# Hi - I'm Mike, DP/DR sufferer



## Mike_NY (Dec 10, 2015)

Hi there, I am new to the site and I thought I would introduce myself.

I am Mike, 31 and living in NYC. I have been suffering with DP/DR since June this year. I believe my anxiety started to get really bad around this time last year. I was getting real bad chest pains which made me feel like I was about to have a heart attack on many occasions and I had terrible panic attacks. I had 2 EKGs and was told I was fine by the docs. I was diagnosed as having acid-reflux which can cause chest pain. I never figured that at the time I also had pains in my stomach too, I was so consumed with the chest pain, especially when it was around my heart area and I never connected the stomach and chest pain. So I took the medication for this and it went away after a couple of weeks.

Fast forward to June this year, I had been getting pretty stressed and anxious with numerous problems and one morning, I was drinking lots of coffee and vaping pretty hard on an e-cigarette with high nicotine level and all of a sudden I went into this dizzy, foggy state which I could not shake off. I guess this was my trigger / breaking point. I was absolutely terrified and after much crying and panic it started to subside a little bit after 2 weeks. I went to the doc during those 2 hellish weeks and was sent on my way with Xanax and an prescription to a Psychiatrist and diagnosed with GAD. Basically brushed off by the doctor. So I went to another doctor and he suggested I get an MRI which came back clear. Recently I got the doc to give me a full blood workup checking testosterone, thyroid, vitamin levels etc but everything came back fine. I was vitamin D deficient earlier in the year and I heard this can cause DP symptoms, but I have been taking it daily with magnesium and my level is up to 84 now but I am not totally over DP/DR.

If I am at home chilled out I feel almost normal. This is how I feel when I am sat at my desk in work keeping busy. However, as soon as I walk outside at lunch or whatever, my DP/DR kicks in bigtime. Sensory overload! It's like I just look around me and nothing is real, I feel spaced out like my head is in the clouds and I am completely on autopilot. Quite often I get a dizzy, off-balance feeling like I am about to fall over when outside which gives me a heart flutter. I am sure everyone here knows what I'm talking about. I get the same feeling when I walk into a big store with bright lights, I just feel completely spaced out and foggy like nothing is real. The sun is not my friend either, if I am indoors and the sun is shining through the window into my eyes, it brings on the DP and spaciness. It helps if I wear shades it helps a little. Despite all this I can work and interact with people and they have absolutely no idea what I am going through unless I tell them. I have given up on trying to explain it to people, they just don't understand.

I am not as bad as I was back in the summer, I have learned to accept it and try to ignore it, but it's tough L

So that's my story, sorry if it's a little long.


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## Mike_NY (Dec 10, 2015)

Not even a hello from anyone?


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## ThoughtOnFire (Feb 10, 2015)

Hi Mike from NYC,

Welcome to the forum 

It's good to recognize your triggers and to stay away from them!


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## Merk (Dec 8, 2015)

Hey Mike, I too started having symptoms of both DP and DR since a night out of drinking on Halloween night. My vision is weird, my hearing is kind of distorted, and my mind isn't the same, I lose concentration, memory and forget things what I did throughout the day. I feel like I'm always tired and my eyes are sensitive to light. It's tough living like this but I'm learning to cope with it by socializing, playing sports, and going places rather than staying home. That's my story. Keep on living and you'll eventually get better.


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## Tyrone (Feb 28, 2016)

Hey i think i have the same symptoms


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## socky_b81 (Jan 27, 2016)

Mike_NY said:


> Hi there, I am new to the site and I thought I would introduce myself.
> 
> I am Mike, 31 and living in NYC. I have been suffering with DP/DR since June this year. I believe my anxiety started to get really bad around this time last year. I was getting real bad chest pains which made me feel like I was about to have a heart attack on many occasions and I had terrible panic attacks. I had 2 EKGs and was told I was fine by the docs. I was diagnosed as having acid-reflux which can cause chest pain. I never figured that at the time I also had pains in my stomach too, I was so consumed with the chest pain, especially when it was around my heart area and I never connected the stomach and chest pain. So I took the medication for this and it went away after a couple of weeks.
> 
> ...


