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Is it time to accept that my symptoms are anxiety?
I have been diagnosed with Anxiety now for just over 1 year. I have a huge range of symptoms that have come and go over the months. These can include twitching, headaches, chest pains, loss of balance, pressure feelings in my head, numbness across my chest and down my left arm, grinding of my jaw, dizziness, lack of awareness, feeling of panic/adrenaline rush and lots more.
I was originally sent to a neurologist who performed an MRI scan of my brain and confirmed that there was nothing to worry about and that it was 100% normal.
Lately I have a few new symptoms which are twitching in the right eye, feeling of being unbalanced and a pressure feeling in my head which can vary between which side it affects. The pressure feeling is made worse and so is the eye twitching by physical activity or caffeine, and I find that when I go outside and sunbathe or do something to take my mind off things, the symptoms seem to go away. I also seem to have a black spot which appears in my left eye, but can also present in both at times - it comes and goes. These symptoms are sometimes accompanied by sharp, random pains in my head or neck which can be relieved by massaging my neck muscles.
Ive also had a cough for the past month or so now which has gotten better but is still quite bad when I have coughing fits, mainly at night. I seem to wake up early in the morning like 4am, and then I go back to sleep until I wake up at around 6 or 7:30 am, and I have the occasional bad dream.
I was concerned that I may have a brain tumor at first, or maybe cancer. My dad's side of the family have had cancer and my granddad on my mums side of the family had a brain tumor - however this was not cancer, it was due to trauma.
My Neurologist told me that she does not think there is anything wrong with me because if it was a brain tumor then it would only be affecting one side of my body, and seen as my symptoms can present on both - it is very unlikely that it would be a brain problem.
Is this just my anxiety again? If it helps I am a 17 year old male standing 5.5ft tall weighing 127.4 Pounds (9.1 Stones) and I suffer from ADHD, Anxiety, OCD, ODD, Aspergers Syndrome and Depression caused by recent stress.
I was originally sent to a neurologist who performed an MRI scan of my brain and confirmed that there was nothing to worry about and that it was 100% normal.
Lately I have a few new symptoms which are twitching in the right eye, feeling of being unbalanced and a pressure feeling in my head which can vary between which side it affects. The pressure feeling is made worse and so is the eye twitching by physical activity or caffeine, and I find that when I go outside and sunbathe or do something to take my mind off things, the symptoms seem to go away. I also seem to have a black spot which appears in my left eye, but can also present in both at times - it comes and goes. These symptoms are sometimes accompanied by sharp, random pains in my head or neck which can be relieved by massaging my neck muscles.
Ive also had a cough for the past month or so now which has gotten better but is still quite bad when I have coughing fits, mainly at night. I seem to wake up early in the morning like 4am, and then I go back to sleep until I wake up at around 6 or 7:30 am, and I have the occasional bad dream.
I was concerned that I may have a brain tumor at first, or maybe cancer. My dad's side of the family have had cancer and my granddad on my mums side of the family had a brain tumor - however this was not cancer, it was due to trauma.
My Neurologist told me that she does not think there is anything wrong with me because if it was a brain tumor then it would only be affecting one side of my body, and seen as my symptoms can present on both - it is very unlikely that it would be a brain problem.
Is this just my anxiety again? If it helps I am a 17 year old male standing 5.5ft tall weighing 127.4 Pounds (9.1 Stones) and I suffer from ADHD, Anxiety, OCD, ODD, Aspergers Syndrome and Depression caused by recent stress.
I had many symptoms similar to yours...started out with some dizziness and a sense of just not feeling good..led into vague feeling of numbess in face and some toes...vibrating,buzzing,muscle twitches,and many more strange sensations that sent me running to doctor and neurologist..lots of bloodwork and a brain MRI they tell me I'm fine...I've been trying to believe them...it doesn't always work
Another possibility is the meds you are on. Obviously you have to take meds if they are needed, but perhaps you can research some of them and bring in the inforation you find to discuss it with your doctor.
if you are not comfortable with the doctors diagnoses then you can always get a second opinion. If it is depression then it is best to talk about what is depressing you and get it out in the open. the only way to defeat these problems is to face them.
im really scared..I got depressed and everyday somethink happens to me..I was at doctor he said that i dont have anythink i have good health..But i have somethink in my cheeks its not pain i dont know how to explain maybe its some nerves from nervouz..can you help me and give me some advice..?
I personally did some praying to god for the strength to beat my enemy. So i wouldn't leave that out if i were you. It makes a big differents to know God is on your side. I would say he some how renews that spirit inside so you can prepare for battle.
excepting what it is, is the first step to recovery. talking about it to others is a step in the right direction too. you are definetly not alone and dont listen to anyone that says it is not curable because that is a bold face LIE! I like to imagine anxiety as a big stupid bully that just needs his A S S whooped, u know, some good old fashion pop knots on his head. I know i got a smile out of u with that one. Because you feel the same way too. if you could, u would grap Mr.Anxiety by his privates and sqeeze till he passes out. I know that is pretty graphic but i've also come to relize that most people with anxiety are very creative thinkers and could probably visualize that better than your average joe. no offense to anybody named joe. Well, guess what? you can! The cure is already inside of you. i know their will be some folks that say everybodies chemistry is differnt and they are intitled to do so but i am telling you that it is there already. you just have to cojure up your inner strength because to be honest you are fighting for your life. the life you once had before all this began. that person is still there just waiting for you to make up your mind and take it back. With every ounce of energy you have you should fight to live a normal life. when anxiety says dont go there. punch him in his tooth and go there anyways. even if you think you will be intimidated and emparressed. go there anyways. Now i will say that you might want to avoid things that could be strengthening tool for anxiety like going to get hammered at your local bar. I'm talking about going out to eat with your family or going to the movies or swimming etc. You have to be willing to put yourself in uncomfortable situations. the only way to beat Mr. Anxiety is to find him and beat his face in. i know how hard that sounds, trust me, i know! You be that person you once were. my father told me the secret along time ago before i ever had anxiety. He said, you should not fear anything until you have to and then you look it dead in the eyes and charge!!!!!
