Reality vs. Anxiety

[ashurrutia]

Due to my wide variety of symptoms, where everyday I still think I'm dying from all sorts of crazy diseases, my mind has not stopped for a second, and I have thought about all sorts of lethal diseases that I can have. My latest symptoms aren't Panic Attacks, or racing heart, quite the contrary, my heart has been in the low 60s, and only goes up to the 90s after I eat, or stand up, but I still have the shortness of breath, dizziness, and extreme fatigue. Also muscle aches and pains everywhere, in fact I would check my heart constantly thinking that it stopped or something(As if that would make any difference, and as if I could check my heart had it really stopped), mostly I'm having a lot of muscle tension, and spasms, specially in my neck and throat. Anyhow, throughout my short health anxiety experience(about 5 months now), I have thought the following:

Heart Attacks: Ruled out by multiple EKGs, low Cholesterol(LDL, etc), x-ray, blood work, and holter monitor.

Heart Disease: Ruled out by multiple EKGs, low Cholesterol(LDL, etc), x-ray, blood work, and holter monitor.

Leukemia: Ruled out by blood work.

Lymphoma: Ruled out by blood work.

Esophageal and Stomach Cancer: Ruled out by endoscopy.

Lung Cancer: Ruled out by x-ray and multiple analyses.

What do I still want to rule out:

Brain Cancer, No I don't have any of the real symptoms, but my mind every now and then would say it is brain cancer. I want to have an abdominal ultrasound, even though I had one 2 years ago when they took out my gallbladder, just to be sure that the cancer aint outside of the stomach, even though I'm pretty slim, and there isn't anything palpable or rough on my abdomen. Thyroid testing, I had the THS, but I'm not convinced it is enough. Finally and Echocardiogram, I want to see my heart working.

Of course my doctor thinks that is all unnecessary. I thought I had Vitamin B12 deficiency, but blood work, serum level, and a highly specialized Methylmalonic acid show otherwise.

What I do have, or had until recently:

H.Pylori
Giardia Lamblia
Blastocystis Hominis

Those are nasty bugs that suck the life out of you, and can, and will cause all sorts of crazy symptoms, including anxiety. I did a two week antibiotics+antiparasites course, but after the two week course, I actually felt worse, started having daily panic attacks multiple times a day, and now two weeks after the course, I still feel as I did before the course of antibiotics. I'm due for retesting the presence of the organisms in two weeks.

Anyone else done the h.pylori cure?? How long does it take before one starts feeling better again??

[HoneyLove]

H pylori is hard on your system, and so are the antibiotics that treat it so it's not surprising that you're feeling low afterwards. Give yourself some time to heal :)

I had a h pylori infection too, was treated for it last year with antibiotics that unfortunately didn't work for me. Instead of taking the second round of antibiotics I decided to try using a high strength manuka honey first. This honey is great for h pylori infections, it actually kills off the bug. I took one teaspoon of manuka honey and one spoon of aloe Vera juice twice a day on an empty stomach (about half an hour before eating anything).

It really helped and made me feel so much better! But I still have to go for the breath test to see if it is gone, so I cannot report that it was definitely successful. My breath test is at the end of march, so I can let you know what the result is if you wish.

I read a really helpful guide written by a doctor who suggested that part of the reason that treatments were not successful for h pylori is because of inflammation in the gut. While the antibiotics are good at killing the bug, they may not kill off all of the infection because it cannot be reached due to this inflammation. He suggested that while treating h pylori that the patient follow and anti inflammatory diet, which I did while using the manuka honey. It meant a gluten free, dairy free and basically fun free diet for about two months, but if it helped in any way then it was worth it!

I hope that info helps you a bit, but before you assume the h pylori is not gone just give yourself a couple of weeks to heal. Have you been taking a probiotic after the antibiotic? And eating well with plenty of water and good rest?

