Scared to death

im scared I have ALS... I went to the doctor a few weeks ago, cuz I thought i was having heart problems. Doctor said i pulled muscles lifting boxs, I had an EKG it was fine. He also said I had high blood pressure and anxiety, like my dad. its been 3 weeks, and now the muscles in my arms and elbows, and legs are sore and feel jittery. i am afraid I have als, i have been really moopy and pacing around. I been crying all the time, afraid I am going to die. i am only 23 years old. I am so sad, i dont really want to do anything. I have had high levels of stress like a minot car accident, just finished with finals, new responsibilites at work, my mom was in the hospital for over a month and a half with polymysoitis now she is home but cant do much for herself, and I am taking care of her to. I have been waking up early in the morning, about an hour or two before i have to. I am just upset and scared I have als, and i am going to die. I dont want to die, i have too much to live for. I tried to make a doc appointment, but cant untill june 14th. Do you think I really have ALS or something else horrible. Everyone keeps telling me its my nerves and stuff, but i am just scared and miserable. please help

[Roger Gould, M.D.]

There is nothing you have described that at all sounds like als,but taking care of your mother who has the same kind of symptoms you have may be the kind of hidden clue here...you may be afraid of losing your mother and afraid to face that, so instead have this obsession about your own health...think about that, it is probably the cause of your symptoms.

[Chris90745]

I also forgot to add that I keep having to go to the bathroom with diahrea. I was diagnosed with IBS a few years ago, but it went away untill all this mess started.

[sdc1213]

Well if I could put my 2 cents in I would say you have anxiety disorder. A little about anxiety disorder can be caused by a bunch of overwhelming things pushed at you at one time and you worry about them all.

Rapid heart beat, pounding heart or palpitations
Sweating
Shaking visibly or inside
Choking sensations or lump in throat  
Smothering or shortness of breath sensations
Chest pain or discomfort
Nausea, bloating, indigestion or abdominal discomfort
Dizziness or unsteadiness
Feeling light-headed
Derealisation (feeling unreal or dreamy)
Depersonalisation (feeling outside yourself or like you don't exist)
Fear of losing control or going crazy
Paresthesias (numbness or tingling sensations) in face, extremities or body
Chills or hot flushes
Skin losing colour
Blushing or skin blotches
Urgently needing to urinate or defecate

That's the symptoms of anxiety or more specifically a panic attack.

If I read correctly you stated you were 23 that's awfully young to have heart problems. As for high blood pressure ... It could be caused by anxiety and worrying my blood pressure is always 133/75 - 153/85 and I'm 17 (Panic and general anxiety DISORDERS.)

As for having Diarreha, have you ever heard the term "You scared me Sh*tless." well that's where it comes along whenever you're really scared or stressed it can cause diarreha

[sdc1213]

Also to add bro everything you're going through I'm going through my moms getting treatment for cancer and I've been trying to get my GED and overwhelmed myself about problems.

When you do get a doctors appointment tell them you think you have anxiety disorder and see if they'll help you practice breathing techniques I guaruntee you'll overcome if you give it time (Fear of dying and feeling jittery is a symptom of anxiety.) Also I was in an accident and I thought I was going to die I walked out of the car feeling like I was going to pass out and die but then I sat down for a second breathed slowly and felt fine. Another way of overcoming anxiety is talking about it. You may not believe it but when a doctor tells you that you're fine and nothings wrong with you it helps A LOT.

[Makaveli]

I think it is extremely funny that when a person developes an anxiety disorder (and phobia of a certain illness) that they immediately go for the worst ones. Brain tumors and heart problems are always on the top of most people's list. You seem to have jumped to an extremely rare disorder that most people in your situation don't stumble upon. Which is sadly worse for you, but means you will get a more definate awnser when you go to the doctors next month.

