com as i hav no internet at home and use my mobile phone. cheers.

james

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Welcome James. This is a crummy little thing to deal with isn't it. I would caution you about the pot. It may not be the cause of your problems, but it may well be a cause for you to get dissed by docs. Although just about any drug I put in my body causes a reaction, and they are all legal! :) You have to play this like an instrument, fine tune with doctors till you find one that cares and will help. Sometimes that takes awhile just like writing a song, but worth it in the long run! good luck. morgan

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