Please help me! Im losing it! possible diagnosis?

[ducatiluke]

Hey guys,
first off id like to tell you that this is a FANTASTIC site! it is calming to know I may have found my problem!

I am looking to get some opinions from people on here that may be well-versed on this topic of anxiety.

I will start by telling you all that I am a 28 year old male that is in pretty good shape. I have been working out 5 days a week for years, and I think my diet is pretty good as well, not too much salt and lots of water.

My problem started about a month ago when I woke up feeling like I was getting the flu. ( you know, the lightheaded and drained feeling). I spent the day in bed and drank tea and pounded down the Vitamin C to try and scare away the oncoming flu. The flu never came.

I spent the next week and a half completely light headed and couldnt do anything other than sleep, and was getting constant chest pains ( stabs)_ that would end up travelling into my shoulder sometimes. The pains would come and go once every 15 minutes or so, but the dizziness was always there. I was starting to get really worried.

A few days later the lightheadedness was still completely constant, and the chest pains were still coming and going, so i was completely terrified that I was dying. I got my gf to rush me to the ER where we waited for 8 hours overnight to see a doctor. The doctor said he thought it may be vertigo and did a few vertigo tests, and prescribed me NOTHING. When leaving the hospital he actually said

" Youre worrying yourself sick, i promise that the chest pains are NOTHING"

So I went home a little happier that the genius doctor said I had vertigo and this would all be over soon!

Another week went by and the light headedness hadnt left, all of a sudden I got really terrified and the chest pains were overwhelming so AGAIN my gf rushed me back into the ER.

This time we waited 13 hours to see a doctor, and by then my chest pains were gone, but she insisted we did an EKG, a blood test, and urine test. And as most of you have experienced- the tests came back completely fine.

A few days later the lightheaded feeling seemed to disappear, and I felt like a million dollars! thinking that either the vertigo, or virus (who knows at this point) had finally gone away! So I spent the next 2 days feeling like a million dollars! Then tragedy struck,

I was lying in bed the next night and started focusing on my breathing
(bad idea) and for the next 2 days ALL i thought about was getting enough air ( ive searched and found similar cases in axnxiety) but this was for 2 days STRAIGHT. So that was the new problem, and with it came the lightheadedness AGAIN!

So finally the appointment I made with my family doctor was the next day, so I figured 3 days of not being able to breathe and the ocassional lightheadedness will be managable until then. (the lightheadedness came and went maybe 5 times a day at this point).

AHH the doctor finally!

( I am absolutely terrified of dying at this point by the way, almost in tears) so when I go see the doctor he goes over all my tests from the ER the week before and says he doesnt know why im getting the chest pains. I told him I have been researching anxiety, and I am absolutely terrified that I am dying, and I cant breathe or talk to anyone and just wanna stay inside most of the day. My doctor says we need a cat scan, and he thinks it will show im fine as well ( crossing fingers) but prescribes me with a mild sedative called ATIVAN.

This was almost a week ago, and since taking my first ATIVAN the chest pains have COMPLETELY disappeared, but the lightheadedness still comes and goes, and I sometimes feel like im in a daze ( usually) unless im driving. I know that the side effects could be dizzyness and fatigue ( and other stuff) but im freaking out that I am still dying here. It is scaring the living hell out of me! The breathing trouble went away as soon as i took my first dose as well.

I am just wondering if this ocassional lightheadedness could be anxiety, and if I am indeed having panic attacks? shouldnt the ATIVAN be helping with the lightheadedness also? ( its the exact same as before I took the meds, just a little less frequent). I want to know what I should ask my doctor to do for me--- I am SO CONFUSED AND SCARED. I have had no stress in my life really to bring this on, and I am wondering if you guys think it could be anxiety? ( i know youre not doctors) buti need something to hold onto here!

I wouldnt wish this on my worst enemy- thinking im dying and such.

FYI- the ativan is prescribed in 1mg tabs, and im supposed to take 2 daily,

I will check back here for sure, and I apologize for the long rant, but it seems this is the only place I can get it out. My doc wont see me for another month cause he is so busy,

Please email me if you think you may have some help.

Much love guys and gals!

