Help me

[Jonathand]

Hi all. Just joined this group. I'm worried sick (literally)*

I was diagnosed over the phone with severe anxiety by the self referral system my doctor advised me to contact.*
*
Basically I fear dying tremendously. That's my biggest fear. I have two children who are primary school age and I'm scared to death I'm going to die and leave them without me. I love them more than this world. I keep getting these weird symptoms and I'm convinced I have cancer and I'm dying. And all day everyday I find myself worrying about it. I have been to my doctor again due to symptoms that are including....

Foggy / weird feeling in my head. (If I shake my head it feels like my eyes can't catch up with what I'm seeing straight away)

Feel weak / fatigued.*

Diarrhoea*

Random short aches and pains in extremities

Weird feeling in my arms and legs. (Feels like they go numb easy and get tired easy)*

Feel like I have a lump in my throat (I have phlegm just sitting in my throat in and around my Adams apple area.*

And I think I've just had a panic attack so I was nearly sick in the car home. And now all of a sudden I don't feel sick.*

This is driving me crazy. I had a load of blood tests last week and my doctor said she was testing my "tiredness range" which from my memory included. Thyroid, sugar levels. Vitamins etc. I got the results back and I was told I'm fine. However I feel like there's something *seriously wrong *with me. My neck aches. I've had juvenile rhumetoid arthritis as a teenager and only really got shot of that in my early twenties. I am now 30. I feel my memory is terrible. And generally I'm in good health. I have consumed a large amount of energy drinks over the last 5 years. And I have managed to kick the habit of those. I drink decaf tea and have even switched to drinking those super fruit tea bags that provided you with B6 vitamins etc and taking multi vitamin tablets. At first this seemed to clear the foggy head feeling however I'm not so sure as it has come back and I'm still drinking it. My mum died two and a half years ago and it broke me.*

its been tree weeks or so since an energy drink. However I do still have a higher portion of sugary stuff each day than I'd like to. Every time I feel a bit groggy I seem to think a chocolate bar or a can of coke will perk me up. Doesn't really feel like it does though.*

I really need help. I'm petrified*

Sincerely Jon.*

[Buster70]

Hi sorry you are feeling this way , what you have described is what most of us have gone through or are going through , it is truly terrifying not knowing what's happening to you and it does feel like you are losing your mind , there are a lot of options to help meds help some Talking therapy an help others , have a read through here and you will see you are not alone in the way you feel , it will get better but it does take time .
Take care .

[Jonathand]

Thanks for the reply. Everywhere I turn I feel like I'm dying. I fully expect to die in my sleep so I go to bed each night thinking it's my last.

The self referral the doctor advised me of said they aren't going to medicate me. But I feel I need something to calm me down. And I don't know what medications even exist for this. It's just so full on

[Chick100]

Hi Jonathand.

What you are feeling are classic anxiety symptoms, and believe me you are not alone or dying. Its horrible I know but with help and efort you will get through this, we all do.

I don´t understand the self referral you mention, does that mean you have only spoken to someone on the phone and not seen your GP? You need your GP´s support just now and also all he or she can drum up in the way of mental health support. By the sound of it some medication wouldn´t go amiss either.

Please try and get hold of this book. Self help for your nerves, by Dr Claire Weekes. She explains all the weird sensations, and thoughts we go through when suffering with anxiety, and ways to overcome them.

Keep in touch and using the site, it will help you too.

Sending a big hug your way, and hope you feel better soon. :hugs:

[Jonathand]

Thanks Chick. Every slight thing I feel in my body is immediately think tumour or something disasterous. I've had this foggy drowsie head constantly for the last 3/4 days. I wake up with it. Feels like I'm tipsy. It's doing me in.

I spoke to my GP about my issues. And she said there is a self referral service for anxiety. You call them and they set up a phone interview and I've had a few hour long phone calls and they diagnosed me with severe anxiety. And after that they had issues with their staff and had to cancel 3 phone appointments to and my confidence with them fizzled out and now I'm back to square one with no one to talk to.

