Feeling of impending death?

[patroclus]

Feeling of impending death?

23f. sorry in advance that this is so long.
hi i’ve posted here a couple times already about some presyncope i had from smoking tobacco. i went to the dr both times it happened and they both suggested it was pre-syncope, i told them i was worried about a stroke or brain tumor, and they did an in office neurological exam and said i was fine and that those were unlikely.

i did get referred to a cardiologist, however and am currently undergoing further testing there which has caused a lot of anxiety. i’m going in for a stress echo on thursday for a short PR interval on my ECG and the dr is looking for mitral insufficiency. i’ve been really anxious about all of this and am expecting the worst.

another thing is that even after i get through all this cardiology testing, i’m still anxious that i need to see a neurologist. i’m worried that these werent fainting episodes as i never had any darkening or tunneling of my vision, and was conscious the entire time, just on the floor and unable to move. i also had some slurred speech which really scared me. i’m worried that i had seizures instead of pre-fainting episodes and that i need to go see a neurologist for something potentially life threatening.

all this has been really hard on me and i have had to miss work, am having difficulty eating and even getting out of bed because i’m so anxious all the time. i recently started experiencing dizziness which has only scared me more and solidified the thought that something is really wrong. i was recently put on BusPar for anxiety but it hasn’t been working, so i’m stopping, but i’m wondering if the dizziness was maybe a delayed side effect of that? idk things are making less and less sense to me everyday.

if anyone has any advice as to what i should do, i’d really appreciate it. i’ve been heavily considering going inpatient for this increase in my OCD and am wondering if that would be a wise next step. it’s like i can’t stop thinking about all the things that could be wrong and its making me unable to think about the future because i just feel like i won’t make it there. thank you if you’ve read all of this, i really just need to air it out because i’ve been driving myself crazy with it in my head.

[Fishmanpa]

Let's put it this way... if scientific medical testing rules out a physical issue, the next step is obvious.

FMP

[WorryRaptor]

I'm sorry to hear you're going through this. It's such a struggle when you have real symptoms with no concrete answer.

The good thing is that your doctor doesn't feel that your symptoms are indicative of the scary things you fear.

Is there anything specific you're doing when you have these episodes? I used to pass out when I got out of a bath or shower. I'd feel really bad, and the next thing wake up on the floor, unable to move for a few seconds. My GP thought it was a quick drop in blood pressure or POTS (postural orthostatic intolerance) which can happen with some people. I'm sure your cardiologist will be taking good care of you. They seem to be doing all the gold standard tests, so that should bring you some reassurance. An overwhelming majority of findings are usually benign too, or nothing to worry about, so try not to worry too much if they decide investigate something specific. They always do that, because they're always super careful even if they're 99.9% sure its nothing. It's almost always nothing concerning.

Dizziness goes hand in hand with anxiety and stress. You're probably really wound up about everything, understandably, and your body is reacting to that stress. Tight neck muscles from anxiety can easily cause weird sensations like dizziness and sensations of being off balance. If you're not eating properly, that's a big culprit for dizziness too!

You should definitely follow up about your OCD. Having a plan in place to deal with all of these anxieties will help while everything gets looked into.

It will be ok :)