Yeah rhonnie you are so right about obsessing over looking up
illnesses.
The main problem is that so many illnesses have a generic list of
symptoms that can fit almost anybody at a given time. Self diagnosing
is dangerous and can feed your anxiety big time.
Its important to remember that you are probably only doing it because
of your anxiety, not because of the symptom itself.
Remember too that one of the most common problems in panix
disorder is misattribution - we mistake common and normal physical
changes and symptoms for something catastrophically bad. In many
cases people wont even accept their diagnosis after being checked out
for nearly anything under the sun!
Panic disorder is a serious mood disorder and when it presents itself
most acutely, its probably much more important to get it treated and
cured first rather than any other current symptoms, real or imagined,
which can be often treated at a later point.
Of course anything that seems seriously wrong should be checked out
by your dr, keeping in mind that catastrophic misattribution is a key
part of PD, and can go way beyond just hyperventilation symptoms. I
mean by this that most of us with PD are much more likely to be
catastrophically misattributing an imagined illness than we are to
actually have a serious illness other than PD itself!
As for fear of taking medication, this is a form of agoraphobia in most
cases. By that I mean its quite possible that at some point in your life
taking medication has disturbed you, or a coincidental incident has
occurred which disturbed you, or perhaps you even saw or read
something which disturbed you.
Whatever the reason that it may have occurred (and believe me working
out why can be a complex and lengthy process sometimes involving
therapy), it is normal not rational, not justified, and not for any specific
reason relating to the treatment available.
Some people get better from PD and other anxiety disorders without
meds, but many fail unfortunately. Benzos, especially valium, have
given anxiety treating meds in general such a bad name because of the
addictive nature, tolerance and dependence that comes with them.
There are many other medical treatments available today whi
