Hey people

[bear_26]

So i've been told by my doctor today that I definitely have anxiety and possibly depression (although unlikely)





This is going to sound like an almighty moan (and in general when I hear people talking about stress or anxiety or panic attacks or whatever I just think 'pffft what a drama queen') but I honestly feel like i am falling apart piece by piece every day.





I'm only telling all you strangers simply because I like the anonymity of a forum such as this as I can't really talk to anyone, not my wife or anything, and I know people say you have to sit down and talk with a loved one but I really can't, it's just not as simple as that.





Basically i'm going through a medical problem how serious it is I have no idea. I keep getting pains in my chest like iv been hit in the ribs with a sledgehammer, so i've had blood pressure/ECG done and the doctor listened to my heart thoroughly and said it was all fine. I've had blood tests to see if it's inflammation of the cartilage between my ribs, nope that's fine too so it's going to be some sort of muscle problem. So immediatly i read through on Google some muscle disorders and I almost feel my heart jumping out my mouth.





She done lots of tests to see if i had like a sore neck/back/legs etc, but its all fine, but iv had a numbness feeling in my left leg and left hand all week so I think im having a stroke or a heart attack, in fact im still convinced there is something seriously wrong with me. She asked if i can sometimes see my muscles twitching, like there is a worm under my skin, i said yeah sometimes but since iv came home i can see it all the time so now i think why did she ask that? does that mean i have something serious? So i've to get more blood tests on friday to hopefully rule out any serious muscle problems, i think.





This is only a minor part of it to be honest, my life is currently a complete joke. I am a good guy generally, im usually very upbeat in front of people and I try and get on with people if they speak to me but I can't even explain it. Other than my 2 year old son I have nothing going for me at the minute, a really crap weekend job, laze about all week with no motivation to do anything, having random panic attacks lately absolutely convinced something medically is wrong with me. I don't want to get into my relationship with my wife etc but we've only been married a year, been together 5 though, and honestly its like we are best mates rather than husband and wife. I am in my mid 20's as is she it just doesn't feel right.





I honestly don't know what to do with anything any more. I know most of you gave up reading that nonsense halfway through but it was good for a rant for me anyway ha ha!





Cheers!

[nomorepanic]

Hi bear_26

We just wanted to welcome you aboard to NMP. We hope you enjoy your stay here and get all the support and advice you need.

Please take some time to read the website articles on the left as well for loads of advice and tips.

[kittikat]

Hi & :welcome:

Sorry to hear that you are going through a bad time atm. You may find this link useful

http://www.anxietycentre.com/anxiety-symptoms.shtml

Anxiety can cause so many physical & emotional symptoms it's hard to comprehend what is happening to you.

This site is amazing and I hope you get as much from being here as I have. You are not alone....and no, I didn't give up reading your post halfway through....we are all here to help & support eachother :yesyes:

Kitti :)

[Anxious_gal]

Have you had a thyroid test? If not get one as it mimics the same symptoms as an anxiety disorder.

Make sure you are getting enough vitamins as a deficiency again can lead to anxiety like symptoms. Same with drinking water and keeping hydrated.

The chest pain could be muscular, caused by stress or even maybe bad indigestion.

Googling symptoms can lead to self diagnosing medical problems which leads you health anxiety as you end up being convinced something is seriously wrong.

anxiety can cause pretty much all those symptoms, but it's good to be getting the tests to rule out any medical causes.
If you have a pinched nerve that can lead to numbness, as can anxiety.
Stress can also cause twitching, personally I feel them as more of a tapping sensation.

Seems like you have a lot of personal issues going on, talk to a therapist or confide in a friend. A big reason men can get depressed is they have no outlet for their emotions as society teaches you to suck it up, ignore your feeling and just get on with it.
That's not really a good way to deal with stress.

If it is anxiety, I think the build up of stress over a period of years might have triggered the whole thing off.

[bear_26]

Thank you for the welcomes.

Mishel I haven't been tested for thyroid problems, what is that? Is it serious?

The twitchyness is happening a lot more tonight either that or im noticing it more as she mentioned it earlier. Just all over my body, little twitches that last about a second, i can see it on my skin moving.

The chest thing is what I went to the doctors for in the first place, this definitely isn't in my mind or that, when i turn and move to the side or certain ways the pain is blinding, they thought it was cartilage inflammation but blood tests say it's fine. Now im worried i've got a serious muscular disease, it's actually making me freak out so much i feel like im going to pieces. I dont have any like pains or aches, no headaches, no loss of feeling in any of my limbs etc, nothing is different but there is SOMETHING wrong with my chest and the muscles in it, its been like this for like a year.

I just want to be taken to the hospital, for them to tell me what it is, how to fix it and that everything is going to be fine but i have to wait days to get appointments then days to get blood tests, then longer for the results, im losing my mind and this is only a small part of the crap i deal with regularly

[Anxious_gal]

Opps, sorry I shouldn't have freaked you out like that. No thyroid issues aren't serious.
But if they are over or under active they can cause anxiety symptoms.
Any problems are treated with medication and you don't really need your thyroid anyways lol it's a bit like your tonsils you can have it removed if there's any major problems :)

aw any one would be concerned, you say it's only when you move a certain way so it does sound as if there's a physical reason for the pain.

Wow you've been in pain for a year? I wonder what the next step is? Will the doctor order any more tests or have they given any reasons as to why you are in pain?

muscular disease, tends to show up as weakness and spasms n not so much pain.
Maybe some thing like a CT or MRI scan would show up whats the cause of your pain?
I know MRI scans give a very detailed look of whats going on inside your body.