Wow. This feels EXACTLY like what I experienced when I was 16 years old. My first therapist at that time didn't know what I was experiencing and neither did I. I was put on some medication and just expected to get better, I guess. I felt helpless. I felt lost. I felt more alone than I did prior to the DR/DP. I felt the same situations as you do now -- sunny days through the windows, feeling overwhelmed/anxious going into large store, eyes sensitive to bright lights, walking into a new environment and feeling spaced out/not real. At 35 I'm going through another bout of DR/DP. After taking a medication for 5 weeks now and going through a lot of self-talk/help, seeing a therapist routinely, increasing physical activity, being more social engaged, and changing my diet and sleeping patterns I feel significantly better than in January and February. Am I feeling fully like me yet? No. Have the heart palpitations that had me in emergency twice in one month gone away? Almost 100% gone now.

How are you feeling 3 months after posting your original posting?


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## Kitten123 (Mar 2, 2016)

Mike_NY said:


> Hi there, I am new to the site and I thought I would introduce myself.
> 
> I am Mike, 31 and living in NYC. I have been suffering with DP/DR since June this year. I believe my anxiety started to get really bad around this time last year. I was getting real bad chest pains which made me feel like I was about to have a heart attack on many occasions and I had terrible panic attacks. I had 2 EKGs and was told I was fine by the docs. I was diagnosed as having acid-reflux which can cause chest pain. I never figured that at the time I also had pains in my stomach too, I was so consumed with the chest pain, especially when it was around my heart area and I never connected the stomach and chest pain. So I took the medication for this and it went away after a couple of weeks.
> 
> ...


Hello Mike!

I can totally relate to your feelings.

Especially to the dizziness, off-balance feeling like you're about to fall over. I also get uncomfortable when i enter big stores or supermarkets...

(But i guess what makes ME feel uncomfortable is the huge amount of items placed all over the place..like too many details)

I can also relate to the feeling of not explaining to others because they would not understand...

But hey, We all here can understand you.

So welcome. 

*Much love,*

*Kitten.*


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## Mike_NY (Dec 10, 2015)

socky_b81 said:


> Wow. This feels EXACTLY like what I experienced when I was 16 years old. My first therapist at that time didn't know what I was experiencing and neither did I. I was put on some medication and just expected to get better, I guess. I felt helpless. I felt lost. I felt more alone than I did prior to the DR/DP. I felt the same situations as you do now -- sunny days through the windows, feeling overwhelmed/anxious going into large store, eyes sensitive to bright lights, walking into a new environment and feeling spaced out/not real. At 35 I'm going through another bout of DR/DP. After taking a medication for 5 weeks now and going through a lot of self-talk/help, seeing a therapist routinely, increasing physical activity, being more social engaged, and changing my diet and sleeping patterns I feel significantly better than in January and February. Am I feeling fully like me yet? No. Have the heart palpitations that had me in emergency twice in one month gone away? Almost 100% gone now.
> 
> How are you feeling 3 months after posting your original posting?


Since posting I had a period when it had totally gone for a few weeks. This it lifted shottly after receiving some good news which was a huge weight off my shoulders, and I believe one of the biggest contributing factors to me getting DR in the first place. Since it went away it came back again when running at the gym, exerting myself pretty hard. I went into the locker room and hit my head off my locker in anger at myself. So that was around 5-6 weeks ago. I have been seeing real improvement since last Monday, every day it feels like I am just getting better and better and more zoned in. I kind of feel weird now because my vision has gotten clear and I feel a lot more zoned in, but I am not sure how to act or feel about it. It's like an overwhelming feeling of not knowing how to act, like I have forgotten how to act when I didn't have DR. Anyway, i'm not 100% yet, but getting better every day which keeps me positive. I have learned to accept my anxiety now and try to be as positive as I can about things.

I had been getting chest pains and have suffered from acid reflux in the past once and had similar pains, but 2 weeks ago they were really scaring me and giving me panic attacks and I went to the cardiologist and he told me I was fine after an examination and a stress test. I also had an EKG by my doctor before being referred and he only referred me for my own peace of mind. So now when I get chest pain I just don't give a shit anymore, I don't let it annoy me. I know it's because I am vaping nicotine or drinking coffee or whatever. I haven't had any panic attacks since and I listened to 2 audio books over the weekend about how to deal with anxiety and feelings of unreality by Claire Weekes. I am staying positive and hope to be back to 100% soon!


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