Hi All. I suffer from severe anxiety/health anxiety.
All started at the beginning of the year when I had bad chest infection which lead to me thinking I had lung cancer. This freaked me out which led to more anxiety. I started to get headaches (me thinking its a stroke or brain tumor). Then I became weak and numb in my feet and hands ( me thinking its ALS or MS) and the list goes on. Its become so bad that its causing ruptions in my everyday life. Recently I was put on anti-depressants (SERDEP 50) and I didnt go down well with me, I was experiencing nausea and night sweats and couldnt sleep at all, all this on top of the anxiety made everything worse. I began to get a bit better but recently I began to become anxious again and one of the main symptoms I've been having is shortness of breath (persistently) which has me worrying that its COPD.
Please could someone give me some advice as to whether these are normal symptoms for anxiety or whether I should seek medical attention with regards to the COPD. (take in mind that I smoke for the better part of a year but not chronically, I have not been a regular smoker for this whole year). I'm really not in a good place, I can't sleep and it's affecting my whole life.
Please help
Kind regards
James ( 22 years old )
I have leg and arm weakness and a feeling of internal shakiness almost always. It never goes away and is quite scary. It makes me think I have ALS or MS also. But everyone reassures me its my anxiety. The bad part is that's exactly what health anxiety does. It makes us think we have a terrible disease when we don't. Try to reassure yourself that you're healthy. I know it's easier said than done. Hope this helps you somehow.
I also suffer from severe anxiety and I do know that it can make your body feel so many different things and your mind can make you feel symptoms that aren't really there but you focus on them so much that they actually start happening. I know how you feel, I spent months n months going in and out of the ER and doctors with all my different symptoms and convinced I had brain tumors, meningitis, something in my throat, lung issues, blood clots, you name it, and I thought I had it. I know it's hard to believe that your mind could be causing this to happen, and I'm not saying 100% is just your mind, so if you wanna feel at peace of mind with things just go into the dr or ER and demand some testing be done. Don't haul off and say you have anxiety though just advise them of your chest/lung pain and headaches and I'm sure they'll do a chest X-ray and a CT scan of your head for you to rule out the major issues and they'll also check your blood and urine to be sure there no infections in your body. It will help you get some peace of mind about brain tumors, COPD and lung issues. Not everything shows up on certain tests but at least the combination will help to rule out major concerns and help you get some sleep at night! I too have thought I had everything you've listed above! So you're not alone Hun, I'm 31 years old with 3 young kids and I drive myself crazy with panic about every little thing and Google everything which is THE WORST thing to do... And sadly I know they but still can't stop doing it! I've been on medication for about 5 months now and it has been working well up until the last couple weeks and now I'm having a relapse so I have an appt to see my dr Friday and look at bumping up my medication dosage a bit to hopefully help. I'm on Mirtazapine right now 15mg once at night before bed plus I have Ativan that I can take as needed/once a day which really helps if I feel a big attack coming on, it calms the whole body down! Ativan is in a class of meds called benzos and they can be highly addicting though so it's best to only take as needed and not more than the dr tells you. I haven't taken them in over 4 months until the last couple weeks and lately I've been taking one .5mg pill a day to calm the attacks. Hope you find some relief! Talk to your doctor about a good medication to take and maybe ask about including Ativan into the remedy for a while to get you through your rougher patches. And remember if you start a medication, it can take up to 6/8 weeks to be affective in your system and sometimes you feel worse for the first week or two before you start to feel better because it's changing th chemical balances in your brain so much... This is where the Ativan comes in handy! Just give the medication a chance if you choose that path, they all take time and have side effects that generally disappear after a couple weeks of taking them 
Feel free to chat with me anytime or if you feel you need someone to talk to! I'm here! Hope you feel better! Also look into maybe a therapist to talk to, sometimes that in combination with medication is very successful!
Hi...
Jajzmama stated it perfectly. I too have been a sufferer of anxiety and panic attacks my whole life. Just started back on an antidepressant last night and feeling the side effects are awful. But they do get better over time. The mind is so powerful it can make u feel like a prisoner in ur own body. Very debilitating.
I take clonazepam which is a part of the same family as Ativan. The only difference is Ativan is very fast acting but short lived where as the clonazepam is a slower onset but lasts longer....gradual effect.
I hope u can find a bit of peace. See your doctor and if all tests come back clear. You know it's all in ur mind and therapy would be beneficial for that.