Really bad health anxiety!

Posted , 108 users are following.

Hey guys,

I'm new to this forum and not too sure what it's all about or if it's going to help me..

I'm 23 years old and have been told by my doctor that I'm suffering from health anxiety (although I'm not convinced!)

It all started at the beginning if the year - I had a very random and very scary panic attack which came completely out of the blue! From then I've had the worst physical symptoms I've ever experienced.. Chest pain, numbness and tingling in my left arm, pain in my ribs, difficulty breathing sometimes, head aches, extreme tiredness (to the point where I feel like I'm going to fall asleep any second), dizziness, brain fog.. The list is endless!

I've been to my gp and also a&e numerous times and they've done some tests.. I had routine bloods, ECG, chest X-ray and the blood pressure etc.. All came back normal!

Even though I've been told I'm ok I just don't feel I am, I feel there is something seriously wrong with me (my heart worries me the most). Every doctor I have seen has told me that heart problems don't happen to girls of my age, so they've never done any tests on my heart. Since then I've been reading up on things and apparently it IS possible to have heart problems at my age! So what do I do? Do I take their word for it or keep going back until I get it tested? I feel like it's ruining my life - everyday I wake up thinking is this going to be the day I have a heart attack! The symptoms are so real and they are there 24/7!

Also my doctor put me on fluoxetine around 4 months ago - I have recently stopped taking it because it wasn't helping and I was getting awful side effects. Does anyone recommend any medication to help with how I am feeling?

I'm so so worried about my help! And no one seems to care. All I hear is anxiety, it's just anxiety, you have anxiety!!!!

Also I should add, I'm not at all overweight, I do smoke occasionally and have a pretty rubbish diet - I know the smoking and diet aren't going to help but I feel so rubbish that I cans stop eating rubbish!!!

Thank you very much for reading. Any help what so ever is very appreciated x

9 likes, 112 replies

112 Replies

Prev Next
  • Posted

    ??+44 7927 795368?? Anyone that's needs to talk here's my number xxx I have all these symptoms it's really bad 

  • Posted

    Wow, I can honestly say that I feel your pain, I’m 30 years old and had my first child at 28,(was fine after I had him) but at age 29 I had another baby, and once she turned 4 months, it all hit me like a ton of bricks!!! Chest pain, armpit pain, tingling in hands,  constant worry about dying and leaving my kids😩 I find myself googling everything and it only makes it worse but I can’t help it!! I’ve had blood work done, ekg, chest X-ray and it came back negative... I’ve gotten it done 3 or 4 times... I feel like everyday is a new symptom and the more I try not to think about it, the worse it gets... it’s starting to ruin my relationship with my fiancé bc I’m not the same person he fell in love with😢 I’m constantly on edge and freaking out... I just want my life back 

  • Posted

    Health anxiety is the misinterpretation of normal bodily sensations as dangerous. Healthy bodies produce all sorts of physical symptoms that might be uncomfortable, painful, unexpected, and otherwise unwanted — but not dangerous.
  • Posted

    I'm 25 and I'm a girl with heart problems. I have a genetic heart disease though. So your GP is probably referring to heart attacks, stroke, etc. I have all your symptoms too but except the numbess and tingling on my left arm. I'm very sleepy all the time. I don't know what's happening.. I don't feel refreshed when I wake up I just want to continue sleeping. This post was two years ago hope you are feeling better now.🙏💕💖

  • Posted

    Hi Lucy I know this post was 4 years ago but I am wondering how you feel now ? 

    I experience the exact same problems and would really like to speak to you about it all 

    I find it is ruining my life sad 

    I hope to hear from you 

    • Posted

      Hello Adam I experience the same thing. For me it’s been going on for 10 months. I find this ruining my life in all aspects. I don’t feel my self anymore. What are some of your symptoms? 
    • Posted

      Hi Alex yup I feel exactly the same you do . Just not myself at all ,

      Chest pains, dizziness , tingling arms and legs tiredness all the time . This feels constant .

      To the point everyone says it's just anxiety and depression 

      But I am like 100% confident in myself that I truly believe something is not right physically instead of mentally ,  and if I am wrong perhaps I can accept I really do have a deeper metal issue than anxiety and depression because I truly believe it and feel like I know my body so well .

  • Posted

    Hello,

    I currently have anxiety and its under control now. If I can help anybody here I will because Ive been through it myself and its no fun ! Yes Ive had similar symptoms like irritability, panic attacks, insomnia, hallucinations, breathing fast. I am currently being followed by a Naturopath.... and guys if I can suggest anything, please go the natural supplements route because the side effects are wayyy less than conventional medicine. I am now taking Kava Kava capsules right before bed and let me tell you! I haven't slept so deep in like God knows when, I feel more relaxed than ever, less irritable, I feel mellow, drastic change compared to a couple of days ago. The supplements took effect right away that same night too. Im also on a diet because a lot of it can be related to your body not being balanced such as your digestive system. Im on a FODMAP diet, so far so good. Im not a doctor but just wanted to share my experience in case you would like to go that route as well because it could benefit you.   