[ashurrutia]

While on the treatment I was taking Acidophilus Pearls by Enzymatic Therapy 3 pills(3 billion organisms) a day, usual dose they recommend is 1 billion, but doctor told me that up to 10 billion is safe, so I tried 3 billion. The end result was that I barely experienced diarrhea during the treatment. Afterwards I boosted the dose to 4 billion a day, but doctor told me to cut it down to 2 billions, so I was taking 2 billions up until the day before yesterday. It might be worth mentioning that I tested low for Vitamin D, I tested 27 back in November normal is >30, and optimal is between 30-50. Since I had Giardia Lamblia and Blastos they told me to stop taking Vitamins and Probiotics altogether as it was only feeding the bugs. I restarted taking vitamins and probiotics this weeks, I'm taking 2000 IU of Vitamin D a day, and 500 mg of Vitamin C, and a multivitamin that contains both D 400 IU, and C. I'm also taking Fish Oil 1000 mg twice daily.

In any case my symptoms now are extreme fatigue, as in I raise my arm and it hurts, especially my left arm, I feel like I'm about to faint, my head feels heavy, my neck hurts, I feel as if I had a weight on top of my head, and also feel my stomach warm, same thing with my skin, it will feel burning hot up for no reason in different parts. My Acupunturist wants me to take a Chinese Herbal Supplement called Adrenosen, which has Adrenal Cortex+some healing Herbs, he tells me that it will help with the Adrenal Fatigue, but I'm scare that fueling the Adrenals will just bring me back to Panic Attack mode, where my heart would go tachycardic like crazy.

[HoneyLove]

I can see now why you're stressing, you've so many things to consider! But it sounds like you're doing a good job of taking care of yourself, it may be that stress relief is the final key.

The symptoms you're describing sound like you're just plain exhausted. And it's no surprise you're feeling this way after being sick and having to go through the rough treatments involved, it's tough going on body and mind. If you're feeling very worried about it then talk to your doctor, they will help ease your mind.

I remember feeling like I'd been hit by a bus with the triple therapy for h pylori, it's tough going!

If you don't want to take the herbs from your Chinese acupuncturist then don't take them. I feel the same way as you about taking anything that may increase anxiety in any small way, so I'm careful about what pills and supplements I do take. If this herb is not necessary then don't put pressure on yourself to take it, there are other ways of refuelling after fatigue and it sounds like you're doing things right, it just takes time to recover.

I think the best thing you can do is focus on some stress relief techniques and be gentle with yourself. Remind yourself that you've been through a lot and it takes time to heal. Talk to your acupuncturist about other methods of recovering from fatigue. And talk to your doctor too, they may be able to offer you some advice x

[ashurrutia]

My Doctor is awesome when it comes to the details of certain imaginary diseases I think I have, he will disprove them instantly, but when it comes to anxiety, and I start talking about all sorts of symptoms I have, he simply says he doesn't know. He wants me to take Celexa, but I don't want to take an antidepressant, he also wants me to take Klonopin, but I'm past the hyperactive phase of anxiety. Now I'm still anxious, but my heart rate is rather in the low 60s, I feel tired as it is. My acupunturist wants me to take the Adrenosen, he is pretty experienced, has a PhD in Psychology, and is also a Monk, he is in the board of Acupunture in the state of Florida, and he has been practicing for over 20 years. He says that the Adrenosen shouldn't cause Panic but in fact have the opposite effect, but I'm still scared to take it, specially after having two rough weeks of tachycardia, and increased anxiety, and also the fact that I'm working Monday-Friday, and I hate to get an attack at work.

[HoneyLove]

Do you practice any daily stress reduction techniques like meditation? And do you get out for exercise, and eat well?

[ashurrutia]

I do meditation but not on a daily basis, I also exercise, but for some reason I find myself working out less and less when my anxiety is high, because if I do work out, then I feel all sore, and my chest hurts, so I freak out even more. As for the food, well anything I eat always gives dizziness, headaches, so I'm pretty sensitive to foods right now. My doctor wants me to go gluten free, and minimize dairy, but it's kind of hard to go gluten free.