I just don't believe this is just anxiety.

[footballking]

But the doctors don't know where else to go?

[rated_r90]

What symptoms do you have?

[Mr m anxious]

Not believing it's anxiety is part of being anxious, I'm the same. I go through days when I believe it and don't, it's hard but the best proof is that you are still alive and the doctors not knowing what to do I'd further proof it's just anxiety.
Best of luck

[footballking]

I have lost a lot of weight, lack of appetite, and always have tachycardia. Shortness of breath.

[Jonoh]

Your symptoms are pretty vague to be honest. But I can vouch that when I've been at my most anxious, I have had no appetite whatsoever. I had to force myself to eat because I simply no longer felt hungry. Of course this led to some weight loss as I had a major caloric deficit to what I was normally eating, which only scared me more! But it was just anxiety.

It's not that abnormal for people to have a faster heart beat in this day and age. I myself have it which again caused me fear. The things I would recommend is to try and have faith in your doctors, and test results. If you haven't had any tests done i would ask for a standard work up, so things like a full blood count, liver/kidney function, estimated sedimentary rate and so on, just to allay your fears, as it will give you a general idea of how your body is functioning. This isn't really needed if the docs haven't requested it for you, but I'm saying it because it helped calm me down.

The other thing, which I think is far more important, is to adopt a healthy lifestyle if you haven't already. This means lots of exercise and healthy eating. I've gone on a paleolithic diet, and although it is pretty tough to stick to, I must say I have noticed a great reduction is symptoms. And exercise is a great way to clear the mind. I'd recommend something like yoga.

[rated_r90]

I promise you that anxiety can cause everything you're currently experiencing. The sooner you believe that, the sooner you will start to feel better. Improvement doesn't happen overnight, but you can get there! As Jonoh said, getting some regular exercise might help you as well. Staying active has been a blessing for me. Good luck and I hope you find some relief from your symptoms.

[footballking]

Are any of you on medication?

Thanks for all your replies. Really appreciate it.

[Ihatesnow]

Hi football king. I have just started prozac. I was terrified of possible side effects but knew i had to if I wanted to get better and not stay stuck feeling ill. I read lots of positive comments from people and everybody has been really encouraging to me! I survived day 1 - didn't die and am excited at the possibility of getting better - and I have very severe symptoms. Good luck!

[footballking]

Hi football king. I have just started prozac. I was terrified of possible side effects but knew i had to if I wanted to get better and not stay stuck feeling ill. I read lots of positive comments from people and everybody has been really encouraging to me! I survived day 1 - didn't die and am excited at the possibility of getting better - and I have very severe symptoms. Good luck!

Congratulations. I hope they work for you. I am still scared, I guess it's in my nature. If you have any words of encouragement to help me start, it would be much appreciated.

Thanks.

[Ihatesnow]

What stuck with me was people saying doctors would not give you these if they were not safe! Also we need them for anxiety but anxiety is the thing stopping us taking them! I am doing cbt and hypnosis which help a bit but will not cure me if I want to be better and get my life back - and I really really do then I have no choice but to take these drugs. Don't read the scary stories - this does not happen to everyone! I looked at user reviews at drugs.com and they are very very positive and gave me the strength to take the first one. Now I just keep thinking 'I could be well by June' I at least have that hope! Also I have lorazepam as a back up for if I really need some help. I hope you feel ok to try them.
Susan

---------- Post added at 14:50 ---------- Previous post was at 14:45 ----------

Incidentally I wasn't completely sold on it all being anxiety as my bp would spike, headaches, dizzy and racing heart - was sure this couldn't just be anxiety, I was clearly very ill - haha. One Ativan and 15 minutes later all my symptoms were gone - literally I was completely normal! The mind has a very big impact on your body.

[Freaked]

I have lost a lot of weight, lack of appetite, and always have tachycardia. Shortness of breath.

Hi, what age are you? Have you recently had a viral illness? Constant tachycardia (ie heart rate over 100 at rest) when all tests have been normal can be caused by inappropriate sinus tachycardia syndrome. Basically the heart just decides to go fast for no reason, and it could also be responsible for your other symptoms. It's a form of dysautonomia (nervous system dysfunction). It's not thought to effect life expectancy, but can be highly debilitating, and most doctors don't know much about it. Have you been prescribed beta-blockers? If your symptoms are a lot worse when you're upright for a while, then it may be postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome. True constant tachycardia would be rare with anxiety as far as I know, though anxiety would make symptoms worse of course.