Do I have Anxiety?

[ltimmy82]

This may seem an odd question but I just don't really know how else to put it. Everyone I know who has anxiety problems always seems to know that that's what it is. Me? I have no idea what these things feel like- I only know what I am feeling.

A number of years ago after a night of heavy drinking I woke up feeling very off balance and lightheaded- no surprise there, right? The thing is- it hasn't gone away. We're going on probably 6, maybe 7 years now of this. I've heard alcohol can cause this sort of thing and it usually goes away with time. I drank quite a bit back then but I really don't do it much anymore because it makes my dizziness so much worse. Before I go any further let me clarify when I say dizzy and lighteaded I do NOT mean vertigo- the room does not spin. More like just a general sense of being offbalance.

Flashforward to now and I am in a constant state of unease. I haven't felt "right" for years. I've been to doctors, I've been to ENTs, I've had tests upon tests- MRIs, CTs, Xrays, etc. Nothing.

On a daily basis I feel offbalance most of the time. On a good day I've sort of learned to deal with it. On bad days it gets worse. I walk around in a mind fog. Ever seen a movie where someone's really strung out on drugs, drooling, and going "Duuuuuuhhhhh" ? That's how I feel. I can fake my way through conversations and what have you so I'm not literally drooling on anyone but that's how I feel- cloudy, difficulty concentrating, and just generally unfocused, lightheaded, and dizzy.

In addition, my head FEELS fuzzy. Not mentally, mind you, but literally the top of my head and my temples FEEL physically fuzzy, almost numb like pins and needles. It goes away when I rub it briefly but comes back. My head also feels heavy occasionally.

I also get heart palpitations OR what I THINK are heart palpitations but I have no idea, feels like a sinking feeling in my chest and as though my heart is skipping a beat or slowing down periodically. Occasionally I get these sensations in my head and other parts of my body- not PAINS, just sensations like someones touching me or pricking me with a pin but they're never painful. Ocassionally I'll have cold and numb feet or fingers that don't seem to have any reason for feeling that way.

When I look up signs of anxiety or panic attacks, etc the symptoms are always so varied that it seems like just about ANYTHING could be a sign of it. I'm just frustrated at this point and need some direction.

Any of this sound familiar to anyone?

[ltimmy82]

I guess for me my main issue is that I don't feel anxious and that's what keeps leading me away from anxiety.

I mean, I feel anxious when the "attacks" or "episodes" hit but it's always a "What's happening to me?" kind of feeling. I don't get anything like "the idea of going outdoors in public, or going to do this, that, etc make me anxious" feeling. It's always centered around "Why am I feeling this way right now?"

And then there's the physical sensations as well that I get but rarely hear about from others.

[Paxiled]

This happened to me, and I didn't drink again for years.  Later, I developed chronic anxiety, so it may be you have that.  It also could be you don't.  The main symptom of anxiety is you feel anxious -- you have irrational fears of things you didn't used to have and they interfere with your life.  You don't mention fears, but everything else you mention are classic anxiety symptoms.  Sorry it can't be clearer, but medicine just isn't as clear as people make it out to be.  It's complicated, and we know a lot less than what's advertised.