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I've read a lot on this site in an effort to calm myself, so I figured I'd finally come and ask for advice. I'm a seventeen year-old girl (turning eighteen in two months) and I've had a really horrific past two weeks. I was in the ER 15 days ago for a migraine and concerns as to what could have been causing it. After diagnosing it as a complex migraine, the doctor seeing me gave me Compazine through an IV (with Benadryl) - and it was the most traumatizing experience of my life. I had a violent adverse reaction; heart pain, burning around my heart, excessive shaking and sweating, fear of death, immense panic. I've always been a shy and socially anxious person and I've been diagnosed with severe depression, but this is the first time I've ever experienced anxiety/panic attacks and their severe symptoms. Six hours after being sent home from the hospital following my Compazine experience, I suffered a panic attack immense enough to give me bodily tetany and make my arms, hands, legs, mouth, and hands seize up. I got the pins and needles sensation alongside that and feared the worst. My mom called an ambulance because we had no idea that kind of attack could occur and they calmed me down over the course of an hour. In the days following that incident, I had at least one severe and several-hour-long anxiety/panic attack per day to the point of it being debilitating and preventing me from focusing. I have had two periods of three days without attacks followed by another severe attack (the most recent being last night, I had chest tightness and really violent tremors for six hours, only calmed down and slept after taking Benadryl). I have been to the emergency room twice more; they once gave me Visatril through a pill and I had another adverse reaction, and one morning, they gave me Xanax to calm me down. To date, it is the only medically administered drug that has ever worked for me in this situation. I am at my wit's end. I have seen my parents' doctor and she prescribed me Zoloft/Sertraline at 25mg. I have not taken it yet because I have been on a myriad of medicines in the past couple of weeks and anxiety has brought out the full force of their side effects; I am scared to take it for that reason and I don't want to. My main issue is health anxiety. I have always had a slightly higher than normal pulse, so fear of a heart problem is massive. My symptoms brought on from anxiety/panic attacks have gradually ranged from chest tightness, excessive chest heaviness, chest pain on either the right or left side, neck tightness, left shoulderblade pain, pins and needles, shortness of breath, mid-back pressure, ear and head pressure, jaw and ear pain, excessive heart palpitations, violent tremors, paranoia, dizziness, hot breath, heartburn, acid reflux, disorientation, excessive weakness, cold sweats, flashes of heat on random patches of skin, fatigue, and insomnia. All of these things combined have made me terrified of heart trouble that could kill me. I've had two EKGs and a chest x-ray in my emergency room visits, and everything checked out normally, but I still am largely incapable of convincing myself that everything listed above is solely anxiety and not from a serious physical condition. Everyone on my dad's side suffers from a form of generalized anxiety, but I've never felt the side effects of it like I do now and I would do anything for it to stop. As a side note, I do take other medications (Loestrin, Curcumin, Benadryl, 5-htp, Magnesium) off and on for various reasons. The latter four are largely took for insomnia/anxiety related issues. I'm a night owl and it's impossible for me to go to bed before midnight. Is there any advice or help that can be offered to me in this situation? I want it to be over, and I don't know what to do with myself. I constantly fear something is wrong with me/that I am dying and I want it to end.

Ok, I'm just going to roll with this so bear with me. It's landing in the GAD forum but is open to all. I'm posting this off the back of @lonesailor14's fantastic post about 'letting go' that she posted (see here) I let go a long time ago, I made good progress but after my husband passed away last year I've of course had many hurdles come my way. At first I was determined, I would smash this agoraphobia and panic malarkey and live life to the fullest for the both of us. (yeah, I know but it was a nice idea) I have done things I never dreamed of, but in some respects I've taken one step forward, ten back... Today our eldest cat passed away. She was the first cat we got, when we moved into our first home together and got married. She was 15. I am of course heartbroken. She was the oldest of 7, I still have 6 furbabies to look after, they need their momma and my Mum needs me too. My doctor told me this week she was extremely proud of me, I was taken a back and not sure why? @JOYCICLE shared a video with me, I watched it then took a bath. Whilst in the bath I got to thinking and became inspired. Maybe my doctor felt proud for a genuine a reason, self worth and self esteem is something I have always struggled with, and it's taken a huge knock the last few months. I struggle to take a compliment! I'm feeling like I want to grab the proverbial bull by the horns. The video I am about to share is on point, no matter what disorder you suffer from, no matter your circumstances this lady is saying all the things I have tried to do the last few years. Acceptance, and management are key and the stress hormone cortisol is one of our worst enemies. Cortisol feeds the cycle of anxiety/symptoms, lets cut it down and give our bodies and minds the help we deserve. Meds or no meds, it does not matter. This can help either way. A good balanced diet, a good sleep schedule, daily exercise and fun! Smile more, laugh more. Happy tasks and exercises, along with mindfulness and anything that promotes relaxation. This is not about acceptance, this is stress/anxiety/symptom management. BUT, whether you have accepted or not, why not try it anyway? If your anxiety and symptoms lessen, it really can help you to accept. OK I have tried not to ramble on, I hope I have made some sense! Watch the video. I am going to start on Monday. Lets give it a try over the next few months and see if we feel better. (I know we will) We will use this thread to monitor progress, You can even write a blog, oh and I highly recommend along with this to keep a worry diary. Who is with me?

