anxiety misdiagnosed. finally found my own answer.

[sweetstrawberry]

so for um. for a year or more i've been experiencing symptoms related to anxiety/panic attacks. in that time, i've probably seen about 8 doctors, 2 family doctors, have been in the hospital, 1 specialist, 2 neurologists, and the redimed visits. all of these doctors chalked it up to a 'mental disorder' and told me to go to talk therapy. the specialist i was seeing told me i either go to talk therapy or she won't see me again- i knew that fixing this problem that came completely out of the blue with no warning signs in childhood or family history should be easier than a damned 30 week program with some 'talk doctor.'(ive been to them before, there's nothing wrong with me i promise haha) and besides, when i was seeing the specialist, she 'diagnosed' me with every anxiety disorder there is- generalized anxiety disorder, social anxiety disorder, agoraphobia (fear of open spaces), depression, you name it. i didn't need a laundry list of new 'diseases' i had, i needed the reason behind it. i had real phsyical symptoms, other symptoms were obsessive paranoia, mood changes, behavior that was totally out of character, anger/violent behavior, worrying, paralyzing fear (thunderstorms, and a train going by were the worst for me), over analyzing. but the constant chest pain, the headaches, restless leg syndrome, the sudden panic attacks which were ranging from 4 a week to three times a day (it itself is just a ball of symptoms, high blood pressure, high heart rate, increased respirations)- it couldn't have just... come out of nowhere. and on top of all this, i started to not be able to tell which was a side effect from the medications and which was a symptom. i woke up every morning and felt like i had to evaluate myself to make sure nothing had changed- how's my heart rate... looking back, i can see how i was percieved as losing my mind. but i shouldn't have been treated that way.

so after i was dismissed from the specialist, i returned to my family doctor only for him to tell me he won't see me anymore until he knows for sure that i'm not seeing the specialist... as if i'm going to con him into writing the same script that she is? i felt like this new 'mental disorder' made me seem less intelligent, less trustworthy, more like i had psychosis... i don't know. doctors treated me like absolute... judgemental ******. i refused to go back to him after he talked to the specialist because 1) i didnt need a doctor who didn't trust me and 2) he called me a drug addict [he perscriped addicting medication that actually worked for my symptoms of course i'm going to ask for a refill, i didn't ask for it to be addicting- ****] and later apologized and said he was wrong in his accusation. so... after being denied by two doctors, i felt like the world was against me and on top of that, it was my fault because it was an emotional/mental *curable* disorder- something i should be able to just... deal with my problems, be a stronger willed person... but the problem was, i've always been a strong willed person, which is why anxiety was so out of character, so one night it disappeared? i was cut off from medicines that caused sudden withdrawls ontop of a return in symptoms and i still didn't have an answer.

a few days ago... i reached the breaking point, i had been up all night from chest pain (heart feels like its going to explode), and i realized that my symptoms had gotten worse since my neurologist upped my dose of my migraine preventative medication. so... i did some research on topamax. then i thought about how long i've been on the drug, and how long i've had these symptoms. why didn't any of the doctors stop me and say this to me? the doctors who 'treated' me would hand me some stupid perscription for a benzo that wouldn't get me past the next weekend, tell me to see a counselor, and send me on my way. i found tons of websites saying topamax caused anxiety, nervousness, headaches (even though its a preventative)... mood swings; (it even went as far as to cause psychosis in some people [A study of 431 patients in England found that 103 (nearly 24%) had some kind of psychiatric effect.]) everything i was experiencing (and i told every doctor that i was on topamax). i found forums where 600+ people said it was so horrible, some after only being on it for a few weeks or a month or two, they had to discontinue it, and i was on it for a year. i lost 50 pounds on it, (20yr old female, 5'7, 115lbs) i constantly felt as if i was spaced out...

anyways. on to the good news. i'm off of topamax for my fourth day today from 300mg and everything is much improved. i'm hoping once it gets out of my system, all of everything will go away. i still have some of the symptoms, but they're much... more tolerable now. i'm braver- (ha) i'm more self confident, it's like a complete overhaul. i haven't had a panic attack since, either. i guess my only advice is listen to your intuition, atleast once in a while . if you feel something isn't right- find out. i feel as if i lost a year of my life to anxiety disorder because it essentially took over my life, and i allowed it for awhile, but i could have lost more time had i sat around and let it take control. it took me a month after being dismissed from my doctors for me to find out what was wrong, and trust me... they will get a phone call when i'm symptom-free

[dlj1213]

i was just recently put on topamax and have been having some of the same symptoms you had did you have any pulsating feelings, warm flushing sensations warm tingling sensations.
I also am having nervousness and anxious feelings anb my ibs is going a little crazy.I would like to know where you found your forums on topamax.
Thanks