[AngeAgain]

Everything you have described here sounds like classic anxiety symptoms. Anxiety is so powerful it can make you believe and feel all kinds of things. It can trigger the very real stress response in your body. But the thing to hold in your mind above all else is that these are just thoughts. Get control over them and you exit the stress response and as a result, the horrible symptoms start to ease off.

Now, this is all easier said than done. I am still very early in my treatment and still learning.

The solution to all of this is to get all of the help available. Join local anxiety groups, talk to the Samaritans when you feel you need help, call Mind who run workshops and meet ups. Join MeetUp.com and find local anxiety groups. You'd be amazed at how many people feel this way. You are not alone and it's important to understand that, which is done by speaking to others about these seemingly odd things we feel and think.

I found a really useful website on this forum called CBT4Panic. It's really helpful in explaining panic and how to get control and all videos and workbooks are free. There is a section where the therapist who runs it publishes email convo's he's had with his patients that I found particularly helpful. It made me feel much less alone knowing how other's feel.

I hope you start to feel better soon!

[Jonathand]

Thank you for your reply I know it's along and slow process to managing this

Does anyone else feel like they are dizzy for days at a time ? I can't stop looking up symptoms and feeling sick from what I find. I can't stop it !!

[WeaselWoo]

I have the thoughts that I am dying everyday and suffer with dizzy feelings. I find that googling every symptom makes things worse because you then think you have all illnesses you could have.

[Jonathand]

How do you stop it weasel. I literally just noticed my hands are blotchy. And here I am googling blotchy hands and possible liver failure. I then add the symptoms together and then I get something else. And I worry that I forgot to tell the doctor a particular symptom and wonder if that symptom was critical in diagnosing something else. I know my liver was tested and is fine. My head is playing me

[WeaselWoo]

You must try and stop googling the symptoms. You have to say to yourself STOP. When you feel any kind of anxiety creep in you need to stop the vicious circle from revolving and tell yourself that you have felt like this before and nothing has happened so the chances of it happening now are unlikely.

Keep strong and always try and think positively and brush negativity away, I know this is easier said than done but you have got to try and train your mind.

[AngeAgain]

Telling yourself you are powerless to stop googling your symptoms is not helpful. Instead, just make an appointment with your doctor and address the issue you are worried about. Make several if you need to, and assign each one to a different issue. That way, you are relieving your mind of the problem by taking action.

The truth is, there are a million and one reasons someone could have blotchy hands, and the vast majority of them are harmless and more likely than severe health issues.

For issues that you've already spoken to the doctor and had confirmation on, then I'd suggest learning to separate yourself from your worrysome thoughts. It's difficult at first, but when you realise that those health worries are just thoughts - they're not actually you, and they're not based in fact, but rather fear - then you'll start being able to watch the thoughts go by.

Also, you have a choice to not google. Tell yourself you wont. You don't need to. In fact, googling makes you feel worse! Maybe try writing instead. Next time you want to google your symptoms, write them down along with your worries. Write whatever comes in to your mind, even if it's just a series of swear words :D Just empty your mind instead of filling it with more worry.

My anxiety is a different theme to yours, but the same rules apply. We all catastrophise and end up making ourselves worse with our thoughts. Dizziness is a common anxiety symptom and your anxiety is being triggered by over-analysing, so choose not to. You are not seriously physically ill, but rather you are stuck in a cycle of negative reinforcement.

Like I say, I'm still learning but this line of thinking seems to be working for me :) I still have so far to go with my own anxiety too, but I believe all of us are capable of fixing ourselves with help from each other and support networks.

[Fishmanpa]

I can't stop looking up symptoms and feeling sick from what I find. I can't stop it !!

Some food for thought....

"If you think you can do a thing or think you can't do a thing, you're right."

Henry Ford

Positive thoughts