Hi I'm new to this but I've had ongoing anxiety related issues for a year now involving clenching my jaw, grinding my teeth, shaking, tingling and numbness in hands and feet, heart palpitations, muscle twitches, tensing up, feeling sick, loss of appetite, feeling as if I'm going to faint, frequent urination, chest pain and frequent panic attacks. I've always had no doubt these were all caused by anxiety either because I've been anxious or I realized I was having an anxiety attack but recently I had a horrible panic attack that seemed to not let up for almost two weeks. Out of nowhere I woke up one morning and had the urge to use the restroom, but after I went I still felt the need to go. This has been occurring on and off and I went to the doctor to have UTI and STD testing, blood work, all came back negative. I've had ultrasounds of my bladder and uterus and been to a urologist to check for inflammation during a cystoscopy test, and had voiding tests. Everything came back clear and multiple doctors have told me there is nothing physically wrong with me and urology related problems wouldn't pop up overnight. Psychiatrists have told me that it could be due to anxiety since it started during an attack but I just can't seem to accept it...

I will go throughout the day normally most of the time. Sometimes I'll get random panic attacks while watching a movie or just talking with my friends, but ever single night right before I go to bed I get a panic attack. My heart will start feeling weird and beating fast and then I'll start breathing heavily and feel like I can't catch my breath. This has been happening for two years now, I'm fifteen going into sophomore year of high school. This started when I was in seventh grade after in science class we talked about heart attack and that was the first time I actually really knew how a heart attack worked and the symptoms. Ever since then I've been scared of having a heart attack, which I know is very unlikely at my age, but I can't help but worry. At one point the panic attacks got so bad that I started getting depressed and crying almost every night and just think how I wished that I would just die already so I wouldn't have to worry about it anymore. That's when I told my parents that it's getting bad and that I want a therapist to help me, but we have to wait until we get the money. Good thing is I don't think like that anymore and I've realized this is just something I'm going to have to deal with. But like I said before I sometimes get them during the day and when I'm with my friends and I usually hangout with my cousin a lot and when I get them when I'm with her I immediately stop what I'm doing and start breathing hard and she just yells at me, and she knows I have this problem. She also criticizes me about it all the time. Like yesterday she basically told me to just stop thinking about it and that I'm stupid for even thinking about having a heart attack and I tried to explain to her that it's not my fault. She doesn't think that anxiety/panic disorder is a real problem and that it can be fixed in one minute. I know people don't understand it unless they've been through it, but she has her own problems that she deals with and I try to understand and help her and all she does is yell at me and tell me I'm being stupid when I go through my panic attacks. I've realized I kind of went off topic, but I just needed to let that out before I over think about it and cause more stress. But back to the original point is that these attacks happen every night and it effects my sleep, does anyone know any home remedies to maybe calm me down a little bit? Also, does anyone else go through this? Because I feel like none of my friends or cousin really understand me and think I'm just being stupid

Hi! I am glad that I found this forum because for so long, I have been looking for a place for me to vent or talk to people who could relate to the things that I had experienced in the last few years. I lost my mother about 5 years ago, and ever since then, I have always had panic and anxiety attacks. I remember at one point, I was rather depressed. This was not something that I could share with my siblings or father, because I felt as if they would brush it off (not that they would, I suppose I was just not comfortable in confiding in them). So, I hope I would be able to learn from all of you.... thanks for having me here! Kind regards, Myst