Hi all,
I'm new to this forum, so please bear with me!
I have had anxiety for as long as I can remember, but it got really bad when I was in my mid 20s. After a very rough few years, I started to get back on track. However, in November last year I started to get really really tired. I remember the day it happened - I was at work and all of a sudden I felt like all my energy had gone. It felt like the beginnings of the flu, so I took it easy, got lots of rest, took care of myself adn told myself it must be a virus. However, it didn't go away. I told myself if I wasn't feeling any better I would go to the doctor, which I did. The doctor, who I'd never seen before, took one look at me and said it was anxiety adn to go home and to go for more walks in the evening and relax more. Strange thing is, I wasn't feeling at all anxious at this stage, just extremely tired. I took the doctor's advice, but I couldn't shake off the tiredness. It started to get worse right before Christmas. On Christmas Day I was so fatigued and shaky that I couldn't do anything except lie down all day. I had an extremely achey lower back also. Went back to the doctor, had blood tests and nothing showed up, so was told to go home and not worry.
I'm an active person, with an active job, I eat well, I probably don't drink enough water, but that's never been a huge issue. I just don't know what is wrong with me. If I do anything active i am absolutely shattered afterwards. Cleaning, making dinner etc are all too much for me - I do these things, but I have to literally drag myself around to do it. I can't go for a run because I feel so tired and sore afterwards that I get panicky. This has never been a problem for me in the past as exercise was always my go to thing if I was feeling anxious. I can't go out at night because I get too tired and can hardly keep my eyes open.
My other symptoms are:
headaches,
spaced out feelings,
achey back,
sore eyes, watery eyes and sensitive to light,
sinus issues,
hearing problems,
yucky taste in mouth that comes and goes,
random pain in joints/muscles all over - fleeting, but often sharp and painful
generally feeling like I am totally spent and have no more energy left to give to anything,
blood in stool and foul smelling stool
The stool issues are what has led to my health anxiety because the doctors keep telling me not to worry and that it's not cancer etc, but they won't send me for conclusive tests to rule this out. I"m not so much worried about it being something serious, because I know that it can be treated if it is, it's more that I feel like the other fatigue adn anxiety symptoms are being caused by some mysterious illness and that no one is listening to me or taking me seriously.
I guess what I'm asking is, could the other symptoms be related to some sort of illness or is it more likely that they're related to anxiety? Can you really feel this fatigued from anxiety alone? I wake up feeling like this after a good nights sleep. I'm seeing a counsellor for all of this, but it would be really helpful to get some more opinions. My family are really worried about me, but what can I do if the doctors won't send me for any more tests? Also, any tips on how to feel better would be gratefully accepted. I have started taking a magnesium supplement and also a pro-biotic, but haven't felt any benefits yet.
One thing that I have been doing for the past year or so is using the tv to help me get to sleep - it helps to zone me out and if I wake in the night I watch it to help me nod off again. Could this be causing extreme fatigue and other symptoms? Are there any dangers of having the tv on while I sleep?
Thank you so much for reading through my massive post!
---------- Post added at 19:37 ---------- Previous post was at 16:37 ----------
Oh and just to clarify (because I just read the sticky about not asking for medical advice on here) I'm not asking for medical advice, just some opinions or reassurance or if anyone has been through something similar. Thanks so much.
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