Is this Anxiety?
Posted , 8 users are following.
Hey, I've always been kind of anxious, I think, and sometimes I would get upset stomaches or feel like I'm going to throw up, or feel a heavy chest. Recently, things have gone a little more crazy.
It started a few weeks ago. I got really severe pain in my abdomen right where my gal bladder would be (it was removed a few years back). I started freaking out and looking online for what it might be, which of course made me feel worse.
After a couple of days, I went to the hospital, and they checked everything and couldn't find a reason. They suspected a muscle strain or something, and gave me some iboprofen and some antacid.
After freaking myself out, I felt quite a bit better knowing at least I don't have any cancer or anything in my body organs. While I had some time off work, I had a little dental work done, and a couple days later my lips started going numb. So of course, I looked at symptoms for that, and saw horrible diseases, MS, brain tumors, etc. A couple days after that, the tip of my tongue started feeling numb. The next day, my lips stopped being numb, and the left side of my tongue started feeling numb. Then I started feeling numb in my face yesterday. It's gone away though.
Last night, I didn't sleep well, and today my hands really hurt and tingle. In the midst of all this, i still get abdomenal pain, and dizziness occassionally. However, since considering anxiety as a possible cause, I've gotten dizzy less often and I seem to be able to calm my way out of the bad feelings in my stomach.
It just seems like every time I look up a disease on the internet, within a couple of days, I feel like I'm noticing symptoms of this. I know all this points to anxiety, but I don't know what to do about it. I haven't had anything debilitating enough to tell a doctor about, and symptoms seem to come and go. Though, the tongue numbness remains, and now I feel like my taste is off a bit.
I'm trying to notice if my heart rate goes up much, and sometimes it will go up a bit, to maybe 120 BPM, but usually it doesn't go up much. The last few days, I'm feeling like I have a cold or a virus or something.
Anyway, I feel like I'm rambling a bit, it's the first time I've tried to express what is going on with me, and it's all over the place. I know that SOME of this is at least anxiety, maybe it all is... It's just, if I go to the doctor, I'm not sure how to get them to check what I need checked, since my symptoms are all over the place.
I've seen how terrible anxiety impacts some people, and my symptoms are nothing compared to that. I don't really worry too much in life, ONLY about my health. I think if I'm told that this is all anxiety, I can start to feel better, but it's hard to understand how the pain I feel in my hands and the fatigue I feel all throughout my body is just caused by what's going on in my head.
Right now, I'm just waiting for something debilitating enough that I can't work, so I have a reason to go see a doctor, but It's really frustrating me.
Also, the numbness I felt in my face, and my tongue and my lips isn't like total loss of feeling, it's just slight tingling. I still feel pain when I poke them with a toothpick, and I still can feel when I touch them. I'm not even sure how to classify this kind of "numbness". I guess just more of tingling.
I don't really know what I'm expecting as an answer, I just really wanted to put this stuff down because it's been eating at me so much for the past few weeks. I can barely eat. My sleep is not horrible, but some nights it's very sporatic. My mind is always occupied by this and it's distracting me from work, though I'm still able to complete my job functions.
Any advice would be appreciated. Also, if I decide to go to the doctor, how can I possibly explain these symptoms? Just open the flood gates like this? I don't want him just to assume this is all anxiety.
1 like, 11 replies
kevin66749 DanW
Posted
DanW kevin66749
Posted
Every time I look up less serious things that could be causing this stuff, I see fevers related to most of them, and I don't think I'm feverish. Ugh, this is all so overwhelming. The more I type it out, the more ridiculous it sounds.
I consider myself to be a very logic-driven person, which is why I feel like I can analyze things and figure out what's going on from an objective standpoint, but it's nearly impossible to diagnose myself without some bias.... I want to go to the doctor and see if they'll scan my brain and do some blood tests, but I don't want to try to force any diagnosis (which seems to be another sign of health anxiety)...
Anyway, thank you so much for your reply. My new goal is to stop looking up symptoms on the internet.
wearykitty DanW
Posted
DanW wearykitty
Posted
kevin66749 DanW
Posted
DanW kevin66749
Posted
lesley_15 DanW
Posted
DanW lesley_15
Posted
One problem is I live in Korea, and my Korean speaking is not great, so it's really hart to explain my symptoms to a doctor.
All of my symptoms seem to come and go, which pretty much points to anxiety as the culprit, and knowing that makes it a little better.
The last few days since my first post have been up and down. I feel terrible mostly in the morning. I woke up last night with a fast beating heart, which I don't think is all that uncommon. The issues with my limbs have varied from day to day. Three days ago, I had sharp pain in my right hand. Two days ago my hands and feet had some numbness, yesterday morning I felt like I was having dexterity issues in my hands, i couldn't type well, or do normal dextrous things I do daily. I went and exercised, and when I came home I felt better, but then had a sharp pain in my leg.. Today, I felt very woosy, and weak. I ate some carby stuff, and felt better, but now I feel like of sick, like my taste is off, and I smell something funny. It's hard not looking up symptoms... but I'm trying.
The normal anxiety thing I feel when I'm actually worried is like someone is standing on my chest, and feeling like vomiting. I can make these go away with calm breathing though...
I feel like I still need to go to the hospital just to get checked out.
Anyway, thank you so much for your thoughtful reply.
kaneisha16423 DanW
Posted
Dakota232 DanW
Posted
gill21655 DanW
Posted
Dont google at all, easier said than done i know.... but it makes you ill... it should come with a health warning.
I was unwell in sept/oct and with my symptoms Dr Google had me with a terminal illness.. This then sparked off health anxiety and i wä then googling for a different answer.
Any how i went to my GP and i had gall stones, which have since been removed. however it took about 4 weeks to get the anxiety managable . Guided relaxation videos and fresh air etc etc.
Trust me it got so bad with googling i couldnt eat. i lost weight and i was nauseus as well as high anxiety xx
Good luck and hope all goes well.