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Is this anxiety?

Jwahl16

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Hi all, first post here. 26/M. I’ve been dealing with stress induced anxiety for about 2 years now. My first panic attack experience was on a long drive after a stressful week at work. Ended up hyperventilating, pulling over, and ‘lobster clawing’ my hands. Called an ambulance and they basically said I was fine. Since then over the past couple years I’ve seen a doctor multiple times and got put on 20 mg of citalopram daily. Also have 10 mg of propranolol to lower my heart rate if needed. I did an ekg, halter monitor, and blood work, all which came back fine. Prior to the medication I was having weekly struggles with my heart rate and would often have to cancel plans with friends because I felt like I couldn’t function. Usual symptoms would be elevated heart rate, lethargy, sometimes minor headache, and a bit of nausea. Anyways, after being on the citalopram for a few months things have been great. I haven’t had any problems in the past 1.5 months and have generally been more confident, able to manage stress, and do anything I want.

Now the problem. I recently went to my first hour long workout class on Thursday and it seems to have brought everything back. 2/3 of the way through, right after lifting a bunch of free weights, I got pale in the face, thought I was going to be sick, and had both my arms get all tingly/numb. Very similar symptoms to my first panic attack a couple years ago. I took a 5 minute break and walked it off and was then able to finish out the workout with some light treadmill action. Since then all of my usual anxiety symptoms have come back - lethargic ( I slept 7 hours a night and a few hours during the day), bit of a headache, higher heartrate (although that has come down since then). Overall I’m improving and starting to feel better but I’m concerned that because this happened during a workout, it’s not the usual panic attack/anxiety.

Sorry for the lengthy post but has anyone had similar issues in the past when doing an intense exercise? Should I be reaching back out to my doctor next week to see if it was something else? Any feedback is appreciated, thank you!
 

triceps

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Jwahl, welcome. Just my opinion, I think you had already anticipated a higher heart rate before the workout and your anxiety made it into an issue. I think you're fine, just had anticipatory anxiety that caused those symptoms, not an actual physical problem.
 

Jwahl16

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Thanks triceps. I’ve run 4+ miles on my own with no issue but this certainly was a brand new exercising experience for me, which I figured could induce the anxiety. Still scary nonetheless...
 

triceps

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Anxiety caused symptoms feel just as real as physical ones. The ER rooms see it close to everyday if not more. Every panic attack is scary even when knowing it's a panic attack. I envy that you can run 4 miles. Actually my anxiety is such that I have trouble driving 4 miles.
 

ManaClash

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Sounds like anxiety to me man I seriously doubt it has anything to with your heart. Rappid heart rate feeling tired and headache are common signs of anxiety I get them daily.
 

ManaClash

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My sister gets the lobster claw thing too never heard anyone else ever mention that symptom .She suffers from Anxiety also.
 

ManaClash

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Anxiety caused symptoms feel just as real as physical ones. The ER rooms see it close to everyday if not more. Every panic attack is scary even when knowing it's a panic attack. I envy that you can run 4 miles. Actually my anxiety is such that I have trouble driving 4 miles.
I feel ya I would love to be that active but my body feels sick all the time from Anxiety and driving can rough.
 

daysinthesun

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I struggle with anxiety as well. The nausea, headaches, and tingling are reoccurring every few days. I also have an elevated heart rate on occasion. I know how scary they can be. I agree with triceps with the added bonus that I don’t know you but I am fairly proud of the way you took time to assess what was happening and didn’t overreact. I do that frequently and I’m finally learning how to apply some critical thinking before the spiral comes. Hope you’re well.
 

redmanlcs

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I think I had all forms of this stuff... Public, anticipation, stress, all types of anxiety. My life was horrible until I was treated with buspirone. It really has been a godsend for me.
 

ManaClash

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I think I had all forms of this stuff... Public, anticipation, stress, all types of anxiety. My life was horrible until I was treated with buspirone. It really has been a godsend for me.
I'm glad you found something that worked for you so well. I thought I had my Anxiety under control until I stopped taking my meds and it came back 10× worse. I'm back on 2 new meds I'm just trying to feel better or normal or more normal lol.
 
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