Seeking Moms like Me.

A friend of mine had anxiety for years but it got to a point that she was in really bad shape. She talked to her doctor, is on medice and also speaks to a psychologist every week. She is a different person, much calmer and relaxed and is working through some issues. I'm not one to push meds, but it really seems to have helped her and her family a lot. Good luck.

I have not had to deal with anxiety but have had other similar issues with depression. I know that there are medications but that can be scary as well. I recommend finding a great counselor to get you through the issues that are causing the anxiety. If that is not a possibility I highly recommend the book: "THE FEELING GOOD HANDBOOK" by David D. Burns, MD. This book teaches you why and how to treat this condition using cognitive therapy. Hypnotherapy helped tremendously with my depression issues. Please try to treat this, do it for your kids. You can't be a great mom and do the best job possible if you don't take care of yourself first. It is the best gift you can give them. Good luck, love yourself, be kind to yourself.

I have had bouts of the same. I can tell you changing your diet taking fried food, red meat, and cut back on caffine will help with the reflux. I strongly recommend that you find a good chiropractor who is actually able to adjust the diaphram which may be a cause of the acid reflux. I also highly recommend seeing a nutritionist who can get you on a good supplement program for the anxiety - I know that a B complex is a great place to start for the nervous system! I know that is may sound like big changes but I occasionally have anxiety (panic attacks) when I am super stressed and when it does happen (rarely) they are less servere. If you are at the point that I was were enough was enough, the changes will come easy and you will hopefully see and feel improvement. Best of luck to you ! D.

YES! And the best thing I ever did, was told my doctor about it and agreed to a low dose medication. I have to tell you that I did not want to have to take meds, but nothing compares to the changes in my mood and life in general!

Hi L.,

Anxiety or fear is a deep seated emotional issue that many of us have that comes from childhood parenting issues of our parents.

I suggest you get involved in Co-Dependence Anonymous and
Al-Anon.

You can check the web for both or call CoDA at ###-###-####
and Al-Anon at ###-###-#### for meetings near you.

The heart palpatations can be addressed initially with you
looking at your diet. Are you drinking drinks with caffeine in them or foods with caffeine.

I noticed I had heart palpations many years ago when I was drinking Coke a Cola. I have since stopped drinking anything with caffeine.

Get you a supply of GOOD nurtitional supplements. Carlson Labs is a good resource. Check the web for more information.

Hope this helps. Good luck. D.

How old are you ? I went through something like that for 3 months, and thought it was chest pain/heart attack kind of stuff... They did a stress test, which was inconclusive, did a heart cath which made the doc think I had a slight mitral valve prolapse, did an E something or other (sonogram of the heart, actually) and was told I was fine. We also did a long variety sugar tolerance test, and while the results weren't horribly low, the reality is that when I eat sugar, my body dumps it into fat cells leaving not so much in my blood stream.

I learned later that these could all be caused by the hormonal stress of menopause kicking in. . . I also read that if I get rid of caffeine, it isn't so bad. So I did that, and it's better. I also make a point (when I'm being "good") to avoid carbs, and that helps, too.

It IS scary stuff, whether it is just life-induced or menopausal . . . When it does happen, I try the early stages of lamaze on myself -- the slow, deep breathing and relaxation stuff, and that gets me through.

BTW, I LOVE the ages of your kids ! Mine stretch from 28 to 14, and I've loved having the "adult" kids while also raising the rest of the brood. :-)

Take care. Try to pinpoint the sources of your anxiety and work on them if you can. If you can find time in the day, do some things for you, take walks, anything that is stress-reducing. :-)

I am going through that right now. I have been dealing with anxiety for around 18 years. It is a scary thing. I have heart palpitaions when I have panic attacks and when I am super stressed. My chest will hurt too. It is very scary stuff! You feel like you are having a heart attack. I have to keep telling myself, "Your not going to die. You will be okay". ( I have been to the doctor and tested)

I was on meds for my anxiety for a couple of years, but soon realized that it causes weight gain and I did not want to have to deal with that (personal choice). For the last couple of months, I have tried B-12 and Omega 3 fish oil and I have seen a reduction in my anxiety. My heart still pounds out of my chest and skips around every once in a while, but I feel 10 times better then I have.

I recently went 4 months(my husband getting layed off set my anxiety off) of feeling like I was dying because my chest would hurt, my hands would tingle and my heart would skip or pound out of my chest (not to mention other stuff). I really felt like I was going to die. So I know how you feel.

At times my husband thinks I'm crazy and he does not understand. I don't think anyone can understand the sheer terror that anxiety can cause unless they go through it. My heart goes out to you. I understand.

