Feeling ill all the time...

[punkprincess19]

Hi, I'm 22 and I feel ill all the time! I can't work because of it and I don't know how to stop feeling this way! The doctor says it's just anxiety but I can't help thinking there is something seriously wrong as I feel ill all day, every day! I feel weak, dizzy, have hot flushes, my stomach doesn't feel right, have trouble breathing, tight chest, pains in heart and more... I have a boyfriend who I love to pieces and I'm worried he's getting fed up with me being ill all the time! I just want to be normal and be able to work and go out again!
Anyone else feel this way? And how do I get better?

[sjr1969]

yes ive had all of those symptoms. try and have faith in your doctor, i know its hard. hope you feel better soon. and dont worry about your boyfriend, if he loves you he will stand by you x

sarah x

[Anxious_gal]

yeah most of feel that way, aches and pains, headache, nausea, dizziness, weakness, feeling really tired.
anxiety can cause physical symptoms, once you get the anxiety under control the symptoms will lessen.
you need therapy or a very good book on anxiety, positive thinking, maybe antidepressants. most of all you need to get out more,
even though it's hard , getting out more, having fun, doing things you enjoy will really help. even a walk to the shop every day will help in the long run.

[punkprincess19]

I tried therapy n anti depressants but neither have worked so far! I try to get out as much as possible but it doesn't seem to help! I haven't been able to work for 7 months now and I'm worried we'll lose the house because of it! just want to be normal! feel so frustrated! :(

[Anxious_gal]

were you always an anxious person or did something happen to set it off?

[punkprincess19]

was never anxious and not a clue what set it off, was in work one day and suddenly started feelin dizzy and then every day since then I've been feelin ill :(

[razzledazzle]

Oh man i know exactly how you are feeling and it is a living nightmare! i have had constant light headedness, dizziness, foggy head, feeling like the world around me is a dream for around seven years! oddly it was around the age of 22 when it started just like you. im always very tired and unfit because i am not very active due to feeling ill all day every day. I have had any and every test you can think of, brain scan, eyes, balance, ears, heart, x-rays etc and they found nothing! i think your problem is the same as me.. psychological. the thing is we sit and monitor ourselves all the time and because we do this we think of nothing else.. only how ill and dizzy we feel. people say just get on with stuff and don't think about it but it is so hard when you feel constantly dizzy!

[Ella_Jayne]

I know exactly how you feel. Some days I feel ill, Dizzy, off balance, just 'not right'. I do know from experience that if you get out more and do things that you like then I guarentee you will feel so much better. I got to a point where I felt so dizzy and lightheaded that I didn't want to go out, and then when I did I felt terrible for the first few times but after that the symptoms eased off. You need to accept and believe that it is just anxiety causing these horrible symptoms, if you don't then you will always have the dizzy and ill feelings. A lot bloody easier said than done, I'm still getting there myself but I know it's the way to beat it, acceptance.

[jessicalittler79]

hey hunny i feel the same way as you been to doc thay say anx all the time i cant no belive this is anx .....but hun anx is a powerfully thing hun iam learning to deal with it also belive me hun its hard...if u ever need to talk hun just pm me ...tc

[Anxious_gal]

if you have the blood tests and that thyroid test to rule any physical cause then is probablly is just plain anxiety.

I have always had anxiety my whole life. when i was 11 I would start feeling dizzy and that would scare me. some time you do get the physical sensations first and then the anxiety, so it can be hard to come to terms with the fact that there is nothing physically wrong with you.

things like low self esteem, stressful events, divorce, being under too much pressure, these can all trigger your anxiety.

[blueangel]

Interestingly, I had a very bad spell of HA around the age of 21-22 as well, but mine was triggered by my mother having a brain haemorrhage and nearly dying. She was only 57 at the time, but she'd smoked really heavily for years, which was a major factor.

There were a few things which got me out of it eventually, although I think it took about 6 months, which was most of my second year at college (God knows how I ever got my degree).

One was getting some sleep (I'd not slept for weeks) and my GP at the time prescribed me something which just completely knocked me out for about a week.

The other was the realisation that age was on my side. Although you hear horror stories about young people dying of dreadful illnesses, they're actually really rare -one in many, many thousands. Do the stats; they're strangely comforting.

Now I have a new problem to deal with, as the older you get, the stats start to work against you - and I'm not sure how to deal with that one, which has stated off HA for me again with a vengeance.

[punkprincess19]

thank you all for your messages, I don't feel so alone now! I've just been out and bought one of the Claire Weekes books so going to get reading that, see if that helps any! I'm suffering bad today with pains in my chest :( hope it goes away soon, it's making me panic!
Just out of curiosity, do any of you work from home or what jobs do you do? I really need to get working again as I have no money :(

[razzledazzle]

unfortunately i feel so ill and got quite depressed about being ill all the time so i was signed onto sickness benefits for a long time. the 24/7 dizziness prevents me doing very much. i also get quite bad chest pains but i recently had a chest x-ray, heart scan and blood taken and they found nothing pyhsically wrong with me! although i did recently find a large lump under my skin on my chest area with a few smaller ones around it, my GP said they are harmless fatty lumps but they obviously caused me panic! I think that is the problem half the time, we feel a pain in the chest and immediately think heart attack! lung cancer! we feel dizzy all the time and think brain tumour! we get tingles in the arms and fingers and we think stroke! it is a vicious cycle, the more we think about it and worry the worse we feel. i hope you manage to get a grip on it and feel better soon.