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Numbness and Tingling

Hello. My name is Melissa and for the past couple of years I have had symptoms of what doctors say is an "anxiety disorder" but I strongly feel it is something more. No matter where I am, I randomly get symptoms including numbness that usually stars behind my ears that moves throughout my whole body. The numbness behind my ears is a tingly dull feeling, and the rest of my body feels like it is shaking or tingling all over the inside of my body, and makes my body parts feel locked up even though I can still move fine for the most part. I am only 18 years old, but I do have a history of drug abuse (mainly opiates) and drinking alcohol everyday. This all started when I was 16 and I fainted at school as I was walking down the hall. I got sent home and stayed in my bed for 3 days until I went to the E.R. finally and they told me it was a panic attack. This is before I was using drugs and alcohol strongly, but I quit smoking cigarettes, using any drugs, and alcohol, yet I still felt this way often. Nothing changed and I started my habits up again. It feels like I dry swallowed a pill (feeling in my throat) and sometimes my eyes start being weird and I see lights, as if I had just looked at the sun or a light for a minute. The inside of my chest and legs almost feels like they are vibrating inside, but I am not moving at all. I feel shortness of breath and my chest feels tight. Sometimes when I cough I get a very uncomfortable ache in the back of my shoulder, I don't know if that has anything to do with it but just in case it helps explain the problem a little more. I am miserable feeling this way almost everyday. It happens weather  I'm drunk or high or completely sober. My doctors have not been very helpful and have prescribed me anti-anxiety pills and anti-depressants but I stopped taking them because they did not help me (just made me more anxious) and I do not believe in taking mind-altering drugs. I often get dizzy, and might add that I eat plenty (have a very high metabolism though and weigh 117 lbs) and drink lots of water and m good on nutrients for the most part. This happens when I am not even worried about anything (which is why I think it is not an anxiety disorder) and it really feels like something wrong is going on in my body. I live in a small town and doctors have not ever suggested giving me a CAT scan or MRI and I really want one to see if anything is going on that could be indicated by that. Please help me figure out what is wrong with me, and give me any tips on what I can do to make it stop, and feel healthy. I am so lazy and unmotivated all the time and I feel if this problem was gone I would be a lot happier and motivated to do something with my life. Thank you so much.
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Avatar universal
Should I have a spinal tap done and what could it tell me about my brain?
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Avatar universal
Hi Melissa:
I have been diagnosed with brain conversion disorder for over 2 1/2 years. It essentially makes me have manifestations such as muscle twitching, nerve spasms, rapid eye blinking, photic stimulation--bright lights / blinking causes me to have "seizures" as well as loud noises, gibberish speech, and now smelling smoke and shortness of breath.
They have concluded after multiple tests with neurologists (5 total --as far as Rhode Island) that I had this "psychological disorder".  The nervous system and the brain reek havock with another. Anxiety and stress pushes one over the limit and the somatic events occur.  No antianxiety meds have helped, nor antiseizure meds, nor antispasm meds.  I am on celexa for depression/ anxiety. Cognitive therapy has been my only saving grace. I tried suicide several times, and they finally located a cognitive therapist to help me.  it could help you too with not taking drugs/ alcohol to numb yourself.  You need help.  I would certainly try to see a neurologist and ask to have a MRI done or spinal tap, to make sure  nothing neurological is going on.
Best of luck and hang in there...MFB
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Avatar universal
I know first hand about some of the feelings you are having. One thing about stress is that sometimes a person is unaware of it. In your mind as well as mine there is always that little voice telling you something is wrong. No matter how hard you try to tell yourself otherwise, it will always be there as long as there are abnormal feelings physically. I had to quit all caffeine and get plenty of sleep as well as avoid all artificial sweeteners (gum included). However I have muscle twitching that seems to stay there. It comes and goes as far as severity goes.
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Avatar universal
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=pacerjames&search_type=&aq=f
Or youtube.com/pacerjames
I have this video on youtube you can comment on if you guys want to, thank you.
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Avatar universal
When I get these I put a cold pack in the back of my neck and it seems help. Keep me posted on how you feel okay. I'm here if you need me, and if you find out anything that helps let me know okay, I'll do the same. I hope we both feel better, I'm so scared of these episodes, they are really scary to get out of no wheres.
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Avatar universal
Wow, let me share with you guys what I've been through in the past 4 years. I'm 36 and I've had the same conditions as your discribing now. I've been to the emergency room many time because of this condition and with many test done over and over again with not success in finding the problem. It all start with a little dizziness and tingling in my neck and it shoots down my spine, my legs feel tingling and my arms and shoulders have this tingling burning feeling. I sometimes get a metalic taste in my mouth and sometimes into foam but not much. This just happened to me today, I haven't had it in about one year and a half. In the past it sometimes gets so bad that my whole body starts to heat up inside, I know for a fact this is not anxiety in any way shape or form because I'm not in any state of panic when it happens. You see the doctor's I've been to are puzzled by my condition so they quickly give it a name to ease there concience and to make you feel they found the problem and they call it anxiety, not so. This condition I feel has to be address and I wish it was brought up in the show Doctor's. I'm going to write them a letter and see if they respond. Until then I truly wish you guys the best and and when I find out what's happening to us I will let you guys know, okay. Feel free to write to me and share anymore information, I'm willing to talk to you guys okay. God bless you.

P.S. If anyone finds out what this is please email me at ***@****, thank you.
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Avatar universal
Damn, I've been having these same symptoms, I'm 19..I wish this would just go away
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