ServerError
29-02-16, 21:20
Hi everyone,
I understand nobody here is a doctor so perhaps this thread won't do me any good, but if there's any possibility of reassurance, I could use it. I've just been for an MRI scan and have to wait 2-3 weeks for results. I'm terrified of what it will reveal.
My story starts with what I think was a panic attack at work. I was just sitting at my desk working when I felt a slight loss of sensation in my arm. The next thing I know, I can barely breathe and I feel like I'm passing out. I don't actually pass out, but it feels close. My vision goes foggy and everybody looks and sounds miles away. Paramedics arrive and check me over and I do improve, so they leave without me.
Anyway, I spend the next few days utterly freaked out, convinced I'm dying or losing it. The weird panic feelings return, although never quite as bad. I eventually get admitted to hospital. They give me blood tests, a CT scan, a urine test and a neurological exam. I'm also hooked up to a heart monitor for 30 hours. Then I'm discharged. The notes say preliminary diagnosis: panic brought on by hyperventilation, subsequently followed by anxiety.
The problem is, things keep changing. One minute, I think I have one thing, the next another. My head in particular feels constantly weird. Sometimes I feel so walled off from my emotions I think I'm losing it. In the last two days, I've felt on the verge of tears, but like it's a symptom rather than a normal emotional reaction. I feel spaced out, unable to concentrate, my vision is off, my whole head just feels wrong. Sometimes I have what I think are brain zaps but feel more like sudden, split second losses of full consciousness. Like I'm not with it for a tiny moment. My legs constantly feel like jelly and my appetite has died.
I'm terrified I have a brain tumour or early onset dementia or something like that. The thing is, although this all came on suddenly, I've actually been having weird head rushes for years. These involve a feeling of adrenaline, a sudden rush of images in my head, sweating and a raised heart beat. They never scared me, though. They actually felt quite nice and would come roughly once every month or so. I shouldn't have dismissed them, but I did. Do they sound like panic attacks? I went undiagnosed with depression for years until I admitted it after this all started. I'm guessing it's possible I've had this problem for longer than I realise.
But the weird head feelings are making me think I'm dying or have a serious neurological problem. I've been on 50mg Sertraline for a month and have just been upped to 100mg, and I'm also taking beta blockers.
Even as I type this, my eyes are doing a weird darty thing where they won't focus. I've had blurred long vision on and off for two years, which may or may not be related.
I'm so scared. Does any of this even sound like it could just be anxiety?
I understand nobody here is a doctor so perhaps this thread won't do me any good, but if there's any possibility of reassurance, I could use it. I've just been for an MRI scan and have to wait 2-3 weeks for results. I'm terrified of what it will reveal.
My story starts with what I think was a panic attack at work. I was just sitting at my desk working when I felt a slight loss of sensation in my arm. The next thing I know, I can barely breathe and I feel like I'm passing out. I don't actually pass out, but it feels close. My vision goes foggy and everybody looks and sounds miles away. Paramedics arrive and check me over and I do improve, so they leave without me.
Anyway, I spend the next few days utterly freaked out, convinced I'm dying or losing it. The weird panic feelings return, although never quite as bad. I eventually get admitted to hospital. They give me blood tests, a CT scan, a urine test and a neurological exam. I'm also hooked up to a heart monitor for 30 hours. Then I'm discharged. The notes say preliminary diagnosis: panic brought on by hyperventilation, subsequently followed by anxiety.
The problem is, things keep changing. One minute, I think I have one thing, the next another. My head in particular feels constantly weird. Sometimes I feel so walled off from my emotions I think I'm losing it. In the last two days, I've felt on the verge of tears, but like it's a symptom rather than a normal emotional reaction. I feel spaced out, unable to concentrate, my vision is off, my whole head just feels wrong. Sometimes I have what I think are brain zaps but feel more like sudden, split second losses of full consciousness. Like I'm not with it for a tiny moment. My legs constantly feel like jelly and my appetite has died.
I'm terrified I have a brain tumour or early onset dementia or something like that. The thing is, although this all came on suddenly, I've actually been having weird head rushes for years. These involve a feeling of adrenaline, a sudden rush of images in my head, sweating and a raised heart beat. They never scared me, though. They actually felt quite nice and would come roughly once every month or so. I shouldn't have dismissed them, but I did. Do they sound like panic attacks? I went undiagnosed with depression for years until I admitted it after this all started. I'm guessing it's possible I've had this problem for longer than I realise.
But the weird head feelings are making me think I'm dying or have a serious neurological problem. I've been on 50mg Sertraline for a month and have just been upped to 100mg, and I'm also taking beta blockers.
Even as I type this, my eyes are doing a weird darty thing where they won't focus. I've had blurred long vision on and off for two years, which may or may not be related.
I'm so scared. Does any of this even sound like it could just be anxiety?