@annedodrill44 I also welcome you to Mayo Connect. We are here to help each other through our experiences with situations that may be similar to yours and relating what worked or didn't work in resolving or helping things improve.

I have symptoms similar to yours that turned out to be panic attacks, and anxiety attacks. I don't know if you've had your tyroid checked, but if not, I recommend that. One time when I was having the same symptoms, it turned out that my Synthroid medication was too strong for what I needed. It was causing my anxiety. Other times, I have truly had anxiety to the point of panic. These sessions lasted 20 minutes or so, and I felt as if I might be going crazy. If i was in any store, where this happened often, I would have to leave, hoping I didn't show signs of what was going on with me. I figured if anyone noticed, nurses would come in white coats, put me on a gurney and take me to a mental hospital.

I basically treated myself during those years by reading Born to Win, Women as Winners, Your Erroneous Zones, and other self-help books at the time. I was in a therapy/counseling group at the time, but was even afraid to tell them about my "sessions". I endured the anxiety most of my life, but learned how to meditate and relax, and did Yoga over the years, which all relieved the symptoms most of the time. Certain situations were impossible for me to control my fear in, such as flying, being in "breath - taking" views of valleys, bridges, heights in general. I would literally get nauseated and my heart pounded out of control. I learned that a small dose, 1 mg, of Lorazepam would help calm my anxiety when it was out of relaxation control. I didn't like taking it, but needed it in order to fly. Then about 10 years ago I saw a friend of mine who was always high strung in the grocery store. She was very relaxed and happy and very different from the person I had known. I asked her what she was doing in her life that had made her change so dramatically. She told she had been put on antidepressants and they had changed her life. I made an appointment with my doctor and asked for antidepressants telling him my long experiences and my lifetime of abuse, neglect, etc. He prescribed Citalopram, 20 mg to start. After 2 weeks, i began to feel the difference in my anxiety. I am still taking 40 mg of Citalopram and I am so thankful for it. My irrational fears and anxieties are gone and I am free to live my life.

Everyone is different and what worked for me in my situation may or may not work for others. You may not even have "anxiety" issues. I hope you will be assertive in pursuing an earlier appointment with Mayo. At our age, quality of what's left of our lives is very important.

Warm regards,
Gail
Volunteer Mentor