My first post, and the reason I'm here.

[carlos2011]

Hi,


I would really like some advice please, sorry for the long story that will unfold. Writing it down kind of helps in a way. I'm male and I'm 29 years old, my job is an analyst (I work at home).


For the past 3 weeks, my anxiety has really taken hold of me. My concerns are purely about my health. It all started after a very stressful day at work, since then I seem to have developed various symptoms. I should also mention, it has been a rough few months at home. My girlfriend is Australian, and we've been apart for 6 months after living together for a year, due to her working visa finishing. Fortunately she is coming back soon, and that stress is now over. (We are getting married). I've been living on my own since.


Anyway, my first symptom, is an increase in eye floaters (big one in my left eye more so). I've had them checked at the hospital and they say my eyes are healthy (they did the eye dilation exam etc). It's bothering me each day since as I'm seeing them all day. Also, I've been having a constant light headed feeling for weeks, and for the past 2 days, a tingling feeling in the left side of my face, plus across my scalp too. Like a creeping sensation. I've had no major headaches and not fainted or been sick.


I was paranoid all this was pointing to a stroke. I've been to the hospital again last week in panic. My blood pressure was high (155/85), the doctor didn't seem concerned at the time.(my mother does suffer with high blood pressure). They said it was a tension headache caused from stress. I've since phoned the NHS, seen my GP, they are say it's anxiety and stress related. My blood pressure has been quite varied. I've been checking it myself which has driven me mad as it's up and down, my parents took the device off me! Deep down I don't believe them, but are they right? Are all these things classic symptoms? I've been offered someone to talk to, as they don't want to put me on medication for my blood pressure or anxiety, as they think I can control it. I do lots of exercise (running, weight training 5x a week) and eat heathly, but i'm constantly worried about my health latley. I don't smoke, but do drink (just on weekends).


I'm basically thinking I have some kind of brain problem (on the left side). The blood pressure, left side tingling, eye floaters (worse in left eye), light headed is leading me to believe that. I'm wondering are they all conected? Non of the doctors want to do anything else for me, no further tests etc. I can't keep going back to A&E and the doctor, what is it best to do?
I really would love some advice. I don't think it's healthy to live this way. I'm fortunate to have friends and family, but I'm scared I'm driving them round the bend! My girlfriend worries about me, but she is back soon. Not sure whether to wait for her to come back or seek help now.


Thank you for reading this, really sorry to go on! I've always been a worrier, but never this bad before. I just want my normal life back.


Thanks again for listening, really means a lot. :)


Regards


Carl

[nomorepanic]

Hi carlos2011

We just wanted to welcome you aboard to NMP. We hope you enjoy your stay here and get all the support and advice you need.

Please take some time to read the website articles on the left as well for loads of advice and tips.

[SharonDerby]

Hi Carl :welcome:

Please trust in what the doctors and your parents are telling you, what you have are classic anxiety symptoms, classic classic classic.

Anxiety can happen to anyone at anytime regardless of age lifestyle or indeed health.

It's a frighteneing experiance to say the least BUT it's not life threatening, i smiled at your line "i just want my normal life back" oh how many of us have said that, but actualy it's your normal life that has lead to this, so maybe the normal life you long for wasn't as "normal" as you would have thought in so much as you were getting stressed and that has led to anxiety, so don't try and be normal cos normal doesn't exist, be who you are accept that right now you are anxious and your mind is tired, but soon it will start to recover with some possative thinking and staying well away from DR.Google.
People here share all your worries, millions of us all over the world are suffering with anxiety..............maybe thats "normal"

Take care
i'm always about for a chat if you feel like poo
Sharon :)

[carlos2011]

Thank you so much Sharon. Sorry for the delay in getting back to you, I didn't get any notifications on replies.

It's really good to hear in a way that you say it's classic anxiety symptoms. You will laugh, but I'm slowly convincing myself I have some kind of clot or tumor on the brain. My left temple is again throbbing/tingling today and I'm light headed (no pain though). Yesterday I wasn't too bad, very weird. I can only describe it has a 'dreamy' or 'dazed' sensation. It's not vertigo, nothing is spinning. I just feel generally weird!

I was tempted to go back to doctor next week, but I feel I must try my hardest to crack on. I've been to the doctors/hospital about 4 times in the past 2 weeks. I don't want them locking me up in a padded cell! :D

I guess my mind won't rest until there is some explanation, but maybe you (and the doctors) have already explained what it is, and I'm struggling to expect it. If I'm honest I probably won't rest until I've had a scan of some sort, but I obviously haven't given the doctors a good reason to do so. They just advised to go outside more and be social. I think a lot of this stems from working at home, I spend too much time inside.

It's only been just over 3 weeks since all this came on, I can only put it down to stress with work, which has settled now..hope these blooming symptoms do too!

Thanks again Sharon, nice to know I'm in friendly and understanding company. :yesyes:

Carl

[Vanilla Sky]

Hi and welcome to NMP :welcome:
Paige x

[SharonDerby]

Hi Carl
how are you?

I again smiled with the line "i wont rest untill i have had some kind of scan"

I can relate to that, i have had 26 brain tumors, of course thye were all imaginary but i have in the past been to the docs 26 times with a brain tumor, and when in time i realised i probebly didn't have a brain tumor i moved on to the next terrible illness that was happening to me, and so it went on of course i have not had any of these terrible illness's but at the time they were very very real.

