Hello I'm new here and suffering from extreme health anxiety

[Johnny4512]

My name is Jonathan and over the past few months I have been suffering from extreme anxiety which has caused all sorts of problems. I am convinced there is something wrong with my heart but the ekg at the hospital wasn't able to find anything. However I still get heart palpitations and chest pains throughout most of the day and my heart races out of control whenever I attempt to do anything physical. I've been reduced to lying down all day watching television and barely have an appetite and I am just waiting for something terrible to happen. The only relief I seem to get is when I am able to fall asleep at night but as soon as I wake up in the morning the cycle repeats again. The doctors have preseibed me fluoxetine(Prozac) and Ativan for when I'm really in need but I don't seem to be getting better. Has anyone else gone through something similar to this? Please I need help I feel like I'm losing my mind.

[venusbluejeans]

Hiya Johnny4512 and welcome to NMP :welcome:

Why not take a look at our articles on our home page, they contain a wealth of information and are a great starting place for your time on the forum.

I hope you find the as site helpful and informative as I have and that you get the help and support you need here and hope that you meet a few friends along the way :yesyes:

[netminder1976]

Yes, pretty much the exact same. It started several months ago with heart worries and my EKG and blood tests were fine. I'm constantly anxious but usually it lets up some in the evening. Morning is the worst for me as it starts all over and is extremely high in the mornings. I too was put on fluoxetine and started 30 days on 10mg and now 18 days on 20mg . I don't know if it is the meds causing this worse feeling or if I'm just getting more anxious.

[Taylo]

Hi I am new to this site and suffering with health anxiety since I found a lump in my tongue I was convinced it was C ,had it removed biopsy was a benign muscle tumor but scared me for 6 moths and I have this constant pain under my right rib cage and I am terrified to go dr in case it's something cinister,I constantly worry about my children from a tiny pimple to a bruise I worry something horrid is happening ,had counselling and it didn't help,so hoping others in same situation can help me through this :)

[in-love-but-im-lazy]

Hey there! I'm new here too. :)
Your story sounds extremely similar to mine! I think I might even be on the same medications as you (I forget their names but those both sound familiar).
Your symptoms seem a lot like anxiety symptoms, and I'm sure that's hard to hear as someone with health anxiety. Once you latch onto these fears, they can spiral and drag you into a mental cycle of "what ifs".
When I have these fears, I know how much easier it is to lie down at home. That's where the comfort is! Do you have trouble going out of the house? Do you find that you need to fidget with something in order to feel calm? I'm no therapist and I'm only relying on my own experience, but you may want to assess your own stress to see if that's what's causing your symptoms. Anxiety can truly make you feel painful physical symptoms, and recognizing that is important.

[Smelltheroses]

Hi, yes palpitations are the worst :( I had an ECG, but it also came back fine. I was told that the more I focused on it, the worse it would seem to be. So basically if I distract myself the palpitations would stop eventually - easier said than done though of course!! I've never been prescribed any medicine for my palpitations and I'm still trying to figure out how to cope with them. So I hope just my experience will be a little comfort to you, even though I can't really offer much advice.

Take deep breaths and feel better soon :)

[waynee]

Hi,nice to meet you.