Anxiety Symptoms - the list goes ever on

[morphboy]

Just joined yesterday. Currently going though a bad bout of what is probably another bunch of anxiety related symptoms and it's nice to see that there is a community out there who I can talk to. (I love my wife dearly but she is 'head in the sand' about all this and being a bloke I feel I need to exude an air of confidence and 'stiff upper lip' to maintain her respect).

In the last few weeks I've had IBS (D), Malaise, Trembling, mild to moderate Nausea, Headaches, feeling of being detached, dizzy, muscle weakness and now (yippee) the second coming of globus sensation, chest pains, heartburn etc etc

If it is anxiety related (we're never sure are we?..... and that's what makes us worry more) it was all triggered by my wife's cancer scare and we're selling our house

Last year I was ill for 3 months after the unannounced and scary first arrival of globus sensation - a condition I did not believe could be anything but oesophageal cancer (scary). I promptly went into the worst period of anxiety related symptoms I've ever had - all of the above plus severe drenching night sweats which (of course) led me to believe I had some form of Lymphatic Cancer. (the dreaded internet resource insisted that 'night sweats' were not a symptom of anxiety and could only be the result of something scary - not so)

Of course, consultation with your Doc is absolutely essential but if all your tests come back ok I hope the above gives some reassurance that anxiety can give rise to almost any symptom you can think of

Anyway, I've introduced myself in the 'hello' and looking forward to giving and receiving support.

Cheers everyone :lol:

[mercy]

Welcome to the board! Anxiety is a tough thing to decypher. Sometimes trying to tell if its anxiety or a real physical symptom is what causes panic attacks and/or globus.

Im sure we can all relate to how your feeling and hopefully with the right combination of medicine and education you can start feeling better soon.

Keep me posted on any new meds you might try.

[morphboy]

thanks for the reply Mercy. Regarding meds etc, last year I was on

PPIs for the acid

Citalopram for the anxiety

The citalopram did seem to help even though it is an anti depressant and I wasn't depressed (maybe a placebo thing). It's main problem was that it chilled me out a lot and significantly affected my sex drive. I seemed to lose motivation and focus.

Personally my best medicine is walking in the country AND (this is hard) NOT THINKING ABOUT YOUR SYMPTOMS.

I'm toying with the idea about returning to Citalopram for a while but I'm unsure. As I say I'm not depressed but they certainly seemed to work wonders for my anxiety last year.

[mercy]

I also was on citalopram/celexa for anxiety (not depression) for 4 years until one day it reversed its affect on me. I started to feel extremely depresses and was having 4-5 panic attacks a day.

After that, I started reading a ton about SSRI's and how they work. Although they are though to be anti-depressants, they are now the number one prescribed medicine for anxiety also. But heres the kicker.
SSRI's allow a certain part of your brain to absorb more seratonin, but now scientists are believing that depression and anxiety are forming from high seratonin levels, not low. So what is this drug actually doing to us?

I am SSRI free and will never touch them again. I use a simple benzo (xanax) when Im overly anxious and just deal with the daily stress now.

Hope this hels you a little ...