Have I got anxiety?

[Nick137]

Hi everyone, not sure if I have anxiety or not but for the last few months I have been feeling generally unwell and tired all the time and get a few physical symptoms also - my IBS seems to be worse, I sometimes feel shaky, get palpitations in bed at night and other strange odd aches & pains, the strange thing is, is that it is all at it's worse in the mornings and very gradually eases off during the day and by evening I can sometimes feel normal. I do have type 2 diabetes which is very well controlled and have just had a series of blood tests which all came back negative. I suppose the the question I am asking is could all this be due to anxiety and does anyone else feel generally unwell with it.

Thanks for your help.

[Sparkle1984]

Welcome to the forums. It sounds like it could be anxiety, especially if it tends to be worse in the mornings. This is a self-test you can use to see if it's likely to be anxiety, and if so, how severe it is: http://patient.info/doctor/generalis...sessment-gad-7 Then if you are concerned about the results, you can speak to your doctor.

[Nick137]

According to the test above I could have moderate anxiety but is it usual to get all these physical symptoms and feel generally unwell & tired. I have an appointment with my GP on Wednesday so hopefully will find a bit more out.

[MyNameIsTerry]

Hi and welcome to NMP Nick

Many people say that anxiety is worse in the mornings. Cortisol is highest when we wake and starts to gradually reduce from there on. If you have been under a lot of stress then it can mean having raised levels anyway.

The symptoms you area describing can be experienced with anxiety. If you have a look at the articles on the main site it will show you just how many we can experience and many of them can be present at the same time.

Tiredness can be experienced because constant stress puts more strain on the body and we burn through nutrients quicker. We don't sleep as well so we get aches & pains too as well as from muscular tension.

You will see all sorts of symptoms on the Symptoms forum.

It's certainly worth getting your GP's opinion though and ruling out any connection to your diabetes to be sure there are no issues with meds or other possible root causes first.

[Nick137]

Hi Terry & thanks for listening, my diabetic nurse did slightly adjust my medication as she thought my blood sugar levels may be going a bit low sometimes but after 2 weeks has not made any difference.

[MyNameIsTerry]

Has there been anything else going on in your life recently? Any periods of stress that you can point to? Feeling these strange feelings & sensations or a sense of panic or insecurity?

[Nick137]

I have been feeling stressed about feeling not well and by nature I do worry about the smalest things and can get very on edge and inpatient about things, I took early retirement 2 years ago and currently live on my own and last year did alot of traveling but this year due to feeling generally unwell & tired have not done much.

[MyNameIsTerry]

So, there is the possibility that its worry about health as opposed to a disorder because it has reached that stage yet or it could be a disorder developed out of ill health.

If your GP found a legitimate reason for your health problems and tackled it, do you feel that the worry would subside? Does the worry feel as normal as it has been before or more intense?

It can sneak up on us over time but with you having diabetes (and maybe taking meds for this?) there could be perhaps a physical reason to resolve that will make you feel better. So, hopefully your GP can determine if there is something, even something minor that is making you feel unwell, and he/she may choose to monitor before diagnosing an anxiety disorder. This may reduce your worry enough for you to feel you have returned to where you were before.

If he/she does decide this is anxiety, then its worth tackling this now before it gets further because right now you can nip it in the bud. So, learning about anxiety and trying something CBT cold help you to work through this period. Maybe something like an online CBT (CCBT) programme or a book prescription for CBT from your GP so you can make that start?

[Nick137]

Hi Terry, thanks for all your help, I am seeing my GP tomorrow so hopefully will have a better idea what is causing all this although I am not sure what she can do in 10 minutes. I have had blood tests in the last 2 weeks and kidney, liver, thiroid, diabetes and red & white blood counts were all OK. My IBS has been worse lately but this always seems to happen during times of stress.

[MyNameIsTerry]

Hi Nick,

Its worth trying to pin down any patterns. You've spotted one for mornings which is a really common one in anxiety but are there any others e.g. does food make it worse and if so are there any types of food that seem to be a bigger trigger or cause more intense side effects. Things like that.

Can you notice an increase in these symptoms due to a stressful event e.g. going out for a meal or to an appointment. These can point to anxiety.