Dealing with anxiety, stomach pain, shortness of breath, and panic attacks... help?

I’ve been dealing with constant acid reflux, anxiety, and full-blown panic attacks for about 16 months now. It’s a nightmare. I constantly feel like I’m going to just vanish, or worse, like I’m about to have a heart attack, a stroke, or just stop breathing entirely. I’ve had my heart, brain, and lungs checked out by specialists, and everything comes back perfect—turns out I just inherited this nasty GERD from my grandpa. Now, whenever it starts raining, I get this suffocating feeling like there’s zero oxygen in the air. Right now, I’m on Valium and 0.5mg of Xanax. They help, sure, but they also knock me out completely. Anyone else dealing with this kind of madness? Honestly, I don't trust doctors anymore; they basically tried to tell me I was making up the pain just to get me sent to a psych ward. For 16 months straight, my stomach and gut have been killing me without a single break. lp

Walter Martin3 said:For sixteen months now, I've been dealing with constant GERD, crippling anxiety, and full-blown panic attacks. It’s exhausting. I constantly feel this terrifying sense of impending doom—like I’m about to vanish, or worse, suffer a heart attack or stroke, or just stop breathing entirely. I’ve gone to see specialists to check out my heart, brain, and lungs, and everything came back perfectly fine, but the acid reflux is relentless; I think I inherited it from my grandfather. Even something as simple as the weather changing can trigger it; when it rains, I feel like the oxygen is being sucked right out of the room. Right now, I'm taking Valium and 0.5mg Xanax. They help, sure, but they also leave me feeling totally wiped out and drowsy. Is anyone else going through this? Honestly, I've lost faith in doctors. They practically treated me like I was making up my symptoms just to get me committed to a psych ward. For sixteen months, my stomach and gut have been in absolute agony without a single break. Best,

GERD can actually be triggered by anxiety... I've been diagnosed with PTSD, anxiety, and depression myself. Have you sat down with a psychiatrist yet?

Walter Martin3 said:For sixteen months now, I’ve been dealing with constant acid reflux, anxiety, and full-blown panic attacks; I constantly live with this irrational fear that I’m just going to vanish, or suffer a massive stroke or heart attack, or simply suffocate. I’ve had my heart, brain, and lungs thoroughly checked by specialists, and everything comes back perfectly fine, yet this reflux feels inherited from my grandfather. Whenever the weather turns rainy, I get this suffocating sensation, as if the oxygen has suddenly vanished from the air. Currently, I am taking Valium and 0.5mg Xanax. They offer some relief, but they leave me completely drained and drowsy. Is anyone else struggling with something similar? I’ve lost all faith in doctors because they practically suggested I was losing my mind and making up the pain. For sixteen months, my stomach and abdomen have been in a state of unrelenting agony. Best regards.

Valium is little more than chamomile tea when it comes to treating actual panic disorder and chronic anxiety. What you really need are legitimate antidepressants; often, Celexa (Lexapro) is recommended because it tends to have fewer side effects, though that isn't a universal rule.

You ought to see a psychiatrist—perhaps a private specialist would be better—and lay out the whole situation; they will likely prescribe one of the various ADs. Give it a shot, as there is nothing to lose, and you might find significant relief, given how easily psychological distress manifests as physical symptoms.

Before I started medication, I suffered from shortness of breath and the terrifying sensation that I was dying from lack of air, and I endured unbearable back pain for two years—all of which vanished within two weeks of starting an antidepressant. The panic and the phobias disappeared along with them. Xanax helps, certainly, but it is incredibly sedating and makes you sleepy, even if it does manage to blunt the edge of a panic attack.

You might also want to consider this approach:

Nexium enteric-coated capsules (esomeprazole)
The active ingredient in Nexium is esomeprazole, which functions as a proton pump inhibitor. In clinical practice, esomeprazole is utilized to manage peptic disorders stemming from excessive gastric acid secretion. When we talk about peptic disorders related to acid secretion, we are referring to a specific cluster of conditions affecting the gastrointestinal tract, where stomach acid acts as the primary driver behind both the pathology and the symptoms. This category encompasses several issues, including gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and its various complications—such as erosive esophagitis, strictures, or Barrett's esophagus—as well as peptic ulcers, gastroduodenal mucosal damage, and other complications triggered by medications like NSAIDs, alongside Zollinger-Ellison syndrome and other pathological states characterized by hypersecretion.