[Fudge]

Hey ducatiluke,

There's a good possibility that its caused by anxiety as your behaviour seems to fit the bill. Take, for example, the fact you felt better after getting a clean bill of health to only relapse a couple days later when you opened yourself up to the thoughts of if you were getting enough air. This screams anxiety to me. It actually reminds me much of myself as I have heavily gotten caught up in my own health in much the same way you describe. I've also gotten lightheaded before (in my worst panic phases), though my general symptoms seem to be more associated with fatigue, joint pain and numbness.

Now if all this is indeed caused by anxiety and the ill founded thoughts of dying.. you're in luck. Usually it isn't too difficult to work through this. As long as you're in tip top shape its can be pretty easy to correct your worrying behaviour through awareness of your behaviour and the logic needed to correct this bad habit. You may even find that while you haven't felt the light headedness and chest pains before, the behaviour that is causing your problems may have been lurking unnoticed for quite some time.

As for coping for the moment. Try to do things which takes you out of your worrying state. If you can, maybe visit close friends and your girlfriend, or find some sort of activity which engages you. Once you start feeling a bit better, try to face these thoughts a bit. The thing is, while they may be hurtful, they are absolutely real concerns you're having (only they might not be very realistic in nature). So really try to see if they have any validity. Try to rationalize them as best as you can. Write the thoughts down in a journal and counter them with what you believe is a more realistic outlook. Do this and I assure you, you will have a few eureka moments which will then help you cope.

Anyhow, keep at it and let us know how things go. I know it can be difficult, but believe me its worth it. You may even find you'll get to know yourself better through this experience.

[ducatiluke]

I want to thank you for taking the time to sit through my long post. I just didnt want to miss any details and get the whole thing clouded. So, is it common to get these random spells of lightheadedness even if im not feeling anxious? thats what worries me. This whole thing came out of nowhere, and its not subsiding. Now im not sure if its the original lightheadedness, or a side effect from ATIVAN. Im totally lost.

[canon]

I had exactly the same symptoms ducatiluke, the fear that iam dying, chest paints, feeling lightheaded etc. Got checked out by a private doctor, who actually found I had a slight curve in the spine which had caused a slight pain which i worried about so much that I thought I was having a heart attack. But straight away after I was told my heart was fine all of the "iam dying" feelings went and so did the chest pain etc.

Problem for me is that the next day after being told Iam fine ive started feeling like iam going mad and having scary thoughts and dreams. Seems like my worry has shifted and now im searching for things to worry.

[ducatiluke]

Thanks for the support. Allthough I honestly haven't ever pegged it on anxiety. Now I'm thinking that maybe that IS what's wrong with me. It's just everytime I get these lightheaded episodes ( with Ativan still about 10 times a day) I just freak out and feel like it's something much worse!!

[Fudge]

Yeah, as canon confirmed, lightheadedness definitely fits the symptom list. And sometimes, for me anyways, my body will react to my anxiety in a delayed manor. Usually for me the fatigue and numbness will hits me about 12 hours after my anxiety attacks, but I will also notice lightheadedness from time to time as my body is trying to cope with being put in high alert.

[punisher]

Try to take some comfort in knowing that you are physically fine. Going through some of those tests to confirm that can be brutal, great job by hanging in there.

The lightheadedness is definitly a sympton of anxiety but sometimes the Ativan, even in its smallest dose can make me feel a little spacy and light headed.

[ducatiluke]

i have started cutting down the dosage of my ativan VERY slowly, and I am hoping to see a difference in the lightheadedness. I can NOT shake it. I am trying my best to work on breathing techniques and everything else, bt it feels hopeless. Ill keep you posted.

thanks again!

[gingerroot]

I have bouts of lightheadedness as well - it is scary and debilitating. Focus on your breathing - yoga or meditation (try guided meditation, you can get a CD) is great. I also eventually found that my trapezius muscle is over-tense, which tugs on my skull near my ear and causes dizzy spells - it took physical therapy to help with that. I'm dealing with a relapse right now, though.

In the end, I have found that pushing myself is the only thing that gets me through - I try not to give up activities or opportunities to be social even though I feel "safer" at home. I know that I am NOT dying, and if I was I wouldn't want to die so unhappy. So I try to get out and do something about that. I have to deal with anxiety for the rest of my life, so I might as well try to make that life happy.

Sometimes I'm more successful than othertimes, though...

[punisher]

You can't win every battle but it sounds like your definitly doing the right thing by pushing yourself. Many people who don't and just stay in their safe place all the time eventually become agoraphobic.