28 year old woman struggling with physical symptoms

[Kath1085]

Hi all,

    I'm new around here and have been struggling with physical anxiety symptoms for around a month and a half now. I don't usually reach out in situations like this, but it has become such a struggle that I felt like posting in a forum with people that had some of the same issues and concerns as me to validate what I'm going through and help ease my mind and what I'm enduring. It seems like my "trigger" was going on vacation with my significant other at the end of August. I had not been on vacation for a few years and had just gotten out of another relationship about 4-5 months prior. As soon as I got to the destination, I felt dizzy, nauseous and very "on edge". I started thinking thoughts like "what if something goes wrong or I get ill while I'm here? What if something serious happens? I'm 12 hours from home!" I woke up everyday assessing how I felt as soon as I opened my eyes and thinking about it throughout the day. It made the entire time very unpleasant. I figured as soon as I returned home it would end. It actually got worse! As soon as I returned to work I found myself dizzy, getting chills (almost flu like symptoms, which ended me in the ER once, doc said seemed more anxiety related), numbness and tightness in hands, legs, face, facial and body muscle spasms and extreme tightness in muscles and/or muscle weakness like I just ran a marathon followed by bouts of extreme fatigue. Also moments of confusion, mental fog and almost a sense of derealization (like I forget things easily, forget what I'm supposed to be doing, etc). Lately I have tightness in the chest that effects my breathing and makes me lightheaded- happens several times throughout the day and I get scared I'll pass out sometimes, especially when I go to talk when my chest is tight. It feels like I'm gasping for air during the conversation. I've seen my primary car twice, all bloodwork, Lyme titer, EKG, blood sugar, reflexes, lungs, vitamin levels, organ functions normal. Also saw a neurologist that said my numbness and tingling and other complaints that could be neuro come and go so they cannot be any serious neurological issues, that it sounds like irritated nervous due to anxiety and only found my spine to be out of alignment (going to try a chiropractor) and said to call if any further issues. Only thing that was found amidst all of this was a possible vestibular issue that caused vertigo from blockage of my right ear canal which has since been resolved. I just take Flonase for eustacian tube dysfunction and do exercises to correct the "vestibular injury". I wake up everyday lately dreading how I feel, sometimes with a lot of difficulty getting out of bed and worrying consistently throughout the day about how I feel, what will come next, etc. I'm getting married next September and am just concerned I will never feel like myself again. I was normal two months ago, I was in a good place and all was well. Now I'm struggling to get through every day. I am starting to see a therapist this coming Monday that specializes in CBT and my significant other is (of all things!!!) a therapist. I, of course, do not mix my anxiety with my relationship (even though I'm sure it weighs on it). I had issues with anxiety in the past, saw a therapist for about 7 months and beat it medication free. I'm committing myself to doing this again, but I've never had daily symptoms to this extreme. It's like flavor of the day with what I feel. I am rarely without some symptoms.

Has anyone had similar experiences? Physically? Emotionally? Any suggestions for dealing with it? I find myself so worried about so many health issues and trying to convince myself something "has to be wrong" or I'm going crazy or not going to see my wedding. Words of encouragement? Anything? Thank you all for your feedback, it's much appreciated.

[remar]

No, it's not the placebo effect. I really believe in natural medicine. I'm not surprised at all to hear you had pinched nerves. If you can get in to see him again next week that would be great. Try to make this a maintenance thing because it's going to make you feel so much better.
Yes, I agree with you about allergies. The pressure you can get from them can be awful.
Yeah, I know it can be hard to even think about exercise when you're so tired. It can give you energy though. Even talking a short walk can help.
Thank you so much. I'm always here anytime you want to talk.

[Kath1085]

Good points! I saw my chiropractor today and sure enough he found a pinched nerve cause by a C5 out of place disk in my neck. My back and neck in general are "out of whack". Lot's of snaps, crackles and pops. He said the numbness, tingling, visual stuff and muscle tension could surely be related to that so we will work on it over time. I did feel a little bit better after leaving, not sure if it's from the actual effects or just the placebo effect! He also said I have such tight muscle tension in my neck that nerves are irritated that feed signals to my extremities. The ear fullness, fatigue, etc. he said don't necessarily sound like anything chiropractic, but wanted to know if I ever explored allergies. I guess that's my next endeavor. I'm also wondering if a sleep deficit can be making a lot of this worse. I have been sleeping fine overall, but from the muscle tension, anxiety and having to push through all this, maybe I'm just over exerting myself on top of this? I know I need to take better care of myself and I joined a gym about a month ago when I moved into my new condo, but I have yet to go. When I'm trying to scrounge up energy to walk, it's hard to imagine finding energy to work out! Thanks so much for your time and words of assurance, in addition to my therapy, it has been a big help talking about similar experiences!

