[Tinga]

Greetings & salutations,all.
I found this site while desperately seeking information about my DR/DP attacks. I have not been formally diagnosed with anything but panic disorder w/some agoraphobia. This was by a GP, as I cannot currently afford to see a psychiatrist. I know DP/DR is a side effect of the panic disorder, but thinking back, I think I developed panic attacks in response to my freaky feelings. I can relate to so much of what everyone on this board experiences. I have been on the myriad of SSRIs, of which some helped the panic, but not the unreality.
I also have the chain of irrational 'what-ifs'. I guess right now my question would be how to get past the gloom & doom loop? lol. I have had doctors say that sinus problems or allergies cause DR/DP symptoms, but while some sinus meds relieve head pressure, I still end up with unreality. I am constantly wondering if maybe there is something wrong other than panic and DR. For me, with the odd perceptual shifts I get, my mind returns to..."I have never had an MRI/MRA to rule out certain things, so what if there is something physically wrong?" For me, I think if I ever afford to get the scans and they are clear, I can truly focus on not giving power to the thoughts of doom. No matter how hard I try mind over matter, there is the small voice in my head that says "what if you are wrong, and ignoring the symptoms leads to disasterous effects (stroke or some such)?" And of course this feeds on itself,lol. My aunt told me that as long as I have had these symptoms, if it was really something serious it would have killed me by now. Yet again, like so many others I have tried to explain this to, she fails to understand that yes, it may be an irrational condition (not based on serious physical problems) but it is still very intense and it is not always an option to "tough it out". It just returns later anyway.
Sorry this is so long, but I feel that here I can express these thoughts wihout being labelled "hypochondriac", or worse.
Thank you for bearing with me, as I do tend to go on
and on
and on.
8)

 

[Guest]

Unfortunately this is the nature of this condition. We tell ourselves if we just had that test than we would know & would stop worrying. Its not true! I had a CT Scan & still could not believe there was nothing physically wrong. I use to take the scans out & have a thorough look & see if there was anything the doctor could have missed! LOL!

Its true, if there was anything wrong the doctor would have picked it up or it would have shown up by now.

Its hard to break the brain loop of questions etc but just try & gently bring yourself back to the present moment. You will get better at doing this over time and decrease the dp/dr till it is non existent.

 

[Ben]

Welcome Tinga - we're here for you.

 

[Tinga]

Greetings and salutations,
Thank you for your words of encouragement and welcome. It is good to know that there are understanding people who will listen when i need to ramble, lol. I decided to take charge of this bitch (the unreality thing, of course) over the summer, before returning to school fall quarter. Last semester was a real struggle...the bright lights in class made the DR much much worse. I just need to overcome this. I'm studying med lab technology now, and plan to apply to medical school when this schooling is over. I don't even wanna think about trying to cope with med school while feeling (or should I say, not feeling) like this every day, lol. Not to mention the 4 hours a day I'll be spending on the road to and from the school.
the point to this ramble is, thanks for listening and being there for support, I am glad I found this site!

 

[Lisa1]

Hi Tinga
I am new to this site as well and as I was reading your post, I was shocked to see how much it resembled my "new to this site" post. I understand completely what you're going through. I am constantly wondering if there is something physically wrong with my brain.. I can't understand how I can be having these feelings and it just be a sensation and not something physical. Yet I have been having them for years and I'm not dead yet!! My family tells me the same thing "if it were something serious, you'd be dead by now". Well thats fine and wonderful but "WHAT IF"?!?!?
I am still going through everyone's posts, completely amazed that I am not the only person that experiences this... and so happy that I have found this site. It has helped me so much just to read other people's experiences and to know that I'm not crazy.. I hope it helps you as much too..... Feel free to IM me if you would like to chat.
Take care
Lisa

 

[Sojourner]

But it *is* our brains -- regardless of the initial cause of panic, the net result is our brain chemistry is not normal; that is, we feel odd, or whatever word you want to call it.

Restore the chemistry and you restore your sense of well-being.

Emotions change your brain chemistry, but so does an insufficient amount of neurotransmitters.