sick of symptoms, scared

[mrdave92]

i've felt ill for almost 3 months now and have seen several doctors over this period of time who have ran blood tests, neurological tests and examined my eyes/optic nerve to which all were reportedly fine. My symptoms have gone on for so long and i experience them every single day even when i'm not feeling anxious or stressed. I started taking fluoxetine 12 days ago however i suffered very bad headaches after beginning the tablet but it's hard to tell whether the headaches are a side effect or a worsening of my condition. Prior to the fluoxetine i had stabbing head pains that came and went but since beginning it i experienced constant headaches that were very painful.

I saw my GP last week and told him my concerns regarding a brain tumour, he told me my symptoms didn't fit the bill for that (although i've heard they do and tried to reassure me. He changed my medication from fluoxetine to trazadone as he felt this may be beneficial. The day after stopping fluoxetine and starting the trazadone i suffered the worst headache and dizziness of my life that lasted all day, it was so severe i went to the ER and got checked out. He gave me some painkillers and migraine related tablets which eased the pain but it's still underlying. I again told him my fears about having a brain tumour but he said that this would be an unusual way for it to present itself and felt i didn't need a CT scan.

Severe headache
Horrible dizziness
Spaced out feeling/derealisation
Sharp shooting head pains
Sharp pains in my ears
Tingling under eyes
Burning sensations under my eyes and on my face
Tingling/pins and needles bottom of my feet
Muscle twitches in my feet, arms, legs
Loud gurgling stomach
Abdominal pain
Terrible sharp pains in my fingers, toes and joints
Shaking hands
Facial rash that comes when my symptoms seem to be at their worst (this really worries me as i have many Lupus symptom)
Hot tingle lips
Occasional ringing in ear
Eye floaters
Muscle aches everywhere
Off balance
Itchiness
Tightness in throat
Feel unwell and lacking energy/motivation/concentration
Mucus and small amounts of blood in my stools
Burning eyes
Feeling faint like i'm about to pass out
Not in control of my thoughts or actions
Increased aggression/snappiness
Don't feel myself
Sharp tongue pain
Tingling fingers
chest pain


I have no idea what's wrong with me but the facial rash and joint pain i have make me think it may be lupus or lyme disease as they aren't usual anxiety symptoms (not sure if this would show up in a blood test) and many of my other symptoms really point to a brain tumour/ms. Something in my head told me it was a brain tumour a while ago and i really haven't felt right for months now. There are so many signs that something more serious is going on but they keep being passed off as migraines which i've never experienced in the past or stress/anxiety. Could the headaches be a side effect of medications? what would explain my other symptoms?

I've started CBT and the meds but things are still awful, so, so frustrated. I know you guys are probably fed up of me now but i'm having an awful time at the moment, just as i get a bit of optimism the symptoms strike me down. The pains aren't normal ones i'm paying more attention to, they're REALLY painful.

[Phuzella]

A suggestion- for the next 5 minutes, tell yourself that all your symptoms are caused by anxiety, you won’t believe it at first, but just try.

[mrdave92]

I've tried this but it doesn't stop anything the symptoms have occurred every day for months even when I'm not anxious. I'm so sick of it. I know something's wrong

[fedup36]

Dave have you seen my message? I was hoping it would help?
I thought I had something terrible to but I don't...

[ddonaghey1989]

hi dave i can relate to some of your symptoms that ive been dealing with for over a year now. i have the dizziness, unbalanced, derealisation, weird vision, irritable, feeling faint and sick. i have this nearly every day still havent been diagnosed with anything apart from anxiety i was so sure it was an inner ear thing. why dont you look up about migraine associated vertigo that can give symptoms like yours?

danielle x

[nomorepanic]

Have you read this page:

http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/articles/symptoms/

[Pipkin]

Hi Dave,

I read through some of your posts and I really feel for you and I understand - I could have written them myself when I was younger. It took me a long (really long) time to accept that all of these symptoms were caused by anxiety and not some unknown, undiagnosed illness. That was over 25 years ago and I wish I'd accepted what the doctors told me earlier.

What I found so hard was that the symptoms are real. I mean, how can you feel so ill and yet it's all caused by your own brain? Seems impossible but it's not. I bet there are times when you're distracted that you feel better and that it gets worse when you think about it more.

I'm not sure I can say anything that will really help as it's only you who can make a difference. As long as you think you're physically ill, you'll carry on convincing yourself there's a serious problem which makes you even more anxious and feel worse. It's a horrible vicious circle. Counselling is a good step and I'm sure you'll also start to feel better when your meds kick in (they can take a while).

In the meantime, take some comfort from knowing that you're not on your own. I wish there'd been somewhere like this when I was at my worst - it might not have taken me so long to accept my own anxiety disorder. Btw, I've never let it hold me back and there's no reason why you should either. If you ever think you're too ill to do something, do it anyway.

