how often are we misdiagnosed?

[midnite99]

Hi everyone,

Just wanted to ask if anyone has been diagnosed as having anxiety/panic issues which later did turn out to be something serious. It's just hard for me to digest the fact that we all seem to have similar symptoms that have lead us to seek medical advice just to be blown off as having anxiety with no further tests done. Over the past year I've been trying to accept all my physical symptoms like chest pains, heart palpitations, shortness of breath, lightheadness, etc as anxiety just so I don't drag myself to the ER again and save some embarrasment. Hearing all the stories on here help reinforce that I'm not alone, but I always wonder what if something more serious is going on here.
How often is a person misdiagnosed with anxiety just to be found with something more serious later on?

Any thoughts?

[forwells]

Hi midnite99

Anxiety is like a open case . It is something that someone is told they have when a person treating them can not see any other problem .

But is that to say because they cant see it that there is not a problem there. NO

The first time i was told i had depression 20 years ago i could not see the problem with it. Yes i was depressed but that was not the problem , the problem was i had a virus , something that knock my system for six for many months . I saw many doctors , 18 in total and only two of these doctors were of any help. The rest wanted to place me in the depression basket . The treatment for depression amounted to placing a band on the problem. It was not helping with the cause , it was just helping me cope a bit better with it. It was not repairing the damage that was done to my body from that virus . In fact in all honesty the only real thing it was doing was helping me cope with the fact that doctors could not find the problem . It didn't say there wasn't one there but just that they could not help . It was only those two that could admit this and help me to support my body while it healed myself .

How often is a person misdiagnosed with anxiety just to be found with something more serious later on?

Really unless you have a shocking run of doctors treating you i would say the odds are very low .

See the problem with anxiety is it is treated as a mental illness and often only treated as a mental illness . This is not correct The mind and the body are a team and to tell someone that they have anxiety and depression and need to go to talk to someone and they will get better is rubbish . It may help them cope but it does not get to the cause of the problem .

It needs to be treated on a holistic basics . Yes we may get depressed and anxious but this also changes the workings of the body and even though excepting it and talking to someone about your problems can and will help . It also helps to support the body to heal itself . After all if the body is not working well and this includes the mind then how can someone feel at their peak . Why would someone not feel depressed if they feel ill all the time . Do will not feel depressed after a few days with the flu . Is having anxiety and depression from feeling ill over a longer time the same thing on a grander scale . See alot of treatment is based on the circle , fear , thoughts and emotions . I agree with this in the main ways but sitting on the outside of this circle is symptoms and it is often forgot about . But it is these symptoms that are a major cause to get one in this circle. If the symptoms are treated or understode then one will learn to except and get past things themself over time .

To get past anxiety i think you need to stop looking for a name , you need to stop waiting for someone or some magic pill to come along and fix you. What we need to do is take control and learn . All the information is out there . You just need to learn it and put it to use .
It just like google , you should not google if you have anixety and in a way this is correct but the problem is what people google . If you have had the test and the doctors are saying there is nothing wrong with you , what they are really saying is that there is nothing major wrong with you . So google , yes google but dont google symptoms , Google treatment for anixety , natural way past anixety. All the information is out there you just need to search for the right things .

I know how you feel but if i was to give you one tip that would be to start to take control of your life . Change the things you need to . Work on anything that is effecting you mentally . Only you know what they are and often i believe they all just relate to one thing and that is that first panic attack . See i believe that is your problem , i dont think you understand where and how they come about . Why do i believe this ?? Because with understanding of where they come from and how you can stop them on the spot . Yes thats a bold statement but panic is one thing and one thing only and that is fear .

See you get a symptom of high stress . Maybe a release of adrenaline and whats the first thing you do . You panic . Why because you are scared . Yes i know that feeling well. But the reason you panic is because you dont understand that first symptom and were it came from . Learn this and they will stop . Then it is a matter of excepting your anixety and stress and working on reducing and letting your body heal . BUt why you dont understand this the only thing you do is feed that circle and get stuck in it .

cheers and good luck kev :D

[lunalady]

My thoughts are that we go to the doctors for heart attacks, viruses, weird symptoms, aches, pains, etc., and find out its ANXIETY.

I've worked as a nurse since 1988, and never once have I seen a patient who was misdiagnosed with anxiety that turned out to be something else.

Not saying it isn't possible, just that I've never seen it.

Jill