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Dave S
04-08-05, 09:55
Hi, I haven't posted here for ages..I thought I'd conquered this thing a few months ago with relaxation, tai chi, st jonns wort and this site, but although my anxiety levels fell my chest pains continued. I have been stressed about uni etc, but now I'm off for 8 wks and can totally relax. Trouble is, I haven't. Instead I have developed calf pain..feels like they'll burst and fore arm pain..dreadful aches..sometimes I get pains in buttocks and feet too. I wake at 3 or 4am with these pains at their worst and feel totally depressed. Of course my first reaction is cancer! I have been to a rheumatologist and await blood tests..in the meantime, the pain continues, the anxiety rises and I feel this must surely be something bad. Has anyone else ever suffered with chronic pain for as long as I?

Dave S

fran1888
04-08-05, 11:09
Hi Dave, Yep ive have had the very same pains as you have decribed for over three years.Ive been for MRI.I go to phsysiotherapy and nothing stops it. Ive try warm baths gels you name it ive try it.At the end of the day i just live with it now. Ive got chest pain arm pain leg pain etc etc.And this is every day.My GP says its because my body it up tight all the time.Wish i had something good to tell you but im afraid ive not. I also have a tenns machine witch takes the back pain away but nothing much more works sorry dave..

Frances Gill
Love & Respect to you all...

vernon
04-08-05, 11:12
Hi Dave, I am the same My anxiety seems to be much better the past few months but I still seem to get lots of physical pains cols like symptoms and still feel so ill in the mornings which takes ages to pass. So I think even though some anxiety symptoms seem to pass its still with us in a different form? Take care. Vernon

Piglet
04-08-05, 11:20
Hi Dave

I'm like Vern - seem to have lots of niggly aches and pains, I have found my yoga does help with a lot of it as I think much of it is tense muscles with me.

Love Piglet

"Supposing a tree fell down, Pooh, when we were underneath it?" said Piglet.
"Supposing it didn't," said Pooh after careful thought.

Meg
04-08-05, 12:27
Dave ,

Mostly large muscles sets then .. What exercise do you do ?


Meg
www.anxietymanagementltd.com

Your anxiety is the human representation of the pictures that you paint using your many vivid colours of revolving and reoccurring thoughts.
How big is your gallery ?

seh1980
04-08-05, 13:13
I get these pains as well especially in my legs - stretches do help :D

"Life is too important to take seriously" Corky Siegal

Dave S
04-08-05, 13:36
Meg, I used to be a keen cyclist, but the chest pain came on after I cycled uphill in the cold last March and hadn’t been cycling for a while. After that it got worse and I was convinced it was my heart . It took 6mths of numerous tests to rule that out, but by then the anxiety seed of not knowing had been planted. I suffered horrendous PA’s and free floating anxiety all the time and tried to look normal to everyone at uni. After Xmas I watched my food, my thoughts, took tai chi, SJW, lots of valerian, and walked 2 miles every evening to burn the tension off. By March I had 10 clear days of no anxiety, but the chest pains persisted and my prostatitis came back. More stress at uni and worrying about health aggravated it I guess, but I managed to cope without PA’s returning. I finished uni 3wks ago and have passed everything for my 2nd yr, so I should be able to relax now and be symptom free. However, these new symptoms have emerged, I feel depressed, morbid thoughts etc. GP has given me amitriptylene 10mg for pain as I awake 3am with awful aches. Fran, I think a lot of my prob is my uptight muscles too, but it feels like my bones sometimes and that worries me. Thanks Piglet for your little bit at the end, it made me think…and laugh. Thank you all for listening, this site has been like a good friend for over a year now..I’ll try to be more positive, but when it aches, it’s hard to not ask”WHY?”

Dave S

seh1980
04-08-05, 14:24
hi again Dave,

Unfortunately lots of aches and pains come hand in hand with anxiety. It does always make us worry that something more serious is wrong but it's just the anxiety getting the better of us. You seem to be doing all the right things so hopefully your anxiety levels will start to decrease soon..

Sarah :D

"Life is too important to take seriously" Corky Siegal

sal
04-08-05, 19:12
Hi Dave

As Sarah says you seem to be doing everything to help so hopefully it will get better for you soon.

Love Sal xx


Dont mess up the best things in your life, just because at present you are unsure who you are.


"Life is a distance and to travel that distance you were given the strength and guidance to do so".

Dave S
04-08-05, 22:09
Thanks everyone, I've just rec'd my rheumatology results and they're normal! Soon after my nerves went haywire, paining allover, spasms and weird scary feelings...what's that about...I should be relieved...had to take a valium (never need that normally...had an emergency supply left from last yr thankfully) I lay on the bed and slept for 2hrs...I've just woke up 30mins since and guess what...no pains or anything...the body reacts in weird ways doesn't it! Here's hoping I sleep ok tonight...thanks a lot people...you really do help...Often I hear people, myself included, dismayed at all the greed , violence, bad language and lack of manners and respect in this world. People like you make me smile again.

