Really bad health anxiety!

Mental health
1

Hey guys,

I'm new to this forum and not too sure what it's all about or if it's going to help me..

I'm 23 years old and have been told by my doctor that I'm suffering from health anxiety (although I'm not convinced!)

It all started at the beginning if the year - I had a very random and very scary panic attack which came completely out of the blue! From then I've had the worst physical symptoms I've ever experienced.. Chest pain, numbness and tingling in my left arm, pain in my ribs, difficulty breathing sometimes, head aches, extreme tiredness (to the point where I feel like I'm going to fall asleep any second), dizziness, brain fog.. The list is endless!

I've been to my gp and also a&e numerous times and they've done some tests.. I had routine bloods, ECG, chest X-ray and the blood pressure etc.. All came back normal!

Even though I've been told I'm ok I just don't feel I am, I feel there is something seriously wrong with me (my heart worries me the most). Every doctor I have seen has told me that heart problems don't happen to girls of my age, so they've never done any tests on my heart. Since then I've been reading up on things and apparently it IS possible to have heart problems at my age! So what do I do? Do I take their word for it or keep going back until I get it tested? I feel like it's ruining my life - everyday I wake up thinking is this going to be the day I have a heart attack! The symptoms are so real and they are there 24/7!

Also my doctor put me on fluoxetine around 4 months ago - I have recently stopped taking it because it wasn't helping and I was getting awful side effects. Does anyone recommend any medication to help with how I am feeling?

I'm so so worried about my help! And no one seems to care. All I hear is anxiety, it's just anxiety, you have anxiety!!!!

Also I should add, I'm not at all overweight, I do smoke occasionally and have a pretty rubbish diet - I know the smoking and diet aren't going to help but I feel so rubbish that I cans stop eating rubbish!!!

Thank you very much for reading. Any help what so ever is very appreciated x

2

Firstly,  I know what your going through, I too suffer from health anxiety, it is a terrible aspect of anxiety.  As you are medically sound according to the docs, that doesn't mean u don't feel what u feel,it just means that you are in no physical danger,as is the case with most sufferers. It all boils down to the root anxiety- once that is under control, this with other symptoms will lessen or stop. Like you I refuse meds, the side effects I will not accept.  For me therapy works, it's s good place to get to the root of the problem. It can be a long road, so the soonest started the better! 

3

Oh and don't Google symptoms! ! You can convince yourself you have most ailments with Google,trust your docs- not Google,we've all been there 

4

Hi Lucy,

First of all you have my condolences,now take notice of what I say,I've suffered with anxiety for over fifty years and am now 64,how I got here I don't know,but if I'd listened to what my brain was telling me about how I'd had a stroke,and how I'd had two heart attacks,and had cancer then I would have been long gone by now don't you think?

Anxiety can make you believe you have anything in the medical dictionary,and it often will,in itself it won't kill you,it is a chemical reaction in your brain that sends out crappy signals to your body to try and convince you that you are ill.

I suggest you accept its presence but not to be fooled by its guile,and also to meditate on what has brought this all on,something will have done,then sort that out,maybe try for a more sedatory drug,if you get lucky,I am on 400mg Pregabilin,that's my saviour,but I do the natural things as well,exercise,meditate,take time out alone for a spell,I too smoke a bit,I eat more healthily,no alcohol hardly,but I still hurt at times,I always will,it's part of all this,come join all of us who suffer,and who still remain undefeated.

Your heart is fine,so too your body,it's the mind that's at fault,just a loose wire,get in there and fix it,you may need some help with that as well.

Hope you feel better,I feel quite good,you will too,just persevere and be patient,this could take awhile.

Regards Malc

 

5

You're not alone, I always thought I was a really robust person, pretty chilled out about things but my fingers started twitching last year and overnight I feel like my a part of me just changed and I've not got back to normal since. I pretty much convinced myself I had MS and despite doctors saying I didn't, I couldn't really accept that they were right because my gp only did blood tests and wouldn't refer me to get an MRI, obviously cause they thought it would be a waste of money cause I don't have ms.