[stbalaji2u]

i think using salvia is a one of the ways of anxiety control

[Unregistered]

For over 2 years I have been experiencing 'blackouts' accompanied by an aura! I even experienced a full blown seizure while about 7 months pregnant. I have been to several doctors, neurologist and psychologist with no solid answer to what was causing my experiences. I took the initiative and had a CT scan, EEG and hormone tests for potassium and cortisol. Yet no answers. Although my cortisol level was in the lower half of the 'normal' range on an unstressed morning when the test was taken, the doctors insisted that my cortisol level was normal. I was advised to take Topamax in an effort to control the blackouts but was very skeptical of taking anything that would affect me mentally. After taking depakote and phenobarbatol and not liking the effects of the mood swings, depression and hallucinations, I was skeptical. I just wanted to get better! But why was I being medicated when there was not a proper diagnosis! I am trying to find out what is causing me to blackout! My next step is an MRI, but I would appreciate any suggestions please!

[PArjuna]

For over 2 years I have been experiencing 'blackouts' accompanied by an aura! I even experienced a full blown seizure while about 7 months pregnant. I have been to several doctors, neurologist and psychologist with no solid answer to what was causing my experiences. I took the initiative and had a CT scan, EEG and hormone tests for potassium and cortisol. Yet no answers. Although my cortisol level was in the lower half of the 'normal' range on an unstressed morning when the test was taken, the doctors insisted that my cortisol level was normal. I was advised to take Topamax in an effort to control the blackouts but was very skeptical of taking anything that would affect me mentally. After taking depakote and phenobarbatol and not liking the effects of the mood swings, depression and hallucinations, I was skeptical. I just wanted to get better! But why was I being medicated when there was not a proper diagnosis! I am trying to find out what is causing me to blackout! My next step is an MRI, but I would appreciate any suggestions please!

If 'TOPOAMAX' or anyother man made drugs have so many negative effects, how in the **** CDC had approved these drugs to be in the market? Dont they have responsibility to visit these Forums and get straight answers from patients? Oh! CDC is just another govt. agency.

Garla Arjuna.

[Unregistered]

For over 2 years I have been experiencing 'blackouts' accompanied by an aura! I even experienced a full blown seizure while about 7 months pregnant. I have been to several doctors, neurologist and psychologist with no solid answer to what was causing my experiences. I took the initiative and had a CT scan, EEG and hormone tests for potassium and cortisol. Yet no answers. Although my cortisol level was in the lower half of the 'normal' range on an unstressed morning when the test was taken, the doctors insisted that my cortisol level was normal. I was advised to take Topamax in an effort to control the blackouts but was very skeptical of taking anything that would affect me mentally. After taking depakote and phenobarbatol and not liking the effects of the mood swings, depression and hallucinations, I was skeptical. I just wanted to get better! But why was I being medicated when there was not a proper diagnosis! I am trying to find out what is causing me to blackout! My next step is an MRI, but I would appreciate any suggestions please!

I am glad you are better off of the topomax.. but being pregnant as you are, I would INSIST on a full pituitary work up. The pituitary is very vulnerable during pregnancy as it is enlarged, preparing for child birth and breast feeding. Could be that you are having effects of hypopit.

[Krystal D]

I was misdiagnosed with bipolar disorder. They put me on something like Topamax along with a million other things. They use Topamax for several different "diseases" including bipolar disorder, migraines and I believe seizures as you probably already knew.

Long story short...I ended up having 24/7 panic attacks for 2 months all the while my doctors kept saying the same thing. It's psychological, you are hiding from unresolved issues and all the usual bs. I ended up in a psych ward for a month because I was going to kill myself. I couldn't take it anymore. The anxiety was unbearable, it was ALL the time and I had insomnia on top of it.

Turns out it was all because of the medication. They started taking me off some of the meds I was on and the anxiety went away for good. In the hospital they gave me a beta blocker heart medication also used for anxiety called propranolol and that was the temporary fix until I got off of the medication that was actually causing the anxiety.

I completely understand what you have been through!! You know your body better than any doctor so never doubt your own instincts! I'm glad that you figured out what was going on long before it ever got as severe as mine did!!

Good Luck!!

[Krystal D]

If 'TOPOAMAX' or anyother man made drugs have so many negative effects, how in the **** CDC had approved these drugs to be in the market? Dont they have responsibility to visit these Forums and get straight answers from patients? Oh! CDC is just another govt. agency.

Garla Arjuna.

