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PLEASE RESPOND. CFS or Anxiety- giving up on life

Posted , 6 users are following.

willthethrill18
willthethrill18

I had tonsilltis this past May-August. Sometime over this period I was hit with HORRIBLE fatigue. Id wake up from 12 hours of sleep exhausted. In April before the fatigue started I had my first ever panic attack after smoking weed-I felt weird for like 2 weeks because I flipped out and didnt know what was going to happen to me (felt anxious). But then in May i got the flu/strep throat. After the fatigue started I lost it. I looked up EVERY possible illness known to man to cause fatigue. If I sneezed, I would look up illness causing sneezing. I was basically a mess and went crazy. I then got symptoms like this: fatigue, brain fog, dizziness, headaches, weird dreams, spaced out feeling, no energy. I gave up and lay in bed and stayed home basically all day for a month and a half. But, I played tennis 3 hours a day and went to NYC every day during this time. in August for 3 weeks I played tennis 3 hours a day every day while still feeling horrible. Then, my doctor told me to have surgery to remove my TONSILS bc I kept testing positive for strep. He removed them and he found an abscess (an infection) and said all my problems would subside. The surgery was over 3 weeks ago and I am back to square one. My fatigue feels different but it is still there. My headaches arent the same severity but still there. My therapist says its ALL ANXIETY because I am able to excersize unlike many CFS patients. My symptoms are: horrible fatigue, tired still, headaches, slight brain fog, dizziness, shortness of breath, mild chest pain sometimes. Im a senior in high school and applying to colleges currently and it is making me crazy. I am terribly afraid I will not be able to attend because of my issues. All my hard work gone down the drain because of this. Can anxiety cause such symptoms? I hardly feel anxious and never have panic attacks. If its CFS I dont know what I will do. Please help me 

0 likes, 41 replies

41 Replies

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  • JulieBadger
    JulieBadger willthethrill18

    Posted

    Hi Will, I highly recommend you start by seeing a Stress specialist.  Talk to them about whether it all be due to stress or whether they think it is more like CFS/ME.
  • Avocado
    Avocado willthethrill18

    Posted

    Well, I have had CFS for nine years (after going thru a guesswork of many other illnesses), and I still go to work everyday, and I can walk, and I know I have CFS, and it's been diagnosed by a CFS specialist. If you read any of the older posts on this site, you will notice that there are many others who are able to do some sports - with a payback. Of course there's a chance in your case that it is something else than CFS, but the symptoms sure are close.

    In an interview on TV, my CFS specialist said that it's typical for patients to remember the day they got ill, it can be so sudden. If I understood you correctly, it was also the case with you. It's a nasty situation you are in. You are not insane; your parents just seem to be like the rest of healthy people who have a hard time understanding that an illness they don't know is real.

    On the 'Solve ME/CFS Initiative' web pages you can find information about the latest research and webinars on ME/CFS. The research shows that this is an illness with physical changes in the brain and in a person's immune response system.

  • sunshinemb
    sunshinemb willthethrill18

    Posted

    Hi Will

    I was misdiagnosed with Chronic Anxiety Disorder when I started with M.E.(CFS)

    back in 2002.

    I was very much into sports etc.

    When I eventually saw an M.E./CFS specialist she told me that the Anxiety was caused by the Adrenaline my body was producing to compensate for the extreme exhaustion. The adrenaline causes anxiety symptoms! Flight or fight response. gives you a false sense of feeling well for short periods. 

    Also if your oxygen levels in your blood fall below 95% you will also feel anxiety(this info was printed on the back of the hospital chart)! I found this out at the weekend having just had surgery and was given oxygen after the operation!...My oxygen levels went up to 97% and I could not believe how good and warm I felt! My levels dropped down to 93% again (once they took the oxygen away) which from my hospital chart had been that level since being admitted!  I get short of breath very quickly!

    Also my body temp was 36deg except when on the oxygen, it went up to 37(normal).

    I am looking into oxygen therapy at the moment as a result of what I found out during my hospital stay.  

    I hope some of this helps and you start to feel better soonsmile

     

  • sunshinemb
    sunshinemb willthethrill18

    Posted

    Hi Will

    REST, REST AND MORE REST!

    You have pushed your body too far. Exercising whilst so ill is very very dangerous!

    If you completely rest and I mean rest you have a good chance of recovery because

    you have been diagnosed so early!

    Do not watch TV, or listen to music...lie in a very dark room or use eye mask

    give your brain recovery time!

    I have had to spend the last 5days in this state having just had surgery.

    Have you been exposed to any chemicals over the years?

    • willthethrill18
      willthethrill18 sunshinemb

      Posted

      No chemicals. As for resting, I still go to school and out on weekends. I went to a football game last night and stood for 2 hours straight and was fine. As for resting, I will take it way down on the exercise as going to school already is a lot of walking . As for graded exersize, I did 28 min of treadmill walking 2 days ago and feel fine. Is that too much?
    • sunshinemb
      sunshinemb willthethrill18

      Posted

      Hi Will

      Having re read your original post and going over my past experience.

      In my opinion you are doing too much.

      I pushed myself to do what I could to remain in well paid

      job that I loved but eventually came to a halt!

      No diagnosis of ME/CFS until 4years later, by then too late I had lived on my Adrenaline and my body crashed!

      You have an early diagnosis and if you slow right down and do the bear minimum you have a good chance of getting better.

      I would try and get more help from your School because the stress of 

      trying to keep up is going to add to the medical problems big time!

      Ask the School if you can do your work from home a couple of days

      per week!

      It is my guess that you are using Adrenaline to get through life at the moment!

      It is a lot to get your head around, but some young people have been

      forced to delay their education as the symptoms become so very 

      difficult to cope.

      This is not a cop out, this is you taking care of the rest of your life!

      I knew nothing about ME/CFS when I was diagnosed but I know 

      that if I had been fortunate to have an early diagnosis I could have

      rested instead of pushing myself for 2years and by then the damage

      was irreversible!

      Take good care of yourself Willsmile

    • willthethrill18
      willthethrill18 sunshinemb

      Posted

      I will! But I'm not taking days off of school. My parents wouldn't let me anyways. Plus I feel better in school than out. It's not stressful because I'm a senior so my workload is very light. I'm on antidepressants and it helps with the fatigue big time. As for exercising I've stopped with the hours of tennis a day. And I still get 7 hours of sleep a night. I still don't know fini have it. I'm not stressed much from school thank god. As for weekends, how much should I rest? I'm tired in school but whenever I'm home alone I think too much about CFS and my life which is worse. 
    • JulieBadger
      JulieBadger willthethrill18

      Posted

      You mentioned going to school is alot of walking.  Would cycling to school be a consideration? 

      Your anxiety level is not lessening by worrying all weekend if you have CFS/ME.  You got to rest, pace yourself, listen to your body whilst trying not to worry about whether you have it or not.  If you've got it, you've got it.  Therefore you need to rest and reduce your stress levels.  As the stress will definately be making it worse.

    • sunshinemb
      sunshinemb willthethrill18

      Posted

      Hi Will

      Do they have anywhere in school where you could have some resting time where you are actually laid down, eyes closed say for 20-30mins?!cool

      Do a similar thing at home in between some activities you enjoy!

      Even if you are feeling good still rest frequently!

      I agree with JulieBadger stress is a major problem with CFS.

      Try and take each day as it comes and don't push too hard

      Hope you get a good night's sleep Will?!smile

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