Anxiety created soooo many other symptoms that by the time I had accepted the twitching fingers I'd also started getting pins and needles, tingling, shaking and full blown anxiety attacks. It's been nearly a year and I feel a lot better in that instead of crying every day it now only reduces me to tears and panics every few months. I think it's because a lot of what I perceive are symptoms won't go away no matter how much I think I've relaxed and then that makes me more stressed and the vicious cycle just keeps going. I suspect the reality is that I'm now acutely aware of every sensation in my body and I feel like I've forgotten what's normal and just overreact to feeling anything.  It takes time but you can learn to cope with the anxiety and I feel like I can live with it now although I would give anything to not have overreacted to the twitching fingers in the first place.  Don't beat yourself up about it, it is a funny state of mind but it doesn't mean there's anything wrong with your heart. I've had every symptom you've described and my heart is still ticking. You'll be fine. I found it helpful to do online cbt courses and breathing exercises and I started exercising more to prove to myself I was as fit as anyone else. doing exercise will make you feel better and will help your heart in the long run! If you think seeking a therapist would help and you can afford to do it privately just do it. you don't want to spend your youth worrying yourself to despair.  when I was brave enough I decided to find out as much as I could about ms. Yes searching symptoms on the web is generally not a good idea but for some people I think educating yourself about your perceived illness can be a form of facing your fears.

6

I've been having the same symptoms throughout this month. I had 4 EKGs which all came out fine. I had a full brown anxiety attack 2 months ago during a class, and i ended up being sent to ER. They checked my heart and gave me a cat scan on my brain, and all of them were good. A month later, i started to developed all these chest pain, numbness in left hand, muscle spam, and racing heart rate. I know that my heart is fine because i play basketball and i have no trouble breathing, but when I have a racing heart, my brain kind of lose it ability to think rationally. at that time, i just panic and thinking there is something wrong with my heart. I try not to think about it or just let go of the the idea of having heart problem when it comes to mind. i also couldnt focus in during when the chest pain came. now i am meeting with a psychotherapist and also taking low dose of meds. I've been learning to calm myself down when my heart races. i know this is gonna be a long fighting war, but i think we are all gonna be fine. This wont take us away from our love ones.  dont give up, keep me updated

7

get a second opinion on your meds and change to something that works better for you.  Good luck

Richard

8

Hi Lucy I can relate so much to your story it's exactly like mine! My panic attack first arrived in August 14, thought it was a heart attack. Now this last 5 months have been pure hell. I too wake up every day thinkin about will I have a heart attack 2 day. I have been to ane twice a week every week so far. Have had more ECG bloods X-rays ( to the point where I can't have be more) stress test and an anteriograph which all came back normal. My gp put this down to acid reflux( without testing me for it) and severe anxiety!!! Which I don't believe for I'm not a worrying type I'm actually to laid back. I've told my doc that it's the pain that makes me anxious not the anxiety causing the pain! It just feels they don't listen! But my main symptoms are chest pain more discomfort all on left side neck back pain with tingling lips fingers tightness in left arm breathlessness! Now just a few weeks ago this funny flutter like in my heart which makes me dizzy so this is why I'm adamant it's not anxiety there must be something wrong. My mother went through all the same stuff I've been through in fact she had 2 stress tests and all hers came back perfect. 2 months later she had a massive heart attack had 4 stents fitted tho she is now on the transplant list she's only 49 healthy or so we thought never smoked weighs no more than 60kg had occasional drink! So it was a shock when it happens last year. Please let me know wat you'd think it will be much appreciated

9

Hi. I'm 21 and I have pretty much exactly what you have although the doctors haven't told me I have health anxiety. I had one panic attack and its blew me out of the water! My health hasn't been the same since. I keep thinking I'm going crazy, my heart 'hurts' (as I describe it) and my head feels like there is a weight on it. Like you, I researched what was wrong with me. By the end I had diagnosed myself with many different illnesses. Don't keep looking on the Internet. Stop yourself from doing so and only speak to the doctors. This will get the idea that something is wrong out of your head and you will only hear from the doctor. Not from the Internet. It is very difficult. Also, my diet is very poor too and I smoke occasionally. Try and take your caffeine limits as low as possible throughout the day. That should help. You shouldn't have to take everything out of your diet. Hope this helps