[remar]

I know. It really can be overwhelming when you actually see all of the possible symptoms of anxiety.
Good, I'm glad you will be seeing your chiropractor. I try to see mine on a regular basis and it really helps. I'm not sure if I told you about my cheek problem. I was having this weird pain in my cheek so I saw my Dr. He had no idea what it was so he recommended I see my dentist, which I did. Everything looked fine. He recommended an ENT and when I saw her she said a possible salivary stone. That was'nt the case. I finally thought about my neck pain and went to see my chiropractor. Sure enough, if was a pinched nerve causing the pain. She adjusted me and the cheek pain was gone. All that worrying, being in pain, seeing all these Drs and it ended up being something so simple. Anyway, I do love my chiropractor. Ha ha! She really helps my anxiety too.
I'm wondering if you're having allergies. I know I mentioned this before, I think. That could cause the ear pain, dizziness and visual problems because of the swelling in your sinuses. Ask your chiropractor to check your sinuses and if he/she feels anything strange it they can work on it.

[Kath1085]

Things are going well with m therapist. She has brought up the anxiety/depression connection and thinks it sounds spot on. Today I'm having a bunch of random dizziness and some "lump in the throat" feelings. Also, ear fullness and popping occasionally. The more I research the more I see how broad the symptoms of anxiety are. I am going through with the MRI next Tuesday to be sure, even though it makes my nervous. I keep worrying I'll panic once they inject the contrast or have a severe reaction (mind you, I have no allergies except 1 med). I can't believe I'm panicking about panicking..isn't that redundant? Today I feel a bit more like myself, which is nice, but the dizziness, ear fullness and visual stuff is annoying and concerning. I keep telling myself is something was serious, there would be other symptoms, more severe ones or something would have been more evident in testing. I have a Chiropractor appointment tomorrow which I'm looking forward to. The neurologist did say my spine was out of alignment and realistically this can cause a lot of funky symptoms. I'd give anything for that to relieve my symptoms. But I guess for now all I can do is see it as a stepping stone.

[remar]

I understand. There are many Drs out there that know very little about anxiety and depression. I think I may have told you that I saw several Drs and had many tests done before I was finally diagnosed with depression and anxiety. Once I got in to therapy and started meds I was so much better. The dizziness, aches, pains, trouble concentrating, all of that got so much better. When I'm very anxious, and it still happens at times, I can feel weak and have visual disturbances. I know about the buzzing too.
I'm so glad you know about vitamins and minerals. It sounds like you're getting everything you need as far as that's concerned.
How are things going with your therapist? Has he/she brought up the possibility of this being depression and anxiety?

[Kath1085]

Agreed, I think it may give me more piece of mind, I'm just concerned about unnecessary medical procedures. Mind you the ENT ordered this, not the Neurologist and he said all of my tests that he had performed were fine. As soon as I had "well I've had some numbness.." he immediately said I needed an MRI with contrast. This man was also pushing 80 and basically said it's his medical duty to figure out any medical anomaly from a medical standpoint. Psychiatry and mental challenges are not his field. How are these people supposed to make you feel comfortable? I said I was worried about anxiety! Tacking on more medical procedures doesn't exactly help the issue! Yes, I am very into natural remedies and am very familiar with searching for quality supplements. I usually order mine off of Amazon or try and support local, smaller health food stores. Right now I just started a B complex supplement, Magnesium, COQ10, Fish Oil, Cranberry, Juice Plus multi vitamins and Vit D. I was tested for various vitamin deficiencies and they all, of course, came back normal. Today I've had dizziness, racing thoughts, difficulty concentrating and even forming thoughts and sentences, muscle spasms and weakness in arms and legs and some buzzing in my head intermittently. I wish this would all just turn off, but I'm also trying to be realistic in that I know all of this will not go away overnight. Especially with physical symptoms. Body systems as well as mental processes need to recuperate. I just pray it comes sooner rather than later!