very scared body numbness

[jc7jc]

Hi, Recently my body has started to get  numb/tingling sensations all over my upper body. It started as an electric shock feeling for two days at random points all over my body, than the shocks turn to a pins and needles feeling for a couple of days, and now starting at the top of my neck going down my spine and to my right shoulder and face I am experiencing this electric feeling for  hours at a time. also my arms feel like this and I  am getting a pain in my biceps and my left inner wrist gets a throbbing pain making my left hand feel somewhat weaker and an odd sensation in my ring finger. Also my right ear feels weird.

I went to the doctor, they are unsure of what this could be as my bloodwork came back completely normal, ruling out any causes there. It will be a couple months before I can see the neurologist and was looking for any sort of help. Also my tongue started tingling at night about nine months ago. The other body shocks which feel similar to coming off paxil started two weeks ago. I am a 28 year old male in good physical shape who does not drink or smoke if that helps.

They ran some visual tests and physical test for balance which they said were fine too.

Also I just went down teh stairs and forthe first tim my legs both felt heavy.

Thank you, very much.
Any help would be greatly appreciated

[for_today]

This is one of my symptoms as well, do not think too much into it

[Etiean]

That sounds exactly like what I have -- anxiety/panic attacks. Ill get the feeling the floor is waving under my feet. The electrical shocks are alternately described as cold or hot, and they are the results of nerves firing, usually for no good reason other than worry and strain or activation by nearby nerves.

The left side thing, again, same deal with me. For whatever reason, I will..how to put it.. Panic on my left side and calm on my right. Your arm hurts again from strain, most likely. You get upset, you assume subconscious defensive posture, and it does strain you.

Tingling in your tongue is the same thing as the shock feeling, your tongue is just all wonky feeling by itself so normal stimuli become strange. Ever had a cavity or mouth sore and noticed it felt gigantic to your tongue? Tons of nerves in that thing.

Now I want to be clear, I am not saying this is in your head. it isnt. But anxiety causes very specific reactions. Basically, it pumps adrenaline into you. like a ridiculous amount. Now normally this stuff goes away, has a very short halflife in the minutes. But every spike makes it return again.

Its a terrifying feeling but understand, this isnt you being sick, this is your body protecting itself from threats. Its the flight-or-fight response. The trouble is, theres no real threat. But try convincing your sympathetic nervous system that. If youve felt things like eye pain in light after it starts, weird throat problems, and so on, then even more likely.

Neck strain (also a cause of panic) will send pain into your upper arms/armpits due to nerve location. Upset stomach sends signals along your vagus nerve, which also affects your heart in a completely unhamrful way, in every meaning of the word. But once the scare starts, the feeling does become very hard to distinguish.

For me its been like this..a year or so. It gets easier but..It will come back. The best thing ive found (though i often dont do it -- panic and rationality tend to be enemies.) is to never ever give in to the flight urge. All this does is encourages your sympathetic nervous system, and "confirms" that there is a problem -- because you just responded as if there was an external threat. You may know theres not, but your nervous system does not have time and will not risk it. It makes you act before you can think, in response to a threat, whether real or imaginary. It doesnt care because it cant afford to wait, since waiting might mean the tiger pounces on you before you can assess the situatoin.

"Giving in" to the feelings youll find can be done in many ways, everythign from literally getting up and moving to a new enviornment to excessive worry without symtpoms.


One great bit of advice I heard: Pay attention to when these things occur. Do they seem to be happening when youve already gotten nervous? Because then its not a problem causing the panic, its the panic inducing the problem. remember, the system is designed to FORCE YOU to run and react, and theres no time for debate with it, and it doesnt listen to reason.

Youll succeed. You'll fail too, we all do. Dont be ashamed or embarassed, but remember the more you give in, the worse it gets. Youve been to the doctor, so unless your condition changes drastically, calming down is your best bet.

And I know its ridiculously hard at times but remember, here and in many other places are great people who will list huge amounts of symptoms they get while panicing, from panicing. Once you can put a check near 90% of them, you start to feel a bit better. Not always but yeah.

Honestly this is probably better than real life for helping. In real life people who care about you will immediatly seek to comfort you..which agian confirms your brain's subconscious fear that it needs help. Here the emotional attachment is skewed by the cold, mean logic of words and possibly a few vague emoticons.

But theres always folks up to talking, and sharing. If you like, you could even post yours and watch how many people check off identical symtpoms. Its not a cure all but in almost every case, seeing that theres a bunch of other people suffering as you are in nearly an identical fasion is usually a huge relief. Not a panacea, but a reliefe, and sadly, thats all that can really be offered. But over time youll also see that it gets more and more effective at relief.

So dont be afraid of coming back and talking here either -- a lot of us have been posting basically the same thread for several years now. These things help reduce your worry, which helps keep your head together and not spiral into the wind and ghosts of panic and terror.


One thing im always reluctant to post, but it was such a huge help to me when I realised...Are you afraid it means you're dying or similar? I always was. Til I had the realization "How on earth would I know what dying feels like? Its never happend, and for obvious reasons, that information is not easy to relay back from those who have."

Liek all things, this wont solve your issue. But it can help, especially if you like to try and make light of your problems like I do.

Best of luck, try to relax, and we'll always be here to support  each other, even if you dont always get the same usernames responding.

[gofio]

Try to believe your test results. If your symptoms continue to plague you then go back & ask for further help. At your stage of the game all should be OK, so insist that you get help to deal with your concerns. Am hoping the Doc. asked you lots of pertinent questions re. the probable cause etc? Good luck, hope you feel well soon.