Does it ever get better?

[panicky88]

I feel like I can't deal with much more of this health anxiety.
I hate how Ifeel day in day out and iI have no idea what to do to help the feelings or stop them ..or something.

Since almost 11wks ago I've had anxiety. I had heart racing, chest pain/tightness,nausea, dizziness, headaches and all sorts. I had plenty of bloods, ecgs, chest xray, chest ct, 24hr holter monitor etc which were all mostly fine (cholesterol was a Lil on high side). Doctor didn't mention whether to or what to do about that.

I eventually got past the heart anx and felt normal for two wks and thought it was all over...a wk ago the dizzy weird head feeling came back and Iget shooting pains, sore neck, muscle tension and sometimes feel my heart beat in my eyes (weird) or feel like my whole head is pulsating/rocking or shaking - I'm truly concerned bout tumor/stroke/hemmorage and can't seem to get past it or at least get rid of the feelings .. I don't have them all the time, its mainly the dizzy weird headfeeling that is buggingme most and ruining my life on a daily basis cos iI feel like I panic that I'llfaint or ssomething like above will take place.

How do you deal?

[RedXIII]

I have been going through quite a few of the things you are for the past 5 weeks.
About 3 years ago I had a bout of HA that lasted 3 months :S. It was misery. I went through quite a few tests and trips to the emergency room. Finally I was given an apointment with a specialist.
By the time the specialist appointment came my HA was gone too... I went through all with the visit and he schedualled me for a colonoscopy. I went through that and it came out fine.
Now I have moved from my colon to my brain and I am having headaches and dizziness. The dizziness and weird feeling is constant, it only gets better when I lay down for long periods of time and it gets worse at work or in social situations... It is driving me batty, but I will continue to go to the doctors and hope that it goes away on its own.

[panicky88]

I've mentioned it to my doc a couple of times and he says yep its anxiety. The hard part is that I can see his reasoning for saying so but it doesn't help me believe there's nothing sinister going on. Most the time i feel OK I just carry this stupid head feeling/dizzy with me nearly all the time and I hate it.
Have been prescribed Cymbalta but took it for two days and was so so sick so stopped and that's when I started to feel normal and that's the point when Iactually accepted anxiety (3wks ago). All was well till this started again.

I have a first appt with a psychologist on Feb 4 but I feel that is ages to wait while I feel like this. My Lil boy goes back to school on Tues after the Christmas break and that isn't helping my anxiety...I'll b home alone again. I start uni on March 3 and get married March 14 so I have those to plan for and keep me busy o guess...

I'm not glad you are suffering also, I do hope u recover real soon but glad to know there are others with similar thing

[CleverLittleViper]

