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Physical symptoms and terrible anxiety

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Scintilla.
Scintilla.

Hey guys,

I have had generalized anxiety disorder for years. It tends to wax and wane, there are times where its better and times where its worse. At the moment it is really bad. I lost a loved one in December to cancer and basically my anxiety has skyrocketed since then. My GAD has always been more health focused than anything else.

Long story short, I am having panic attacks again which I haven't had in years and find it hard to relax. Even when I am not having an attack I feel on edge and worried and feel an array of physical symptoms (pins and needles, numbness in body, itching - I do that a lot esp when I am panicking, brain fog, derealization, trouble sleeping racing heart, chest pain and just random aches and pains in my body that I hyper focus on). Lately the pins and needles especially have been really bad, I feel it all over my body almost all the time but I do have days where its better or hours where I dont feel it. when i do I tend to hyper focus on it and think the worst. I try to ignore it and carry on with my day but its very difficult.

I recently moved countries and went to a doctor to talk about my worsening anxiety. Since I am a new patient and take medication for low thyroid, my doctor had me do a blood test. I received the results on Thursday with a note that I should schedule a routine apt to talk about the results and also a prescription for folate supplements and vitamin d. I googled to try and understand my results - my folic acid levels are very low and I have extremely low vitamin d. B12 is normal and my blood results are normal save for sgpt which is slightly elevated. I googled what sgpt is and its related to the liver and of course now I am freaking out since I read it can be caused by liver problems, heart problems, cancer etc. I wrote the doctor an email as I couldn't get an appointment earlier than the 15th of June and she told me to take the supplements and that the scheduled apt is fine and I dont need to come in earlier as there is no immediate cause for concern. but of course now I am extremely worried. The pins and needles are especially bad right now and I keep thinking its being caused by something terrible...although I KNOW at the same time that when I panic I always get this symptom (atm its just there all the time though).

Does anyone else suffer from physical symptoms like mine? How do you deal with it? I am now seeing a therapist and I have had two sessions so far where we have done cbt work. I dont feel that it has helped me very much. On some occasions yes, but I still feel very anxious and hyper focused on every little thing.

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1 Reply

  • jan34534
    jan34534 Scintilla.

    Posted

    I had all of your physical symptoms when I was in my 20s. I also thought I had something terrible and was worried, anxious, panicky etc. all of my testing came back normal. Every single one of my symptoms was due to long-term stress and anxiety. Just like yours most likely is. The worst thing you can do is Google everything because none of it will pertain to your individual situation. You will just become scared for no reason .

    The doctor is right. There is nothing urgent right now and you can just wait until the next appointment. But in the meantime, when you focus on the what if‘s, you are completely wasting your time. I did that for many years and wasted all that time when I could’ve been living my life. Don’t do that to yourself.

    What is happening is that fear is taking over your thinking and fear is not based on fact. It’s only an emotion., And that is not based on reality.

    it took me a long time to learn that but once I did I was able to focus on the present moment which is the only thing that exists.there are millions of people who have low folic acid levels, vitamin D levels, including myself, and it’s a very easy fix! Just keep taking your supplements and they will go up. your lab report result is extremely common and routine.

    Also slightly elevated liver enzymes is nothing to worry about. that’s another thing that I have as well as so many other people. it’s very common. The more you read online the more you’re going to overthink this.

    you are OK! don’t hyperfocus. Do other things. Get active and social. give your brain a rest!

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