Garla Arjuna...let me let you in on a little secret that most people don't know. I used to be a biomedical researcher. Here is how not all but a lot of these wonderful drugs end up on the market. It all starts with drug trials that the FDA relies on to approve medications, that they work and give "accurate" information on what the possible side effects may be so we can all be "informed" patients. The drug company pays a researcher (usually an M.D.) to run their drug trial...then the drug company takes the "results" of that drug trial, ghost writes the paper that is then published about how wildly successful the drug is under the researcher's name and everybody is happy. The doctor gets money and a publication, the drug company gets their approval and a glowing recommendation for their drug. Or another way they do it that is somewhat less shady is this...they do their trial on patients who are in a psychiatric ward. Now in a psych ward you don't have what you wold consider your "normal" population of people who are going to be taking this medication. Also, in a psych ward things are much more controlled and in most, patients are not allowed to smoke. Now that's all fine and dandy as long as you don't consider the fact that for a drug like oh say Zyprexa smoking cuts its efficacy by 50%. About 80% of mental patients smoke. This number can be higher or lower depending on the disease the patient has. So while a drug like Zyprexa might work great in a controlled setting, once those patients are released and go back to their normal activities like smoking...all of a sudden the medication doesn't work anymore. Now none of this is reported in their results nor is it necessarily stated in any label attached to the medication that you receive and most doctors either don't know about this because they haven't thoroughly read the Physician's Information sheet that comes with these medications or don't talk about it with their patients. This whole illusion we have that once a drug has been cleared by the FDA it is safe and ready for consumption by the general population is just that...an illusion. And no I am not a crazy conspiracy theorist. I have a bachelor's degree in microbiology and before I got sick worked as a researcher. I watched this happen repeatedly, found it extremely disturbing and was told not to worry about it. It was industry standard and in the end best for the patient.

And please don't think I am saying Zyprexa is a good/safe drug. It is not. It has tons of possible negative side effects. All of these what I consider "cross-over" drugs...one drug that is used for multiple purposes such as psychiatric treatment, seizure disorders, migraines, etc... are very dangerous and massively over prescribed! Not that they don't work fine and are effective for some people but no one ever tells you "oh by the way if you take this it could actually give you (if you are female) a disease called polycystic ovary syndrome or diabetes or liver damage or massive anxiety. Now some of these`things are in the little warning brochures that are very technical and no one reads but generally if you do come upon this and approach your doctor with your concern you will be told something along the lines of "they have to report anything that happens during the drug trials and this happens in the general population anyway and is not necessarily linked to the drug itself." True but VERY misleading. These drugs can and do cause these conditions and should only be prescribed in my opinion after careful consideration by the doctor and thorough consultation with the patient so they know exactly what they are putting in their body and what can happen and what to be looking for as warning signs for such problems. Something that seldom happens.

[Krystal D]

so for um. for a year or more i've been experiencing symptoms related to anxiety/panic attacks. in that time, i've probably seen about 8 doctors, 2 family doctors, have been in the hospital, 1 specialist, 2 neurologists, and the redimed visits. all of these doctors chalked it up to a 'mental disorder' and told me to go to talk therapy. the specialist i was seeing told me i either go to talk therapy or she won't see me again- i knew that fixing this problem that came completely out of the blue with no warning signs in childhood or family history should be easier than a damned 30 week program with some 'talk doctor.'(ive been to them before, there's nothing wrong with me i promise haha) and besides, when i was seeing the specialist, she 'diagnosed' me with every anxiety disorder there is- generalized anxiety disorder, social anxiety disorder, agoraphobia (fear of open spaces), depression, you name it. i didn't need a laundry list of new 'diseases' i had, i needed the reason behind it. i had real phsyical symptoms, other symptoms were obsessive paranoia, mood changes, behavior that was totally out of character, anger/violent behavior, worrying, paralyzing fear (thunderstorms, and a train going by were the worst for me), over analyzing. but the constant chest pain, the headaches, restless leg syndrome, the sudden panic attacks which were ranging from 4 a week to three times a day (it itself is just a ball of symptoms, high blood pressure, high heart rate, increased respirations)- it couldn't have just... come out of nowhere. and on top of all this, i started to not be able to tell which was a side effect from the medications and which was a symptom. i woke up every morning and felt like i had to evaluate myself to make sure nothing had changed- how's my heart rate... looking back, i can see how i was percieved as losing my mind. but i shouldn't have been treated that way.

so after i was dismissed from the specialist, i returned to my family doctor only for him to tell me he won't see me anymore until he knows for sure that i'm not seeing the specialist... as if i'm going to con him into writing the same script that she is? i felt like this new 'mental disorder' made me seem less intelligent, less trustworthy, more like i had psychosis... i don't know. doctors treated me like absolute... judgemental ******. i refused to go back to him after he talked to the specialist because 1) i didnt need a doctor who didn't trust me and 2) he called me a drug addict [he perscriped addicting medication that actually worked for my symptoms of course i'm going to ask for a refill, i didn't ask for it to be addicting- ****] and later apologized and said he was wrong in his accusation. so... after being denied by two doctors, i felt like the world was against me and on top of that, it was my fault because it was an emotional/mental *curable* disorder- something i should be able to just... deal with my problems, be a stronger willed person... but the problem was, i've always been a strong willed person, which is why anxiety was so out of character, so one night it disappeared? i was cut off from medicines that caused sudden withdrawls ontop of a return in symptoms and i still didn't have an answer.

