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ong list of symptoms, can this all be anxiety? :( Brain/Heart worry

Posted , 5 users are following.

ballerina
ballerina

I'm 22, a healthy weight, I don't smoke (I have smoked a total of around 10 cigarettes in my life), don't take hormonal birth control, I used to drink a lot but not to alcoholic levels, I have now cut down drinking to around once a week, less if i'm anxious, don't really have any significant health problems in my family, except my aunties who had breast cancer at around 60 years old and my dad who died youngish but drank and smoked A LOT.

I suffer with Generalised Anxiety Disorder (always have since I was a very little girl), Health Anxiety (rearing it's ugly head in the last 4 years), mild scoliosis, IBS and TMJ. I have recently had a blood test that came back clear. I am avoiding caffeine and alcohol. I take 40mg fluoxetine for my anxiety. 

Chest pain - I have visited the cardiologist, he did an EKG and an echo, said my heart was healthy and the chest pain is not that. But it is awful and rather constant, sometimes makes me sit up and gasp if it comes on suddenly. Sometimes it feels like a bubble in my chest, sometimes like pressure, or like a tight knot. It is right over my heart and goes to my jaw and left arm also. My heart is often racing. Finding it hard to believe it is not my heart!

Disturbed sleep - Waking up a couple of times in the night and then being unable to get back to sleep. I'm known for being a lazy bones and when my boyfriend gets up in the morning he leaves me to drift back to sleep for another couple of hours, but the last two weeks I've been waking up with him and not being able to sleep again, not feeling at all relaxed or rested and waking up even before him in the night. He told me I've been moaning in my sleep, although I'm not having nightmares. I am also waking up sweating a lot and dehydrated when it's not even hot. 

Loss of appetite - Usually I clean my plate and want seconds, people asking me where I put it all as I'm skinny. But I have felt no hunger at all the last couple of weeks, I've forced some food down me to survive but I can barely get through half a meal, everything tastes like cardboard. The thought of eating is sickening. 

Derealisation - Nothing that is happening seems real, my home and my workplace seem unfamiliar. I feel like I'm walking through a dream world (well more like a nightmare). 

No concentration - Usually I am super organised and I have clear goals of what I want to achieve each day. Uni work, house work, exercise, fun things etc, but my mind is in a complete muddle. I forget to do things like replying to messages. I can't concentrate on reading a book that I was enjoying before this episode. I have to get people to repeat what they are saying as my brain doesn't process it. I live in France and the French that I usually understand I have to keep getting people to repeat. I am forgetting lots of orders at work and I seem like I am always dropping things, knocking things over and bumping into things. This mixed with the derealisation feeling is really scary to me, because not only do I feel physically unwell, but I don't feel like myself. My time perception is also off, I can sit on the computer for 6 hours straight and it feels like no time. Even just writing this I have been doing it on and off for hours. All this is raising my fear of a brain tumour. 

Eyesight - Everything seems much brighter and my vision is blurry. The room occasionally spins. I went to the eye doctor and she wrote me a new prescription for reading glasses. Also I thankfully have no pressure behind the eye, which I was worried about in terms of a brain tumour. 

One sided pain - This has been going on since before I felt the other symptoms, from my head to my toe on my left side I'm in almost constant pain. I am seeing a physiotherapist and she doesn't understand because the pain seems like a trapped nerve but it would have to be several nerves to be all down my body. This symptom scares me and I've been worried again that I've got a brain tumour. Also the other day I was on the train and my right face and arm suddenly went numb. I was scared I was having a stroke or something, but I could still talk, walk, hold my arms up, and my face hadn't drooped. I am going to call a neurologist and make an appointment. 

Feeling like I can't breathe - I have a heavy chest especially when lying down and it feels like I can't breathe properly. I also often feel like I can't breathe properly when out of the house, even though I must be because I haven't passed out or anything? 

Headache - For the last two weeks I've had a headache mainly on my left side and on top of my head. It's not unbearable but I never get headaches. 

Burning at back of mouth - Just something that happened for a couple of days, I had a burning feeling at the back of my mouth, but not heartburn, so don't know if this could have been acid reflux. 

My anxiety had been bubbling up the last 6 weeks or so. I took two flights in which GAD - plane crash/terrorism fear, mixed with health anxiety - blood clot fear, made me rather edgy for a bit. But I was pretty much coping - going out to do things I enjoy with just bad thoughts in the back of my mind.

But about 10 days ago I was working a long shift at work (I am a waitress), 11 hours with no break as we're super understaffed at the moment (although the first 5 hours were very quiet). I had to get up to work the next morning too, and I was worried about oversleeping so I woke up several times in the night. I have felt like this since then. The other day I was sent home from work as all my symptoms were so bad. I spent this week crying for about 5 days straight due to how physically bad I feel. To the point of crying at work and crying walking down the street/on the train like a weirdo. 

