Having a huge amount of symptoms all at once?

[Geister]

I don't really want to drag this out as I'm still not feeling well at all but I was just wondering if any of you guys have had a whole bunch of symptoms all at once? For the past 3 months I've been sick at least half the time. I have a swelling feeling in my mouth and throat when I eat anything, I dont want to eat because of it so I'm always hungry which doesn't help with the nausea. I have major ibs symptoms and spent one whole week pretty much thinking I was going to die because of that. I'm constantly tired and my throat and mouth are itchy and sore. I have ringing in my ears, I'm dizzy, and I have bad headaches. My vision is also blurry and I have chest pains. This week I had symptoms of shingles minus the rash. The hot itchy burning, the pins and needles/prickly feeling, sore skin, couldn't stand heat, red dots showing up places. That's been my last 3 months. Sorry for the long-ish post. First time here and this site has already been a huge help. This looks like a great community. :) If anyone has gone through something like this or just had a bunch of symptoms all at once I'd love to know about it and what helped, etc. Thanks for your time.

[Phuzella]

Have you seen your doctor about all this?

[Geister]

He knows about my anxiety and I've been prescribed oxazepam 30mg twice a day for it. I've been diagnosed with Major Depressive Disorder, GAD, Agoraphobia, Panic Disorder, mild to moderate insomnia and we're looking at a possible bipolar disorder diagnosis. The symptoms go away sometimes especially when I'm focusing on something else and sometimes they'll go away for a week or more. I'm pretty sure it's all anxiety, I'm a huge hypochondriac. I'd just like to hear others experiences because knowing someone else has went/gone through the same thing and was/is fine really helps with my anxiety.

[ankietyjoe]

Yes it's definitely possible (and common) to have multiple symptoms at the same time, even more than you have listed.

It's still worth going to the doctor as well though, as it's also common for anxiety to cause people to eat less and sleep less therefore causing immune issues, vitamin deficiencies etc etc.

[Geister]

Thanks for the reply. I should clarify I'm not feel all of those things right now, just over the past 3 months. I've moved twice in the past few months and I'm going to try again in half a month so that's probably causing a lot of the problem. I just don't feel anxious when I think of it so I'm guessing its subconscious? Right now I'm just feeling a headache, like I have a flu, I have ear ringing and blurry vision. And the itchy burning and prickles cleared up 2 days ago for the most part. Oh, and I take a multi vitamin along with a few others to help with the fact that i"m not eating a lot, my mood, etc.

[ankietyjoe]

Right now I have tinnitus, chest pain, muscle weakness, headaches, palpitations, aches and pains, a cough, insomnia, IBS and dizziness.

Most of the time all at the same time, or at least all in the same day.

I've also had several blood tests over the last couple of months and two chest x-rays and all is clear.

My life is very stressful right now and I have suffered with anxiety on and off for several years, so it's very possible to have 'nothing' wrong with you and still feel like crap.

So hooray to that! :shades:

[Geister]

You have everything I'm going through right now. I don't mean this as I'm glad you're going through it, just that I'm happy someone else is having the same problem and I'm not just going crazy or that it's some horrible illness. Your reply made me feel a lot better about my situation, thanks! :) Is there anything you do that helps you deal with the symptoms if you don't mind me asking? I'm also getting a new doctor in a month or so and a therapist so I can get everything checked out then just in case.

[ankietyjoe]

The only thing that works for me is meditation.

I went through counselling and CBT, CBT was very useful at finding a way to cope with the overall aura of anxiety. The GP also offered me antidepressants, but that's not a road I ever want to go down.

As you say getting things checked out is important. There's no point suffering with a new symptom by assuming it's all anxiety, despite the fact that anxiety can cause almost any symptom you can think of.

Meditation is a way to observe sensation without reacting to it, which is the core reaction that anxiety and stress work on. Your subconscious throws up triggers, and then you start to worry or panic about them.

It's a very powerful tool.

[MyNameIsTerry]

I think anxiety is all about multiple symptoms. The body reacts the way it would to danger and that means affecting various systems within your body. With anxiety, they aren't turning off much so one set of symptoms may overlap with another if you experience different ones as a result of different stimuli.

I know mine tend to be tiredness, eyestrain, headaches, core muscle tension, tingly sensations, feeling my breathing is restricted (and it's not, I've been asthmatic for over 25 years so I would know how it would feel if it were) lack of motivation, apathy for life, sensitivity to light, occassionally flu like symptoms.

I think if you read through some of the threads on the HA board you would see it is very common, so you are not alone.

A lot of anxiety is the sub conscious doing what it seems as the right automated task. It's learned behaviour that you need to reprogramme.

In my CBT I learnt of how thoughts, feelings and emotions work together. Emotions are the some total of thoughts and feelings so whilst you can't change your emotions, you can change your thoughts over time and your reactions to your feelings in an effort to change the more powerful emotional side. It's all a cycle.

And you are DEFINATELY NOT going crazy. We all ask this at some point.

Try therapy such as CBT as it will help you to challenge your thoughts. CBT is very good at individual triggers, but it felt less effective to GAD for me as there was so many issues and I just couldn't put my finger on anything that was the cause other my trigger events.

Try Mindfulness meditation. It's recommended by CBT therapists. It's from Buddhism and it's about accepting yourself and being in the moment. It asks you to examine the sensations, detach from them, see them for what they are and it asks you to let your thoughts wander and bring them back if they stray into areas they shouldn't. It does take time to learn, but you can get some benefit early on, even if it's less than the later effects.

You should easily find Mindfulness stuff on the internet. Look for Jon Kabat-Zinn and Mark Williams as they promote it. They have incorporated it into the new version of CBT, Mindfulness Based CBT (MBCBT), Jon Kabat-Zinn being the originator and Mark Williams is one of the leaders in the UK. Therapists are starting to offer it now so it must be useful. I've started looking at it and it's very similiar to CBT except you incorporate different meditations over 8 weeks.

You might find relaxation techniques are useful for some symptom control e.g. progressive muscle relaxation (PMR).

[Lilharry]

Sounds like candida to me. I've had all those symptoms too. I have been diagnosed with chronic fatigue, but I'm working with a naturopath to get the candida under control with success. Doctors are reluctant to help with it as they don't get taught about it, but it affects a lot of people.

My symptoms included: unexplained rashes; sore, watery eyes; feeling tired all the time; unable to sleep; brain fog; feeling pressure in my head; multiple allergies to food; feeling like there was lump in my throat; unable to digest fat; acid reflux; severe anxiety; health anxiety; hives at random times; thick gross toenails; rapid heart beat; heart palpitations; achey back (unbearable); alcohol intolerance; exercise intolerance; cold intolerance; severe chest and left side pains; severe pain in my liver; recurring bladder infections - you name it, I've probably had it. All very much improved since I've made diet and lifestyle changes and started taking natural supplements.