Generalised Anxiety Disorder?
Posted , 4 users are following.
Morning/Afternoon,
Forgive the long post but I need to provide context. I'm a 27 year old male living in the United Kingdom. In June, I experienced a strange 'episode' in which I had bizarre pains in my chest and it gave me reason to believe I was having a heart attack. An ambulance was called, four hours later, shock, it didn't arrive. I should say, I have probably had the most stressful year of my life from moving house, taking on a new role looking after a £100m project for a major retailer and family members passing away.
Following this episode, I was convinced something was terribly wrong with me, cut a long story short, between June and October, after 10+ GP appointments and tests such as: MRI, blood tests, chest x-ray, ECG, urinalysis etc. they deemed there was "nothing wrong with me and it was probably just anxiety". Terrible, I know.
Since June I have experienced the following:
muscle twitches (current)
numbness
muscle aches and pains (current and in one place in particular)
insomnia
panic attacks
stomach issues
scalp pain (current, tension headache?)
general fatigue & tight/tired legs (current)
lump in throat/throat tightness
dehydration & frequent urination (current)
Naturally, all of this has scared me. The doctors in my relatively deprived area of the UK don't seem to want to diagnose me properly despite all of the tests as their understanding of anxiety is very poor (I am guessing).
So, I guess I am here for some validation or comfort from anyone else who has experienced these things and can provide any comfort or encouragement. I should say, for a period between late October and early November, all my symptoms disappeared and I felt great. Then, they all came back for seemingly no reason.
0 likes, 15 replies
tony_ynot daniel62083
Edited
Hi Daniel,
Looks like Anxiety from your symptoms and given there are no underlying medical conditions. And even more so as it has reoccurred. You my have GAD, have you ever had these feeling before in past, are you nervous or anxious often. I am diagnosed with GAD 3 years ago, but always felt anxious and of a nervous disposition. And as we speak I am going through what feels like another crisis, which initially built up with work stress and lack of sleep over 3 months until now in the last 2 weeks my anxiety has heightened!!
Hope you are feeling better or managing to cope
daniel62083 tony_ynot
Posted
I have always been someone who 'worries' about things, but never a physical reaction like this. I do grind my teeth at night and pick/bite my nails a lot.
I have always struggled to sleep all the way through the night too or feel refreshed.
tony_ynot daniel62083
Posted
Hi Daniel, how are feeling today. I have been having good moments then all of sudden feeling down which triggers my worries and then fuels my anxiety. I think you being like me always worrying about things gives us that make up that can suddenly fall into anxiety when the environments become too stressful. This is what I am going through at the moment – this started as work stress that ballooned in to life stress that now has taken me back in to Anxiety, which I have not had any long term episode since the beginning of lockdown. Are you looking in to measures to see how you can address / manage or cope?
daniel62083 tony_ynot
Posted
Hi Tony,
I am okay thanks, relatively speaking anyway! I have honestly just been trying to ignore my symptoms. I have tried medication and it wasnt for me. I am currently doing CBT but if I'm honest it seems like nonsense, I have been doing it for a month.
emma74461 daniel62083
Posted
theres a book called mind over mood that talks you through CBT more logically. helped me to grasp it on my own in my own time then it made more sense.
tony_ynot daniel62083
Posted
Hi Daniel,
It's good to see you are coping in some way. How are things feeling and working out, is it improving in general.
Hope the CBT works for you, I have started a course of therapy to try find methods and tools to keep on top of the anxiety.
emma74461 daniel62083
Posted
firstly sorry you're going through this. ive had anxiety probably forever but diagnosed for 10years. i see so many new people have all the tests and get so frustrated when they have a diagnosis of anxiety and think the drs have missed something. could i ask why you might not accept anxiety as the overall diagnosis and answer?
personally it took me about 6months when i clicked and stopped searching for something else. the diagnosis is anxiety and often the illness you are so worried about and looking for is anxiety. acceptance is the first step. i found reading up about GAD helped a lot.
i wish there was a cure but it definitely can get much much better. i had a number of good years and everyone is different. i sympathise with all your symptoms im currently really struggling with headaches and fight everyday to tell myself its not all these other diseases my mind tells me. its very frustrating. hope you are ok.
daniel62083
Posted
Hi Emma,
Thanks for the comment/reply. If I knew why I couldn't accept it, I would have solved the problem. I am, by nature, a very rational person and think there cannot be a physical pain (like the recurring pain in my leg) without there being something physically wrong.
Also, one of the many GPs I saw said "I can't rule out MS even after the tests and it would be a recurring pain in one place and throat issues". I currently have recurring pain in my right thigh and a 'lump' in my throat. See why I would worry despite being told by others it is 'probably anxiety'?
