Still struggling.

[zippy]

I struggled yesterday and still am, i feel so emotional. My middle left back pain is getting worse, it hurts when i breath, bend forward etc and i feel like i am breathing through a straw. I am drenched in sweat every night and struggle to get up, crushing fatigue and generally feel unwell. I go to lung c to stomach c, i just know somethings wrong. I feel like the girl who cried wolf this time, because i have been wrong in the past about illnesses everyone is just thinking it's anxiety again but i have never felt so ill.
Had my bloods done last week, oxygen levels took, lungs tapped and listened to and an ecg but i still think i am dying.

[cattia]

I feel that way every single time anxiety hits me. Like, why did I make such a fuss all those other times, now this time it's actually a real, serious illness and nobody will believe me. I'm pretty sure you would have had something show up on one of those tests if something really was wrong. I'm in that bad place right now too, managing to simultaneously worry about ovarian cancer, brain tumour and leukaemia. Be pretty unlucky to get all three! Xx

[zippy]

It's debilitating cattia. I haven't the energy to do anything and family think you can just switch it off and be ok because it's Christmas. I try to do things but I just haven't the energy so that feeds my mind that something serious must be wrong.

[ServerError]

Are you doing anything to actually tackle your anxiety? Only be reducing your anxiety will you rid yourself of the unpleasant symptoms, including the misguided feeling that you're at death's door.

[zippy]

No I am not doing anything to tackle the anxiety because I don't believe it is all just anxiety.

[ServerError]

Then why are you posting on an anxiety forum?

If it's not "just anxiety" them you need medical attention

But if you've had medical attention and been told it's anxiety and you still can't believe it, then you have an anxiety disorder and that is what must be treated.

Either way, I'm not sure this place is much help to you. You signed up in 2009. In that time, how long have you worried about your health? How many posts have made it go away? How much actual harm have you come to?

At the end of the day, nobody here can tell you exactly what's wrong with you. Nor can we force you to tackle your anxiety. It's all on you, my friend. It's your life. How do you want to live it?

Oh, and I've had all the symptoms you describe and more. I've also had the same tests. I'm still alive. Anxiety can and does cause a wide variety of symptoms. They gradually go away as you deal with the underlying cause. So your choice is to continue to pursue unattainable reassurance through the forum and to seek ever more medical tests you don't need and to continue driving your anxiety spiral and triggering more physical symptoms, or to get some treatment for your anxiety, begin tackling it, and working towards more peace. As I say, it's your call.

[Gary A]

No I am not doing anything to tackle the anxiety because I don't believe it is all just anxiety.

So over 7 years worth of time on an anxiety forum and in that time you've done nothing to tackle your anxiety? I find that utterly bizzare. What are you here for if you don't "believe" it's anxiety? Just to complain? For pity and sympathy?

Get yourself to your doctor and seek help for your anxiety, because, frankly, you have until this point been wasting yours, and our, time.

[pulisa]

The thing is, the tea and sympathy route won't help you, zippy and you will continue to struggle with anxiety symptoms whilst you are convinced that the tests are erroneous and a sinister illness has been missed.

[zippy]

Ok a few harsh replies. I am on fluoxetine and have been for 3 years and have done cbt over the years which obviously haven't helped. I thought this was a caring forum and nobody judged anyone. Obviously I was wrong.

[randomforeigner]

No, this is a caring forum. People try to come up with things that they think would help. On a non-caring forum it would be a totally different type of replies.

Perhaps you could tell a little bit more about what you think it is, and what you think could be of help - to you. ?
:flowers:

---------- Post added at 20:28 ---------- Previous post was at 20:26 ----------

The 'breathing through a straw' doesn't sound very nice. Could it be asthma? The sweat and fatigue issue makes me think of the menopause (or something tampering with your hormones), and the back pain of a streched muscle or possibly a slipped disc in your back... as you say one illness doesn't preclude others.

[zippy]

I have no idea what I thinks wrong because it changes to me thinking it's my lung to my stomach. I had food poisoning 3 months ago and I haven't felt well since. So I don't know if this had triggered my anxiety and worry again. The left side back pain that never goes away is the thing that I can't stop thinking about.

[pulisa]

But the replies aren't harsh, zippy. They are aimed at trying to make you see that no amount of reassurance or symptom talk will help you recognise that you need to acknowledge that anxiety can cause very unpleasant but totally harmless symptoms.

[ServerError]

Ok a few harsh replies. I am on fluoxetine and have been for 3 years and have done cbt over the years which obviously haven't helped. I thought this was a caring forum and nobody judged anyone. Obviously I was wrong.

Why do I even bother?

I'm sorry for actually trying to point you in the right direction. Anxiety needs to be challenged. What do you want from people here?

My reply was incredibly positive. It was specifically designed to target the real issue. I'm not going to give your worries a credibility they don't deserve because you won't get better that way.

Who even said anything remotely judgemental?

As I said before, it's your life. Take a good long look at it, because you're the one in the driving seat. It's up to you whether you want to start moving forward or stay trapped in the cycle that dates back to at least 2009. That's not harsh. It's just the way it is. NMP won't cure you, nor can it diagnose you. You've got to get a hold of this. It can be done, and many have done it.

[Gary A]

Ok a few harsh replies. I am on fluoxetine and have been for 3 years and have done cbt over the years which obviously haven't helped. I thought this was a caring forum and nobody judged anyone. Obviously I was wrong.

If nobody cared, you wouldn't get any replies at all.

Also, you said you weren't doing anything to tackle your anxiety, yet in this post I've quoted you say you're on SSRI medication and have also attended therapy. :unsure:

[zippy]

Yes I have been on fluoxetine for 3 years and it was helping until a couple of month ago when I started with the back/front pain after I had food poisoning. Sorry if I took your replies the wrong way.