It does get better. It takes time, and it takes effort, but you can absolutely recover and heal from this. There was a time when I thought it would never end. My symptoms and my fears had me in a chokehold, and wouldn’t let go. I no longer suffer with any symptoms. I do if I allow my anxiety to get to that dangerous level, but I now listen to my body and my mind and bring it down.
My saviour was Prozac. Honestly, it’s been a lifesaver. I take 20mg a day, and it makes all the difference. I’m not saying medication is the route to go for everyone. It is just something that has helped me, and I think it’s worthy of consideration. I also found progressive muscle relaxation (there are tutorials available on youtube) quite helpful during the times when I would find myself with a lot of symptoms.
Honestly, there isn’t a quick fix. It’s a work in progress. Every day you have to make conscious choices to change, and you have to see them through. Acceptance is a great starting point. People with health anxiety, especially, really struggle often to accept their symptoms are caused by anxiety, and not something more sinister. So, they keep Googling, and reading up on these diseases, diagnosing themselves and working themselves into a stupor. Which, in turn, makes the symptoms worse, and it goes around in a loop. Until you can accept that what you have is anxiety, you cannot begin to treat it.
I like to think of anxiety as having levels or bands. There is the “top” level, where you’ll experience the most symptoms, and below that, it steadily gets lower and lower (obviously) and your aim has to be to nudge your anxiety level down a notch. It won’t go from level 5 (the top) to level 1 (the bottom) straight away, but you can get it there, bit by bit, by chipping away at it.
No one chooses to be anxious. However, we do make choices that keep us stuck in the loop. When we Google, we make a choice to do so. When we obsessively self-check, we make a choice. All of our compulsions and anxieties are thrust upon us, but it is our decision whether we let them stick around or kick them to the curb. Identify what behaviours you feel keep you stuck in the anxiety cycle-and work on gradually diminishing them. So, if you Google obsessively, gradually Google less every day, until you’ll find you’re no longer dependent on it.
I don’t want to appear like I’m thrusting medication onto you, because as I said, it is not for everyone, but it can certainly provide a bit of balance when you need it the most. For me, Prozac enables me to function like a normal person again. I get out of bed, and I don’t feel dread. I actually look forward to things. I smile more, and even my brother has commented on how much I’ve improved on the meds. As I’ve said, medication is not for everyone, but it is worth considering or discussing with your GP, even as a short-term plan whilst you work on therapy.
Don’t obsess over your symptoms. I’m sure you’ve heard it all before, but it bears repeating. The more you fear it, the more it will happen and the worse it will feel. I had the full gamut of symptoms, and it wasn’t until I stopped paying attention to them did they start to dwindle. It is tough, because when we’re anxious we’re hyper-aware and hyper-sensitive to how things look, how things feel, and the various unpleasant, bizarre and at times, downright distressing symptoms only make that worse. You have to make the conscious choice to not feed the dragon. It wants you to fear the symptoms. Don’t give it what it wants.
If you want to get better, you have to work at it. This is your body and mind’s way of warning you that you need to change, and as the cliché goes, nothing changes if nothing changes. I never thought I’d feel normal again, and I’m getting there, day by day, slowly returning to normality. You can, too. It is all up to your choices, from here-on-out.

[panicky88]

Thanks CleverLittleViper. I get exactly what your saying. It is such an awful vicious cycle.

I had a very very difficult time accepting the anxiety to begin with, it was once I did that I started to feel normal so I don't really know what's triggered this latest lot of thoughts. I googled a lot when this first began and eventually I realised how much worse I was making things....these days I don't google unless I specify anxiety in my search! Which is rare anyway.

I haven't been able to pinpoint the exact feeling in my head, be it heavy, lightheaded, dizzy (but it's not spinny), cotton wool filled....I just don't know to be honest but I don't like it! I fear of fainting because of it, fainted 11wks ago and that's when the anxiety started. Perfectly good explanation for faint so not sure why I fear it so much. I don't know how to 'curb' the situation as such. If I choose to ignore that the feeling is there I find myself constantly thinking about it trying to ignore it...if I don't ignore it then I'm constantly worrying what if? So, I'm kinda stuck...

I understand what your saying about medication, it's not something I ever wanted to consider so you could probably imagine my hesitation when the doc prescribed the cymbalta...but I was in such a pickle that I knew I needed to try it. Without it I still get out of bed, go about my usual routine the best I can and I still go out shopping, visit ppl etc...but it's always in my mind how my head is feeling and I try to hide it. That hyper aware, hyper sensitive makes it so much harder.

Thanks so much for your post. I like the reassurance that it will get better but it will take time - I suffer here as I'm impatient...I just want to get back to normal (like most I would guess) so I get very frustrated with it all

[RedXIII]

Is the feeling in your head kind of like you can't focus?

I mean you CAN focus but it feels like you can't.

Mine is kind of like that.

[panicky88]

I don't think so...maybe its a bit like that but I don't think that explains it.

Sometimes I imagine it like my brain in water being swished around but not that often either...its I dunno weird.

Have you found anything that helps you eliminate that feeling?

[RedXIII]

We could be experiencing a similar feeling and never be able to articulate our words in the right way to make a good comparison.

The feeling I am having never seems to go away completely, but unfortunately my biggest triggers right now are my wife and son. When I am around them I am a wreck, as terrible as that sounds... It seems that when my son goes to bed I feel a little better and then when my wife goes to bed I feel even better still... but this isn't an apropriate solution. So I will be seeing a doctor on Monday.

[panicky88]

Wow, that does sound difficult. Do you have a good relationship with both of them? I'm generally more at ease with my hubby to b and son around although I do feel at times that I am a burden to them when I feel these symptoms.

I've thought about taking the cymbalta and giving it a go again in recent days but might c doc during wk also, altho not sure what he can do for me. Good luck