Starting to struggle and looking for advice...

[JayU]

Hi, 26 year old male here....

I'll provide a bit of background first; Up until around 2 years ago, I was relatively healthy and not an anxious person at all. At the time, I was doing high intensity workouts 4 or 5 times a week plus playing football and running. My problems seemed to start following a game of football. I think I overdid it in the heat and when I stopped playing, my vision was all blurry and I had a migrane for the rest of the day. In the weeks that followed, I started getting heart palpitations on a daily basis. This caused me to worry and I went to get them checked out. After numerous tests, I was given the all clear.

Following many ups and downs over the past couple of years, all the panic attacks, trips to A&E (Nothing has ever been wrong) and feeling like I have experienced every symptom under the sun! This is where I am now:

Common symptoms:
Shortness of breath - By far the worst symptom I have. I've had this to some degree every day for around a year. Some days are worse than others.
Fatigue - Again, some days are worse than others but especially lately I've been feeling more fatigued
Palpitations - Improved greatly since I started taking Magnesium citrate but still get them ocassionally
Weakness feeling (Not as strong or frequent as the other symptoms)
Light headedness
Head feeling fuzzy

Tests I've had completed:

ECGs (Many!)
48 hour ECG
Echo
Chest X-Ray
Peak flow (Twice)
Oxygen levels
Full round of blood tests

All tests/checks have been fine apart from a raised level of Bilirubin, which has increased on both of my last 2 blood tests and is now at 38. However, the doctors dont seem too concerned about this.

It might seem strange, but despite me being anxious about my symptoms and experiencing panic attacks sometimes, I can still be a rational person. I can see how my anxiety makes my symptoms worse. I can tell how my breathing and the other symptoms get worse when I am out in public or at work but ease when I am completely relaxed and doing breathing exercises. However, I just feel that they never go away completely. I have gone from being able to run 10k or run around at football for 2 hours and feel fine to a point where on my worst days, I don't want to walk anywhere in case my breathing feels worse. I don't feel unfit, I have been that before when I was about 6 stone heavier. This feels like different.
My doc prescribed me Citalopram but it made me 10x worse so I stopped after 3 days.

I think what I am getting at is that I understand my symptoms can be caused by anxiety but I'm thinking there might be something else I can check for or something else I can try. Does anybody have any advice or anything that has helped them with similar symptoms?

[EmmerLooeez]

Hey,
I'm sorry to hear that you're struggling with this. You have already rationalised your symptoms, which would have been my reply.

The other thing though, is persevering with medication. I tried citalopram, amyptriptaline and another SSRI. I quit all of them within the first 2 weeks due to the worsening of symptoms, finally I was prescribed fluoxetine and decided to really stick through the first few weeks. It was the best thing that I ever did mental health wise
The first 10 days were horrible. So bad. But I kept a diary and somehow got through it, from day 11 and then on, I noticed small differences every day and after a few weeks I felt like the old, calm, confident me. I know it is hard, but they do really work.

Hope that you start to pick up soon. are you still managing to work out at all?

Emma xx

[Shelly15]

I have very similar symptoms to you, I had a toncilitus last year and was out on antibiotics then I started feeling really dizzy and not in control, felt faint most of the time and had heart palpitations.

Then a few months after I started feeling very short of breath to the point every time i got up and walked my chest would go so tight and I would faint because I couldn't breath. I would be so tired all the time even just taking a couple of steps I was so tired and all my muscles hurt.

Now I still feel faint most of the time and the short of breath is still here I get really hot just doing simple things. I've been to the drs bug I feel like they just look at my record and see I have anxiety and just put everything down to that which annoys me because I can't do anything or even leave the house in fear of not being able to breath and then fainting.

I also got prescribed citalopram but it made me worse.

[CalvinB]

Hi mate 19 here from I seem to be having the exact same issues as you but this all started with a bout of bad back ache last summer which somehow blew up into full blown health anxiety and spending every day feeling sorry for myself.

Im starting to think that it is all rooted into my head and that the anxiety is so deep and lasted so long that it has manifested itself into physical symptoms. If you would ever like maybe we could have a chat mate, seems like it would do us both some good.

All the best, Calvin

[JayU]

Thanks all for the replies and sorry to hear about your own struggles.

Hey,
I'm sorry to hear that you're struggling with this. You have already rationalised your symptoms, which would have been my reply.

The other thing though, is persevering with medication. I tried citalopram, amyptriptaline and another SSRI. I quit all of them within the first 2 weeks due to the worsening of symptoms, finally I was prescribed fluoxetine and decided to really stick through the first few weeks. It was the best thing that I ever did mental health wise
The first 10 days were horrible. So bad. But I kept a diary and somehow got through it, from day 11 and then on, I noticed small differences every day and after a few weeks I felt like the old, calm, confident me. I know it is hard, but they do really work.

Hope that you start to pick up soon. are you still managing to work out at all?

Emma xx

Maybe medication is something I should look into again. I was reluctant to try it but that day I was willing to try anything. The first night I felt so happy and my symptoms weren’t bothering me as much but in the days that followed, things just got worse until I had to have time off work as I was lying in bed shaking.

In terms of working out, nothing like I used to. Only walking now. I was doing yoga regularly up until around 6 weeks ago but I now I don't feel like doing any exercise.

Thanks for the advice and glad you have found medication that helps you

I have very similar symptoms to you, I had a toncilitus last year and was out on antibiotics then I started feeling really dizzy and not in control, felt faint most of the time and had heart palpitations.

Then a few months after I started feeling very short of breath to the point every time i got up and walked my chest would go so tight and I would faint because I couldn't breath. I would be so tired all the time even just taking a couple of steps I was so tired and all my muscles hurt.

Now I still feel faint most of the time and the short of breath is still here I get really hot just doing simple things. I've been to the drs bug I feel like they just look at my record and see I have anxiety and just put everything down to that which annoys me because I can't do anything or even leave the house in fear of not being able to breath and then fainting.

I also got prescribed citalopram but it made me worse.

It does sound very similar to me and I'm sorry you are having those problems too. Have you had similar tests done as well? Have you accepted that it is anxiety or do you still think there may be something else causing the symptoms?

Hi mate 19 here from I seem to be having the exact same issues as you but this all started with a bout of bad back ache last summer which somehow blew up into full blown health anxiety and spending every day feeling sorry for myself.

Im starting to think that it is all rooted into my head and that the anxiety is so deep and lasted so long that it has manifested itself into physical symptoms. If you would ever like maybe we could have a chat mate, seems like it would do us both some good.

All the best, Calvin

Sometimes, I have a hard time accepting that this is all caused by anxiety. I have had times where I have worked on it and things have got better but then something will happen that will make me worse again. I wouldn't wish it on anyone but I think knowing that you aren’t alone and others are experiencing the same things kind of helps. Yeah happy to do that, feel free to drop me a PM

[Shelly15]

I've only had my oxygen levels checked which was fine and a blood test for thyroid and iron levels which was fine so my dr put it down to anxiety. But I really don't think this is anxiety I think I have something wrong that's causing me to have this anxiety.

I know short of breath is a symptom of anxiety but I can't even walk a few steps with out my chest feeling restricted and needing to sit down because I'm so weak and really faint and overheating.

It's made me become very depressed as I can't leave the house or even my bed sometimes. If this is just anxiety it's making my life absolutely hell. Are you able to leave the house?

I'm sorry your experiencing this also because I honestly wouldn't wish it on anyone I don't feel like I'm living at all