Want to share my Anxiety Symptoms - might help others

[Smellsofroses]

Hello

Over the last few months I have experienced numerous anxiety problems and have read many posts on here in my efforts to work out what was happening to me. They have been really helpful and now I really want to share my symptoms in the hope that perhaps it might help others in similar situations. That's not to say that it's still important to seek medical advice as I'm NOT a Dr but if I can help it would be great.

What has struck me is how many people do suffer from anxiety, and also how it can physically affect the body.

My anxiety has stemmed from many things - I've always been "highly strung" but last year my mother passed away and it has set in motion a number of life changes. Without realising the stress started to build and with it the effects on my body (and mind)

1. A full on panic attack was the first symptom
It really felt like I was having a heart attack. Chest pains, numbness in my left arm, the sweats. It last 2 days. I calmed down once I went to see an out of hours doctor who assured me it was most likely a heart attack - I waited 2 hrs before going so he was pretty confident! Even so the full effects did not go immediately. It was relentless. When I thought about it, waves came back - truly horrible.

2. Swallowing and indigestion
It came from nowhere about a week later. My GP had warned me that sometimes a panic attack can be a watershed for more to come - boy was he right. He had also prescribed 10mg Propranalol but the side effects made me more anxious so I chose not to take them (!!)

One day as I was eating my food just stuck. I literally had to cough and stick my finger down my throat to try and push it down. I eventually washed it down with water and then it happened again. I could feel every bit of food moving down my tube - very unpleasant and it did not go away after a few days. In fact it got worse. I was burping and in pain, and no antacids worked. Pretty quickly I had scanned every article on the internet and self diagnosed Oesophageal cancer. I had 2 weeks of hell thinking about how I would never see my kids grow up before I saw an ENT who passed me on to a gastro specialist who did a gastroscopy and told me I was fine. He diagnosed Globus Hystericus and said it was stress. He also took lots of blood tests to prove I was not ill. Ironically I had a low Lymphocyte count which I have read can be caused by stress!!

Despite this reassurance my back and shoulder started to hurt - in one place. As an ex smoker (long time given up) and a coincidental chest infection I then convinced through self diagnosis that I was suffering from lung cancer. By this time my GP was telling me I needed to see a shrink and has referred for CBT. Despite this reassurance I then spent the next 2 weeks spitting sputum into a tissue at any opportunity (discretely of course!) and examining it for blood streaks, and anything sinister. By now my husband was on the verge of divorce (well he was pretty fed up). My back was getting worse and my lungs were so tight I was breathless. I felt like I was suffocating. I was wheezing.

I have today (fortunately) just come back from seeing one of the top respiratory consultants in the UK who was lovely. I told him everything and he agreed after listening to my story that it was probably stress. He assured me that the lungs can be affected by stress but he would give me a CAT scan on my lungs as he also felt he wanted to be sure and hopefully prove to me that I needed to stop all of this. It came back perfect. He has said I am asthmatic though (hence whzeezing) but I have stastically another 47.5 years at least to live and enjoy my life!!!

So that's my journey. What a hell of a few months. I have seen more doctors and specialists than I have in my lifetime (and I'm over 40!)

Even though my mind kind of knew that I was going crazy, I could not let it go - the symptoms were so real. It is amazing what anxiety can do to your body.

I really hoped this has helped if anyone reads this - you are definitely not alone and you have to do what is going to make you feel better but your body can pretty much develop symptoms according to what you think you have (it did for me). Oh and the internet is a bad place for self-diagnosis!!

Good luck everyone x

[josiejo]

I sort of went through the same process. Swallowing problems, tight chest and not being able to get a full breath, numbness, tingling, burning sensations. Brain scan, chest scan, mamogram later still convinced its not stress or anxiety and they're missing something. I'm 10 years on from this now and I still get symptoms and flare ups but knowing what it is and accepting it is half the battle. Its good to share symptoms because sufferers can relate and it does help to know you're not alone. I have a job, a family and a life and just have to get on with it. I hate having bad days but try to put them to rest and move forward. Recently went through the whole tight throat and chest scenario again having just lost my dad but I know its my body telling me that I'm not coping and to take time for me. Had an upset tummy for 2 weeks but I know its symptomatic although worse thoughts of what else it could be are lurking all the time. Anxiety has such physical symptoms its hard to process the diagnosis but once you start to accept it you start to deal with it and get better.

