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chl_hobbs
24-01-14, 16:51
Hi all

Well ive been so panicky and having so many horrible physical symptoms lately. The past 3 months have been hell. I went to my GP for the millionth time. He did a blood cortisol test at 9am and I got the results yesterday. At my surgery the range is 65-635 and my test result was 708. Im really scared. I said to him "oh my god that means I have Cushings disease!" and he said "no it means you need to control your anxiety". That's his answer to everything. I am coming off lorazepam after he told me a year ago to "take one" whenever I had a fast heart rate or got panicky. Now my body is physically addicted and as im tapering off it (youre not supposed to just stop benzodiazepines suddenly OR take them for longer than 4 weeks for that matter), I am having the worst symptoms and anxiety I have ever had:
Some of my symptoms are:
- Numerous ectopic heart beats (up to 5000 in a day).

-Over the past 3 months i have felt terrible. I have had back pain - especially my lower back. My legs ACHE at times. More recently, i have had a tingling lower lip when i wake up, numbness in hands, sometimes blurry vision in right eye when i wake in the morning for 3 hours or so, extreme dizziness and chest pain. On Friday, i was getting my daughter ready when suddenly, i started CHOKING on nothing. My neck had felt so tight and my throat started to feel like i had a golf ball at the bottom of it. My upper chest was REALLY tight, and i felt like i couldn't breathe. I even woke up at 4am yesterday morning and as it was so tight i felt choked again so ran off to a&e. they did a chest xray, bloods, ecg, oxygen levels etc... all ok. This sensation is really upsetting me. it's across my collar bone and i feel i cant breathe at times. My throat feels like someone is strangling me really hard at the bottom of it. I am panicky because of it, which makes it worse.

- Altered sensations. I feel like my skin is freezing cold when I get into a hot bath.
- Pins and needles in my face, hands, feet
- Feeling like I cannot take a full breath.I have to remind myself to breathe.
- a deep ache that shoots across my chest in the right side to my right arm.
- Muscle twitches
- Neck and throat PAIN , as if I am being strangled
- Spasms
- Eyes that ACHE and are dry.
- Tinnitus
- Severe lightheadedness, as if my BP is very low (it isn't that low).
- Feel Like I am walking on jelly
- Stabbing shooting pains in my head
-Chest pains
- Leg aches.
-Tachycardia at the smallest of things (it goes to 150bpm just standing at times)
- Numb fingers and weakness.
-Weakness in my thighs and hand
-severe tremors and shakes in the morning

Has anyone else ever had high cortisol levels?Im very worried. I had a brain mri (for migraines) in april and all was ok, and had an adrenal gland mri which was fine. I think I have something really wrong with me. I DID have a panic attack just before the blood test as even sitting in the waiting room sets me off.

Please, any advice... Im making myself worse being like this x

TooMuchToLiveFor
24-01-14, 22:41
Hey Friend,

First off- please check out this link: http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/articles/symptoms/

I think this will really shed some light that what you are going through is "normal" with acute anxiety.

Also, want to really encourage you to get "Hope and Help for Your Nerves" by Dr. Claire Weekes right away. I have had every symptom that you listed except for two. The more I travel down the road to Recovery with my anxiety disorder- the more those symptoms either subside or lessen considerably.

HealthAnxiety12
24-01-14, 23:33
My cortisol was elevated as well at the height of my anxiety. It went down to the normal range once I calmed down a bit. Don't worry about it. It's my understanding that your cortisol would be significantly higher if you had Cushing's disease.

Yossino
25-01-14, 06:50
Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't cortisol produced BECAUSE of anxiety?

spacebunnyx
25-01-14, 16:28
I had a 24 adrenal stress test, my cortisol was double what it should be at mid day. Cortisol is produced by stress with mental or physically (dieting etc) the body responds in the same way

Xxx

dizzydaisy
25-01-14, 18:01
I have cushings syndrome, I have been in hospital on two occasions for cushing work ups. I see an endocrinologist regularly and lead a normal life. My cortisol readings from 24 hour urine collections were off the scale and I had no symptoms apart from weight gain and my periods stopped! I think you probably have very high level stress causing your cortisol levels to rise slightly. I hope you can find a way to relax and feel better.

chl_hobbs
27-01-14, 11:57
Thanku all of u. Xxx so do you all think this is stress and my constant anxiety causing this? I have felt terrible for 3 months now...but then again I am also trying to withdraw from the benzodiazepine lorazepam, which the drs just told me to take as and when I needed to...for almost a whole year!!! It is HELL coming off it and have only managed to drop 0.25mgs in two months. I wake up every day shakin with anxiety and uncontrollable tremors. The morning is the time when cortisol is highest naturally so im scared mine is way too high and dangerous. Is my level of 708 Cushings type high??

Hate this

Charlotte