How I Dealt with Depression and Anxiety

Until spring of 2002, I was living a normal, happy life. One night I awoke trembling, shaking uncontrollably, sweating profusely, my body kept changing from hot to cold. I felt I could not breathe. I was sure I was going to die. My wife awoke and asked if we should go to the hospital. I said no. After twenty minutes or so, the feelings subsided.

I went to my family doctor the next day. After running several tests, he concluded I had an anxiety attack. He prescribed two weeks worth of an anti-anxiety pill and told me to take it easy for a couple of days. My boss at work was very understanding and agreed to give me two days off from work. I began to feel better and returned to work.

Several nights later, the same thing happened, only worse. My heart felt like it was going a million miles an hour. I returned to the doctor the next day. He told me I had high blood pressure and prescribed a medicine, the name of which I do not recall. I had a lot of trouble getting used to the medicine, but kept taking it, hoping it would eventually help. To make a long story short, I went through four different medications, until we hit on the right one that worked for me. I felt much better. He told me I would probably have to take it for the rest of my life.

Things returned to normal for a while. I was at work one day when suddenly I felt faint and could not breathe properly. A fellow worker took me to an emergency room. We waited over an hour. I told him I felt better and did not want to wait any longer. We returned to work and everything was fine. The same thing happened the next afternoon. I decided it was time to go back to the doctor. He told me I has fibromyalgia, which mostly affects women. He prescribed a medicine that worked fine for about one year.

Things kept getting worse for me. I continued to have the attacks at night. Soon they began to come in early afternoon. I decided it was time to see another doctor. I made an appointment. This doctor told me I was having anxiety attacks, but to make sure there was nothing wrong with my heart, he sent me to a heart specialist. I took a variety of tests. He concluded my heart was fine. I returned to the new doctor with the results. He told me I was suffering from severe anxiety and prescribed an appropriate medicine. Things returned to normal.