Can this just be anxiety or something else? I'm scared I've got something seriously wrong with my health and I'll never be well again sad Are there any medical conditions that match up with these symptoms??? I could deal with physical problems if my mind and perception of the world weren't a complete fog, I want my life that I enjoy and myself back!!!! sad

I'd really appreciate any advice 

1 like, 11 replies

11 Replies

  • jacob41980
    jacob41980 ballerina

    Posted

    The best thing you can do is see a doctor to rule out anything serious, I had to go to a doctor because I was experiencing the same issues. But in reality it is just anxiety and maybe depression, they usually come together. I know it can be very difficult but things like this seem to pass especially if you have strong people around you that can help you. The worst part for me is I was so worried that I would never be myself ever again. You just have to fight through it and keep telling yourself that tomorrow will be better.
    • ballerina
      ballerina jacob41980

      Posted

      Thank you smile I even scared myself reading horror stories about people never recovering, now my anxiety isn't even about anything, except having anxiety about never recovering from the anxiety! but I know for a fact I have recovered from severe anxiety in the past, so it is possible to go through periods of remission. 

      I've had my blood test which was fine, I had my heart test from a cardiologist with 40 odd years of experience so I should know that my heart is fine. I will be going to the neurologist in 2 weeks and if that is clear I can be 99.99% sure that it is all anxiety. 

      Another thing that stresses me about needing to hurry up and recover is my boyfriend. He is super supportive but I'm worried that he'll get fed up with me being down all the time and leave me. I know that he and his ex broke up because she had depression and was a shell of her former self and was too ill to be in a relationship. 

  • danielle05433
    danielle05433 ballerina

    Posted

    Hi I have been feeling everything you are describing and more! It's too hard to believe and get in my head that it's anxiety. How could anxiety make you feel this ill all the time?

    Ive been getting fast heart rate, skipped hearts beats and sinking feeling in stomach, shortness of breath, chest pains, loss of appetite, ibs, restlessness, cant stay asleep all night ( I'm waking about 6 times in the night) unable to get back to sleep for ages, everything tastes like cardboard and I'm forcing myself to eat, derealization, impending doom, pain in lower back and more symptoms and doctors have put it down to anxiety and panic attacks!

    I've had blood tests and an Ecg done and it came back normal.

    Nobody is giving me answers but just know your not alone and there is people like myself that you can speak to.

    Just wish we all had answers to this horribe illness.

    • ballerina
      ballerina danielle05433

      Posted

      Hey it's good to hear that someone has the same issues (not that I'd wish it on anybody). We have to stay strong, I know that I have got through it before despite being on the brink of suicide at the time. In 2013-14 I was a mess but managed to get through 2014, 2015, and most of 2016 with only mild anxiety. 

      Have you arranged to see a therapist? I felt that helped last time I was ill. I've got an appointment in 2 weeks. 

  • alex03087
    alex03087 ballerina

    Posted

    Wow - feel like I've tapped that myself.

    I suffer too fun Derealization feel like I'm always in a. Dream, always exhausted and always feel sort of "Tipsy" and heavy eyed sad

    Also I have constant pain in my chest and back ! It fees like my heart is in a constant knot and at one point I could not lie on my left side for 2 months. I've had all the bloods, scans everything and me too am a "healthy person" on paper and just get told its anxiety aswell.

    It's a living hell! Message me if you ever need a chat about it, talking about it really makes me feel better.

    • ballerina
      ballerina alex03087

      Posted

      The bad thing about the physical symptoms is I feel like I need more and more tests to find out what is wrong, it's a never ending cycle. I guess I wish there was a machine that would just tell you your diagnosis without having to go through different tests. I want a quick relief and that is impossible with waiting times for scans and results. 

      I guess we can't truely heal unless we 100% accept these symptoms are anxiety and although unpleasant to say the least, won't harm us. 

  • GYDA
    GYDA ballerina

    Posted

    Sounds just like anxiety mate, when i first got my anxiety I could right a list as long as my arm of my symptoms, they go and then new ones come, its the cycle of anxiety.
    • ballerina
      ballerina GYDA

      Posted

      It's comforting to hear that smile I hope you are feeling better. 

      The ones that scare me the most are the derealisation (because I don't feel like myself in my head, which is awful, I've had it before but I swear it didn't last this long) and waking up in the night (which I have never had before, I sleep like crazy) but I guess I have to accept that anxiety symptoms can change. 

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