DR claims anxiety doesnt cause symptoms?

[Jeanine25]

After seeing the DR last fri (not the one just gone, the one before) i've become worried about why Im feeling a bit unwell.
I asked the DR if anxiety causes symptoms and I told him I get tingling in my hands etc and that I was convinced I was having a stroke...
He basically shrugged it off and said "it depends what symptoms- anxiety is not an illness" and dismissed my worries.

The way he was talking was that anxiety doesnt cause symptoms that you can actually feel, ie: tingling, numbness, etc etc...

should this be the case, why do I feel poorly? and why am I getting the same symptoms listed on this site yet my dr gives out the impression that anxiety cant do that to a person.

hes one of the "best" drs too... "up there" with the big-uns. So Im slightly concerned.

[daisycake]

I once asked mine if anxiety was an illness and she said: "It can be, for some people, but it's just an emotion, it's a kind of illness when it runs out of control" .. At the same time I've been to her loads of times with various symptoms - tingling, heartburn, heart flutters etc - and she has always said it is anxiety and not to worry. I think it can definitely cause symptoms, as far as I know your adreniline levels change which causes symtomps doesn't it? Please don't worry :) xx

[ladybird64]

Hi Jeanine

He may be one of the "best" but nobody knows everything :winks:

Maybe have a read of this link and afterwards maybe show it to your doctor!

http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/articles/healthanxiety

[Neen]

Hi there,

I totally agree as above. They bloody don't know everything. There are some really great GP's, surgeons, clinicians etc; However we are all human and we all make mistakes.

I'm sorry but when I was having full blown panic attacks and he would have said to me this isn't real. The shaking, palpitations, feeling hot then cold, can't breath etc (you all know the drill) I think I would have... Well I don't know what I would have done!!

It makes me so mad when certain medical professionals dismiss anxiety. I'm actually formally complaining about my surgery via the PCT. I saw two different ones from my usual one and was once called neurotic, go for a swim, it's all in your head and no you can't have an ultrasound. *******! Sorry for that.

All I'm trying to say is if you have never experienced these feelings we've all felt then I don't think they can say anything. Our symptoms are real to us and stress/tension a build up of adrenaline can do all sorts!!!

Kindest regards,

Neen xx

[Jeanine25]

Thanks, I'll have a read! I've been given a new GP, too- Im worried she'll either think I'm crazy or screen me for every illness going.

[Jeanine25]

Hi there,

I totally agree as above. They bloody don't know everything. There are some really great GP's, surgeons, clinicians etc; However we are all human and we all make mistakes.

I'm sorry but when I was having full blown panic attacks and he would have said to me this isn't real. The shaking, palpitations, feeling hot then cold, can't breath etc (you all know the drill) I think I would have... Well I don't know what I would have done!!

It makes me so mad when certain medical professionals dismiss anxiety. I'm actually formally complaining about my surgery via the PCT. I saw two different ones from my usual one and was once called neurotic, go for a swim, it's all in your head and no you can't have an ultrasound. *******! Sorry for that.

All I'm trying to say is if you have never experienced these feelings we've all felt then I don't think they can say anything. Our symptoms are real to us and stress/tension a build up of adrenaline can do all sorts!!!

Kindest regards,

Neen xxThanks for the reply Neen (Nice username by the way, People have called me that for years lol)

What angers me about drs I see is the fact they assume I have a mental health issue.
Its comments such as "You're suffering from a personality disorder" which I've heard several times now and "You have a mental health issue" that put people like me off getting help... :(

To me these fears and worries are real, I dont see why Im considered to have a mental health problem just because I worry all the time...

I cant win.. I'm either mental or imagining it.

[MrBlue]

Hi, My doctor has said to me that anxiety can stress out parts of the body and cause physical feelings, take IBS for example, a totally harmless condition but causes a lot of pain! With anxiety our nerves are basically out of our control which would, if you think about it, cause some strange sensations around our body!

hope this helped :)

[davey]

I personally think doctors dont take anxiety very seriously at all-they dont seem to understand the effect it has on our lives, i think anxiety can cause symptoms and symptoms can cause anxiety

[anthrokid]

Jeanine,

Anxiety is very real for those of us who suffer from it and the symptoms we get from it are also very real :) The tingling and the numbness are two of the biggest things anxiety can cause!

The doctor you are seeing may be one of the best doctors in some areas, but he doesn't sound like he has much experience with anxiety which is what you need right now. Some doctors just dismiss it as a 'psychological problem' and believe that such problems cannot cause physical symptoms, and they are wrong. I actually study psychology and suffer myself from a nice range of disorders and I know that they definitely manifest themselves in a physical way as well as psychological. Have you tried seeing a psychiatrist? They are actually doctors initially who then choose to study psychological disorders instead so they know everything normal doctors do plus all of the anxiety stuff.

My advice is to look for a GP with a good understanding of anxiety :) My old GP dismissed everything I said as 'nothing' or 'imaginative', which made everything worse. I found a new GP after seeing a couple of other frustrating doctors. My new GP is very understanding and patient and she takes the time to talk me through everything.