A year ago I woke up one morning with what felt like food poisoning and could not quit vomiting or running to the bathroom. I figured it would pass in a few days... It didn't. I didn't eat for nearly a month, lost 27lbs, and went to bed every night thinking I would die in my sleep. Now, a year later, I have had my gallbladder removed, have been diagnosed with GERD and IBS, and get sick everyday. I had never had a problem with anxiety or panic before... Now it controls my life. I constantly worry about my health, especially my heart. I don't like to drive in traffic, I check my pulse constantly, I don't like to be more than a few miles away from a hospital, I don't go out to eat, to movies, and avoid malls and shopping centers.
Now, to make all this worse, I am a soldier, a paratrooper nonetheless. I can jump out of a plane at 800 feet with 100 lbs of gear strapped to my back, but I am terrified of driving eight miles to my girlfriends house. I have kept this a secret for a year now, but everyday I feel more and more like I am losing control. I know this is abnormal for anybody, but it is embarrassingly odd for a young, male, infantry soldier.
My questions:
1.) My agoraphobia / panic / anxiety came on quickly and severly with my digestive problems... I thought it would go away suddenly as well: it hasn't... Is there any hope of getting over this?
2.) Why do I focus so much on my heart. I have never had any heart problems... But now it seems I can feel my pulse throughout my entire body, I convince myself I have chest and arm pain and that I am having trouble breathing, I check the pulse in my wrists, chest, neck, and temples CONSTANTLY, I take my blood-pressure constantly? How does anxiety cause this?
3.) I am considering talking to a doctor about anti-anxiety drugs and drugs for my insomnia? Do they work? Is it worth it?
I sincerely appreciate any responses. This is ruining my life... I cannot be the soldier, man, or boyfriend I need to be while anxiety is controlling my every thought...