"These can include twitching, headaches, chest pains, loss of balance, pressure feelings in my head, numbness across my chest and down my left arm, grinding of my jaw, dizziness, lack of awareness, feeling of panic/adrenaline rush and lots more."
Honestly this sounds like it could be CFS/ME and/or Lyme disease or other tick-borne diseases if you ask me. CFS/ME is fairly common in the UK. Of course it is a very real and very debilitating disease, but in the UK, patients are often abused by medical community psychiatric institutions (literally). Doctors aren't really trained how to diagnose this condition.
Unless your doctor was looking for specific biomarkers for these conditions (which they don't), you will be left in the dust. Most doctors diagnose CFS/ME without doing any type of testing (not good in my opinion). Most doctors don't really know anything about the condition, but fortunately, there has been a lot of research lately.
The Canadian Census Criteria (CCC) for ME/CFS is fairly accurate, and you can see if you fit by looking through this criteria.
http://www.cfids-cab.org/MESA/ccpc.html
I provide this information to you because I was in the same position with just about all the same symptoms as you. I have CFS/ME and also test positive for Lyme disease as well as several other infections. The disease causes immune dysfunction so it can be quite trivial to get rid of infections.
Your sleep disturbances (waking at 4 AM) are classic of CFS/ME.
If you want to know if you have this condition or not, you need to see a specialist. Do not trust your GP to make a diagnosis even if you fit the criteria. I don't know what else to say, but I wish you luck.
Honestly this sounds like it could be CFS/ME and/or Lyme disease or other tick-borne diseases if you ask me. CFS/ME is fairly common in the UK. Of course it is a very real and very debilitating disease, but in the UK, patients are often abused by medical community psychiatric institutions (literally). Doctors aren't really trained how to diagnose this condition.
Unless your doctor was looking for specific biomarkers for these conditions (which they don't), you will be left in the dust. Most doctors diagnose CFS/ME without doing any type of testing (not good in my opinion). Most doctors don't really know anything about the condition, but fortunately, there has been a lot of research lately.
The Canadian Census Criteria (CCC) for ME/CFS is fairly accurate, and you can see if you fit by looking through this criteria.
http://www.cfids-cab.org/MESA/ccpc.html
I provide this information to you because I was in the same position with just about all the same symptoms as you. I have CFS/ME and also test positive for Lyme disease as well as several other infections. The disease causes immune dysfunction so it can be quite trivial to get rid of infections.
Your sleep disturbances (waking at 4 AM) are classic of CFS/ME.
If you want to know if you have this condition or not, you need to see a specialist. Do not trust your GP to make a diagnosis even if you fit the criteria. I don't know what else to say, but I wish you luck.
I'm having the same symtoms and I couldn't admit that it was anxiety alone at first..my doctors keep telling me I am medically okay and that I need not worry too much. I was quite frustrated because the symtoms won't leave and I had no doubt it was physical.But after 2 months,I learn to admit that its purely mental,and eversince, I have been doing better. The symtoms still come from time to time but I fight it back and I keep reminding myself I'm okay and I will survive without any medication. It works for me and now I can do without the anti-depressants.
I'm having the same symtoms and I couldn't admit that it was anxiety alone at first..my doctors keep telling me I am medically okay and that I need not worry too much. I was quite frustrated because the symtoms won't leave and I had no doubt it was physical.But after 2 months,I learn to admit that its purely mental,and eversince, I have been doing better. The symtoms still come from time to time but I fight it back and I keep reminding myself I'm okay and I will survive without any medication. It works for me and now I can do without the anti-depressants.
In my opinion you did the right thing by going to the doctor to get checked out. The good thing is you are fine physically. Health anxiety can be hard cycle to get out of in my experience.
I spent months going from doctor to doctor trying to figure out was wrong with me because I would not even consider the possibility of it being anxiety. If it was not one symptom I was worried about, it was another. In my opinion we become so hyper sensitive to anything going on around our areas of concern an can also misinterpret what those feelings mean.
For me, the most important step I took was first just accepting the possibility that it was anxiety and going to get help through counseling. It took awhile for me to accept it, but once I did I was able to learn about it and confront it. I also learned how common it was and that so many people go through the same experience that I was going through.
You will get through this. It can be a tedious process, but focus on the long term and don't get too down on yourself during the bad times. We all have them with any experience we have. Keep us posted!
I spent months going from doctor to doctor trying to figure out was wrong with me because I would not even consider the possibility of it being anxiety. If it was not one symptom I was worried about, it was another. In my opinion we become so hyper sensitive to anything going on around our areas of concern an can also misinterpret what those feelings mean.
For me, the most important step I took was first just accepting the possibility that it was anxiety and going to get help through counseling. It took awhile for me to accept it, but once I did I was able to learn about it and confront it. I also learned how common it was and that so many people go through the same experience that I was going through.
You will get through this. It can be a tedious process, but focus on the long term and don't get too down on yourself during the bad times. We all have them with any experience we have. Keep us posted!
I'm the same age and I've been expierencing similar symptoms. I don't know too much about anxiety but I know that there was a 2 month period where my mom went through this. And if she got over it, anyone can so I'm hoping the day when I can get through this is near and so is yours.
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