      This is what I believe you have: anxiety/depression and possibly panic disorder and/or OCD. If I am right, than every single one of your symptoms fits into the diagnosis. I can easily explain your tremors, its rather simple. You tend to check your muscles and the way you walk constantly (which is obsessive) making your nervous and giving yourself performance anxiety. Ever wrote a speech to say in front of a group, thought it over a million times and had it perfect, but once you had to do it your stuttered over everything? Its the same with what you are doing here. You are so worried about having ALS that you can't function normally.

      I know what you are going through because I went through the same thing (and still doing it to a much lesser extent). Going to the doctors may help, but in the longrun it may only make it worse. A doctor already looked you over, and he would have see distinc abnormalities in your muscle control. There is no chance they would have missed such a serious nuerological disease. If there was any doubt they would have reffered you to a nuerologist. Trust me you DON'T HAVE ALS. The doctor here will tell you probably not because there are no definates in the miedical industry. But giving your age and your other symptoms (crying, bathroom issues etc) I know what is wrong.

Any other questions feel free to ask.

PS: Avoid medication suggestions unless you absolutely have to. They may cause more issues. Just take a look at any of these forums. 75 percent of the people have issues they are dealing with that have nothing to do with physical problems.

[KickedThePanic]

Listen bud, I know how you are feeling right now. I was in your shoes about 2 years ago. Every pain, every sensation feels like a new ilness that your doctor or perhaps medical science hasn't discovered yet. You bud are suffering from a panic disorder. First, I would go to your doctor and ask him to put you on an anti-psychotic. I know it may sound extreme but believe me it WILL help you! Stay away from excessive amounts of caffeine, tobacco, and marijuana as they make some people anxious and usually cause you blood pressure to rise along with you heart rate. If this happens, stay calm. Do some breathing excercises: 1. Take a deep slow deep breath through the nose and hold 4 seconds. Release through the mouth and count to 4 while you doing this. Temporarily obstain from sources of high stress. I know your a good judge of yourself so I'll let you determine what can stress you out. Personally. I felt myself become very anxious when I watched tv. The media is a SEVERE AGGRESSOR in people with anxiety/panic disorders. Death, Murder, Destuction, Terrorism, Weopans of Mass Destruction, Bombings, Disease, Tornadoes, Hurricanes, War, Osama Bin Laden, Corruption, John F. Kennedy, (JFK - image of fatal shot) FBI, Corruption, CIA. All of this exposure traumatizes the individual with this disorder. Start yourself off by writing a daily journal. Write down anything and everything, your worries and fears, your daily accomplishments. It seems most people with a panic disorder are quite intelligent. Creativity is also a strong trait in people with panic/anxiety disorders; Try to find some way to use this. Write your journal and turn off the TV.

Good-Luck,

Jerry

[Chris90745]

MY mom canceld her appointment with the doctor so i could see him instead. He put me on anti-depressants, he also said i have a sinus infection and is making me go see an ears nose and throat doctor for possible sleep apnea, and he gave me something for joint pain. I have to see him again next month. i feel a little bit better, but i am on edge still. Both my dad and grandfather had to be hopitalized at one time for anxiety problems. My dad was away for 3 months. It runs in my family. Anyways, thanks for everything< i will keep in touch

[KickedThePanic]

You must stop internalizing the stress you see. Don't worry about the events around you which A: You can't do anything about, and B: Aggrevate your condition. I suppose this is your time to deal with what is yous - your illness. Find a way to externalize your issues. I recommend keeping a daily journal of your experiences of panic attacks. Basically, I think we get full!! We are information junkies and are intelligent and resourceful. We tend to use intelligence of a particular issue to literally SCARE ourselves. It is a good time to LISTEN to your doctor. If you don't think it's good advice, keep going until some LISTENS to you.

