IS THIS ANXIETY?

[thepilot]

I have nightmares waking up during the middle of the night with palpitations. My arms get all veiny. I feel a little bit of tingles every now and then.  I also feel the insides of my body like blood going through my veins.  I also have a peptic ulcer but I'm assuming that the later on the famotidine pills i'm taking will heal it, which doesn't worry me too much(only just the growling at night). My right eye feels kind of weak or dizzy or some kind of pain going on. When I first had some sort of attack in the car w/ my girlfriend I think I lost breath and then my right foot or leg and right arm became numb (thinking I was going to die so i had my father take me to the E.R.) They said it was a panic/anxiety attack and the numbness was from overbreathing which caused me to experience hyperventilation. Other than that I've learned to take deep breaths in a 10 sec span to control palpitations and to keep a rubberband around my wrist to get rid of crazy thoughts.I listen to a lot of music and i make music for fun and lately i notice when i listen to music the bass affects my heartbeat in a way where I don't even feel like listening to music because i might die or something....Overall I know i do think a lot and i socialize fine but eversince that experience in the car a few weeks ago my views on this world kind of changed. I'm 22 years old. I'm made an appointment with a psychiatrist to see if they can guide me or something. Someone help me out please?

[thepilot]

I was given some drowsy pills by one of my doctor's but I chose not to take them because I have an idea what those types of medications can cause in the future.  Today I just made another appointment w/ one of my doctors because for some reason my right foot keeps tingling and getting numb out of nowhere.  Ever since that attack was during my first incident I've been feeling pain in my right eye and during that attack I just remembered that my entire right-side became numb and my girlfriend told me I had a mean-looking face when it happened.  I really hope it wasn't a mini-stroke because I've heard of mini-strokes can lead to future problems. I do try not to think of these anxiety feelings but for some reason I still feel whatever it is that is going through my foot, hands, forearm, etc.  If the doctors say that I have good blood test I feel good but for some reason I still have a little thing in the back of my mind that something has to be wrong other than negative thoughts. Honestly I don't know what else to say but to try and check up w/ a psychiatrist, a physical therapist, or an MRI or something because I want to get to the bottom of this before my health goes down the drain.  I'm 22 and I'm not giving up on whatever it is that is going on with me.  I am not going to just sit around and wait for another attack to happen or wait on the medical phone line forever just to make an appointment where the doctor says "It's just anxiety." I don't want to experience this attack ever again. I feel that I am too young for this but If there's any other solutions to what this can be or ideas that can help, anyone leave a comment please.

[tropicalsoul]

I've been fighting your exact symptoms for a few years now.  Visiting with doctor is a great idea but be VERY cautious when/if they want to prescribe any type of benzo.

Benzos are great when taken for 2 weeks or less.  Anything longer than that and you run the risk of addiciton and many other types of physical/mental problems.  I know....I am just now beginning to feel better after going cold turkey from xanax.

Benzos taken for an extneded period can cause mental confusion, lack of concentration, weitght loss, stomach problems, insomnia and many other issues.  Getting on benzos is easy...getting off can take years.  

BE VERY CAREFUL!

[thepilot]

It kind of ***** being alone sometimes and the fact of knowing how these symptoms can really make me feel nervous every now and then. I believe everytime my heart skips a beat or so I lose breath which sort of freaks me out. But just knowing that you said that I "WILL" get better makes me feel confident that I can get through this phase. I appreciate your comment. Do you still have anxiety feelings? And if you overcame them how'd you work with it?

[cj29]

Unfortunately, anxiety can cause all sorts of symptoms as you are finding out.  It is an easy cycle to fall into and sometimes hard to get out of, but you are doing the right thing by going to see a psychiatrist; it means you have recognized the problem and intend to confront it.

In my experience, especially with health anxiety, we become 'hyper aware' of any and all things going on inside and outside of our bodies.  It can be very scary and confusing, but you WILL definitely get better.  I encourage you to read many peoples' journals here and become active in this community because you will find out that your experience with this quite often mirrors what you are going through.  Please keep us posted!