I am afraid this is more than anxiety.

[madhatter]

For the last year i've been dealing with this, as i'm sure some of you have read my posts. I've been able to pretty much deal with it over the last 10 months or so. Up until a week ago, when I woke up with knots in my stomach, and that sent me into a huge panicking spiral. SInce then i've missed work, and have basically stayed at home in my bed all day. My stomach is constantly in knots, and i'm in a constant state of anxiety, until I go to sleep. I'm constantly monitoring my heart rate, and get really nervous at the first sign of something out of the ordinary. The last couple doctors i've been to for this when I had my last episode just told me it was anxiety, and didn't seem too concered about it. I keep searching online for different things, and tons of diseases and disorders keep popping up which match my symptoms. I'm trying to find a doctor to go to, but I don't have insurance, and can't get a psych appointment until months from now. I'm scared I have something physical, and am extremely afraid that i'm going to get dreadfully ill. I really just want to feel better again, have an appetite, and get out of my depressed state.

[mamascrazy1985]

i have had a ultrasound of my heart as well as a heart moniter and i check my pulse from time to time but i try to have a positive attitude when i feel something/ symptom coming on and i always tell my self everytime/everyday that this will pass just like last time and i will make it to tomorrow best of luck to you....

[jma1024]

hi i know what your going thru with the heart awareness im the same way and i too used to just stay in bed skip school till i stopped staying in bed you need to get up in the morning and get your body moving the more you lay in bed the more your mind wonders and for someone with anxiety can be the worst thing to do becuase your laying in bed or staying in the comforts of your house and just think about your heart and if the doctors tell you its not your heart your just having anxiety then you need to tell yourself im ok theres nothing wrong i was the same exact way i went to doctors who sent me to other doctors to chest x-rays to ultrasounds of my chest and lungs only to find im in perfect health and then my family doctor told me to get up in the morning get breakfast get blood flowing go for a light walk if possible take a drive just something to get out of the house it is challenging at first but once you get into a routine your anxiety level will come down

[forwells]

Hi madhatter

Can i give you a tip ?

Stop googling

All this is doing is feeding your axniety , it is feeding your fear that something is wrong with you . IT IS NOT HELPING?

If you really want to help yourself i will give you a site , it is a paid site , very cheap but has 1000s of pages of details on anxiety and how to get over it . It is not something you have to live with , not something you have to take drugs to handle. It is simple to start to heal once you know the workings of it and can start to put that to work .

Your biggest problem as with many other with anxiety is you dont know what is happening , you dont understand how stress is effecting your body . Trust me when i say teach yourself about it , because without fear of the unknown there is no anxiety. Anxiety is fear and often this fear is soley based on this lack of understanding .

Remember when you get a symptom weather mental of physical that anxiety is a hyper nerve system and because the nerves run the body it can and does effect many things .

You must also eat , yes i know you done want to but this is also putting stress on your body. Force yourself , drink freash veggie juice , eat protien bars but eat .

cheers kev :D
ps let me know if you want that site .

[eyeeye]

I agree-STOP GOOGLING! I am struggling with this one too-it is so tempting when I have a symptom to just check it on Google. Some of the best advice I read on here is that Google is NOT a doctor. All these medical sites will list the worst possible options as well as the best. And us anxious types will always believe the worst. I know I do. However, you read through all the posts and everyone's medical tests always come back with the all clear. I really hope you feel better soon.

[vanphelan]

I empathize with you 100 percent my friend. I went through the EXACT same thing and like mamascrazy I too wore a 24 hour monitor for my skipped beats. If you could ask my girlfiend how often I checked my pulse and freaked out over ever little thing she could tell you stories for hours. Mine turned out to be benign PVC's and the anxiety made them worse but I have them from time to time naturally. There is nothing wrong with my heart it is just an arrythmia. I will tell you what though, I did the googling about everything let me tell you something you don't have any of those diseases!! Doctor's know what to look for and my doc is awesome. He has really been great dealing with all my questions and stuff. I was convinced I was dying of every disease in the book. Hell I even thought I had a brain tumor because I tripped over my own foot going up the stairs. I know what it feels like to be absolutely convinced that nobody is paying attention and they are missing something. Laying in bed will not help but I know that it can be tough to be out and about in the state you are in. Put in your favorite album or watch your favorite movie if you can. Something that can help calm you down. Let me tell you something else. I still do deal with anxiety but I have been able to get my life back and you will too. If it helps to wear a heart monitor for 24 hours and get some peace of mind DO it. It took loads off my mind and was the final "i told you so" i needed to accept that this was anxiety.

[Kryztina]

Laying in bed all day, missing work and things like that are only contributing to your misery and depressed state. I'm sorry you feel so bad but you've got to force yourself to get out of that bed in order to feel better. Isn't it ironic that when we feel this way all we want to do is lay in bed and sleep and that's precisely what makes us feel WORSE?

I agree with the others, stop your Google searches now. You are not a doctor and neither is Google. One of the worst things we can do is self diagnose... If you feel THAT bad you can go to the E.R. but it sounds like you are in the throws of anxiety, not a medical emergency.

Time to take control and get in the drivers seat. You can beat this thing, I know from personal experience. I am pulling for you!