Terrified.

[ChickAletta]

Hi everyone.

I’m posting with the aim of hopefully finding some reassurance. Reaching out for help isn’t something I do lightly but I hope I’m doing the right thing! I’m an anxious person, nothing formally diagnosed but it’s definitely there.

For a week or so, I have been suffering from a extreme fatigue. I will sleep well at night but then wake exhausted in the morning. I have also had little/no appetite mixed with feeling nauseous. A few days ago, I also began with palpitations. They got so bad over the course of a couple of days that I went to a&e. They took me very seriously, my heart rate was through the roof and my blood pressure was very high. A had an ecg which was fast but thankfully regular. I had bloods which they were happy with. They gave me some propranolol, which I’ve never had before but worked to calm me down and lower my heart rate. A second ecg was normal. They said it was anxiety.

I have a follow up appointment with my GP in a couple of weeks. I have been meaning to speak to them anyway because I have been keeping a diary over the past 7 months as I’ve been suffering from what I think are menstrual migraines - a headache but so much more, fatigue etc for 11 days almost every month since the beginning of the year. I have been trying to reassured by the cyclical nature - if it was anything horrific would it resolve each month eventually? I don’t know. I have had 2 clear eye tests/scans this year.

The a&e doctor scared me by saying I may need a scan to confirm migraines although at the moment he wasn’t concerned about the seemingly cyclical nature unless they became worse. I have always suffered from migraine with aura and these are different.

I have almost 2 issues here - the awful way I’m feeling at the moment, will it ever end? I have 4 children that I am just not able to give everything they deserve at the moment as I just don’t feel well.

And the ‘migraines’ I’ve been having. I feel like I only have a few days each month that I feel well and it’s taking over my life!

A couple of months ago, I began taking some iron supplements, clutching at straws really to see if they would help. Unfortunately they gave me awful gastric symptoms, eventually it all passed after constipation meds and time. I had an abdominal scan and thankfully, a normal FIT test and Calprotectin test during this time.

A couple of weeks ago, I gently reintroduced a much lower dose but still similar symptoms so I stopped. Since then, I’ve had diarrhoea.

So at the moment I’m stuck with diarrhoea, fatigue, nausea and palpitations although they haven’t really come back since my hospital visit.

I am so worried about what it all means. Surely these physical symptoms can’t be all down to anxiety. I just want to be well again!

[alpacagirl]

If it's any reassurance I've had all those symptoms with anxiety and have become worse now with perimenopause. Not the migraines but I did have a daily headache for 6 months straight at one stage which my doctor just put down to hormonal changes. Ferrous sulphate iron supplements (which I used to tolerate) now give me gastritis. What type of iron supplements were you on? I'm in Australia and use Maltofer (iron polymaltose) and Iron bisglycinate which are a lot gentler on the gut. They don't seem to keep my ferritin levels as high but it's better than nothing and at least they stop me becoming anaemic.

[ChickAletta]

Thanks for replying. I don’t know how relevant iron is to the whole thing at this stage, but yes it was ferrous fumerate then sulphate that I had issues with. Most recently (within the last month) I introduced iron bisglycinate at a much smaller dosage but unfortunately it still didn’t agree with me. I don’t know whether I just have no tolerance for iron supplements any more - I don’t know.

Interesting that your doctor put your (hideous) sounding headache down to hormones. I’m 37 and my mum was finished with menopause by 45 so I do wonder if I’m getting to the age where hormones could have introduced these awful migraines. What treatment were you given? X

[alpacagirl]

That's a shame you can't tolerate bisglycinate iron. That's supposed to be the easiest on the gut. Do you have low iron levels ? or were you just testing it out ? For the headaches she did offer to put me on amitriptyline but she wasn't concerned. Said I had no other red flags to warrant an MRI and yes just said most likely chronic tension headaches due to hormonal changes. They were constant and daily but not debilitating. I could still function. More an annoyance and of course it played on my mind a bit. I didn't end up taking anything for them and one day they just went.

