Major physical symptoms for two days again.

Mental health
1

I've been having more good days than bad recently, but ever since my last therapy session (thursday), I've been anxious everyday except Saturday..

Yesterday morning a simple gas pain in my stomach (not even my chest) made my entire day turn upside down.. Today I feel so nauceus and just had heart palps for about 20 seconds in a row along with a few gas chest pains earlier..

My stomach has been acting weird all day, and I'm 90% sure I have a bit of the stomach flu. Why does my heart feel so weak today? Does being sick make my anxiety to all over the place? I'm once again scared to be alone and scared to eat.. Hoping this goes away sooner than later!!

2

Hi, yes i think being unwell wil be affecting your anxiety. Remember, anxiety is a feeling, it will pass and it wont hurt you. The heart palpitations are a symptom of the anxiety and they wont hurt you either. I think because you're focusing on your tummy as well, convincing yourself that something is wrong, your anxiety is exaggerating the way it feels. I do that to myself all the time. I understand how you feel.

3

Hi Drs are now saying that the stomach is asecond brain due to gaba receptor cells being located there , hence it is not surprising that you are experiencing these signs and symptoms.

However it is important that you are checked out for say reflux disease. Short term I would suggest a quarter of a teaspoonful of bicrbonate of soda in about 100 mls of water to see if it relieves the heartburn and production of acid gas. r tric related!!

 

4

sorry about typos. Meant to write to try bicarb of soda to relieve the acidity of the stomach.

5

Sarah and anxietysite123 Meant to write to try the bicarb of soda to try to relieve th heartburn and acidity in  thee stomach.

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I think both your stomach and chest problems are anxiety. I have palpitations when I am very, very anxious and can have them for extended periods.

Sometimes they even make me cough. The more you focus on them the worse they will become.

Stomach flu is awful. You cannot have it 'slightly', however. It is either there or it isn't. If you had stomach flu the you would feel EXTREMELY ill. Trust me.

You need to find a way of accepting that this is all your anxiety. Until you can find a way to do this then I fear you will be stuck in this spiral for a while.

I would recommend for you to try counselling..especially a counsellor with a greater understanding of anxiety.

If you are worried about your heart you can always request a test from your GP. If you have already had one then you have nothing to worry about.

7

Thank you. I have had several (literally Atleast 10), bloodwork, ct scan, chest xray all since february, and an echo and 24 hour holter in late August I believe.. They couldn't find anything wrong, they just said it showed signs of regurgitation, but they obviously weren't concerned about it. My doctor told me to go eat a cheeseburger and hang my cardio results on my fridge.

I went to the doctor yesterday because I literally couldn't relax no matter how hard I tried. BP was 134/84, and my HR was 113.. I had finally gotten my heart down to the 80s 4 weeks prior so my doctor was happy with that.. She saw 113 and immediately tried shoving propanolol on me. When I'm not anxious, my pulse has been pretty normal, so I really dont want to be put on meds for that. Today my anxiety was low and my HR is slowly getting back to normal. Now I'm a bit anxious again and just sitting here Its 92. Not too bad for being anxious I know, but now my mind is once again stuck on it being high yesterday. Im seeing a therapist weekly and tomorrow will be my 4th session I believe.. How long does it take to notice a difference? Will it heal me to the point where I'll be able to start living like I used to or will i always have this issue??

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Oops several ekgs**

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Ok. So... You have had had all relevant tests and nothing was found.

This means that nothing is wrong with you.

The things that you fear being wrong have been PROVEN to not be a possibility for you.

Write this down and repeat it to yourself.

Your obsession over you heart (and yes, this is now an obsession,) has become habit. You have now fully trained yourself to think about it 24/7, check for signs that there is something wrong 24/7 and to then monitor yourself 24/7.

This is now so deeply ingrained in you that it is going to be hard to break the habit... But break it you CAN.

Therapy can take a while..there is no set time. The important components to therapy are that you have a good therapist (this may sound obvious but so many don't.) you need to truly be able to click with your therapist and for them to understand you.

Secondly, you need to be 100% truthful when you see them. Again this may sound obvious but you would be surprised at how many people with old things because of sheer embarrassment alone.

Another thing I will say is this: yes, your BP alters (sometimes dramatically,) when you are stressed.

I don't mean this nastily - but think... Do you really expect for your body to experience severe anxiety and panick and for it NOT to show signs of elevated stress?

You are not a machine. Yes, your body will respond. Your body responding to stress is not your issue, nor is your elevated heart rate despite being convinced that this is the problem....

No. Your problem seems to me that you are frightened of your own body...frightened of what it can do/can't do... Frightened of being out of control.

This is what you need to focus on.

stop monitoring your BP and heart rate... Even if just for one day.

You don't need to monitor it..imagine all the people in the world and all the vigorous exorcise that some do, do you think they constantly monitor their heart? No.... Because they don't fear their body.

You need to let go...break this habit...accept your anxiety and acknowledge your obsessions. Believe in your diagnosis...and stop self diagnosing. It's hard...but with time you can do it.

10

Not with old. - with-hold*

11

Thank you, this really calmed me. I screenshotted it so i can read it again during a panic attack, maybe it'll calm me reading this all again.

You said the SAME exact thing that my therapist said.. I fear being out of control. Something about it just makes me panic. Knowing something bad can happen at anytime makes me insane with fear.. Up until today, I never realized that chances are, all of these people that have heart attacks and strokes and things probably haven't been checked by a doctor in the context that I have, so by the time they do need help, sometimes it's too late to be corrected. Literally thousands of dollars on testing just this year alone.

12

You're welcome and glad it helped

But you must understand... This is not about being calmed. Being calmed by what I or any one else tells you only acts to sooth for a while. I am sure you are more than familiar with this cycle: you may feel soothed for a while but once your physical symptoms of anxiety raise their head you will then require further reassurance.

What you need to do is make a determined start in fully taking in what you are being told and then begin to out it into practice. It isn't easy but it WILL become easier with time.

It isn't about just depending on your test results either because you are still looking at the medical side of things.

It is about not allowing yourself to continue the pattern of checking and then seeking reassurance.

Learning to self sooth is key I think. You also need to learn the difference between anxiety and actual issues with your body.