Take care

Pip

[barrym]

Dave, I'm new to all this, been struggling on and off for 12 years after diagnosis of fibromyalgia and just put my anxiety down to a fibro flare every now and again but recently I have came to the conclusion that I have an anxiety issue riding along side my fibro, the joys :yahoo: Just before Xmas it started again but this time it was worse that it's ever been, knocked me for six and hardly got out of bed for 5/6 days which has never been like me. It took the two week Xmas break to get back to a sense of normality, was still not 100% but could get out and about and function again. This morning I wake up and bam it's there again, not as bad as before but still bad as far as I'm concerned. You listed 31 symptoms on your list and I can relate and have had / having 25 on your list within the last 5/6 weeks, headaches being the worst, constant, never leaves but I know it's coming from the tension in my shoulders /neck and from the stress I have been under of late. I am trying to finish of a large contract at moment and have about 10 days left and we should be complete, hoping that when that's done I will start to de-stress and see some of these god awful symptoms disappear. I am trying hard to rationalize, blame the current working environment for the anxiety and stress but I still always seem to have that wee nagging doubt lurking about in the background. I too have been sick of the symptoms and get myself worked up that I can't continue living like this, and this certainly won't help in breaking the vicious circle. I hope my road to recovery is a short one, and likewise for yourself and everybody else within this forum, but should it take a little longer I will just have to be patience but I will win this battle as I'm sure you will. It may take time and there may be some obstacles in the road but obstacles are for working out how you get round them, some are easy and some difficult but there are none that with the right frame of mind can't be overcome. With the help of loved ones and the good people of this forum they will help you overcome the tough obstacles and should you find one tough and a little out of reach I for one will offer you my shoulders to stand on and help you over it. It may seem tough, very tough at moment but as fishmanpa always says "positive thoughts", you will get there, have a listen to the song from Yazz as it always brings a smile to my face and I relate to the chorus "The Only Way Is Up", it's a feel good tune and the chorus rings true for many of us on here. Take care and I hope your feeling better soon and anytime you need those shoulders just ask.

BarryM

[mrdave92]

Thank you everyone for the replies and reassurance, it's a great help.

I've had a better day today but the symptoms still persist as ever with no signs of letting up!

Pipkin- thanks for taking the time to ready my story. Did you suffer with many of my symptoms such as joint pains, headaches etc.? there are times i'm distracted but even then a symptom/pain comes and puts me back into worrying and concentrating on my body for the next ache, pain or sensation. it's just how the symptoms are so persistent and i genuinely don't feel stressed or anxious, my temperature, heart rate and blood pressure are always fine too. Thanks for the great post and message of hope, if you don't mind me asking, how long did it take for your symptoms to subside?

BarryM- Thanks so much for the post. Sorry to hear about your fibro diagnosis, how did this diagnosis come about? The doctors checked my shoulders and neck and said there wasn't any tangible tension there which kind of worries me. if you don't mind me asking which are the symptoms you haven't had? i'm really sorry you're also suffering with these awful symptoms, they're truly a nightmare to live with. i get symptoms even when i feel relaxed and not stressed, it's so annoying as it feels like it's never gonna stop. I wonder why it came from nowhere too, i was just driving home one day and felt really panicy and it escalated from there. your attitude sounds great and you will DEFINITELY overcome this. This forum is a great help and a fantastic tool in coping with all the symptoms and feelings anxiety throws our way, although i still can't believe anxiety causes all this! Your support is much appreciated and thank you so much for the kind words, there are so many truly wonderful people on this forum offering help and support to others it really touches me at times.

[Pipkin]

Hi Dave,

Yes, I did suffer from pretty much all of those symptoms at one time or another. In terms of how long they lasted, it always seemed to come in cycles and lasted a few years overall. As time went on, I realised it couldn't be anything physically serious and gradually got better. Of course, this is just me and others make a pretty quick recovery.

As I said in my post, it's about breaking the vicious circle and you've obviously realised this is probably anxiety related much more quickly than I did - you wouldn't be here otherwise, would you?

Good luck

Pip x

[Lilharry]

I have suffered all of those symptoms and more. I have found that food sensitivities were a leading cause as well as leaky gut probably caused by years of eating wheat. I have gotten rid of the majority of symptoms over the past 6 months by changing my diet. Takes a while to heal, but well worth it. Might be something to consider.

[Beefany]

Dave - this is me. Exactly me. I know this was posted over a year ago, but tell me, how are you now? Was it anxiety induced? I'm also concerned about lupus/lyme.
You seem like an intelligent guy, it'd be great if you could message me (that sounds like a proposition! I can assure you it's only medical based haha)
But yeah, it'd be great to have an update on where you're at with this.

[kdf123]

Dave,I have suffered with all of your symptoms on and off for 8 years(dizzieness being the worst)and have convinced myself I have got every life threatening disease going but honestly it is all anxiety ,If I keep busy I feel so much better and the symptoms do disappear,not straight away but usually within a few days.they do come back every know and again but the more times you beat it the quicker and easier it is to accept it is anxiety and they disappear again.If your doctor has checked you over please believe him and try and keep busy.Good luck mate take care