This health anxiety is not HA

[busterrufus]

I do not believe I have HA. The Docs and psych must be wrong because they CANNOT POSSIBLY KNOW HOW I FEEL. MY chest hurt my left arm hurts my neck and shoulders hurt EVERY DAY! The tests must be wrong, they can't be bothered to look past my anxiety . I am always scared but now I am so ANGRY too!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[cattia]

Hi there,
It's so frustrating when you feel that you're not being listened to and taken seriously. Obviously nobody here is a doctor so we can't diagnose you or tell you for certain that you don't have anything serious wrong. There are probably people who have been given a diagnosis of anxiety when actually it was something else, but there are certainly a hundred times more of us who have been given a diagnosis of anxiety and not believed it, yet that diagnosis has been the correct one. Accepting the diagnosis of anxiety is hard, because assurance that there is nothing else wrong is hard to get, particularly when your fears move from one illness to the next.
I can tell you from my own experience, that severe anxiety DEFINITELY CAN produce very real physical symptoms. I am 36 and have suffered from anxiety on and off since I was in my early twenties. Here are just a few of the symptoms I have experienced:

Aching limbs, like I had done a hard work out at the gym when in fact I had done nothing
headaches
blurred vision
dry mouth
heart palpitations
tingling feelings in my arms and legs
strange sensations on my skin
severe deprersonalisation
insomnia
tight chest, pain in my ribs and back
stomach and digestive problems
hip pain
sore mouth

Those are just the ones I can think of off the top of my head. There are probably a tonne more. The reason for ALL these symptoms has been anxiety. When my anxiety has been in remission, which it has, for extended periods, these symptoms have not bothered me. If any of these symptoms were caused by something deadly, I would be long gone by now.
I hope this reassures you somewhat.

[busterrufus]

thanks Cattia. Do you attribute your symptoms to panic attacks or to prolonged anxiety?

[cattia]

Definitely prolonged anxiety, I don't really suffer from panic attacks, although I have in the past, but not for ages. I am in a constant state of anxiety most of the time. Even when I have better days I still have anxious dreams, bite my tongue and cheeks in my sleep and get palpitations, so I know that my anxiety is heightened even when I am not aware of thinking anxious thoughts. I think it takes a long time for your body to calm down after an episode of severe anxiety.

[busterrufus]

me too. I've only ever had 2 panic attacks in my life but have daily anxiety which is debilitating. For some reason health professionals find this difficult to comprehend and are always putting my symptoms down to panic attacks.

[CharlieM]

This is such an interesting thread. I am exactly the same. I have had 3 panic attacks in 7 months. But it is the underlying feelings of anxiety that I struggle with. The actual panic attacks have stopped for now because I followed the CBT and confronted my 3rd and last one. They no longer scare me, so guess what, I haven't had one since.

The physical symptoms I have every day bother me greatly. The aching, discomfort and butterflies drive me insane. I occasionally think I have a serious illness, but more often than not I can tell myself it is anxiety. I am now seeing an acupuncturist because I refuse to take SSRI's. I am in week 2 of a 6 week session. So far so good, although I am still getting physical feelings of discomfort.

It is really difficult to believe everything I feel is anxiety, but until I actually collapse or die, then I really have no choice. I am trying to live every day to its maximum despite the pain. It is the only thing we can do.

Charlie

[busterrufus]

Charliem I wish I could just throw caution to the wind and do as you do, live each day to the max. I would hope this may cause a breakthrough, but to be quite honest the thought of it scares me so much. But the alternative is awful. I need more courage!

[CharlieM]

Buster,

It is hard. Some days I feel so ill that the max is just getting out of bed and surviving the day. On other days I manage to get lots done and live as close to normal as before all this started.

This acupuncture thing is my last roll of the dice to try and sort it. If the physical symptoms continue beyond the 6 weeks then I will go back to GP to get further conventional tests done.

Do try and let the anxiety/panic attacks pass by confronting them. It does work. As for the physical symptoms, maybe we just have to live with them until they go on their own. Your symptoms sound identical to mine. As cattia says, if they were really serious, I'm sure I would have gone by now.

Hope today is a better day for everyone.

Charlie

[busterrufus]

Charlie, good luck with the acupuncture!