I would suggest you get hold of some books by Dr claire weeks, everyone here is familiar with them and they are readily available at your local library or to buy online, one in particular i would recomend is peace from nervous suffering. you will read it and feel like you are reading your own diary i guarentee it, another called self help for your nerves and another called more help for your nerves all great and all invaluable in helping you understand the tired anxious mind, cos after all that's what you have, nothing more sinister, if you had tired legs you would rest them, the mind works a million times harder than the legs, but you won't rest it, or indeed casn't rest it but you must and in time you will see that a rested mind is all the help you need :).

As for getting a scan done, well thats up to you and doc, but i doubt that will acheive anything, it might put your mind at rest for a while when they tell you all is normal, but unless you start to accept and understand the anxiety state then something else will come along and scare you, then what? another scan? another trip to a&e, it's hard to accept anxiety cos you can't see it people can't possibly understand can they? but you would be supprised as i have said before, millions of people suffer the way you are and feel exactly like you and me, so try and take comfort in that and try to help yourself by educating yourself as to what anxiety can do, after all take a look at how many people are registered on this site alone, how do you know one of them is not your best mate/brother/sister/wife/mum dad etc etc everyone is scared of anxiety and see it as some sort of weakness or failure BUT it isn't it's a mental health issue that if more of us spoke up about and admitted to then more people would be less likely to end up like we have :).

Carl be brave and start reading, you will help someone today just by coming on here and telling your story thats brave you without knowing have given someone strength to speak up and start the road to understanding and recovery.

Get those books they will help you.

Regards
Sharon :)

[carlos2011]

Hi Sharon,

Thank you again for a lovely response. :) I'm so so today, trying to accept it but as I'm not seeing much results yet it makes me worse. That's my problem, I want to 'be better' over night and I know that's impossible. I liked your bit about the mind needing rest to heal, brilliant as it makes sense and I never thought about it like that before. As the mind is so complex it's not going to be an over night thing either. Patience is key I guess. I went for a long walk yesterday and I felt fine doing that, but I return home and I get waves of light headiness again, then bit better come night time..so weird. I think it would help if I slept better. It's hilarious as I keep starting my multi-vitamin then because I get dizzy I stop it assuming it's that. It's like I'm looking for a fix, a solution, and instead of relying on my body to heal itself I'm searching the net in search of some miracle cure..:wacko: lol.

Anyway, I hope you are well Sharon, thank you again for your great replies.

p.s. i will check those books out, will go to my library at lunch.

[cassie1975]

Just read your post and can relate to everything you have wrote. I visited my doctors and A&E eight times over two weeks because i was convinced they had incorrectly diagnosed me. I never realised anxiety could cause so many physical symptoms, i felt i wasnt going to see my seven year old beautiful girl because i felt so bad i thought it was the end. I am only thirty five and was scared. Then i found this site and all my symptoms were there. I am on citalopram now and have up and down days. You will feel better it was just take time. I have read a good book called overcoming health anxiety, it was very good. The more information you have on anxiety the easier it becomes to understand. Dont be too hard on yourself, most of us have been in this state and take one day at a time. good luck

[SharonDerby]

Good to know you will go and get those books :) i would bet my life that you will get some comfort from them.

I too have took vitamins, then stopped assuming they were making me worse, they are not it's adrenalin thats making things worse, adrenalin is a powerful thing and a good thing, but too much can leave you phisicaly and mentaly exhausted, for example, if you were preparing for a fight or saw a huge lion out of its cage in front of you you would naturaly be frightened and adrenalin would kick in giving you the strength to run thats what it does then once you have run and the fear (lion or fight) has gone then you would relax and the fear would be gone and so adrenalin would return to normal, BUT you only have one fear mechanism that sets off adrenalin and when you have fear like anxiety then the adrenalin you need for fear to make you fight or run has nothing to do cos really there is no fear to run from so all that adrenalin flows through the body doing nothing except cause your body to go funny, lightheaded,weak,shakey cause bad headaches etc etc and then 5 mins later another fear pops into your head so again more adrenalin pumps into the body to help this fear preparing you for fight but again no fight there so again more adrenalin flowing through the body and so on...............
When you understand all these things and you will, then you will start to understand how complicated anxiety is.
Imgine the rush you would get if you won the lottery, the stomache churning, lightheadedness glorious fealing that you are rich beyond you wildest dreams, probly get an urgent need to go to the loo even a bad headache from shear excitement what a wonderfull feeling eh :) same adrenalin causing those feelings, just with anxiety they are not pleasent cos there is no lottery win, adrenalin doesn't differentiate between excitement and fear it just does it's job so anything that remotely causes your body to be excited or scared the adrenalin will kick in, once it's used up then body becomes normal state but if it's not used up then it flows freely causing all sorts of chaos :) simple adrenalin but powerful.

[marie1974]

hiya and welcome, just to say also that i at times am the same and worry so much about what i may have, the only way for me to get out of panic and feeling this way, is to keep busy, so i dont overthink things, plus i exercise, i power walk every day, it helps clears my mind and keeps me motivated, i stil have my moments but this def keeps things at bay alot more, exercise is a great thing for the mind, sometimes it takes a few weeks to really feel the benefits, but from experience it reallyhelps. hugs xx

[carlos2011]

Thanks all :)

Today has not been such a good day again, I went into town and felt really bad. I'm just going to brave the library for some books. I've explained to my boss about my situation as he has noticed a change in my attitude lately, and said I seem down.

To be honest, I'm going to go to the doctor tomorrow and tell him I'm struggling and I need to speak to someone or something. I just wish my headache would get better and my dizzy spells!

Thanks

Carl