Yes, I have Clinical Social Anxiety. Mine are now better under control. The heart palpitations I have are not related to my anxiety. I have high blood pressure and am on a BP med with a beta blocker to keep the palpitations under control.

With the palpitations, I had to go to a heart specialist where they did thorough tests to find what the cause was and to be sure there wasn't any underlying problems. I suggest you do the same to be sure what is causing them and to get the proper medication. They did an ultra sound on my heart and everything.

With the anxiety, mine spawned from depression, which often happens. I went to a counselor to help work through it. The best thing she had me do is keep a little journal with me everywhere I go. Every time I had an incident I had to write down the feelings (physically and emotionally) I was having before the incident, during and then after. I had to write down what I was doing at the time like going to the grocery store or talking to the neighbor, etc. I had to do this for a week. After the week I went back for my appointment and she read the journal and we found a pattern of when my anxiety rises and the feelings I get before hand. I then started recognizing the feelings as they started coming in and had to make a choice to continue on through my feelings and talk myself through them, or avoid the situation all together. The idea was the push through the moment and work through my feelings I had. Many times I had to talk out loud to myself that everything was ok, to calm down, breathe deep and slow, etc. It didn't take long to recognize what moments would trigger my anxiety and which ones didn't. Then, I started recognizing the feelings as they started and would talk myself down. Soon I was able to do more things that I couldn't before. I took a lot of work but it was worth it. I started with meds in the beginning to help me with the anxiety but haven't been on them in years now. I still have anxiety and some symptoms have changed but I work through them as I go.

I suggest seeing a physician about the palpitations and having a specialist check you out to be what the problem is.

I suggest seeing a counselor to work through your anxiety and find some steps that you can do to help with that.

K. B
mom to 5 including triplets

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HarrisburgPAChat
chat and events within 2 hour radius

Ok = a little complex on my side here but a little insite first. My family was involved in a truck wreck in dec 06, my daughter (now 17) has asthma, and when we were hit - she jumped out of the truck because she couldn't breath (don't know how she got her seatbealt loose and out so fast, as she had broken the growth plate in her wrist). the inhaler worked for the asthma, but she still couldn't breath because of the anxiety. that was almost 3 years ago and she still now suffers from anxiety during an attack. We found a wonderful drug - that works for the anxiety, but doesn't mask anything else. It is actually an antihistiamine "hydroxyzine". she takes this (25 mg), the minute she starts to cough and has to use her inhaler, because it stops her from hyperventalating during the asthma attack. My family is sort of odd when it comes to medication - and some med uses are outside the box but work wonderfully.
i too suffer from PTSD since the wreck - but go untreated as I have no insurance (make just a few $$ too much for public assistance, but can't afford the $300 a month to buy it myself)
I have just learnt to deal with it - with alot of removing myself if possible from situtation and doing all the driving - my most anxious times.
Please don't discount the acid reflux. It can feel like a heart attack. I have found that nexium works wonders for that (my dr is great with samples and a program called Partnership for Prescription Assistance),
Hopes I have been of some assistance. Feel free to contact me if needed.

I have had this for 15 years. I feel your pain, I have gone to the ER countless times thinking.."this is it, I'm going to die" when it comes out that there was nothing wrong with me at all...bottom line, if you have this such a long time there is probably some sort of chemical imbalance going on somewhere. You shouldn't have to suffer. I am on paxil which helps me TREMENDOUSLY...and I take xanax in emergency situations. I am happy to say that over the years things have gotten better for me, and most of the time, if I start having the overwhelming feeling of impending doom, I can shake it off and bring myself back to reality, but if things get a little out of hand I have my emergency meds to bring me back down to earth...as long as you use them in emergency situations you will be fine...Good luck and you are NOT alone, once all your testing comes back ok and you still get the symptoms you can talk yourself off the ledge most times..let me know if you need anything.

Hi L.,

I'm T., 32, mommy to a 3 year old boy. I also have an anxiety/panic disorder. I have been on Effexor for about 6 years. I started low and my doctor adjusted it until I felt better, which is now and it was adjusted last in February, I now take 225 mg. at bedtime. I also saw a therapist, who was wonderful, for four months. Anxiety attacks are VERY scary. I cry and shake, my heart races, they're just awful. Are you on anything for it? Are you seeing a therapist? Some people don't want to take medication, and if you don't, you should see a therapist. The Effexor helps me, that's why I continue to take it. But, you CAN deal with this. If you need to talk, feel free to e-mail me, my e-mail is ____@____.com

T.