No Escape

[Callisto]

Well this is my first post here and I guess I just need some help.

I'm 20, at university and I've always been a bit anxious about health stuff, and I started getting migraines at eleven with accompanied numb patches and visual aura which scared me a little bit, but I went to neurologist a few years ago and he okayed everything.

Recently though, in the last few months, I've started to obssess over having something wrong with me, like it was an absolute conviction in my mind that there was something wrong with my brain. I started to get tingling in my face and hands, dizziness, strange headaches, my concentration has gone out the window, I drop things more easily, my forhead feels strange sometimes as though I'm hyper aware of it, same with my throat. My appetite is gone. For a while I couldn't sleep though thankfully that is over now. I feel agitated and sad and removed from everything, like I'm going out of my mind. This weekend however my vision suddenly when strange, like blurry and far away and hasn't gone back to normal yet

I suppose it's probably just anxiety? but it's winding me up and affecting my life, and I really want it to stop. I have a thyroid disease and recently had the full collection of blood tests which revealled nothing wrong except a slightly elevated white blood cell count from a bad cold I had when I had the blood test. I had an eye test a month ago and everything was fine. I went to the docotrs today and she's referred me to a councelling service. I am still convinced there is something more wrong with me and I can't shake that feeling.

I don't know how long it will take to get councelling, maybe a few months but I feel I really need to discuss this sooner rather than later.

Can anyone help?

[Trixie]

My friend suffers from really debilitating migraines, she has had had lots of treatments and so far nothing has worked. She has now been advised to take feverfew and seemingly by what I have read it is very good.

Can you not go to relaxation classes? Perhaps take up Yoga that is suppose to be very good.

You mention that you are in uni' well that is stressful in itself are you a member of any groups?

[Callisto]

I've heard about feverfew, but have never tried it. Thinking that maybe I should if my migraines come back, thanks for the advice. Yoga also sounds good, I know I need something to help.

Right now, though, they're not a problem. It's more about my vision, which has been strange since the weekend, like I can't focus properly on things or I have a blind spot without it actually being a defined blind spot like I'd get with a migraine. Things at the edge of my vision seem more obvious as well. I'm constantly obssessing over how I see things and it's driving me mad, I'm scared all the time at the moment that is means something is really wrong with me and I don't know how to escape it.

My doctor offerred to put me on anti-depressents yesterday but I'd rather not for the moment.

[colleen224]

Callisto,

In many ways, your post is so similar to what I have been going through recently. I was diagnosed with shingles about two months ago and was under extreme stress for about six weeks, until the symptoms seemed to go away, but then I started getting jolts of pain in my head. I was so convinced that a week ago I had a brain tumor that I went to the emergency room and got a CT scan, which came back negative. I

Ironically, the jolts went away, but now I have a painful area near the top of my right ear that produces such bad pain. I feel like my the whole right side of my brain feels off with pressure around my right eye. I also have been getting bouts of numbness in my right arm. I am so panicked and stressed out about it that I am going for an MRI tomorrow morning. Of course I am scared about that too, but I know that if I don't get it I will never have peace of mind. I keep having panic attacks about my symptoms.

Anyway, I just wanted to share my story and let you know that you are definitely not alone with your struggles. Believe me, I know it can be extremely hard sometimes, especially when the panic is so strong, but try to hang in there. Take care!

Colleen

[Callisto]

Thank you Colleen, that does help a lot. It's good to know that I'm not alone in this though I wouldn't wish this kind of feeling on anyone. It's like I'll be fine for a few hours when I'm occupied with something but suddenly I'll start feeling a bit strange and then start to panic and that will make me more aware of the strange sensation, whatever it may be, and I'll work myself up into a state trying to work out what it means. The logical part of my brain says it's probably just anxiety, but the rest of me is listing every possible thing it could be and I obviously have at least one of them.

It gets very old and I'm fed up.