Hi everyone. I have this permanent feeling that something bad is about too happen. I get bad palpitations and shortness of breath and the hug isn’t being very kind to me. I saw the GP and he said he thought I had a chronic anxiety problem and he would refer me to a physio. That was two weeks ago. I’ve not heard anything else. I’m getting to the stage where it is ruining my life. I bought some ‘quiet life’ from holland and barrett, just not sure what else to do. I’ve been panicking so much I only had four hours sleep last night. As I sit here typing this I can feel my heart fluttering. I need to get a grip but I don’t know how to. Rant over! Thanks, Suz xx
Sorry to hear that you feel so stressed, we are all here for you. I wander if you have family support? I am always up for a chat if you wanted, I live in mid-Wales - in the middle of no where. i am a single Mom and i have no family at all. I am lucky I have good friends. Where do you live? If you ever want to make contact and talk , please feel free to contact me. There is so much going on in the world , sometimes it is so hard not to full of fear. Big hugs 
Hi Suz, can you phone GP in morning and say you really need to see someone asap. Also can he/she give you something to help in meantime? There’s some really good drugs for anxiety these days and I’m surprised you weren’t offered something already. One of the first things that helps is recognising that you are anxious… which you have already done. Chances are that you are hyperventilating. This is when you are breathing fast and too shallow. It’s a kind of vicious circle… you get scared and start breathing wrong and then you hyperventilate which is really scary. Get a smallish paper bag. Lie on bed and slowly breath in and out of the paper bag. Try and breath into your tummy and not the top of your lungs. This should stop the hyperventilating. When your breathing steadies take the bag away and continue trying to breath slowly and into tummy. ‘Kalms’ available in chemists and supermarkets are very good for anxiety. Try and remember that although you feel something awful is about to happen, the feeling is caused by anxiety and not by fact. You are not able to see into the future… nobody is… so you are not able to predict that something bad is about to happen. Phone GP in morning. Believe me, the treatments work. I’ve been there and promise you there is a way out of anxiety. Take care. Pat x
Thank you both for your kind words Suz xx
You hang in there Suzy. We have a horrible "thing " to cope with! Can you have a duvet/pyjama day tomorrow and be nice to yourself. Treat yourself to some chocolate and watch a good film. :idea: Remember how important YOU are! xx
Hi Sorry that you’re feeling this, it doesn’t sound like a fun place to be! I’m surprised that you’ve been referred for physio - that will probably be a good thing for you to have, but it might not be the most suitable thing to help with the anxiety. Something like CBT (cognitive behavioural therapy) would probably be very helpful. Call your GP back and see if you can get some. I did an on-line programme which I found helpful. Dan
Suz, anxiety is awful and can become very disabling. When I was having awful neuro symptoms and mostly stuck in bed I asked my husband to admit me into a psychiatric hospital as I thought I was going mad. Do phone your GP and say you can’t cope. Sometimes they put you on betablockers such as propanolol to slow your heart rate down which can help. Anxiety tends to go with depression. I was given citalopram which does help with anxiety and panic attacks. The trick is not to let it control you, you need to control it by distracting your thoughts. Many people find doing something like humming helps. It sounds daft but it does work. It could be the hug causing you to be anxious as you do feel as though you can’t get a deep breath. As Pat said ring your GP today. I’ve been where you are and it’s awful. Now I can be “just be” Jacqui x
Hi Suzie Anxiety can make life very difficult From what you’ve said it really does sound as if you need professional help at the moment and you’ve received some very good advice about getting that already. When things are back under control, one thing that could help is yoga. The breathing/relaxation has helped me deal with quite a few stressful situations Hope you are feeling much better very soon. x
Am I right in thinking that you are recently diagnosed? If so, I don’t think you should be hard on yourself if you are suffering a bit of a reaction, and it wouldn’t be too much of a surprise if that manifested itself as horrible anxiety. There’s bound to be a lot of complicated and difficult stuff swirling around in your head at the moment - unfortunately our systems do not always help us to deal with it all calmly, however much our conscious, rational selves we might want to. As they say, you cannot think your way out of an anxiety state that you did not think your way into! I agree with others’ suggestion that you go back to the GP and make no bones about how difficult things are just now - he/she might take a little more time to think about how to help. Good luck with it all. Alison x
I wonder why your GP referred you to physio for anxiety? Very strange. A lot of people know about the link between MS and depression. It can be caused by dealing with the dx and symptoms etc, but it can also be caused directly by MS making changes in our brains. Well, so can anxiety. And like depression, anxiety can be helped by counselling, CBT, etc and/or meds. It is even very often the same meds as prescribed for depression. I’m not sure how the physio will help, but if he/she does, then great. If he/she doesn’t, then please ask for a referral to someone who deals with mental health problems. No one should have to live with this level of anxiety. In fact, don’t wait for the physio appointment to come through. Ask for a referral now. Karen x
Two Speeds! - Dead Slow and STOP. Marcus.
Hi suzie Im Scott previous to my diagnosis i suffered with anxiety and panic attacks severely, i almost became a complete recluse and hardly ever left the house. I was desperate for help, i was very reluctant to take medication so i started searching the web for help, then i came across something called the linden method and it changed my life i can’t thank it enough. I was 24 when i had my first panic attack and it completely put my life on hold. I continued having panic attacks and suffered severe anxiety whilst trying to work full time in a kitchen. It may not be the same for you but my lifestyle previous to my anxiety was all wrong, i ate Badly, my sleep pattern was all wrong and my general health was quite poor. I know ms can cause anxiety due to a number of reasons but it ultimately comes Down to the way your thinking that controls the severity of your anxiety. Nthe linden method cost me £160 so it wasn’t very cheap but it helped so much by following exactly what the method required. I still have the pack which contains a book and a number of dvds but its useless to me now because i don’t allow anxiety to rule anymore. please don’t accept medication it will only mask it , not irradiated it. I can send you the method by post, to somewhere other than your address if it makes you feel more comfortable if your not interested then no worries but it may be worth a try, just inbox me if you are
What? See a physio for anxiety problems? Whats that all about! As your GP, it is his job, I wouldve thought, to treat you for anxiety, initially at least. The only bit of advice I can offer (something you may already have tried), is to breath in and out of a paper bag. Hope you get some help soon. luv Pollx
Hello. Have you tried citalopram? It is a mild antidepressant which is very good for anxiety that just seems to go on and on - it is good ad getting those ardrenalin levels down while you deal with what is behind these episodes of panic. That and some lavender on your pillow. I hope you feel better soon Steffi xx
((HUGS)) I suffered badly from anxiety in March/April. I went to my GP and heard about a programme- 'Health in Mind ’ not sure if they have this in your area. It was an online programme with a worker who contacted me regularly. I did over 8weeks or so it was training your mind to look at your triggers- it challenges you and you learn coping techniques. I wouldn’t have thought physio would help anxiety. A lot of the breathing I learnt was were yoga techiques. i regularly do yoga once a week and it really helps. Try your GP again and ask about CBT therapies.Good luck H xx