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Severe Health Anxiety

Posted , 4 users are following.

josh32923
josh32923

Hi all, I have had anxiety for as long as I can remember. back in 2018 I woke up one morning and had severe drainage down the back of my throat and a hard time swallowing. I had gotten a flu shot 2 weeks prior yo thus starting. I went to the doctors and had an upper endoscopy which was clear. i also went to the ENT and found out i have chronic sinusitis from a badly deviated septum and acid reflux. I was put on omeprazole which didn't do much and then switched to ranididine. I didn't feel likeeither helped a lot. then I started having muscle twitches and googled it and was freaked out that I was dying of a horrible neurological disease. Went to a neurologist who did an MRI, nerve conduction study, and an EMG. All of these came back normal and I was told the twitches all over my body were benign. After a while, I ended up getting over it.

Fast forward to 2021 and in November I contracted covid. I am 30 and went and got the monocloncal antibody treatment. When I got to the facility I had a panic attack in the chair and chise to move forward with the treatment. When I got home a couple hours later, my legs were heavy and I had stabbing pain in my calf muscles. That has no subsided. That night I also had a fever and was very uncomfortable. The next morning I tried to take some vitamins and felt like I almost chocked and nearly threw up. That happened two days in a row. Two days after the treatment I went to the ER as I was having a panic attack and difficulty breathing. i was told it was related to anxiety and Covid. One night about a week and a half later when I was eating soup and swallowing I had a pinching sensation in my throat when doing so. that has now gone away. I still feel like my swallowing is off. I feel weak all over in my legs and arms. My Jaw muscles also become tired when chewing. I feel like the monocloncal treatment is giving me an autoimmune disease and is killing me. I have been to the doctor and my blood work has all been normal, electrolytes are normal and when she checked my reflexes and neurological exam, that was normal. I sm on paroxentine and was having 2-3 panic attacks a day that would turn into me crying and being extremely scared and fearful. My symptoms are:

muscle twitches all over, weakness in my arms, legs and jaw muscles when chewing, feel like swallowing is off, feeling lightheaded, back pain, numbness in my left shoulder blade, poor sleep, floaters in my right eye, and I have lost like 10ish pounds since. I am so stuck in this anxiety and symptoms that I don't know what to do. I have two you daughters and feel like this is going to take me away and my wife and kids will find someone better and forget about me. This has made it extremely hard to work as it consumes my mind and I don't know what else to do. I have some good days but mostly they are very hard to get through. Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Josh

0 likes, 2 replies

2 Replies

  • jan34534
    jan34534 josh32923

    Edited

    Josh I am very sorry you are going through this. I know exactly how it feels because when I was in my late 20s pretty much the same thing happened to me. My stress and anxiety was a build up of The years that came before my late 20s. It’s like the straw that broke the camels back. I too thought I had some neurological condition.

    I had severe weakness, ( I also had the weak muscles around the jaw when eating ), muscle twitching, floaters in my eyes, ringing in my left ear, sometimes shortness of breath, numbness and tingling in my arms, legs,. My brain felt like it was vibrating .

    my dad took me to a neurologist who, after tests were run, could not find anything wrong. I was completely baffled because back then ( i’m way older than you ) there was no Internet to look things up. Then I finally came to the conclusion that all of this was related to my long-term major anxiety and stress. It just all came to a head.

    through the years I noticed that whenever I became anxious at least one or more of the symptoms would reappear.

    i had been to many counselors which did help a lot. It helped me learn how to manage the anxiety a lot better. If I had gotten help Wayback in my 20s it wouldn’t have stayed with me for so long. But back then there wasn’t much they did for people.

    fast forward to today. I am doing well. The main thing that really helped me was realizing all of my symptoms were benign and due to my anxiety I had from kindergarten through my late 20s. Yes, I still will occasionally get a few anxiety sensations but I don’t let it caused me to fear which makes matters worse.

    these are my main points to you......

    1. Since all your testing came out normal, be completely AWARE that your sensations are definitely due to stress and anxiety. These symptoms or sensations are not harmful. If they were I would not be here all this time.! most of them are due to a release of adrenaline related to anxiety and stress
    2. Another main point to remember is that what we focus on in our mind, will GROW !if you’re going to focus on fear then you’re going to continue getting the sensations. That’s because you are telling your mind that something is wrong. Focus on learning how to manage your anxiety and keep a positive mindset!
    3. I am now in my 60s and I wasted years with worry and anxiety all for nothing! I can’t get back any of those days but I am glad that I finally learned what was really going on. I’m telling you this because you have a young family and you can enjoy them by taking care of yourself. They need you to do that! This condition of anxiety is nothing fatal. You can definitely improve! It may not be 100% but it can be very close to that. Be a fighter for yourself and your family! Get some counseling if needed, pick up some great material on how to manage anxiety. There are so many videos on YouTube about that! Also relaxing meditations.

      the reason I like my virtual counseling is because it really helps to vent to somebody else and that person can really help you manage this a lot better!

    4. when I read the part where you were concerned that your wife could leave you and things like that, that shows that you are not living in the present moment which is the only place that actually exists. when you focus on the future that doesn’t exist, you are missing out on the present! This includes enjoying your children. That’s one thing that I did wrong I focused too much on the future which is an actual waste of time. When you wake up in the morning think of everything you are grateful for. Go play with your children. And remind yourself that all your testing was normal. I learned how to ignore those sensations and get on with my life and get out of my head.

      5.sorry this is so long but I just wanted to tell you these things so that you can move forward. Don’t do what I did and waste a lot of my life for nothing. You can do it! Smile! Do things that make you laugh and enjoy your family! Don’t let those sensations hold you back. Feel free to private message me anytime! Take care ❤

  • nathanh8
    nathanh8 josh32923

    Posted

    i relate so much 😕 i can't swallow my drinks and i've been getting my fluid through ice lollies for months now it's dreadful. i get muscle twitches/spasms in my ribs it's terrifying

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