a few days ago... i reached the breaking point, i had been up all night from chest pain (heart feels like its going to explode), and i realized that my symptoms had gotten worse since my neurologist upped my dose of my migraine preventative medication. so... i did some research on topamax. then i thought about how long i've been on the drug, and how long i've had these symptoms. why didn't any of the doctors stop me and say this to me? the doctors who 'treated' me would hand me some stupid perscription for a benzo that wouldn't get me past the next weekend, tell me to see a counselor, and send me on my way. i found tons of websites saying topamax caused anxiety, nervousness, headaches (even though its a preventative)... mood swings; (it even went as far as to cause psychosis in some people [A study of 431 patients in England found that 103 (nearly 24%) had some kind of psychiatric effect.]) everything i was experiencing (and i told every doctor that i was on topamax). i found forums where 600+ people said it was so horrible, some after only being on it for a few weeks or a month or two, they had to discontinue it, and i was on it for a year. i lost 50 pounds on it, (20yr old female, 5'7, 115lbs) i constantly felt as if i was spaced out...

anyways. on to the good news. i'm off of topamax for my fourth day today from 300mg and everything is much improved. i'm hoping once it gets out of my system, all of everything will go away. i still have some of the symptoms, but they're much... more tolerable now. i'm braver- (ha) i'm more self confident, it's like a complete overhaul. i haven't had a panic attack since, either. i guess my only advice is listen to your intuition, atleast once in a while . if you feel something isn't right- find out. i feel as if i lost a year of my life to anxiety disorder because it essentially took over my life, and i allowed it for awhile, but i could have lost more time had i sat around and let it take control. it took me a month after being dismissed from my doctors for me to find out what was wrong, and trust me... they will get a phone call when i'm symptom-free

Ahh man and I thought I had the corner on calling doctors judgmental ******. I know EXACTLY what you mean!!!

I was on a drug like Topamax and started having panic attacks which I had never had before. I had never even had anxiety before other than the normal anxiety of life. It started slowly but then turned into basically massive anxiety that I would describe as just a 24/7 panic attack. It went on for over 2 months all the while my doctor telling me it was in my head, and my fault because I was hiding from or avoiding or not dealing with matters from my past. I knew I had issues but this was out of the blue and didn't seem right but I trusted my doctor as he was a family friend. After awhile I developed insomnia along with it and sleep was the only solace I had. After more than 2 months of this day in and day out I ended up in a hospital. At the time I was actually on 13 medications much like Topamax. I have a brain tumor but for 8 years was misdiagnosed as having bipolar disorder and my doctor had me on an obscene amount of medications. By everyone's standards even if I was bipolar I was a mild case. Not someone who needed to be on 13 medications...not that I know that anyone needs to be on 13 medications. It took a month in the hospital for them to get me off several of the medications that were driving the anxiety. I had really bad withdrawals coming off each one. In the mean time they gave me what I found to be my life saver at the time...it was actually a heart medication, a beta blocker, that they use to treat anxiety. That was the only thing that stopped the anxiety. I have told a lot of my story in another post on this Community called Brain tumor not Bipolar Disorder.

I just wanted to say that I have been there too! And when it comes right down to it...YOU are the one who knows your body best and I am so glad that you were able to figure out what was going on before it ever got as extreme as my situation did. My doctor never would admit that the medications caused anything. In fact he stopped taking my calls altogether. But the proof is empirical...I got off the medications and the anxiety went away. But they can do a really good job of making you doubt yourself!

[Unregistered]

Not to dismiss anyones bad reactions, but for people with uncontrolable epilepsy or migraines, medications like this can be life saving. I stumbled upon this post by accident and take topamax. I get the tingleing and luckily no anxiety/panic, but I have never been prone to these. Also, the dose should be kept as low as it can to control symptoms. 300 is high. And, please be careful stopping suddenly. This can cause seizures, severe psychosis and very dangerous side effects. It needs to be tapered.

But, please realize that a lot of people with epilepsy, for example, would really suffer if the CDC took Garla's advice. Think and be considerate please.

If 'TOPOAMAX' or anyother man made drugs have so many negative effects, how in the **** CDC had approved these drugs to be in the market? Dont they have responsibility to visit these Forums and get straight answers from patients? Oh! CDC is just another govt. agency.

Garla Arjuna.