Hi, I am new here and my post may be long, I am sorry for that. I hope someone can relate to what has been going on with me. Back in November of 06 I started to have real bad pain on my right side, went home went on webmd.com and got extremely freaked out, I thought I had liver cancer. Next day I still had the pain but also extreme nausea and hot flashes and just all the symptoms of anxiety, including the runs. Well I went to the hospital and they did blood work, CT scan, chest X-ray and complete abdominal ultrasound. Everything came back normal, except my pancreas level was ever so slightly increased, like by 2 numbers, so they told me I had acute pancritis. Then the next day, I was even worse so I went back to the hospital and they did more blood work, well pancreas level was back to normal so no pancritis, they were wrong. Thay told me I had gasritis. Within a week I was back to work, but still so darn scared. So I went to a GI doc and had an endoscopy done, he said I had no infection of gasrits but I do have a very small acute heital hurnia, but probalby so small you don't even know you have it, now I don't even know what heart burn feels like!!! So the pain went and all the fear went away as soon as I left the hospital and ate food for the first time in a week. I felt back to normal. Then three weeks later the pain came back as did the nausea real real bad, so back to my GI and he did a hida scan. My gallbladder was bad, went to see a surgeon had the gallbladder taken out Jan 15,07 and I was fine in about 3 days. Had my staples taken out and one day I woke up in a panic. I immediatly went on to webmd and found out I had every disease out there from brain tumor to MS to colitis to you name it I had it. I went into such a deep state of depression and anxiety, I would sweat then get real cold, had extreme horrible nausea, had very watery diarehea, the shakes, the feeling that I wanted to jump out of my skin, and the worst was the pain came back on the right and left side of my abdomen. I was so scared and I believed I was dying. Went back to my surgeon three times and he told me he was not concerened it had nothing to do with the surgery, that I needed to gain control of myself, or I will end up losing everything. Well that following Monday I felt terrible, went to work, was there for about 10 minutes and ran out, went to my moms and woke up in her bed with my heart pounding a million times a minute, nausea shakes and just a sense of I can't go anywhere to get away from this. Not to mention I had the diarehea and have lost 15 pounds since January. Went to my gyno the next day, she cleared me of all woman problems and told me to see mt family doc. Went to him next day, and he told me I had no reason to have more tests done and I had a little IBS and extreme anxiety attacks. He put me on Buspar, 7.5 mg every morning. I has been three weeks today and I know it is helping. I just am so scared that this will happen again and again, I will have these attacks for almost 2 to 4 weeks at a time. Then I am okay, I can eat again and don't have the nausea and bad diarehea, I can go anywhere and do anything. Is that normal? I am so confused, I usually take the immodium if I have to go anywhere, but then I don't have a bowel movement for two days. How normal is this and when will it go away. I stared the program, which a great friend introduced me to, I am only on my first week and when I listen I feel better and stronger, but I am scared this will all happen again. I go good for a few weeks then bango!!! it comes back. Can anyone relate. And GREAT advice to anyone PLEASE STAY OFF WEBMD or anyother websites like it. I learned the hard way you can not dianose yourself. This is what happened to me because of that. Any help is greatly appreicated. God Bless all of us!!

Maggiep,
Hi, my name is Nicole and I can relate to you, all too well. I am 29 and I just had my first panic attack recently, in early March. I was out shopping with my daughter and we left the store, it happened in the car and I ended up having to pull over and call an ambulance, I thought I was going to die. I went to the hospital, they gave me some medicine that knocked me out and a script for buspar. I went to my doctor the next day, he told me it was all me causing it and I should learn from that experience. He sent me for some tests the following day and while I was there I was convinced I had the flu. Hot flashes then freezing cold, trembling that wouldn't stop, nausea, light headed, dry mouth, I felt horrible and I was there for a 5 hour glucose test. I ended back in the ER that day, got some more medication. Went back to my dr that same day and he prescribed me paxil. I couldn't drive for 2 weeks, I had my parents spending the night with me and then I would go with them all day. My life was all out of whack. I got the program and I started it immediately. Went back to work after being off for 3 weeks, and was fine for a couple weeks. I felt "normal" again, only better than I had felt before (probably from getting off the caffeine and sugar). Then, Monday of this week it started again. No real reason, just anticipation of going to work Tuesday night. I work midnights, and I hate it. I don't get to see my family enough. I thought for sure I would have a lousy night at work, it turns out it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, but the anxiety has not left me yet. I'm not in a state of panic but my body feels weird. I can't relax, because Monday I had a panic attack and I'm scared its going to happen again. I know that the program is helping me, but I just can't stand the fact that it comes back. I hate the body symptoms, not being able to eat. I wonder how long it will last this time. I forced myself to not call off work last night, I don't want to give in to the anxiety, let it beat me. I forced myself to do what was making me so uptight. I hope to move on from this awful period in my life soon, I'm not sure how long I'll be able to cope with these horrible feelings and having to force myself to do things that haven't always been a problem for me.
Talk to you later, and good luck!
Nicole