10

All this is very scary but I am relieved to hear I am not alone . About 3 months ago I randomly got tinnitus in my right ear followed by fullness in that ear then later fullness in the left ear. This really freaked me out . I couldn't get into a ent doc so I went to my regular doc and she said it looked normal don't worry but it was very bothersome and scared me a lot . Well one thing led to another and my health anxiety was sparked and I am miserable . I have a great physiologist and am working hard to fight this. I was started in klonipin because my anxiety was so high . After about two weeks on the klonapin I started having tremors in my hands . I assumed it was the medication and began to worry even more about my health. Has this drug set off a disease in my body ? I have had every thought a person could have . My doctors all think it's just the anxiety and encouraged me to take more of the medication because I was not taking a high dose at all . Needless to say I went to the er when the shaking didn't go away . Every test known to man came back normal . Shaking worse when I am upset or anxious . I am taking Xanax now at a very low dose which is what I wanted . But the shaking is still there most of the time . If I am busy I tend to not feel it but if I have any time on my hands I get worse I feel the tremors / shaking in my hands and arms a lot . I am worried I have ms or some awful disease any one else have these symptoms ? Could this all be my anxiety ?

11

Hi barney I am 34 and I've been suffering with anxiety/panic since I was 11 but the last 2 years I have experience tingling left.arm.and.left side.of.lips I have had ecg 24 hour ecg and all normal even had a.mri and was normal my bloods are normal but I'm still convinced it's heart problems or a blockage I am on proprananol and some other antidepressants duloxitine but still no improvement and I am.out of ideas just want to feel human again sad

12

Hi lucy. I'm sorry to hear your issue ... I would like you to know that you (all of you) are not alone ... July 27 2013 I had a major heart attack they brought me back after 3 mins of cpr and possibly the electric volt shockage (not sure). They went in through my esophagus and put a stent in my main artery which was 99% blockage. I was 30 when this happened ... I suffer from bad sleep apnea and docs say that was one of the main causes to my HA ...

Well, I recovered very well, was doing great, was back at work (painter) and so on, until one day at work I got a pain in the shoulders and neck ... it persisted for another day and then which I left work and went to the hospital. They said my blood pressure is fine, oxygen levels fine ... They had to bring the head cardiologist down to me to explain it from his own mouth "this has nothing to do with your heart, I promise you" ...

They gave me a quick release tab of Adivan (lorazapam) and a script for ten more ...

Since then I've been on a different "pam" family pill and have been ok off and on up till about 3 weeks ago ...

I feel all the symptoms you and others mention, chest (where the heart is), shoulder (only left side), up the left side of my neck and sometimes into my jaw. my left fingers get numb and tingly (last three or two) and my lips get numb when I get really worked up and flush in the face and cant think. I seriously thought I was having another HA .. and keep thinking it oh about ALL DAY LONG  ! I'm driving myself nuts, I keep going to grab for my left fingers to see if they are really numb, and I realize NO they arent, my brain is making myself think that they are ... Yet, tmmw I have a cardiologist appointment to get a full check up ... I believe (in my head) that once I see the cardiologist and he does a full examination on me, that will give me comfort and this rush of panic will go away. If you knew me before I started having issues, I am one of the most care free, easy going kosher dudes on planet earth smile Now all of a sudden I've lost it !

Regardless, I don't really have any questions, but I would like to come back on here and give my update once I know for sure from the doc, I do believe tmmw he will inject a dye into my blood so that they can see every little thing happening ... I am SO hoping Doc says its just my brain making this happen. Regardless, I am more prone to another HA than almost anyone who hasnt had one, because my heart will never have its full strength again ... It IS a scary thought ... but its just my brain feeding that into my head, because everytime I get a check, my BP is almost perfect, the ECG says nothing and that I'm fine ( I've heard some stories about people having ECG tests say everythng is fine and then they have a major attack, but for the most part, there should be SOME sort of signal that I am having angine instead of anxiety ... nothing ....

