Fatigue & exhaustion from chronic stress & anxiety?

[Seffie]

Hi Everyone,
I'm new here but I have actually been using NMP for about 2 years. It has helped me very much.
I apologise for such a long post but I'll try to keep this as brief as possible.

I have suffered from health anxiety & occassional panic attacks for the past 15 years but once I understood what was going on I was always able to manage it & it didn't really interfere with my life. Then 2 years ago I hit perimenopause & the anxiety & panic & palpitations just took off.

Then last year when I was already feeling worn down from the anxiety etc my mum died unexpectedly. This really knocked me off my feet & the 2 weeks she was in hospital before she died was very traumatic.
I returned to work & was faced with a backlog of stuff, I was also doing a course through work which I had to do at home.

In October I remember having 3 weeks of feeling completely overwhelmed by grief, home & work demands & anxiety symptoms & I just crashed.
I felt exhausted, my body felt heavy & like lead, it was like having flu but without the fever.
My doctor diagnosed nervous exhaustion & I was off work for 6 weeks.

To cut a long story short, I have since made slow improvement & I've been having more good days than bad fbut if I do too much physically or get stressed, angry or very anxious the symptoms return. I've made a lot of lifestyle changes & if I'm careful I can just about function although I'm only doing 1 day a week at work.
I have had loads of blood tests the only thing that came up was borderline anaemia & my BP is currently quite low. I asked my doctors-who, btw have been spectacularly unsupportive-if they thought it was CFS but it appears that neither of them 'believe' in this as a true diagnosis.

I asked my GP what he thought I had then & he mumbled 'mild depression', -who wouldn't feel depressed with these symptoms?! The other doctor said that I wouldn't feel better unless I 'stopped mithering'!
All they have offered me is anti-depressants but even one of these dr's admitted 'but you're not really depressed & the fear of side effects would make you worse.'

So, I've done most of the things that I can for myself & had a saliva test done for adrenal fatigue which seems to indicate that I have mild AF but my doctors don't recognise this as a real condition.
I have done so much research & analysing in to what's going on & what might help that my heads spinning. I don't know where to turn for help next & I feel very alone in coping with this.

It is only recently that I've been able to accept that chronic stress & anxiety have probably exhausted my adrenals & I know it will take time for them to recover. But I just wondered if others who have anxiety etc have felt similar symptoms. These include:

* heavy, lead feelings all over but especially arms & legs
* intense burning sensations
* muscles feel tight & like they've been overworked
* feeling really ill with the exhaustion
* waking with burning & weak sensations in arms & legs
( there is no loss of strength just the sensation of it)

When I feel like this I panic & so panic symptoms like palpitations & hot feelings are mixed in with everything else.

I am sorry this is so long , I just hope that maybe someone can help me to understand what's going on, I'm thinking of changing surgery because I can't believe how they've just basically left me to get on with it,
Thanks!!
Seffie x

[bearcrazy]

Hi Seffie,

Welcome to NMP. i have been a member for about 9 months and it has been a lifesaver. It's not all doom and gloom, sometimes we actually have fun here! Sometimes it takes a trauma like the death of your mum to make you realise how long you have been struggling, but now its out in the open you can start to look at ways of beating it. All the symptoms you have described are symptoms of depression. Unfortunately your Doc used the word 'mild' which sort of makes it seem kind of insignificant. Don't underestimate the debilitating effect that depression can have on every aspect of your life.

Hope you get lots more support here,

TC Bear xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

[Seffie]

Hi TC,
thanks for your reply.
I do feel that any depression that I experience now is due to feeling so unwell for so long & not being able to work properly, socialise, do what I want to etc. It definitely didn't come first, the panic & anxiety have been the main problems. Also, on days when my energy is good I never feel depressed or down, I'm almost back to the old me on those days.

I have been doing a lot more reading on here about the symptoms people get & I didn't realise that anxiety etc could actually make you feel so unwell but I found a lot of threads on this which has helped to reassure me abit.

