| |  | I don't know crap...but I can at least guess.
Falling Apart July 29, 2006 - 17:15:28
I'm falling apart at the seams...Not only do I have arthritis in my left hand at only friggin' TWENTY FOUR, I'm pretty much totally bald on the top, am over 50 pounds overweight, and have a strong ADD/ECD problem, but now I have THIS to worry about, too...
THE PROBLEM : I'm pretty sure I found the cause of my 'panic/anxiety attack' issue that continually rears it's ugly head. Putting together the peices of the puzzle, I believe this is what has been happening to me:
-some sort of GI Tract issue, such as ulcer, acid reflux, etc, causes extreme pain and pressure in my chest (right about at the bottom of my sternum). per my doctor, all of the nerves in that area are connected, so it feels like I'm having a heart attack. it doesn't go away; the longest lasting of this being nearly 7 hours. i was up until about 5 in the morning in constant pain the other night.
-because it's related to digestion, it makes my lower back pinch up really bad, too. then I try all kinds of stretches to fix it, which only makes me more anxious.
-as if the pressure and sharp pain in my chest and back weren't enough, I can't calm down about it. the situation activates my mental 'flight mechanism', which makes a panic/anxiety attack happen. so there i am, lying in bed, feeling like I'm about to die. tylenol doesn't help, ibuprofen doesn't either. my anti-anxiety meds won't help because of the chest pain.
...and this happened 2 nights in a row.
THE SOLUTION (?) : So I went to the doctor (hooray on campus medical center!), and they were the ones who said it's most likely a GI Tract issue. Here's what they prescribed:
-take Prilosec OTC once a day for acid control
-keep Gaviscon antacid with me just in case
-drink lots of water
-no more high fat/acid food. that means no more harsh sodas, no more chocolate, no more fast food
-don't eat ANYTHING 3-4 hours before lying down for bed. that means dinner is at 7pm at the latest and no late night snacks.
IN CONCLUSION : I never, NEVER want to feel that pain again, so I'm going to strictly follow this. I've been drinking 8 cups of water a day for the past few days, and if ever I'm at work and don't have food, subway is cheap and much healthier. I'm really going to miss fast food and everything like that, but I suppose it is for the better. I'd never get healthy unless I'd be forced to...and, well, you can definitely say I've been forced to.
Wish me luck.
- Cap'n Kellin
best of luck kellin. hopefully things get better so it doesn't happen again.
Oh gosh! Kellin! I hope you're alright!
Have you considered that you might be getting early stages of Fibromyalgia? My mom had similair symptoms when she was diagnosed. (the arthritis, and stomach pains that is) Do you think you might have kidney stones or something? I'd check that out too, just to be safe.
I hope you can stay healty man! I know that cutting out the fast food will be hard at first, but after a short while, you'll get used to being without. You can do it!
Yeah, dude! You can do it! You'll be seeing some of the other problems fall away as well, I think. Hydration and good nutrition can affect many things.
~Sean
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