Is this Anxiety ??

[Absent smile]

New to forums but I thought it would be the best way to get answers to my ever growing list of symptoms and questions.
I was diagnosed with anxiety about 4 months ago with the symptoms of chest pains, racing pulse as well as strong pulse-especially in the neck area and butterflies/dull ache in the pit of my stomach.

I suppose my main question is can you have the physical symptoms of anxiety without the mental ones? These symptoms come and go through out the day at no specific times or without reason. I don't feel mentally anxious or stressed or nervous I just have the physical symptoms and its driving me mad.

I feel since my symptoms have been diagnosed that I have made things worse and that because I've been told that I have anxiety, that I have become more anxious. Its a vicious circle and because I don't feel mentally anxious I cant get my head around why its happening

I was given Sertaline 40mg by my GP and was told the symptoms might get worse before they got better, which they did but they haven't got any better. In fact they seem more evident now than when I first went to my GP.

Can anyone shed any light on this matter before I go back to my DR. and have him up my dosage?

Thanks in advance,
A.S

[Vanilla Sky]

Hi,
How long have you been on them ? maybe not long enough? If you are not feeling better after being on them a while then your gp will put the dose up until it gets to a level where you do. Might be worth another trip back to gp to see

[Absent smile]

Hi ya,
I've been on the medication for 4 months now.
Is is long enough ?

[Clydesdale Epona]

When my OH was given Citalopram we was told to come back if he wasn't good of better on them after about a month or two, so I'd go up to your GP and mention it x

All the best :hugs:

[lifeofbrian]

I have asked this same question recently. We often build up a pattern of symptoms because of anxiety, and when the anxiety has gone, it can take a while for the symptoms to go as we have trained our minds to have them with no real reason. That being said, I have heard on the radio and talking to people on here, so many stories of their GP's blaming their symptoms on anxiety and it turn out to be something much more serious. They just had My Cancer Story week on BBC radio Surrey, and the amount of the people giving their story that said their GP would not take their concerns seriously you wouldn't believe. A week before that there was a woman on there with mast cell activation syndrome, she can literally die from touching someone, her GP's for years told her it was anxiety. Be vigilant.

[Absent smile]

Hello,
Thanks for your response. Ive just had a full blood screen, ECG and blood pressure monitor exam and all have come back with good results so I'm ok on that front - I think
Thanks for taking the time to post
M.

[Citydeer]

My anxiety started very similar to yours - I had the physical symptoms but no mental ones. I had daily heart palpitations and frequent shortness of breath while at rest. Although I was stressed from normal reasons like work and study, it was easy to live with and I wasn't anxious. The physical symptoms really worried me because I felt so mentally fine!

It became apparent down the track that for me, that this was indeed a form of latent subconscious anxiety - because in another year the mental symtomes started too. I now see that the physical symptoms were almost like warning signs that even though I felt okay on the surface, anxiety was bubbling away in the background waiting to flare. I think this is the stage where therapy would have been good to stop things from escalating. Have you had any therapy? There may be underlying issues you need to address or uncover - you may not even be consciously aware of them.

You say you have had the relevant medical tests to rule out any physical heart issues, therefore I think you can relax on that front and focus on therapy or perhaps lifestyle changes that could help minimise anxiety symptoms - exercise, more fruit and veg/less processed food, more sleep - whatever (obviously I have no clue if you are already doing these things!) given that you've had no benefit from sertaline in 4 months you should definitely see your GP. I would have thought that beta blockers would have been better first step for your racing pulse given that you say you had no mental anxiety or depression - maybe ask your doctor about this. Or changing your medication from sertaline to another anti depressant. Hopefully the doc will be able to help! Change doctor if you feel like they don't "get" you!

[Mashy]

The answer to you first question is a yes.it took 3 years before I was diagnosed with anxiety. Before than anemia, glandular fever ( I had low white blood count), vertigo... because I didn't feel stressed yet had lots of symptoms. My anemia and white blood cell count was due to not being able to eat and vertigo because of the dizziness. I was given so many unnecessary medication. It wasn't until a lot later when the agoraphobia came along that I was diagnosed.

I can't help with setraline as I've never been on it, but if it's similar to Prozac and citalopram things usually get worse before they get better. I can't say how long as I've never been able to continue past that initial stage.


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[Ben1989]

Did your GP not suggest CBT first?

[Ethansmom]

sertraline made me feel worse. I was told to stop after 3 weeks . Maybe you can try a different one?

[Absent smile]

Thanks again for all the great advice and responses. I've enrolled in a cbt program and am due to start soon. I've also spoke to my doctor who has upped my Meds to 100mg - 😬. I don't know if this is the way to go but I'm giving it a try if not then I'm probably going to ask to change my Meds as a few have mentioned Srtaline didn't work for them and maybe ask to change to Citalapram.
Also I'mmon day two of 100mg and I felt a little groggy this morning and a little dazed. Maybe it's just adjusting to my body.
Oh well on wards and upwards and fingers crossed