One Arm Feels Weak/Disconnected

[DOX]

Hello all, first post on here, I'm really looking for a bit of support on something which has been driving me mad for a week or so already.

To give a little background information I was diagnosed with OCD about twelve years ago although for the last six years or so I've been on top of it (albeit I think I do have an underlying level of constant anxiety/GAD, although that isn't diagnosed) and feeling ok. I managed to get over my main OCD trigger without help or medication and I had been going from strength to strength considering how bad I once was. Recently about two months ago though I started feeling really stressed out for no real reason, I do have a few things going on in my life right now but I wouldn't say that there's a massive single source of anxiety. I've been feeling more and more crap as time goes on and I even tried getting some CBD oil to try and deal with it myself, but I kind of feel like the dam is overflowing right now and I don't even know why.

As the title of the thread suggests, my left arm started feeling weird a little while ago, starting off only when I was driving I bizarrely became aware of where my left hand was at all times even when it was just in my peripheral vision, and over time its kind of gone from that to feeling as though my whole left arm, my upper arm in particular, feels like there's something wrong, like its numb or somehow I'm not in total control over it, and I'm conscious of every little move or sensation it goes through. It isn't the first time I've had a problem like it, when I had a huge panic attack about ten years ago I ended up leaving work early and visiting A&E, and they rightly diagnosed anxiety as the most likely source.

The thing is the classic OCD traits are there, I haven't been able to stop thinking about this, its the last thing I think of at night and the first thing that springs to mind when I wake up. I'm more or less convinced its anxiety or OCD related because I did an airsoft (basically paintball) weekend a few days ago and because I was busy I stopped having the problem, but as soon as I got in the car to come home it returned again! Of course it doesn't stop me stressing over it being MS or some sort of neurological disease...

I did read up that there is a common OCD 'theme' that caused someone to become over analytical about a particular body part, I do have severe health anxiety too to boot, but I think this is a perfect storm as I think the sensation I'm obsessing over was the result of pent up anxiety anyway!

Anyone have any advice on this one for me? I really don't want to go back to the GP and discuss medication if I can help it, but if this keeps up I'm willing to consider it.

[BlueIris]

Not to push, but I was dead set against medication; eventually my health anxiety (which I think has more OCD aspects than classic HA?) got too much and it felt like I wasn't living any more, so I decided I'd risk a low-dose SSRI.

It's one of the best decisions I've made in my entire life; it hasn't fixed everything, but it's made it easier for me to work on things and fix myself.

[DOX]

Cheers BlueIris, years ago when I was at my worst I was put on quite a high dose of Setraline if I remember rightly. I only managed to take them for two weeks or so, they messed my stomach up really badly and made me feel worse than I was with the anxiety. I felt like they took away the good and the bad feelings so I felt like a bit of a zombie. In hindsight that was probably because I hadn't adjusted yet or because the doctor had increased the dose too much too quickly, but I just have a bit of a fear of them, truth be told.

[BlueIris]

That was what happened to me when I took paroxetine twenty years ago, more or less. Just be sure to mention it to your GP, so then they can use a different drug and start you slowly. Citalopram has been an absolute game changer for me.

[DOX]

I'm going to speak with the GP in a fortnight and see if I sort this. The trouble is, I'm well aware that extreme anxiety over the course of decades is likely to lead to real health problems, and I think this is whats feeding a lot of my worries to be honest. I'm still just very dubious of chemical solutions.