I would maybe try to see a bone doctor, um orthopedic or chiropractor .
They deal with bones, n ligaments and all that kind of stuff.

My mum hurt her ankle years ago, the x-ray looked clean but she was in pain so she went to a chiropractor and it turns out some bone in her foot wasn't in the correct position so he popped it back into the correct palace.

I guess your biggest issue at the moment is the anxiety.
Part of the issue is you are assuming the worst case scenario and then you get stuck thinking about it.
You might start imagining whole scenario in your head about it.
Thing to remember is it's just your imagination, just because you think something doesn't make it true.

You could learn to relax, or pay more attention to your negative thoughts and switch them to happy thoughts, or put a time limit on it, maybe just allow yourself an hour a day to worry about your health. Writing down your thoughts too can help.

[bear_26]

Thanks Mishel.

The doctor checked my bones in my ribs and said they weren't tender or anything, but it really sort of feels like someone is squeezing my ribcage in tight, or like a sledgehammer has been taken to it. it's kinda like i need to crack it back into place, it's VERY hard to explain sorry. Like it doesn't stop me walking around normally it's just in certain positions, like if i move my shoulder forward i get it shooting through my chest, which then makes me thing its my heart but like i said I had ECG done and blood pressure etc and they were all fine!

I also have a problem called cold urticaria which is an allergic reaction to the cold but im not sure if thats related to anything.

I mentioned the chest thing to my doctor a year ago, he said ahh it will be fine, but this doctor today said yeah i see you mentioned it a year ago so its like still there, now im thinking its getting worse so its a disease of some sort.

I can't stop panicking and the doctor told me to just relax, i've definitely got anxiety she said, could be possible depression but i need to relax and not worry. This is easier said than done, i cant relax, its in my head 24/7 i am actually losing my mind. I am just a normal 26 year old guy!

[Hawthorn]

Hey Bear :)

i just wanted to say re. your relationship - I have had problems with anxiety/depression for years, and one thing I've found when things get bad is without a doubt, I feel my relationship is wrong. I've lost count of the times I broke up with my poor, long suffering husband over this, but thankfully he seems to understand things and never stays gone long.
For me a huge part of it seems to be the disconnection. If I can't connect with people, I dont' really want them near me, and also, the brain chatter.
I can quite easily (if I let it) dwell on something really minor that my husband did to annoy me - and lets be honest, we live with our partners day in, day out, it's reasonable that they are going to annoy us, and us them, from time to time - and before I know it that minor thing has escalated into 100 minor things that he did and I get mad about it, upset about it, feel I have to say something about it, then he looks at me in stunned silence as if to say where did this come from, then I get mad about that too and yeeeah, it's not pretty :scared15:

When all your seeing is faults (mentally, constantly) dwelling on those faults, getting mad about those faults then it becomes obvious that you're not really going to like that person - sometimes it turns into flat out resentment, then the sex goes out of the window, the conversation goes out of the window, you like the person less and less and it all ends up in one big mess.
So, if you're thinking a lot, which it sounds like you are, you're more than likely talking a lot of discontent into yourself. I do this. It's a pain in the butt, but you do need to recognise it in yourself if this is what's happening. If you can begin to learn to sidetrack your brain from this, it will help hugely.

Apologies if none of that is the case and I just waffled on and on about nothing relevant :blush:

[Stormsky]

Hi. Your in the rut of negative thinking, ie crap job, nothing going for me,your life being a joke etc.
Sounds like you've got some health anx which is understandable..I'd say you sound depressed by it all too..
Maybe get your doc to refer you to a therapist, so you can talk it all out, have you considered meds?
I agree as already said that you can feel a lack of emotion for anything or anyone when suffering anx. But also I can relate to you saying you feel more like brother sister too. Don't make rash decisions is the best advise.

[bear_26]

Thank you guys.

Hawthorn, with regards to my wife, we are relatively young, mid 20s, only a year into our marriage but it feels like 50 years. None of us bother even trying to look good any more, we do talk a lot but if I ever brought up any of the stuff Iv said on here she would go in a mood and say "it must be me, I'm the reason you're depressed". I live down here on my own Iv moved country for her but it's 6 years later and I just feel like I don't know what to do. She loves me very much and I do love her but we barely even touch each other, Iv gave up on sex a long time ago, that only happens occasionally if we've both had a drink, which is once every 3 months or something.

If we broke up I'd have nowhere to go, I also don't want to do that to my son. She goes to bed at 10, I go about 3am. Iv never cheated on her and I know she hasn't too. She is beating herself up as she doesn't know how to make me happy bit it's not like that, it's my thing really. I'm finding it very hard to explain, all of this is just scratching the surface too.


Stormsky - the doc briefly talked about medication, what she said though us that they take about 7 weeks to kick in and don't make bad thoughts go away, they just help me cope with how I deal with anxiety. I don't like drugs really and dont want to feel like I rely on them

As I type all this I feel like tightening in my cheat and breathing, I know I'm moanin but it's like what the hell is happening to me ?

[Stormsky]

http://www.anxietynomore.co.uk/advice_to_partners.html
have a look at above link, perhaps you could show your wife?
I took meds for 9yrs, but been off them 10months now, its not easy but im not a fan of meds myself.
Chest tightening is a typical anx sympton, but if your seeing doc friday then mention it.