Hello everyone,
I am so grateful for everybody's stories and kind words, but I am also shocked that the medical community can not figure this out, and just seem to heal the symptoms instead of finding the root problem. We have been to many doctors, run many tests, and all they seem to do is say "everything looks normal, it's probably anxiety".
That is so frustrating and invalidating. I wonder...is the common denominator for us a very stressful event/ patterns of overworking our bodies?
For me, I have had a very tumultuous life. I have struggled with Bipolar depression and anxiety for years, my parents' illnesses and deaths, emotional/ physical abuse, stressful work environment, and I am a mother of 3 (raising kids and balancing life is very taxing on our bodies), and of course since 2020: financial struggles. In 2016, I had severe Postpartum depression. That is when I first noticed the adrenaline spikes/ morning sickness in the morning, but I thought it was because of a lack of sleep due to the new baby. I started taking sertraline to help with the depression, and it sort of helped with the panic attacks, but just dulled it. Over time, the adrenaline attacks faded so I think those were anxiety/ stress related.

Fast forward to 2021, I get the COVID shots because I was threatened to be fired. I started having panic attacks, high blood pressure, and NOW heart palpatations, just one week after the shot. A lot happens after that... deaths, illnesses, arrests, drunken spouse, Stressful prison job, etc. WAY TOO MUCH stress for 5 years but my body somehow manages despite now having high BP, migraines, and hypoglycemic spells from starving myself almost daily at work. UNTIL....
March 2026. I just had a baby in Dec 2024 and the PPD returns. I stopped taking my sertraline since I was BF and that did not help my mental health. Finally I decided a few months ago (thanks to TikTok) that I want to try Wellbutrin. I take it for a month and I start having dizzy spells, nausea, weakness, and adrenaline rushes that cause panic for no apparent reason. My virtual psych doc (don't recommend) said its ok to quit cold turkey so I did in April. That is when the daily morning adrenaline surges, morning sickness, digestive problems, and panic attacks start happening more. But two months in, and it is still happening except all day off and on. My doctor prescribed Propranolol 80 mg but it only helps the fast heartbeat and lower my BP. It does nothing for the adrenaline and panic.

I am convinced the chronic stress and the wellbutrin have fried my nervous system or HPA axis. The doctors have tested everything and say I need more sleep. I can't get more sleep because I work until Midnight and I wake up when my toddler wakes up!!! So everyday has been terrible jolting awake in terror, followed by gagging and feeling a surge through my body. My heart is starting to feel twinges of pain too. The only thing that helps the nausea is, ironically, eating. I force myself to eat a piece of toast and a banana and drink apple juice and water. Then I take my Propranolol. I end up eliminating everything within an hour of eating though, "dumping syndrome" and now feel hungry/thirsty often due to it . Also, I get weak before/after eating which I think is hypoglycemia. No diagnosis so far except pre-hypertension, and I am wearing a heart monitor to see what happens to my heart during the episodes.

Sorry for the long post, but I am hoping my story will help someone else feel seen.