Hi I'm new! Tingling sensations

[Jeanine25]

Hi everyone,
I'm Jeanine, I'm 25 and from the Midlands UK.
I have suffered with Health anxiety quite severely since I was about 13/14.
I have 2 children, 1 of 3 and another 7 weeks.
I have recently started experiencing tingling sensations in my left hand side.
It started as a weird feeling in my face and then it went to my hands and before I even had chance to think about it, it felt as though it was all over.

I've never been given medication for my anxiety as I refused & I also have never had any kind of councilling for the same reason as the medication.
Being a young mum I am terrified to admit I have a major problem going on, this is partly because I'm afraid of being looked upon as insane and not capable of being a mother to my children, so I ignore my problems and continue to worry all the more- the problem is I have now started developping scary symptoms.
Tingling sensations is by far the worst so far as It convinces me Im having either a stoke, heart attack or I have a brain tumor; the latest being I feel I have MS.
I have been to the drs with every form of cancer there is and during my pregnancy I was absolutely convinced i'd either die during childbirth or my baby would never be born.
These fears stil continue, today I have convinced myself I have a brain tumour because of the tingling and I think I have started to develop panick attacks.

A couple days ago I went all funny- it all started when I began getting upset because my eldest son wouldnt eat; I then started imagining what would happen if he continue to not eat and this is when I think a panick attak occurred.
I felt my heart racing, my chest tightening, I went all light headed and I got palpitations- I quickly had to lie down where I convinced myself I was going to die of a heart attack.
After this episode passed I looked online for heart attak symptoms and what do ya know, the "episode" came on again so I laid down and it went away- then I looked up panic attacks and got a 3rd episode, so I stopped lookin online.

I am so scared to go to the DRs incase they start testing me for things and find I have something seriously wrong with me
I have just changed drs so the new one wont know a thing about me and possibly assume I am crazy or something- my previous dr i had for 25 years was very supportive but I did not tell him about my tingling as it only occuured recently.
Im so worried im having a stroke or something, or i have ms or a tumor.

I cant sleep at night sometimes as I fear i'll not wake up.
My anxiety stems back from several losses due to cancer and my brother comitted suicide when i was 8 :(

Please give me some advice guys Im really worried.
Sorry to have rambled on. xxxx

ps: sorry for typos...

[JFlower]

I'm sorry you're dealing with this but I do understand. I've suffered from anxiety for around 6 years and part of that has been health anxiety.

Tingling can be perfectly normal with anxiety. I have it and got it to the point I ended up going to A&E and having and ECG and blood work up because I was convinced it was a heart attack. And yes, the fears of 'what if they find something' happen with me but I just have to try and think positively that it is anxiety.

If you don't want to go to your doctor could you speak with your health visitor? After my daughter was born mine helped a lot as I had stopped my medication during the pregnancy and my anxiety was (obviously) increased by having a new baby. I did get counselling which was some help - having someone to talk to face-to-face can be a relief, even if it's just for a short while.

Anxiety doesn't mean you're not capable of being a mother and doctors/health professionals know this. Although it's not always understood the stigma I attached to my mental health issues certainly weren't shared by my doctors (even my present doctor who doesn't care!). The new doctor will get your medical records so if there's been any kind of anxiety disorder diagnosis they will understand - if not you can just explain to him that you suffer from health anxiety.

I don't think this is really any help but just wanted to say that I do understand these fears (and on a 'bad' day could have written most of them down myself)

[MoonlightFire]

I too have had health anxiety since i was around 13/14 (I am 29 now). It really came to a head when I was being bullied at secondary school and I've had problems with anxiety on and off ever since.

I have had wierd pins and needles/tingling sensations on and off for a while. I remember when I was 13 I was getting pins and needles and weakness in my legs and feet...I was going through a fear of brain tumours at the time so looking back on it I would put the sensations down to anxiety. Over the last few years I've had tingling in my hands and feet and it does seem to be worse when I'm either going through an anxious patch or when I'm having my period. Lastnight I woke up in the middle of the night and the whole back of my head was numb! I moved over and it started to tingle then went back to normal! There's a section on tingling in the symptoms section of this website (you can find it in the left hand menu)...there's a very helpful explanation there which should reassure you :) I have also spoken to my Doctor about the tingles in the past and she didnt seem concerned...she said it's just one of those things!

I can relate to what you said about not wanting to fall asleep. I have been through that too and it's horrible. Try and rationalise your way out of that one...it's SO unlikely that anything will happen to you and you need sleep to stay healthy. I've had lots of sleep problems recently and I have found that if I have some quiet time to myself before I go to sleep really helps. I now get myself a herbal tea (or other non-caffeine tea) and read my book in bed until I'm ready to sleep...however long it takes. One of the anxiety helplines told me to cut out watching TV right before bed...that has helped. If you're having problems getting off to sleep I would recommend trying some of those things.

Moonlight Xx

[chai]

i had tingling all day today.. and yes those horrible ms worries came back. i totally understand how you are feeling.
i also suffer attacks - exactly how you described it.
nobody is going to think you are incapable of being a good mother to your children- the opposite. going for help shows strength and it shows you won't take this lying down.
good luck
xxx

[Hazel B]

Your mind is overloaded with grief and worry and is playing tricks on you with thoughts. I know as I have the same and am battling against it. There many physical manifestations of anxiety, mine is a racing pulse, other people have different things. Try to see your doctor and tell them what you have told us, they do tests to show you are healthy, not to find anything scary. Having reassurance from a professional may help allay your fears.
It is not weak or shameful to ask for help, only the doctor has to know, it is a brave thing to do rather than struggle on your own. There is a double standard that if you have a broken leg you get sympathy but if your mind is wobbly you should feel a stigma. This is crap, don't believe it, please ask for help there is plenty out there and lots of support here.
Take care.