SillyJilly
12-08-08, 21:00
Hi. I've been suffering from unknown physical symptoms since I was 14 and I am now 32 years old. I have had heart palpatations, dizziness, shortness of breath, weakness in arms, numbness in arms, feet, face, nausea, etc, etc....I have an excessive fear of illness and dying along with other emotional problems. Usually, by the time I force myself to go to the doctor, I am so upset about the symptoms that are occuring, I end up crying in the room, telling the doctor I fear I have some sort of terminal illness. My most recent "episodes" consist of a strange clicking when I swallowed, my throat felt very clunky, and I immediately convinced myself I had throat cancer. The doctor did an xray and throat culture, finding nothing wrong. I ended up walking out of there with a prescription to help with anxiety, and a referral to a pshyc... What I am dealing with now, for the past month started with shortness of breath, and bloating sensation. This progressed into a tightness under my left breast, almost like my lung/heart were collapsing, and extreme tightness/discomfort in my upper back. Next I awoke with uncontrolable shaking, and hot rushes down my arms, palpations, etc. My boyfriend finally confronted me and said I wasn't myself...I usually become very quiet, and hold my fears inside, not wanting to bother others with my obsessive thoughts. The next day, he forwarded me the link to this site. After reading through, some of my symptoms subsited within a few days. I thought I'd post a thread and see what type of feedback I get. I have had a couple of EKG's in my life, and and ultrasound when I was 15, which showed everything was normal. I have never been able to convince myself there is nothing wrong. Every pain, or unusual feeling within my body results in my fear that I have a heart condition, or cancer. I'd also like to hear feedback from individuals who have or are using alcohol to drown out the feelings. I have just recently admitted I have a problem with alcohol abuse (1-3 drinks almost every day, for the past couple years, and believe this is causing my anxiety symptoms to triple. I apologize for the long message, the next ones will be much shorter! Thought I'd just give everyone my history, and see where it leads to.
Jill
Jill