claireypoo
18-06-07, 17:15
Hi there guys :)
Popped in to say hi - haven't been to NMP for ages! Thought i'd talk about my old symptoms (which have now largely gone!) just in case anyone out there has them too.
I have suffered with health anx for 18 months but have been pretty much cured since I had a lot of therapy! (REBT/ CBT)
I got better in January but what i find now is I'm absolutely A-OK till I have a LOT of extra stress and then some of the physical symptoms come back -
I know what they are now so they don't bother me - but they are a bit annoying!!!
Here's what I found out about some of my symptoms - it's all in my muscles!!!
HeadAches were my main prob (used to terrify me and i was sure something was really wrong with me like meningitis, brain tumour or brain hem etc) - i still get the headaches every now and again - sometimes big throbbers, sometimes they are localised to small areas of painful tightness that occur anywhere on my scalp, sometimes it's a very brief scary intense stabbing pain, sometimes feelings of fullness/tightness in my cheeks, ear and jaw, sometimes a really sore scalp - hurt to touch - (pain killers didn't help much either really) and sometimes I had bizarre feelings of heat or cold on my scalp...and once on my finger tip - that was really weird! - a hot finger tip??????
After a while (and lots of therapy) I realised that these mains were muscular (anxiety adrenaline plays havok with muscles) - and it was helped by the therapy but also eating regularly, and watching my posture. Phone balanced on the shoulder with your head bent is a total NO NO - resting chin on hands while at desk - BIG NO NO (both can cause head/ facial pain) Sat at computer researching symptoms in a hunched up position...? Hmmmm... no wonder my pains got worse as I searched!!!
This is an interesting link shows you how muscle abuse can cause pain in the head and face.
http://www.round-earth.com/HeadPainIntro.html
Heart Pain, Palps and Missing Beats
I was convinced I had a bad heart - now i cough deeply when my heart skips that stops it in it's trax! I was like... Oh yes... I forgot the heart is a muscle!!!
I had terrible pain in my chest for ages - again it turns out it was chest wall muscle contractions caused by anx (sometimes indigestion - ow though!) Feeling tight in the chest like that (especially with the accompanying stabbing pain) IS scary - no wonder we think it's a heart attack! I couldn't even wear a bra sometimes it hurt that much and felt so tight!
Throat Tightness/Lumpy feeling and Hard to swallow
Oooh, that was horrid - kept thinking about oral/throat cancer! Turns out you have muscles in your throat too and they can tighten and hurt just like your scalp!!!
I realise now most of the pain I endured and mostly ignored (bloody hard isn't it?) was muscular and that set me off worrying about all manner of illnesses! I remember getting a tight spot of painful muscle on the back of my knee and I rang NHS direct cos I thought it was DVT (clot). This has happened all over my body since! Pinching pains I call them cos it really feels like being pinched!
So much runs through your head when you have all these symptoms and i really feel for anyone who has HA. It's absolutely horrible being that scared (I was in terror) all the time. I can really sympathise. Ok, we DO over react but some of the pains are really really scary!
CBT and REBT, Claire Weekes and Rescue remedy helped me no end but also actually looking after myself better, eating more veg and fruit, cutting down drinking wine did a lot of good i think too :)
Just stopping smoking to go now! I've set my date (30 June) and am reading Alan Carr's EasyWay to stop smoking (hope it helps!!!)
I did the Race for Life yesterday! 5 K - 30 mins -Woohoo! I was so proud cos last year I couldn't imagine ever running anywhere again in case I keeled over!
Hoping you all are having a good day today and not letting the crappy symptoms get you down too much!
All the best to you all
Claireypoo
Popped in to say hi - haven't been to NMP for ages! Thought i'd talk about my old symptoms (which have now largely gone!) just in case anyone out there has them too.
I have suffered with health anx for 18 months but have been pretty much cured since I had a lot of therapy! (REBT/ CBT)
I got better in January but what i find now is I'm absolutely A-OK till I have a LOT of extra stress and then some of the physical symptoms come back -
I know what they are now so they don't bother me - but they are a bit annoying!!!
Here's what I found out about some of my symptoms - it's all in my muscles!!!
HeadAches were my main prob (used to terrify me and i was sure something was really wrong with me like meningitis, brain tumour or brain hem etc) - i still get the headaches every now and again - sometimes big throbbers, sometimes they are localised to small areas of painful tightness that occur anywhere on my scalp, sometimes it's a very brief scary intense stabbing pain, sometimes feelings of fullness/tightness in my cheeks, ear and jaw, sometimes a really sore scalp - hurt to touch - (pain killers didn't help much either really) and sometimes I had bizarre feelings of heat or cold on my scalp...and once on my finger tip - that was really weird! - a hot finger tip??????
After a while (and lots of therapy) I realised that these mains were muscular (anxiety adrenaline plays havok with muscles) - and it was helped by the therapy but also eating regularly, and watching my posture. Phone balanced on the shoulder with your head bent is a total NO NO - resting chin on hands while at desk - BIG NO NO (both can cause head/ facial pain) Sat at computer researching symptoms in a hunched up position...? Hmmmm... no wonder my pains got worse as I searched!!!
This is an interesting link shows you how muscle abuse can cause pain in the head and face.
http://www.round-earth.com/HeadPainIntro.html
Heart Pain, Palps and Missing Beats
I was convinced I had a bad heart - now i cough deeply when my heart skips that stops it in it's trax! I was like... Oh yes... I forgot the heart is a muscle!!!
I had terrible pain in my chest for ages - again it turns out it was chest wall muscle contractions caused by anx (sometimes indigestion - ow though!) Feeling tight in the chest like that (especially with the accompanying stabbing pain) IS scary - no wonder we think it's a heart attack! I couldn't even wear a bra sometimes it hurt that much and felt so tight!
Throat Tightness/Lumpy feeling and Hard to swallow
Oooh, that was horrid - kept thinking about oral/throat cancer! Turns out you have muscles in your throat too and they can tighten and hurt just like your scalp!!!
I realise now most of the pain I endured and mostly ignored (bloody hard isn't it?) was muscular and that set me off worrying about all manner of illnesses! I remember getting a tight spot of painful muscle on the back of my knee and I rang NHS direct cos I thought it was DVT (clot). This has happened all over my body since! Pinching pains I call them cos it really feels like being pinched!
So much runs through your head when you have all these symptoms and i really feel for anyone who has HA. It's absolutely horrible being that scared (I was in terror) all the time. I can really sympathise. Ok, we DO over react but some of the pains are really really scary!
CBT and REBT, Claire Weekes and Rescue remedy helped me no end but also actually looking after myself better, eating more veg and fruit, cutting down drinking wine did a lot of good i think too :)
Just stopping smoking to go now! I've set my date (30 June) and am reading Alan Carr's EasyWay to stop smoking (hope it helps!!!)
I did the Race for Life yesterday! 5 K - 30 mins -Woohoo! I was so proud cos last year I couldn't imagine ever running anywhere again in case I keeled over!
Hoping you all are having a good day today and not letting the crappy symptoms get you down too much!
All the best to you all
Claireypoo