[Sparkling_Fairy]

Please don't take iron if you haven't had your bloods done. Iron is one of those supplements you should never take without your doctor's approval. I know because I used to take it regularly too whenever I felt fatigued from anxiety, and I ended up with too high iron storage in my blood. So my GP told me never to take iron unless I absolutely need it.
That said, I've also had every symptom from anxiety. I'm going through the extreme fatigue now. I think it's 'cause my family is visiting. And I love having them here, but I have to go out and do things every day and I'm not used to that. That coupled with dealing with anxiety every day while I'm out, is making me a new kind of tired I didn't know existed! They leave tomorrow and I'm pretty sure I won't leave my bed all weekend!
My stomach is also the first thing to go with heightened anxiety. Literally every feeling under the sun. Nausea, extreme hunger, gas (oh the amounts of time per day I burp), reflux, just everything that it shouldn't do.
I also take Propranolol but I take a slow release version every day, which does contribute to my fatigue although I don't think too badly.
But that might be worth considering for you. Not sure if your fatigue started before or after you took Propranolol, but a lot of people can't take it long term 'cause it gives them too much fatigue.

The migraines I can't really comment on because I've had them 3/4 times per week since I was a teenager. I have them genetically.
But I do have tension headaches every single day. I hold a lot of tension in my jaw. And I notice it, but I can't stop it.

So yeah, have all of these symptoms and have had for a decade. And I'm still alive
The fatigue is the only one that I only get every now and then but then I usually get it for several days and that one always still scares me a bit 'cause I often don't feel I'm doing anything different. I guess it's just my body temporarily giving up on dealing with anxiety.

[TristanFisher]

Please don't take iron if you haven't had your bloods done. Iron is one of those supplements you should never take without your doctor's approval. I know because I used to take it regularly too whenever I felt fatigued from anxiety, and I ended up with too high iron storage in my blood. So my GP told me never to take iron unless I absolutely need it.
That said, I've also had every symptom from anxiety. I'm going through the extreme fatigue now. I think it's 'cause my family is visiting. And I love having them here, but I have to go out and do things every day and I'm not used to that. That coupled with dealing with anxiety every day while I'm out, is making me a new kind of tired I didn't know existed! They leave tomorrow and I'm pretty sure I won't leave my bed all weekend!
My stomach is also the first thing to go with heightened anxiety. Literally every feeling under the sun. Nausea, extreme hunger, gas (oh the amounts of time per day I burp), reflux, just everything that it shouldn't do.
I also take Propranolol but I take a slow release version every day, which does contribute to my fatigue although I don't think too badly.
But that might be worth considering for you. Not sure if your fatigue started before or after you took Propranolol, but a lot of people can't take it long term 'cause it gives them too much fatigue.
I’m sorry you’re dealing with this. It sounds challenging, but it’s good the A&E tests were reassuring. Anxiety can indeed cause these symptoms, but it’s wise to keep track and follow up with your GP. They can help you manage both the anxiety and any other health concerns. My sister recommended canadianwritings.com when I was overwhelmed with my schoolwork. The service was easy to use, and the paper I received was really well-written. It took a lot of pressure off, and I was able to focus on my other assignments. If you’re a student who needs some extra help with writing, this is a great service to try. I’m really happy with the results and will definitely use them again.
The migraines I can't really comment on because I've had them 3/4 times per week since I was a teenager. I have them genetically.
But I do have tension headaches every single day. I hold a lot of tension in my jaw. And I notice it, but I can't stop it.

So yeah, have all of these symptoms and have had for a decade. And I'm still alive
The fatigue is the only one that I only get every now and then but then I usually get it for several days and that one always still scares me a bit 'cause I often don't feel I'm doing anything different. I guess it's just my body temporarily giving up on dealing with anxiety.

Thank you so much for the suggestion.