Panic Attack over what I thought could have been a stroke

[Arc124]

29M

Last night I had what's possibly my worst anxiety attack yet. For the past two and a half weeks, part of my toe has been numb and maybe it's due to new tight shoes I got or something, but that's had me freaked out. I had my doctor check and he just suspected it's due to shoes since it's only my left toe and not on both but to wait it out and see. I've been waiting out and my anxiety has been through the roof thinking it's diabetes related even though no blood test has ever shown even signs of it, my family has a history of it though. Or maybe I'll think it's permanent nerve damage or a tumor or something, anything at all that's concerning despite the doctor not showing much concern himself.

Yesterday afternoon I was driving around and I felt my ring and pink fingers down to my elbow suddenly just go semi-numb and tingly and that set me off immediately, trying to sleep last night was so weird and uncomfortable with that, to the point where I started freaking out that it's a stroke that I'm having since I've never been the type to feel tingles in my hands or arms when I get anxious so this was new to me. I didn't know what to do, I was so scared thinking it was a stroke. That led to such an awful anxiety attack. I tried everything to make sure it wasn't a stroke, like checking for my facial muscles, lifting and keeping my arms up for 15 seconds, walking and talking. All was fine yet with all this I couldn't not think so. Once I finally settled down after about two hours, I went to bed and fell asleep and woke back up a couple of times because both my arms would take turns falling asleep.

Now today I'm feeling like a truck hit me, I learned that maybe it could be a pinched nerve in my elbow, I tend to recline on them almost every night for hours on end on my phone and video game handhelds and maybe that could be it. My arm feels a little better but not there yet. My ears and neck feel tingly and semi-numb still which I believe it's anxiety related still. And my shoulders feel the worst, like I have two solid knots. It's been quite a day for me.

[Rosanna]

Sorry to hear this Arc124

I see you posted a month or so ago now, how were you in the end? As you know no one can diagnose online but there are other reasons for tingles, anxiety is one (not minimising what you were feeling though, I hate it when people tell me about anxiety because not all symptoms are due to that), muscular strain in the arms and wrists can bring about these things. A few times I've had that and worried and then later remembered how I was over using my hand grip on a task earlier or something like that.

Hope you're ok. I have stroke fears too.