I reallllly dragged this on .. so as I was saying, if I go get tested, and nothing is wrong with me, but I sure as hell felt something was wrong ... Chances are ( I'm no Doctor at all) it is probably some what of the same diagnose ... Anxiety a.k.a Its All In Yer Head a.k.a Its A Very Scary Thing.

Hope everything goes well and I wil be back on here in a day or two to give my update ! Oh and I live in Hamilton Ontario Canada, I goto The General Hospital for my problems (it is the second or third best hospital in the WORLD for heart issues) ... so I take their word for everything they say to me ... Dr. Craig Ainsworth. He saved my life and hopefully tmmw he will save it again (in a sense). I am a musician and have been confined into my place forever it seems like, I need to get my stuff together so I can LIVE.

Thank You for listening and TY everyone for your replys, they mean too much !

p.s. he is right, self diagnosing over google has turned me into a NUT. We should only listen to our Doc, but a lot of Docs just want to pump you full of pills we don't need, so its hard not to.

BYE !

13

Hello. I know your post was 6 months ago but I was wondering how everything went.

14

I think this is what I suffer from health anxiety I habe all the same sort of symptoms you guys get I don't feel sane because of it

15

hello, i suffer from health anxirty too, its horrible. have you look into fibrimalagia (spelling is prob wrong).

as most the sympoms of that is what you have? i could be wrong but its worth looking into.

Im currently at work with a pulse of 100BPM and im trying to calm down, im freaking out inside!! 

i have simular symptoms to you.....actually 99% of them, ivehad most tests and all have come back normal....sad i symapthise loads with you!

 

16

It's really horrible isnt it 😣 I dont feel sane anymore can't remember what it's like to not have these symptoms I feel like I'm a crazy person sometimes I get days were my brain just isn't with it

17

And Drs r no help

18

Hi! I'm 22, and i have the same symptoms as you. I also have health anxiety and a panic disorder, I haven't had a panic attacks for 2 weeks but everyday I think I'm going to have a heart attack because my palpitations are so bad. My dad has had 5 heart attacks in his life and had a triple heart bypass and I'm petrified that I'm going to have one. I don't smoke and I don't drink, I used to exercise everyday but I stopped because the exercise was making my heart feel so odd it scared me more. I eat very healthy but I'm worrying everyday and it's running me because I am in fact a strong minded person but just not strong enough for this.

19

Hey guys,

First of all I am not a health professional and this suggestion is based purely on personal experience. 

I noticed many of you experience symptoms such as chest pain, palpitations and numbness. Make sure your blood ferratin (iron) levels have been tested. They probably have but just doubled check with your doc because those are all symptoms of iron defeciency anemia. Which is not a serious thing and pretty easy to fix! I had bad chest pain, palpitations, dizziness when exercising and numb feet for awhile. I had such bad anxiety about it it (of course) made it 10x worse and at one point I couldn't work. But luckily it was just iron deficiency anemia. Nothing some iron pills and a change in diet can't fix. Young women often have low iron levels and these symptoms can seem really scary if you don't know the cause. 

20

Ignore the health anxiety for a moment and think about your life. Is there anything that you don't like about it? If there is think of how could you change it. If you have too much of negative stimulus, too many bad experiences in your life but choose to ignore it instead of taking an action and changing something then eventually your body will get into a defence mode (panic attacks, GAD). 

Also try magnesium + B group vitamins. People who smoke, drink, suffer from excessive stress, exercise a lot use up more magnesium than those who don't. There are many medical articles on magnesium and it helped me personally. 

"In humans, magnesium deficiency impairs the cardiovascular response to stress , while stress also increases magnesium requirements. (Seelig MS. 1994) Magnesium deficiency also leads to impaired glutamatergic transmission via NMDA-receptors (Siwek M. 2005) and an increase in the lactate to pyruvate ratio (RA Buist. 1985), both of which are relevant to psychiatric conditions."