    • Posted

      Hi,I.. need your help..I am getting worse, and cant take A/Ds have this for 30 years..please help. x
    • Posted

      Hi mariano,

      There are natural remedies out there that I strongly suggest trying under supervision as well if you can, but you would need to get monitored to get off the A/D’s first. I am not a doctor, I repeat I am not a doctor but can only speak of my experience with anxiety in trying to heal it. I used homeopathic medicine

       ( which is natural and can work for some people - for me I tested it out once took one dose and then it stopped working, maybe dose wasn’t high enough not sure ) I then suggested to my naturopath if I can try herbal medicine so he put me on this herb called Kava Kava and this is managing my symptoms so far very well with very minimal side effects. My sleep is very deep, my mood is better than what it was 1 week ago.  There are other herbs and natural supplements out there that can help like 5HTP and melatonin. Its trial and error even some herbs can make your situation worse period and sometimes it can make it worse before it gets better. There can be side effects to natural supplements but way less intense than traditional medicine/antibiotics. But I’d rather be on a trial and error basis with natural supplements with less effects than be on traditional medication. 

    • Posted

      Thank you for this info...I dont take A/Ds. but I do take xanax...so herbs might interact with them...I will look into these. xx
  • Posted

    Hello all

    I hope you don't mind me jumping in on your discussion but I really do need some advise.

    About 3 years ago I had my very first panic attack, suddenly, no reason for it was just out of the blue and it was the worst thing ever!

    Now my anxiety is through the roof! I've been on different tablets to see what works for me, I had a daughter already when I first had my attack and I've since had another daughter. But my health anxiety is so bad!

    My arms feel dead and heavy all the time, as do my legs, like they're just gonna give way and I'm gonna callapse, my neck is so bad and they top of my back I can feel it clicking and crunching and grinding all the time, my head feels heavy, like it's top heavy tp be help up, like someone is always standing on my head sad I can't cope with this anymore, I'm scared to go to sleep every night, I'm fed up of being this person , 7 years ago I was a bubbly girl, now I'm a completely different person, I'm snappy, I'm emotional, I'm a wreck. I need help or someone to talk to who's going through the same thing, my partner tries to understand but it's not easy for people who don't have itsad

    I'm only 26 and I feel like it's taken over my life completely x

    • Posted

      Same here nicole 😕 same here. Ive been dealing with bad anxiety for almost a year now. It all started when i was 5 months pregnant. Thats when i had my 1st panic Attack 

  • Posted

    I know your post is old but i foudn tin hoping to find advice/help for myself. And I’m sure by now you know you’re not alone. I am a firm believer that stopping my birth control and a health scare isn’t what led to my anxiety, specifically health anxiety. I stopped BC the end of November. I was fine. Until mid December when I had my normal check up appointment with my Gastro (I have crohns) and maybe liver enzyme ALT came back slightly elevated. I made the mistake of googling what that means and it all started from there. I’ve had an ultrasound of my liver and we are treating it as only a fatty liver and I’m suppose to lose weight  (like 10 pounds) and watch what I eat. I felt like I had calmed down once I talked to my doctor but things kept getting worse. It started with what I believed to s sinus infection with pressure across checks, nose, and behind eyes. After ten days of antibiotics it was still there. X-ray revealed sinuses were fine. From there I hadn’t a Ct scan of my head. It was normal. I then developed tingling and numbness and like muscle spasm so in my legs, mianly the left. I then was convinced I had a brain tumor or MS. I’m still suppose to see a neurologist. Then it was pulsating in my stomach and pounding heart that I can feel everywhere. EKG three times all normal. Ultrasound of abdominal aorta was normal. Now I have a weird pressure right below my sternum with weird noises and my entire chest and back is tight and sore like I’ve been beat with a baseball bat. Leg still occasionally hurt but d dimer and ultrasound showed now clot. Of course now with my chest and back hurting I’m thinking it has moved to my legs. This cycle is endless and beyond viscous. It’s by far taking over my life. Before this I  was majorly laid back. Now I’m someone who’s is scared to go to sleep at night of the thought  may not wake up. I don’t want to take medicine. I already take four pills a day for crohns. It’s so hard to believe what I feel is anxiety. It’s so real and the feelings can be debilitating. After multiple Er trips, CT of head, EKG, MRI of neck and spine, ultrasound of abdomen and more bloodwork than I can remember I’m apparently fine. Of course my lungs haven’t been checked so that why I’m now convinced of a PE. THE struggle is REAL and ENDLESS. 
    • Posted

      How are you now? I'm new here and just made a super-long post that still needs to be reviewed. I totally understand where you're coming from. I'm so glad I came across this because it has opened my eyes that there could actually be something causing my problems! I came off BC a month ago myself, and I don't know if it's all a coincidence that I'm being so hyper-sensitive to everything, or if something is actually wrong with me. I have epilepsy and have also convinced myself I could have Crohns or colon cancer or something like that, etc etc... list goes on. Anyway, hope you are feeling better. I hope to see my neuro soon. <3

Report or request deletion

Thanks for your help!

We want the community to be a useful resource for our users but it is important to remember that the community are not moderated or reviewed by doctors and so you should not rely on opinions or advice given by other users in respect of any healthcare matters. Always speak to your doctor before acting and in cases of emergency seek appropriate medical assistance immediately. Use of the community is subject to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and steps will be taken to remove posts identified as being in breach of those terms.