Good-Luck,

Jerry

[seektolearn]

Wow it looks like you have gotten some insightful information here from other readers.  I think kickedthepanic was right on you are describing all the text book symtoms (symptoms) of panic disorder/anxiety.  Statistics show it usually takes 10 vistits to a doctor before panic disorder is diagnosed.  Believe me most of us with panic disorder/anxiety have had every horrible illness out there in our heads at one time or another.  I was diagnosed finally at age 19 suffered since age 15 and I am now 35yrs old. Been there done that with all the meds and therapies.  
Do yourself a favor try and keep the meds to a minimum and try some good cognitive therapy it is proven to work.  Look up Dr. Burns method just to get an idea of where its coming from.  Please please watch the med cycle they can get you in and its so hard to get back out. At one time 5yrs ago I was taking 16 pills a day most were to counteract side effects from the other ones.  I stopped all meds 5 yrs ago and was in remission from panic/anxiety that was debilitating for all that time. Had a little panic recently but I am sure if I get to the heart of the issue inside my head it will subside. Good luck to you and any questions you may have I have been there done that and would be happy to speak to you.

[schlubby]

Those symptoms that was posted by someone was really good to know.  I sometimes have those feelings and I really feel like I'm on the verge of a heart attack.  I'm not doing any kind of stressful activities.  Sometimes while I am sleeping I get this sensation that I'm losing my self, or deattaching from my body.  I've been having some pressure on my chest and sometimes some upper back pains.  I've through all the normal heart tests and they all came back normal so I don't know if I asked if there is any kind of test to test for panic attacks.  These symptoms appear out of the blue and it would continue until I do some kind of activites that would get my mind of these symptoms.  

I started feeling like this in 1998.  It continues for about one year and then it disappear and it came back this year.  Everytime something happens, I would sleep and when I wake up these thoughts would be gone until something trigger it again.  I feel like it is getting worse now.  I am waking up from these symtoms (symptoms) now.  Can anything help?

[runner62]

i also have been where you are...about 6 years ago i had a sudden onset of anxiety. i had just been thru a very stressfull year and the anxiety manifested itself in this belief that i had ALS also.

i was very very overwrought, crying, anxious, couldnt sleep, and generally miserable. i went thru all the testing etc. and even went outside my insurance plan for extra MRI's and other tests because i just KNEW i had ALS.

after about 3 months of all that mess, i chose to see an anxiety specialist. she was a life saver. it was a HUGE sacrifice to see her 3 times a week as it was very very expensive...but we concentrated on three tools.

thought field therapy (i also had many phobias)
EMDR (which utilizes rapid eye movement)
cognitive behaviour therapy

it was a long, long road to hoe...almost 6 months of solid 3 and sometimes 4 visits, but i am so much better. i would consider myself as having just the normal anxious moments that most people have.

just reading the posts of some people thinking they have MS or ALS gives me a little pause...but i am here to tell you that you CAN get over this.

i had a severe germ phobia, and i traveled for my work...hotels were a nightmare for me, i had a flying phobia and flew every week, i had a spider phobia...PLUS the ALS thing...and i now fly without anxiety, have NO GERM phobia whatsoever and i can actually just flick spiders away if i happen to see them.

you can get over this, i would definately suggest a therapist or a psycologist. i also took paxil for about 5 years and have since weaned myself off of it. i keep a xanax handy in case i need it but have not used one in about a year.

the thought field therapy worked in one session with the constant repetive thoughts about ALS...and then we started working on other things...keep your head up...you CAN bet better!

[hjmcg]

chris, I too feel your pain. I am 30 and a few months ago i too thought i was having a heart attack. I went to the er and the Dr. there gave me a chest x-ray and ekg and he told me i was fine that everything was normal. My blood pressure was fine too even though i was shaking bad and scared to death.He told me i wastoo young to have a heart attack. Well, anyway, he told me to get counseling. Well i still felt very nervous all the time, and panic all the time and still felt that there was something very wrong with me, so i went to another Dr. and he told me that i was probably depressed and suffering from anxietys and put me on Paxil cr and told me to get counseling. I still feel that there is something medically wrong with me cause i have lost weight and not really on a diet. It is probably nothing but i can't help thinking that there is something.