Now, I am trying to be rational and think 'okay well, the pain goes away and comes back, so could that be a genuine disease?' but, some of the symptoms are always there. I've read about GAD, but can GAD cause a persistent physical pain in my right leg and all of the symptoms above, simultaneously? The doctors I have seen, don't have a clue, they just say 'possibly'.#
I hope you're well and not struggling too much!
emma74461 daniel62083
Posted
i can 100% reassure you that yes anxiety most definitely can cause any physical reaction in your body, multiple reactions. the ones you are mentioning are extremely common with anxiety. Anxiety is stigmatized as "just in your head" and it took me a long time also to realise myself and accept anxiety is an illness and as a result you will get physical symptoms just like other illnesses. if several doctors after tests have said anxiety and one says cant rule out ms, all of us, including myself will jump to the ms diagnosis (not even a diagnosis).
i absolutely totally get the "if i knew why" comment you made too. i would absolutely love to know why i got anxiety but i can imagine people with other illnesses also would like the answers to why them too.
you mentioned family deaths, i think that was what triggered my anxiety. when you loose someone close it really hits home how illness can take someone away and we really fear it. our minds associate and physical sensation with illness and possible death and it becomes a constant worry so much that our fight or flight systems go into over drive.
i totally get that you like to rationalise things. maybe have a look at GAD and our flight fight or freeze response and it might give you some help. i found it very helpful when i got over my first anxiety symptoms (i constantly felt very faint and dizzy and eating would help, i was convinced i was diabetic) doctor knew straight away it was anxiety and it took me several months to believe him. was a relief when i finally did and started learning and accepting my anxiety. i very rarely feel dizzy now.
daniel62083 emma74461
Posted
I did exactly the same as you. I thought i had hyperthyroidism, did a test. Thought I had diabetes, went to the doctors and he did a test. Everything normal. Believe me, I wish I could just think "great, its anxiety now what do I do to fix that" but I can't get over its something terrible.
My right leg is my main concern, constant pain in my right thigh. A dull ache and like a strain some other times.
emma74461 daniel62083
Posted
uurgh thyroid thats one of my new "illnesses" because i get heart palpitations rarely but constant headaches right now. ive been tested and its just anxiety. i should no this by now! i still do get checked when i get symptoms but once the doctor says anxiety i will make myself relax and say to myself over and over "good its anxiety which means it cannot kill me". might sound silly but it does help. my last 6 week-ish lasting symptoms were a dull pain in my elbow that went to my thumb. couldnt move my arm without pain after holding something heavy. magically that disappeared almost to the hour that i got a new constant headache. i can almost laugh about it but also it is so draining. while the physical symptoms might be from anxiety they are still very much real and we are not imagining the pain and discomfort. dont let anyone put you down about it, especially yourself. it can be very very frustrating and difficult to live with. once i learnt after my diagnosis i had about 4 years with very little symptoms and lead a normal life mine has only come back now because lifes been hard recently. hope you get past this soon and get some relief.
tony_ynot emma74461
Posted
Hi Emma, sorry to reply within Daniel's post, but I just wanted to say – I hope things are improving or you are managing to cope. Sorry to hear it has come due to you having some hard times. But you know it will go and you get some real good times to live a normal life again.
emma74461 tony_ynot
Posted
thank you. i appreciate that!
daniel62083
Edited
In an odd way, it is nice to know you are also suffering a pain like that. The pain in my leg is on and off, but this time it has lasted a week or two throughout.
I hope you are feeling well today.
emma74461 daniel62083
Edited
yes its nice to know and you are definitely not alone. ive noticed my symptoms last at least 6 weeks. its usually something new (to worry about) that takes away the last symptom or i somehow trick myself. last year for 6 weeks i had awful heartburn constantly and a cold sensation in my mouth, almost the same feeling when you eat mint or brush your teeth. it was every day and sometimes i would literally come out in the sweats my heartburn felt that bad. drs gave me stomach acid meds and they didnt help at all. tried everything. then randomly tried going gluten free. it went instantly. a year later i can eat gluten fine, its not that but at the time its what stopped the pain because i believed it was gluten. our minds are wild places.
the pain is usually on and off when youre not focused on it which is easier daid than done i know. have you tried heat? i find its one thing that gives me a bit of respite from anxiety symptoms. head pad or hotwater bottle on the area for when my anxiety is strong. thats normally when i dont even feel worried and the symptoms come on full force (then i overthink because i wasnt anxious when i obviously now am)
i got over panic attacks by just sitting in them and accepting them and believing theres nothing wrong. it does work as i barely get them. easier said than done.
hope your leg pain goes real soon!