pluperfecthell
07-05-2013, 02:29 PM
So I'm 17 and kind of hypochondriac and I do have generalized anxiety disorder. I've gotten a lot better at controlling it though. In May, my anxiety was terrible - I was seeing floaters, had a racing heart at all times, I slept MAYBE 3 hours a night, I couldn't eat (I lost 7 pounds), I was constantly shaking, etc etc. This all started because my dog bit me and I became absolutely convinced that I had rabies. I panicked about it for a full 2 weeks in the state I described above. I got over the rabies fear, but then I woke up with a weird pain at the back of my head and when I felt around my scalp, I felt a lump back there, like 3 inches from my ear. It was sore to the touch and red. Everyone told me to just relax about it so I didn't see a doctor and it went away in a few days. I developed a stiff, achy neck and weird pressure in my left cheek/ear. I had a pressure in the bridge of my nose that would come and go. I started getting really dizzy at school and I felt really weak - I could barely make it up the stairs. My jaw constantly ached and I would get pain and tingles in my left arm. My whole body would shake while I was in bed. I've thought that I have meningitis, tetanus, MS, ALS, brain aneurysm, hepatitis, lyme disease... self-diagnosed myself with countless illnesses. My anxiety got even worse, to the point where I experienced depersonalization.
My mom finally agreed that I needed a doctor when I told her that I felt like I was going to faint during my drama class. I started seeing grey spots and just felt very out of it. So my doctor ordered bloodwork and I almost passed out after that too. I saw grey spots again and felt so weak that I had to sit down until my mom gave me some food and a soda and I felt a little better. My bloodwork came back normal except for the fact that I had iron deficiency anemia. My doctor put me on iron supplements right away because it was apparently pretty bad.
I haven't felt like I'm going to black out again and I don't feel as weak. In fact, my anemia is almost gone! My hemoglobin is at 11.2 and the norm is 12-16. But something is still wrong with me. I've managed to keep my anxiety under control by volunteering - it keeps me busy from 9 AM to 6 PM, I get home, I eat, hang out with my little cousins, and I'm dead tired by 11 PM and am now back to sleeping 8 hours a night. I haven't had a panic attack in almost 3 weeks. I'm proud of myself, but there's just one thing that keeps bothering me... this weird thing going on with my head.
I have this feeling of pressure/tightness in my head, mostly on the left side and like behind my left ear. Sometimes I do get it around my whole head though, as if I'm wearing a very tight helmet. It doesn't hurt, there's no pain, it's just really annoying. All day. Every day. The pressure in my cheek kinda went away. I just want to know what's up with my head. I volunteer at a summer camp and the other day, I played tag for no more than 20 minutes with some kids and when I stopped running, I was dizzy, had a throbbing headache and felt like I was going to throw up. If I move my head quickly, like if I'm talking, I get dizzy too. I've had it for two months straight with maybe 2 or 3 days of relief. I'm scared it's a brain tumor and keep forgetting to bring it up to my doctor.
Other symptoms I'm experiencing now: feeling like I'm off-balance, but I've never actually fallen over and I can stand on one leg just fine and walk in a straight line, can stand on one foot on tip toe for more than 10 seconds etc etc (I'm constantly checking my balance). I just kinda feel like I have marshmallow feet. Feeling of fullness in the ear. Feeling of pressure (not pain) in the actual cartilage of my ear. Clogged nostril in the morning, I can't breathe out of it at all. Pain in the forehead in the morning. Feeling of a lump (phlegm?) in the throat in the morning. Body feels kinda weak and woozy sometimes, but no actual weakness. Feel as if I'm kinda loosing some coordination too, but I've always been clumsy so I can't be sure if this new or not.
I had 2 episodes (3 weeks ago) where my whole body felt like lead - I felt as if it would've been hard to move my arms and legs and my jaw felt as if it was heavy too but I had NO problem actually moving it. It was just perceived and it freaked me out.
What in the world is wrong with me? Again, I'm terrified it's a brain tumor.
My mom finally agreed that I needed a doctor when I told her that I felt like I was going to faint during my drama class. I started seeing grey spots and just felt very out of it. So my doctor ordered bloodwork and I almost passed out after that too. I saw grey spots again and felt so weak that I had to sit down until my mom gave me some food and a soda and I felt a little better. My bloodwork came back normal except for the fact that I had iron deficiency anemia. My doctor put me on iron supplements right away because it was apparently pretty bad.
I haven't felt like I'm going to black out again and I don't feel as weak. In fact, my anemia is almost gone! My hemoglobin is at 11.2 and the norm is 12-16. But something is still wrong with me. I've managed to keep my anxiety under control by volunteering - it keeps me busy from 9 AM to 6 PM, I get home, I eat, hang out with my little cousins, and I'm dead tired by 11 PM and am now back to sleeping 8 hours a night. I haven't had a panic attack in almost 3 weeks. I'm proud of myself, but there's just one thing that keeps bothering me... this weird thing going on with my head.
I have this feeling of pressure/tightness in my head, mostly on the left side and like behind my left ear. Sometimes I do get it around my whole head though, as if I'm wearing a very tight helmet. It doesn't hurt, there's no pain, it's just really annoying. All day. Every day. The pressure in my cheek kinda went away. I just want to know what's up with my head. I volunteer at a summer camp and the other day, I played tag for no more than 20 minutes with some kids and when I stopped running, I was dizzy, had a throbbing headache and felt like I was going to throw up. If I move my head quickly, like if I'm talking, I get dizzy too. I've had it for two months straight with maybe 2 or 3 days of relief. I'm scared it's a brain tumor and keep forgetting to bring it up to my doctor.
Other symptoms I'm experiencing now: feeling like I'm off-balance, but I've never actually fallen over and I can stand on one leg just fine and walk in a straight line, can stand on one foot on tip toe for more than 10 seconds etc etc (I'm constantly checking my balance). I just kinda feel like I have marshmallow feet. Feeling of fullness in the ear. Feeling of pressure (not pain) in the actual cartilage of my ear. Clogged nostril in the morning, I can't breathe out of it at all. Pain in the forehead in the morning. Feeling of a lump (phlegm?) in the throat in the morning. Body feels kinda weak and woozy sometimes, but no actual weakness. Feel as if I'm kinda loosing some coordination too, but I've always been clumsy so I can't be sure if this new or not.
I had 2 episodes (3 weeks ago) where my whole body felt like lead - I felt as if it would've been hard to move my arms and legs and my jaw felt as if it was heavy too but I had NO problem actually moving it. It was just perceived and it freaked me out.
What in the world is wrong with me? Again, I'm terrified it's a brain tumor.