I am seeing yet another doctor in a couple of weeks & hope I get the support & advice from her to help me to find something which will dampen down the anxiety so that I can have a break from feeling so physically uncomfortable.
I find that I keep changing my mind about which meds to try. I really want something as short term as possible that has as few side effects as possible! Don't we all?!! Any advice / experiences re: this would be much appreciated as I feel my heads spinning with all the conflicting advice out there!!
Thanks!
Seffie xx

[soggypops]

Hi Steffie

Everything you described is basically how ive been feeling for many years off and on.
Today i feel terrible my hearts pounding ,i keep getting palpatations and a constsant adrenelin rush.
It gets worse when im out of my comfort zone ( example - going to the shops and standing in que or even going out for a walk)

Sometimes we look for answers in medical tests as to why we feel so bad. All mine have come back negative again and again. Anxiety and derpression is horrible to live with. I take Mirtazapine and that only takes the edge off it !

If i were you i would go and see another doctor and ask for counselling or something. But this site has helped me so much .
Have you considered taking medication? It does help.

I hope you feel a little better soon

Hugs
Elly
xx

[june]

Hi I agree another doctor and / or a councilor might help.
You / we all need a sympathetic listener.
This is the main thing about our anxiety / panic - it makes you feel SO SO tired - your head spins we try so hard to find an answer.
Docs have told me to stop looking for an answer BUT i need (as we all do) some kind of answer not "it just all in your head" - "It will only stop when you stop worrying".
Worrying - I am scared stiff some of the time and well at other times.
Just the randomness of the aches / pains / fears / tensions etc etc makes me worry that there just might be something serious wrong with me.
At the moment the fear is that awful ""pain in the chest"" this time it is like an electric shock - oh dear here we go again.
Best wishes to you all
June

[alba]

so can we stop althis, yeah, i feel so unhappygoing shopping, when before shopping is my greatest stress relief now going shopping make my leg turn to jelly, and dizzy, i am scared of the crowds, now pls help me tell m ewhat 1st shoud i do.

[lindzanne]

Very very familiar symptoms. I am really sorry for all you have been going through, and the loss of your mom. I also recently joined NMP and have been getting a lot of great information. I just recently got Claire Weekes book (they are available in the NMP shop) and havent gotten very far but she talks about muscular exhaustion caused by nervous illness, she said clench your leg for 30 seconds and see how tired it makes it feel. Then think of all the tensison and stress is doing to your body. Also the cycle of fear-adreniline-fear, which leaves you in a state of fear but what you realize is you have slipped into a condition of being afraid only of your fear, not anything else. I highly recomend her work, and there are free downloads hear ofher reading some of her stuff.
I dont think your doctors sound very sympathetic. Thats something you deserve. And I really think in spite of the side effects drugs could really help you at this point. I was totally scared of it at firsts and the side effects were brutal the first week but I think it saved my life. I really think it is worth a go after all these months of unhappiness you have experienced! And this is a great place to just hop online and let people know about any side effects and people will talk you through it, the chat can be great for that. Also, I personally, in my own struggle, have been realizing stuff like this needs to be attacked from both ends, meds and counceling, so that when you are feeling a little like the meds are not quite enough you have some tools to work with. Anyway Im glad you reached out and told your story, you are not alone and there are so many resources here!
xo Lindsay

[Seffie]

Hi,
just came across this old post of mine when doing a search & saw your reply lindzanne. Just wanted to thank you for your kind words but my post was actually 2 years ago & I wanted to tell you & others how much better I am. I changed my surgery, got diagnosed as having CFS / ME & then started doing Reverse Therapy in the September. I am still seeing my therapist but am much improved, I guess I'm recovered but it's still a work in progress. I'm back at work 3 days a week, have a normal social life again & have just started exercising again although I am taking it very slowly.
My anxiety is virtually zero & I haven't had a panic attack in months. The aching & heavy fatigue sensations are gone & only reappear if I don't balance my life or allow myself to become overwhelmed by stuff.
It has been a lot of hard work & expensive but well worth it. I have seen a number of therapists & counsellors over the years but the one I'm seeing is amazing. I have also referred my niece & a friend to him & they are both so much better too.
So, there is hope, you can recover & anxiety & panic attacks aren't things you just have to learn to live with. I couldn't accept that I was just an 'anxious person' because I know the real me isn't like that. I had just learned to be anxious & if you can learn to be like that then I believe you can unlearn it too.
Thanks again!
Seffie xx