health anxiety

[sjrooke]

Hi all,
Am new to AF. Ive suffered with Health anxiety for about 3-4 years now and its worked up to being a general anxiety disorder. I worry all day everyday all because of my Physical anxiety symptoms. So If i list out how I feel every day could you all please tell me if you think its all anxiety or if im ill, because thats what goes through my mind every day. So here goes----

*Headaches (everyday) mostly in my temples or the sides of my forehead or infront of my ears and the back of my head
*severe eye ache/very tired eyes
* neck ache/ throat ache
*shoulder ache
*Extreme tiredness. (i can walk my daughter to school and be half asleep all the way there and back)
* total lack of enthusiasm
*Dizziness
*dizziness and lightheadedness when i stand up
*increased amount of spots and boils
*inability to stop my thoughts/never have a empty head
*shooting pains in my hands and feet
*a feeling of having my neck squeezed
*feeling scared or worried for nothing most of the time

The list could go on but they are the main things, I dont worry or panick every minute of every day or am i a nervous wreck , but i seems to have a thought or worry in the back of my mind most of the time.
What I realy worry about is that I am so tired and I mean rediculously tired, I could fall asleep doin the house work ,washing up and i could nod off. i could sleep walking along. Im shattered, which doesnt make my home life any easier.
I am a mum of 3, I have a 12yr old son, a 3 yr old daughter and a 2 yr old son ( he ha nf1) and my partner works from 6-5 6 days a week.
I sleep 8 hrs average a night and so i just dont understand why my body is feeling the way it is.

Please help me, i have worrying that im terminally ill all the time cuz of this.

Sarah

[natalie23]

hi sarah, i feel the same as you everyday i worry about my health bcus if anxiety symptoms, i have headaches, feel as though im going to faint,shotting pains in me head, head pressure, pains down my arm and legs sumtimes in my chest, i either worry im going to have a heart attack or die or something, i cant overcome it, i am on medication but it only seems to take the edge off!

[sjrooke]

Well i feel for you Natalie. Its really hard isnt it, a well as a vicious circle xxx how long have u been like this ?

[natalie23]

it is hard bcus its always on my mind i just want too lead a normal life! ive had symptoms for about 2 years but just ignored it, and then went to the docters about 6 months ago and he said it is anxiety, but i just find it hard to believe that thats all it is with al these physical symptoms!

[sjrooke]

Yes thats exactly how I feel. How can I feel so ill and so tired and it just be my mind!!!

[evilferret]

My mom has similar symptoms to you, and not only does she suffer from anxiety, she also has been diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. Has this ever been something you've discussed with your doctor?

[Schatmeisje]

I am the same, i have all these symptoms all day every day and i HATE it, i have had all the tests and its just anxiety, it is so frustrating though and after 2 years of it, i have definitely had enough ! The only thing i find that helps is that i can now tell myself its just anxiety, rather than get as worked up about it now. It is amazing though the physical symptoms are so real and painfulm I have found that mindfulness training has helped me a litle bit with this, but i am still anxious with GAD most of the time.

[biceps72]

health anxiety might very well be the most common trigger for anxiety, Your symptoms are common. The lightheadedness is a dead giveaway for me. I have that symptom; ny big concern is blood pressure I worry and take it, if it is high i take it again and it goes higher, etc.

My best guess is you are perfectly normal-- have a basic metabolic panel and a cbc-- 2 blood draws. If they are normal and they eill be, your mind is playing tricks on you. Deep breath, exercise, read a book, listen to music, stay busy doing something you like to do.

I would bet $100 to your dime that if you had every medical test possible you would be perfectly normal.

[PanicCured]

I consider myself someone who has cured myself of panic and anxiety.

I know how you all feel. It is very hard to know sometimes if it is physical or mental or both or if its harmful or not. It is always a good idea to get a full on medical exam and tell the doctor about these symptoms. Getting check ups yearly or regularly, checking your cholesterol, blood pressure, liver enzymes, etc., is a good thing for everyone. But I assume, almost everyone here has been to doctors and left with less than optimal findings. But at least you have to rule stuff out.

I have been to more hospitals, ERs and ambulances than I can remember, and noone ever found anything worth a dime on me. A little irregular this and that but all within "normal range."

For me, the single most important factor in my recovery was I ALWAYS knew I would get better. I knew that what I was going through would end one day. This is very important to always know this. I am not more special than any of you. You can all get to where I got to. There was a time I could barely get in an elevator or even leave my apartment. Sometimes I was too scared to leave my room to get to the kitchen! My heart would get to 160 beats per minute!!!

I no longer and will never have a panic attack again!

One of the things I did was do very slow breathing exercises. I would breathe very little. This was probably the most effective thing I did to help take away physical symptoms. I found that heavy breathing or even too deep breathing always accompanied my anxiety. So I practiced reversing this. I learned Buteyko breathing techniques. I read a book about it and started practicing it. But what was very important was I would lay down or sit up, and slow my breathing down, and make it very quiet. Almost tot he point where you could barely notice I was breathing. This sounds weird to you, but what I was doing was rebalancing my CO2 - O2 ratio. I would create air hungers. That's right. I would create an air hunger. Then keep that for as long as I could, maybe 30- 40 minutes. But it was all done in a very relaxed mode. Very calming. A lot of symptoms can be caused from improper breathing and an unbalanced CO2/O2 ratio. You may want to google how to do buteyko breathing exercises and see if you can find some free stuff. But in the meantime, it is worth it to take sometime everyday and relax your breathing. We think that breathing more and deeper is how we get more oxygen in but what your doing is releasing too much CO2 which causes less oxygen to be released from your blood to your cells. Breathing into your belly is good, but it has to be done in a relaxed and soft way to keep the CO2 correct.