Dave S

sal
04-08-05, 22:22
Hi Dave so pleased to hear you have had a few hours sleep. Dont feel let down that you used your diazepam as you have benefitted from it in the time you needed it regardless of the time since you last took it.

Hope you sleep well tonight and dont be dismayed when we feel at our lowest someone pointing out the worst that people suffer sometimes isnt enough to give us the grasp that we need, but we eventually do see it.

Love Sal xx


Dont mess up the best things in your life, just because at present you are unsure who you are.


"Life is a distance and to travel that distance you were given the strength and guidance to do so".

Meg
04-08-05, 23:09
Dave ,

Valium is a brilliant all over muscle relaxant so no wonder you woke up with no pains..

Congratulations on passing your 2nd year !! Thats great

Now - I strongly suggest you get back to a 'looking after yourself' schedule whilst you're off uni , which includes geting back on that bike and building up to riding again.

It will exercise those big muscles that are crying out to be used.

It is very common for all of these to tense up including the intercostal muscles in your chest which is what you'll be feeling - not your heart. Your heart doesn't have tensing up sort of muscle in it - its smooth and not striated muscle and a heart attack comes not from muscle pain but from narrow vessels not allowing enough blood through. When we're anxious we produce more adrenaline which widens these vessels anyway so its virtually impossible to have heart attack whilst very anxious.

Your new sysmtoms have probably emerged as you haven't anything else vital to focus in apart from yourself and how you are so you're dwelling on it which leads to a worsening of the symptoms leading to more thoughts and so it goes on ..






Meg
www.anxietymanagementltd.com

Your anxiety is the human representation of the pictures that you paint using your many vivid colours of revolving and reoccurring thoughts.
How big is your gallery ?

Dave S
05-08-05, 11:05
Thanks Sal and Meg, I started the amitriptyline last night and slept well. I woke 8.30 with forearm pain which depressed me and my first thoughts were that it must be bone cancer, I know it unlikely, but as you said Meg my mind is honed in on nothing but my health at the mo, so I will have to try and change my thoughts and keep positive..there's got to be another explanation right? Last year my chest pains were even worse that now and it felt deep, sometimes muscular, sometimes like the bone, but the fact that it doesn't hurt that bad today should tell me that it isn't serious, otherwise it would have been unremitting and got worse I guess...Thanks girls, it's really appreciated to have someone to reflect with.

Dave S

Meg
05-08-05, 14:18
Dave ,

Bordom fuels anxiety. What have you planned for the next few weeks ?

There is no way a one off forearm pain is bone cancer but it does effectively demonstrate how automatic and extreme your immediate thought patterns are getting.
You didn't even consider the more likely issues first because your mind is making a habit of immediately jumping to the worst case scenario and dwelling and focusing on that even though rationally you know its unlikely.

You may want to do a bit of reading ' What to say when you talk to yourself ' Shad Helmsletter is a quick read that may help but it may really be worth you doing a good journalling/ self therapy holiday and trying to really address these wayward thought patterns.

Meg
www.anxietymanagementltd.com

Your anxiety is the human representation of the pictures that you paint using your many vivid colours of revolving and reoccurring thoughts.
How big is your gallery ?

Piglet
05-08-05, 20:24
[
It is very common for all of these to tense up including the intercostal muscles in your chest which is what you'll be feeling - not your heart. Your heart doesn't have tensing up sort of muscle in it - its smooth and not striated muscle and a heart attack comes not from muscle pain but from narrow vessels not allowing enough blood through. When we're anxious we produce more adrenaline which widens these vessels anyway so its virtually impossible to have heart attack whilst very anxious.
Meg
<div align="right">Originally posted by Meg - 04 August 2005 : 23:09:35</div id="right">
[/quote]


Wow Meg - thats a really comforting little snippet.

Will be remembering that one.

Love Piglet:D

Dave S
07-08-05, 20:55
Hi, thanks yet again, you do talk sense! However, I have just come back from a weekend away in the country with my family, relaxing walks, reading a nice book, good food etc...but all the time the aches persisted and I had to put a hot water bottle on my calf Saturday night to ease the pain...Can't be normal this..I'm going to go back to the docs to ask for explanation of what those blood tests actually tested and to see what else it could be. At the mo the symptoms are alternating pains in calves, forearms, back, fingers, back of hands and bum bones(heads of femurs)..and feeling unduely fatigued from time to time...Meg I was going to build a summer house (love working with wood), but I cut the hedges and cleared the garage last week and that's when these pains got even worse! So no plans to do anything but try and relax...we are going on hols to Menorca in 3wks, but I'm worried my health will spoil it for everyone...I'll see what the GP says...thanks again, for listening

Dave S

Sam123
08-05-15, 21:07
Hi Dave,

Have you had or considered CBT for your anxiety and panic attacks?