hypochondriac

[Bosozoku]

I've had a problem with this since last summer when I had a medical scare, which turned out to be nothing. Since then, every little symptom I feel I over analyze to death and automatically make doctors appointments. I've been to the doctor five times this month and I keep getting told I'm fine.

My question is is that can anxiety cause a lot of symptoms in everyday life even if I'm not having an "anxiety attack"?

Thanks!

[dibren102]

Anxiety can do anything to your body, its your brain that is creating the fear and sending all the wrong messages to the body which responds accordingly.  If you are not in the grip of full anxiety at this point, learn to relax, take control back forget all the analysing, just know that at this moment in time everything is okay and just the way it should be. Acknowledge gratefully that your medical scare was just that: a scare.  You can stop this before it gets a bigger hold.  

[WorriedScared11]

drink tons of water and do breathing exercises....i swear this is a short term cure to anxiety. it will help you get over your fears.

[be still my beating heart 13]

Those of us with anxiety (especially health anxiety) are in the "red alert" mode, and are hyperaware of your body.  Every little twinge, tingle, pain, or feeling of ANY kind, we notice, and then begin to over-analiyze, to the point of obsession.  I know this all too well because I am on the road to recovery from 7 years of health anxiety.  The root of health anxiety and its resulting symptoms are all in the mind.  I hate to say that because it sounds as if I am flippantly saying "it's all in your head".  What I mean is you may feel a pain, you worry about it, you research what it could possibly be, and then you not only have the pain to worry about but now you have over a dozen possible diseases/disorders to worry about.  Because you now have so many diseases/disorders that you are afraid of having, you need an answer, and go to the doctor.  Once you get an answer to those fears, you start the cycle all over again with the next odd feeling you experience.  It took me YEARS to accept that atleast 99% of the symptoms I was experiencing was due to anxiety, and not some yet-to-be-diagnosed disease/disorder that I had.  The trick is to break that cycle.  The methods by which to do this vary greatly and are case sensitve to each individual.  I purchased an at-home self-help program (Mid-West Center's 'Attacking Anxiety & Depression') and it changed my life.  I also recommend Claire Week's Books.  There are many things that you can do to help yourself in the privacy of your own home, without meds, which is the way I am approaching my recovery.  I hope this helps you.  I wish you the best with your recovery, and hope you felt well today!

Cori

[neotonic]

I have been having chest pain for the last 2 years.  The first time this happened I went to the ER, and was told nothing was wrong.  Recently I have been having these "attacks" where I feel I may be having a heart attack or stroke (numb hands, dizzy, ringing in ears" but after 15 minutes it goes away.  My Doctor said he though I was having anxiety attacks.  Not sure if this is true, but if it is It might be due to a deep fear of dying now that I am 45 years old.
Jim

[JSGeare]

Cori (Be still my beating heart) has NAILED it.

"The trick is to break that cycle." BINGO!

With her, it was books and programs. With you, it might be something else. But what you know for a fact and as sure as the sun will rise tomorrow -you gotta break the cycle. You've got to DO something differently, find a toehold, draw a line in the sand. I don't care WHAT it is -flush the toilet with your OTHER hand, drink your juice after the coffee, say your prayers at night -whatEVER. Start ...by starting!

Call it panic, call it an anxiety attack, call it Aunt Thelma, I don't care WHAT you call it. Forget the labeling and get busy.

The one doctor you have not mentioned in your post is a psychiatrist. That's your next call.

Thank you for posting and please (I'm beggin' you) JOIN the forum, become a member. read and answer posts, get involved. Another way to get started, right? Believe me, we need you as much as you need us.

Stay in touch.

[be still my beating heart 13]

I am sorry to hear that you are having such long-standing symptoms.  I recently experienced a "change of symptoms" during my panic attacks that are identical to the symptoms you described.  It scared me to death!  "Normally" my panic attacks would consist of dizziness, rapid heart rate, cold hands/feet, rapid shallow breathing, a weird coldness in my chest cavity, sweaty pits, and the feeling I would die any moment.  But after the birth of my second child I began to have a slow heart rate, accompanied by chest/neck pain, headache AND dizziness, ringing in ears or sounds become either muffled or louder than normal,  nausea, and tremendous tremors throughout my body.  I told the ER docs about my previous symptoms and that what I just went through was NOTHING like a "normal" panic attack and they said that my heart looked perfectly fine, that my anxiety symptoms appear to have "evolved" and are manifesting themselves differently.  It was the chest/neck pain thing that had me really concerned.  Having had anxiety for 7 years and NEVER feeling actual pain during a panic attack, it was hard for me to believe that it was just anxiety and not my heart.  I was having ectopic beats all day every day with runs of PVC's/PAC's for five months.  When I finally called the ambulance I peaked a panic attack unlike any I've ever had in 7 years, and when the paramedics got me in the ambulance the extra beats STOPPED COMPLETELY!  They never caught an extra beat in the ambulance, or during the six hours at the ER!  I know now that because I told myself "your are in safe hands now, if something is wrong they can save your life", my anxiety levels fell to zero and my heart calmed right down.  Lying in the ER I had my epiphany.  For seven years I have been doing this to myself, and my family.  I get upset about something, be it an argument, money worries, etc., and then my body responds with heart palps and extra beats, then my focus turns inward to my heart and I begin to obsess about dying from heart attack/disease/failure, which brings more palps and extra beats, and the cylce repeats itself everyday until I manage to pull myself out of the heart obsession.  I am doing this to myself.  I have anxiety, yes, and daily anxiety symptoms during times of stress, but I can control the severity of the symptoms by not responding to them with fear.  Considering the length of time and the massive amounts of palps and extra beats I was having, if something was really wrong with my heart surely to God the doctors would have found the problem.  Given the fact that the palps and extra beats disappeared completely the moment I felt safe told me that I was just adding fuel to fire, and instead feeling occasional anxiety symptoms during stressful times I was drowning in an ocean of self-inflicted symptoms 24-7 without end.  I began to view the palps differently, actually projecting anger towards them.  Instead of saying to myself "OH MY GOD there's another one!!", I began to say "There's another one, what a pain in the ***!"  I have recently experienced three weeks palp free but am experiencing a stressful time at the moment and have had a few of them the passed four days or so.  I am sorry for such a long post, but I felt my story might help you.  Believe your docs, they did the right tests and found nothing.  If something was wrong they would have found it.  Believing it is anxiety and not your heart will allow you to respond differently to your palps/pain and dramatically lessen its frequency.  I am living proof!  I hope this helps and that you feel better soon!

Cori