I can totally relate to both of your stories! I did the program back in 2001 when I started having panic attacks out of the blue. I would get the shakes, nausea, ibs, etc... My Dr. put me on Celexa and Xanax when I needed it, and I started the program. I was just so relieved to hear I wasn't the only one who felt this way and that it does get better. I did really well for a long time, but then I stopped exercising and started eating sugar again and I went off my Celexa all at the same time I had alot of things going on in my family, two grandfathers passing away within 2 weeks of each other, moving my grandmother to assisted living, dealing with both Grandmother's Alzheimer's diagnoses, my aunt having a heart attack and then after double bypass surgery having another heart attack, I'm going to school, working and helping my husband run his business...anyway it all got away from me and I had my first panic attack in 5 years this past Sunday. It hit me totally out of the blue and it was almost as scary as the first time I had ever had one, all those scary feelings came flooding back. The difference is I know what it is and I know there are ways to deal with the attacks. I'm going back on the Celexa, I'm cutting out the sugar again, I've been exercising all week, and I am going to go through the program again to remind myself of all the things that I can do to help myself. I'm scared right now because I just had another panic attack, which is why I'm typing away at 3 am, but I was able to talk myself down and I know I will be able to get back on track by starting to practice all that I learned in the program the first time around.
Keep up with the program and practice what you learn! It gets better! Good luck!

hey maggie, how are things did any of my advice work are you the tree?

Hey Bryan De,
So glad to here from you!! Yes your advice has helped, I am becoming the tree. It works to tell myself that alot. I am going on 6 weeks, and I am starting to be up and down. Sometimes when I am anticpating or anxious it is harder, but little by little it is getting easier. Tonight is hard, because I am home alone for first time and I am sure I will get the runs, HAHA, but I recentlty ordered Lucinda's books, so I will start to read them and go from there. I am just going to "BE"....How are you doing with all this?

well to be truthful it's been hard. i dont have the stomach problems i look around and read what people are suffering from and if there is something i might know a littel about or know someone who has gone trhough it i'll stop and share what i know. and i see that people here do the same . and i feel i've made a few friends. i'm sorry to hear that you still have the stomach problems. it seems very common in women though. i wonder why. i relate things to a fight a lot and ive been down on the canvas for almost and 8 count if i could get one knee up im sure i could stand i took a lot of hits in this fight and ive always gotten up. no one is saying stay down and i dont take dives i just gotta make it to the bell and get my wind back. i hope you feel better soon if you would like to contact me my email is pt3guard@congoleum.com i check my mail every day so if you need to i'll listen.

Hi Bryan D,
Wow, I haven't been here in a long time. I still have stomach issues now and then but not like I used to. I just got married on May 8th and of course I was so nervous I had the runs and had to take immodium, but all in all I know I am doing better, some days are so hard to just go with it, but other days I don't even think about it. I really appreciate yo u giving your email address and I won't hesitate to write. I really liked your post, it is the way I feel alot, just to get somewhere everyday, just to get a leg up, but yes, that is what I hear also, that women have the stomach issues more than the guys, and let me tell you, it sucks, because it or I let it control my whole life, and if I am "ok" to go out. But I did have some issues a couple weeks ago, I ate Mcdonalds and for the next 5 days I just wasn't right. It was gross and I was going to the bathroom like 4-5 times a day, and this is even worse, I had a mucusy like problem, is this normal, has anyone ever had that? I hear ir is normal, but I am so soory to be blunt, but I guess it makes me better to just get it out, sorry. But my husband and I are trying to have kids, and yes it is fun trying to "practice" HAHA, maybe after that post I wrote we need a good laugh, so I will be in touch and I hope you are doing good, like I said it is one day at a time, you take care Bryan and I will talk to you soon...THANKS

Hi Maggie and Everyone on this post,

Remember you are all on the Sress & Anxiety Program and if you practice what the program wants you to do you WILL GET YOUR LIFE BACK.

I was in the program around three years ago, I was a total mess with my health and my life. I finished the program and what a different person I have become. I now do all my limitatations that I could not do before. Just hang in there! Do the program and you will improve and get your life back.

Dona Dry