I'm So Confused In What Part Anxiety Plays...

[lieze]

In all of this...regarding what part is physical what part is psychological. Does anyone know if there is a physical form of anxiety?

With getting these iron treatments it stirred up horrible anxiety. I get triggered by the iron infusing into me-so it almost seems like a physical reaction-the body feels something different and foreign and goes into alert.

So I get palpitations tightening if chest. Basically my body is telling my brain to run or vice versatile from this invader and I know I can't.

I get lightheaded and nauseous and restless.

I ask to have it slowed down but honestly I don't know what difference it will really make.

So feeling trapped and so uncomfortable and vulnerable and like I am just a problem to everyone around me I cry quietly to myself.

And it helps to have a release for the emotions.

Interestingly I don't have to cry long at all and suddenly another break in the wave and I don't feel so bad.

I know there are tons of accounts of anxiety and all of the symptoms it brings on and how it rolls through your body with different sensations like not being able to breathe etc.

I started to wonder if a person prone to anxiety which I know I am can have that all get triggered and exacerbated with an illness like POTS-not that that's all it is but it might help explain many of the strange sensations we get.

Could there be something in the body a virus or something that the body senses and it's telling us to run? Thinking we can get away from it?

I don't know how any of this works and wondered what other people's thoughts or understanding of the process is?

Is the same thing happening with me with food even if it is a certain chemical in food that's physically triggering me what if it is simply anxiety that I'm experiencing.

I don't understand it and I'm not sure how anyone can tell me for an absolute fact that I am safe with all things ( I wish they could is why I'm mentioning it )

There are a lot of things such as the klonopin and anti D's helping many become more functional. Obviously it's not a cure but does it quiet those things such as anxiety and it's affects down enough that then you are simply dealing with the POTS and it's cause instead of the horrible debilitating anxiety that it is physically causing in the body?

What does anyone think?

[MomtoGiuliana]

I think POTS can absolutely exaccerbate anxiety--in fact anxiety is listed as a symptom on the DINET website's list of possible symptoms. If you are having excessive and inappropriate adrenaline releases (and I definitely got that as part of my symptoms when I was very sick--anxiety, restlessness, agitation) it is understandable that it will make you feel emotion.

Obviously breathing exercises alone are not the only answer but I found breathing exercises helped when my symptoms were at their worst. One action that helps a little is to lie on your back with your arms over your head and breathe normally. This position forces you to breathe with your abdominal muscles with your upper chest muscles relaxed. This is supposed to help calm the nervous system, and I think it can be helpful. I also tried biofeedback--which basically just taught me how to relax my body, and a lot of that has to do with breath.

[ramakentesh]

Most of the symptoms of POTS can cause anxiety:

1. adrenaline surges released in response to circulatory disfunction - which just cause anxiety feelings, rather than do much to assist with blood flow

2. many patients get orthostatic hypocapnia which can definately cause feelings of excessive anxiety and panic

3. Excessive norepinephrine leaking in serum, or excessive sensitivity to norepinephrine also occurs.

4. In many cardiac disease where there is abnormal blood flow to the heart there are reports of patients feelings 'feelings of impending doom'.

having a nervous system that is constantly wired on with sympathetic excess and a permanent fight or flight sensitivity will ofcourse eventually play tricks on your mind,

And most chronic illnesses do have effects on serotonin levels eventually leading to psychological anxiety and depression.

WHen Im feeling really bad I usually feel feelings of anxiety that are not reduced by conventional anxiety medications and only beta blockers have any effect on them. My POTS specialist told me this is caused by beta 1 receptor hypersensitivity and adrenaline release to counteract the circulatory problems in POTS.

Even when im quite well I still feel that if I get wound up by a movie or if I get angry at someone at work, there doesnt seem to be avery effective 'off' switch once the sympathetic system is fired up.

All I tend to do is try and avoid unnecessary psychological stressors so that I dont further contribute to this.

[issie]

Rama,

what beta blockers do you use when this happens? Do you use them all the time or just when a bad flare occurs?

Issie

[lieze]

I don't want to interrupt the question but in my case the increased blood pressure that my anxiety causes is an added benefit,

I tried to not read to much to scare myself but-that the iron can cause hypotension.

So the fact that I go in petrified causes my bp to bump up to about low 120's rather than 90/50.

It actually helps compensate for the side effect of the iron which discourages me from taking anything else that would help me to relax and not be in such sheer misery for the entire day.

My anxiety both chemically and the tensing up

all over seems like it could be a benefit even though at the time it feels like a curse.