This is ruining my life :( Please help!

[sugarsweet]

Have been suffering with Health Anxiety since 2009 really badly, calling ambulances all the time, spending all my time at a & e, however, i had some therapy and this went until about 4 weeks ago, when I started getting ill with abdo pains/back pains and convinced my self I had ovarian cancer.. been to my Dr's regarding this and have an ultrasound scan tomorrow morning.

However, my anxiety has come back really badly, and for the past week or two I've felt really weak.. convinced I have ALS. My legs and arms feel really weak, and my leg feels really heavy and achey.. more so my right side than my left. I'm waking up in the middle of the night worrying, and I'm unable to go out anywhere.

I'm meant to be starting university in October, and have a holiday booked for two weeks which i doubt i'll be able to go on. I just want to be normal, but i can't seem to tell my self that these symptoms are anxiety..

Has any one else experienced these symptoms because of anxiety?

[amandaj]

hi firstly can i say if u keep going to a@e if anything was wrong they would pickup on it im sure it is anxiety , have u had many tests?

[sugarsweet]

Hi.. yes have had bloods done, urine test, physical examination, got an ultrasound tomorrow but scared that i have ALS which cant be picked up which blood tests etc. thats why i wanted to know if any one else got this muscle weakness, tense feeling, and heavy stiff feeling?

[countrygirl]

If you had als your symptoms would be very very definite and literally stop your life, I had a friend who had motor neurone disease (als) and her first symptoms were she kept suddenly falling over because her legs gave way, she had to a Dr obvious muscle wasting very quickly and her Dr suspected it from the very first visit. Her father had also died of it so she had a genetic tendency to it.

Read the symptoms down left hand side and you will find that every single one of your symptoms are probably anxiety and you can read the reason why you get them as well.

Remember that as soon as one disease is discounted you will then move onto another disease, usually one that is hard to diagnose of course, etc etc this is the nature of health anxiety.

Keep trying every therapy offered.

[sandy40]

Hi,this time last year i too was convinced id OC,i was more or less telling my gps i had it,much to their annoyance,anyway to keep me happy they arranged a scan to keep me happy and guess what nothing just functional cysts that im told just about every woman has from there ive went on to believe ive had stomach/back/leg/lung/gallbladder/ bowel/foot yes foot cancer my lastest is my brain as ive had constant headaches for 3 weeks now,i had a ct scan on tues and it was fine but nope im still terrified im more than sure your fine,go tomorrow and come back and post how you got on.x

[sarah_85]

i feel for you so much, i suffer from health anxiety and it is crippling. all i can say is keep up with the therapy and you're not alone. don't let this beat you. i am determined not to. we are better than this. get cross with the anxiety, it's bullying you. when you have an anxious health thought, try and challenge it.
it is easier said than done but it does work. the more you do it, the more you fight it, the easier it will become. you need to try and replace all those thoughts with rationale ones. you can do it!!! lots of love. xxx

[sarah_85]

ps. good luck, i know ur scan will be all clear. xx

[sugarsweet]

Aww, thanks every one for the replies! :)

It's really horrible! I end up crying every where I go and just looking at everyone wishing I was normal. I really cannot convince my self that I don't have MND, I feel almost 100% sure that I do.

My muscles feel really weak and heavy and stiff, has any one else felt this because of anxiety?

Paige xxxx

[sugarsweet]

Scan in 2 hours! Wish me luck! x

[emmi]

hey hun i get this mostly when my anxiety is high also when my period is due x

[Hayles29]

I think anxiety is causing all of your symptoms. I have suffered from lightheadness 24/7, weakness in my arms and legs, headaches, shortness of breath, visual disturbances etc etc. And you know what, it was all anxiety. I have had numerous tests and all come back clear. I have been suffering like this for 5 years until 3 months ago I started zoloft and it has almost completely stopped my health anxiety. I still occassionally get anxiety which is tolerable, but I am no longer worrying about my health. Even if I have a physical symptom, I no longer get all worked up about it thinking I have a disease or cancer. I think you would benefit from councelling and try an antidepressant medication. You will be ok, I know it is really upsetting to have physical symptoms that you and the drs can't explain, but once you accept it is all caused by anxiety you are on your way to recovery and councelling and medication will assist you with getting better. Life is too short to live like this, it's time to take control, you will be ok.:winks:

[sugarsweet]

just come back from my ultrasound, dr said that everything looks normal, but gotta wait a week to get full results that will be sent to my doctors. kinda disappointed that they didn't find anything for me to blame the symptoms on. my arm now feels soo heavy and weak, and my neck is so stiff as if ive done a work out or something. it's so achey, and my leg is so so heavy and weak. i hate this. i am going to start getting therapy and medication, but now totally convinced i've got ALS. starting to hate my life :(

[Hayles29]

Yes I remembering wishing someone would just diagnose me with something, I just wanted a logical reason for my symptoms. I was convinced at one stage I had MS. A couple of times I thought my leg was going to give out from under me in the shopping centre. We totally convince ourselves that we are really sick, but it's just anxiety. When I originally had my first dizziness episode it scared the hell out of me and perhaps I had low blood sugar or something. BUT my stupid mind kept repeating this experience that frightened me and I continually felt lightheaded which made me think something was wrong. It was just anxiety and panic. And the vicious cycle continued, any symptoms I would experience I thought it was to do with this mysterious illness I had that no doctor could diagnose me with. I hated my life too. Trust me, medication will help, it might take a few months but at atleast you will be on your way to getting better. Don't leave it as long as I did. Medication can be a tricky thing to deal with too, but keeping in close contact with your doctor and comunicating your feelings will only do you good. Each day I didn't know how I would make it through the day with this constant stress. I no longer wake up dreading the day and worrying about my health.:hugs: