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Lisa Marie
19-09-04, 11:36
Hello, this is my first visit here. My name is Lisa, I have suffered from panic attacks for numerous years but have usually been able to overcome them on my own but recently they seem to have taken hold of me again and I cant seem to shake them off. :( I also have pins and needles in my hands and feet and sometimes complete numbness in my left hand little finger.

Last night I also had a very tight chest and found it difficult to breath deeply. I once went to hospital in the middle of the night because I had constant pins and needles in my legs and I was worried endlessly! The doctor told me 'I was worrying myself sick!' I just need to advice and reassurance as it is getting me down.

seh1980
19-09-04, 12:18
hello there Lisa,

I often get pins and needles in my hands and feet. It can come for no reason and go away just as quickly. I have always found that ignoring it is the best way to get rid of it because as soon as you manage to distract yourself, your brain forgets that it is happening. It's a very normal symptom of anxiety and it will do you no harm so don't worry, you have nothing to worry about!!

Sarah :D

Lisa Marie
19-09-04, 12:24
Ok thanks Sarah, I'll certainly try!

Rennie1989
19-09-04, 14:30
Hi lisa

welcome to the site and forum

i will have pins and needles in my hands and thieghs when im having an attack. this may be the lack to oxygen getting into the body?

Scooter Girl

if i was hungry would you feed me, if i fell you help me up, if i was crying would you brush away my tears

sal
19-09-04, 14:54
Hi Lisa

Dont worry too much about it as it will make the symptoms seem worse. It is common to get pins and needles and that tight feeling in your chest as though you cant breath. The more you worry about it your anxiety will heighten and be worse. So when it happens try to relax as best you can and take your mind of the situation by preoccupying yourself with something you enjoy doing.

Take care.


Love Sal xxxxx

pootle
19-09-04, 18:19
Hi Lisa,

Welcome to the site. All of the symptoms that you have described are commonly associated with anxiety and panic attacks. They are just part your body's reaction to the adrenaline that is being released and the changes in your breathing when you are panicking or anxious. Although i know that they can be very scary (they are symptoms that i've experienced many times), there is no way that they can cause you any physical harm.

Relaxation, breathing exercises and distraction techniques are all things that are easy to learn and will help you keep these symptoms under control.

Take Care, Andy (pootle)

nomorepanic
19-09-04, 19:17
Hi Lisa

Welcome to the forum.

The pins and needles is quite common I am afraid but nothing to worry about.

Read this previous post ..

Pins and needles in fingers and toes (http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=893)

Nicola

tan
27-02-06, 13:04
I stumbled on this site whilst looking for reassurance that my irregular heartbeat realy was nothing to worry about and found that i'm not alone which is such a relief, my other BIG worry is the pins and needles in my hands and feet and numb fingertips - I 've been so scared I can't even discuss it with my laid back husband - the thing is that these things happen when I'm not at all panicy or worried, sometimes just watching TV and feeling calm so can it really be anxiety - the worry when it does happen, particularly the ectopic heartbeats is taking over my life and making me so unhappy and tearful, I am just so happy to have found this site. Can it happen to others when you are not aware of being stressed at all - in the middle of a relaxing monment or at work etc?

KGreen
25-05-06, 10:37
When I am scared or startled, like a near miss in the car, or something, I'll get pins and needles in my hands. Takes a few seconds for them to go away. Glad to know other people get this too.

doodah
26-05-06, 01:09
I also get pins and needles when I get anxious. My lips can sometimes go numb and my face too. Recently I feel as though someone is literally pricking my skin with a needle - a new sensation for me!! It's very reassuring to know that I'm not the only one who has these weird and wonderful sensations!

leanne1980
14-06-06, 17:30
hi doodah

im having exactly the same, its doing my head in, it feels as if i have a little bug under my skin going all over my body, then nothing then it comes back again, the thing is i dont panic until i have symptom, then i cant stop panicing about it if u know what i mean, by the way is your name Debbie? i used to talk to a lady on a pregnancy board called Doodah,

leanne xx

LC05
14-06-06, 21:55
It does sound like pins and needles are a symptom of anxiety. However, without worrying anyone, my boyfriends dad kept getting pins and needles in feet when relaxing watching telly, and it turned out he has diabetes. Im sorry im not trying to worry anyone but if its happening alot it might be worth getting checked or even phoning the doctor to ask. Even if it was diabetes, it can oftn be controlled by diet alone. I think it is more likely to be due to anxiety though, especially as alot of people here seem to get this.

sgp64
23-09-06, 18:02
Add me to the pins and needles list! I get em in the first two fingers of my hands...really sharp pain sometimes.

doodah
23-02-07, 10:28
Whoops - it's 2007 already!!:eek: Leanne .... afraid I'm not the doodah that you once knew :( LC05 that was good advice re: diabetes. In November of last year I had a few episodes of my face feeling as though I'd had an anaesthetic at the dentists! I thought I'd be sensible and see the doctor who very kindly suggested I may have had some mini strokes or be due to have some - aaaaargh! He did lots of tests ECG, blood etc and made an appointment for a CAT scan. I can't tell you how much I panicked waiting for the scan - will it be a long tunnel? will I feel claustrophobic etc (I'm agoraphobic by the way!). I looked on the internet to try to put my mind at rest and obviously diagnosed myself with all sorts of illnesses! Anyway, I had the scan a week before Christmas - it was just a doughnut shaped machine and I have to say I've never felt so relaxed in my life!! The results came back all clear 2 weeks after Christmas .... so, the good old anxiety has decided to trick me with new/more intense physical symptoms!! I still get the numbness, especially when I get over-stressed, so give myself a good talking to and do my best to carry on with my day!

clinton
27-01-09, 10:40
This is my first visit here. I have pins and needles mainly in hands and feet but I also get a kind of "hot, tingly feeling" that sweeps over me from time to time. I have been told this is a classic "anxiety" symptom but this morning I woke up with pins and needles in my hand so bad I had to work hard to open and close them. How can I panic when I'm asleep??? Also I have lots of muscle aches (arms, calves etc). All this cam on after an attack of labryinthitis, and I mist admit I feared I had the start of MS. I am not by nature a worrier and I wonder if anyone else has had all these symptoms together. It's making me feel really tired (been off work for three weeks now).

carmenk
27-01-09, 13:50
hello, yes, I too get the symptoms you described, and must admit, for me too, they are most worrying when they seemingly strike out of the blue, that is when I am 'relaxing' and not stressed. I have been getting the numbness in my fingers and sometimes hand for a good 4/5 months now and never attached them to anxiety, it was only after I began getting other symptoms and read posts similar to yours that I realised they are connected to my current 'state'.
hope you can take the advice of all and learn to calm yourself or distract from the very horrible and 'real' feelings

carmenk

indigo
29-01-09, 13:49
The end of my middle finger on my right hand feels numb and has been scaring me since last night, nearly had a panic attack over but i suppose my anxiety levels have been quite high recently. I pinch it, bite it and even put it on something hot to check if i can feel things. Its just really starnge and scary!!!!

dalebaker
08-03-09, 21:46
Hi im new to the site, im 16 and get all the symptoms that you guys talk about, i also suffer from ibs aswell which i beleive is closly linked, one of the more scary symptoms is when you get the cold sweats in the night thats the one i hate, but other people who suffer from anixety dont seem to get this?

elle_hmg
20-05-09, 05:59
I get pins and needles in my hands and feet at night often. I find the best thing is to stand up and run on the spot for a minute or two then when I get back in bed they are gone