[Smellsofroses]

Hi Josiejo

Sorry to hear about your Dad. It's a tough time and I think when you are working and have a family and lots of demands the danger is you don't give time to yourself to grieve. I think this is why I have ended up being in the situation I am in now. The lovely Doc I saw today basically said that sometimes we are given too much to deal with and in these situations you just need to take time out. It's so hard though when you have a job to keep and people to look after.

I also had the breast cancer scare (although ironically, I went with breast pain but I DID have a lump that I did not find, nor did 2 GPs nor did a mammogram or an ultrasound. Only when the consultant examined me he found it immediately but fortunately was benign). I did not actually relate this to stress as it was very soon after mum died but looking back I think it was the very beginning of it all. I am due to have an appointment at a psychiatric hospital soon so hopefully they will be able to help me find some coping mechanisms.

I hope you feel better soon. Anxiety is so awful - you can find anything to focus on that is life threatening and virtually create the symptoms and it's a vicious circle. I now worry that if I was really ill would anyone believe me?

I do feel better after today, although typical me I'm now worrying about the effects of the Iodine contrast dye they used in the scan!! AARRRRGGGHH.

[josiejo]

Some people..me for example.. are born worriers. I spent from being about 24 to 35 thinking I was dying. I can clearly rember being 29 convinced I wouldn't reach 30, I wouldn't talk about birthday plans because I really thought I wouldn't make it. What really bought it all to a head was my sister got ill, my mother in law got ill, a friends husband got ill, all with the Big C and then I thought I had it and the panic just took over and totally floored me for 3-6 months, nothing would switch it off. It produced so many physical symptoms that I once went to the doctors with an A4 sheet full of what was happening to me. Even when all my scans and tests came back normal I still couldn't stop the anxiety. One day I just said to the Doctor that if he thought it was anxiety then just treat me and help me. It took a full 3 months to climb back out of the hole I was in and a further 3 months to start to feel anything like normal. I had a good few years of good mental health but have since had a couple of slip ups. Now that I know the signs I sort of start the 'deal with it' process alot sooner rather than just hoping it will go away. I have constant stress at the moment with major concerns which I won't go into but on top of that my Dad died whom I loved dearly. I have coped relatively well considering. I have tried all sorts of alternative therapies during this last year as having tried some new anti depressants from the doctors about 10 months ago they made me much worse and I almost had a complete meltdown. I cannot list everything i've tried but if you want to know email me. What has helped me are:
Magnesium supplements, definitely take the edge off anxiety but I took them religiously for 3 months before noticing a difference. I still take 250mg a day without fail. My biggest problem with anxiety is not sleeping and not sleeping makes anxiety worse so its a vicious circle thats not easy to break. I had a course of 10 acupuncture which improved things by about 35-40%. I was previously awake 5-6 nights on the trot before complete exhaustion set in and I would have 1 good night then back to 5-6 bad nights again. I was just in a daze and the brain fog was immense. After acupuncture I was sleeping on average 3-5 hours a night but still suffering the odd night of no sleep at all. So I did see some improvement. Then they gave me some chinese herbs to take when the bad nights set in and they really work. Best thing I've tried and I've tried alot. You take them half an hour before bed and you feel the calmness come over you and generally I sleep well after having taken them. They don't necessarily make you sleepy, just calm. I do not abuse them though and only take them if the insomnia and anxiety start to run into a few days again and then I resort to taking them. They especially help me during certain times of the month when anxiety and insomnia take over for about 7 days, last month it reduced my bad nights to 2 nights rather than the full 7. They are very nasty tasting little balls, about 20 in a packet and they cost me £5 for 10 packets. They are called Jiawei Xiaoyao Wan made from plant extracts, I've had no side effects. I hope this info helps you and anyone else reading this. I think we should all share our experiences especially if you find something that works or helps you. Good health x

[Smellsofroses]

I can understand from what you have said, with people close to you getting ill, it's not surprising that anxiety can take over. I'm a born worrier too and if your brain is wired in a certain way it is hard to switch off from worrying. It can be exhausting.

A parent dying is a HUGE life event and it can not be underestimated. Different people deal with grief in different ways. For me since mum died I don't think I have had a chance to grieve. Too much going on and to do. On top of that my dad is coming to live with us. It's added a whole load of worries - including how my marriage will cope, my children will be etc etc. Despite this I still know it is the right thing to do. But it's scary.

Thanks for the tips - the magnesium supplements sound interesting and I will definitely look at these. x