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521640 tn?1277407862

Feel like I'm going crazy....and doctors do nothing

Hi All

I have believed for a few years now that I suffer from anxiety ALOT. I used to have panic attacks as a teenager and somehow it seems to have turned into anxiety. I'm 23 years old with a fab life and don't feel like I'm living it to the full due to how I'm feeling everyday.......but is it just anxiety like the doctors keep telling me or is it something worse like a brain tumour or something?

Everyday I have headaches, a burning feeling in the back of my head, numbess, tingling, feeling unable to take a deep breathe, shakey, blurred vision, feeling woozy as if I'm not actually where I am.

My anxiety seemed to be getting better when I got with my current boyfriend and I felt very happy. I then started a new job just over a year ago and I'm starting to think I got worse again at that time. The last year of my life has been quite stressful with two lots of redundancy threats at work, my parents splitting up and moving jobs etc. I just feel like I'm losing my mind. I had a chest infection about 3/4 months ago and I don't feel like it's ever truly gone away. I have constant mucus problems, coughing (not sure if it's a nervous kind of cough from anxiety) achey chest feeling and more. And it makes me wonder if my constant worrying about my possible chest problems is making me feel worse than I do.

This past week the headaches, tiredness and general dizziness/wooziness is really starting to upset me.

Can anyone relate to this? Thanks for reading.
4 Responses
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370181 tn?1595629445
First off, gemma, lose the brain tumor thinking. You've been seen by the doctor(s) and while I personally see most PCP's as bafoons, even the worst of them can spot the obvious symptoms of a brain tumor. Your symptoms are all very classic for anxiety and please don't tell me that you've been "Googling" them and have diagnosed yourself with a BT! Your symptoms would far more severe if that were the case.
Sounds like the past year or so has been pretty stressful for you. New boyfriend, new job, (that you may or may not lose at any moment) your parent's splitting up, an upper respiratory infection, which can really knock you for a loop and aso can prove to be very difficult to get rid of, and is obviously causing you some health anxiety. When you describe the symptoms of constant mucus and coughing, while this could be from your chest infection, it's possible that that infection, if it wasn't completely knocked out by the right ABX, could now have caused your sinuses to become involvement. The muscus, the cough, the headaches, the dizzy/woozy feeling, the blurred vision.....all of these can be symptomatic of a sinus infection.
But add up all these issues and it's no wonder you're feeling overwhelmed and anxious.
My humble, non-medical advice would be a return visit to your doctor............(I'd find another one, but that's my opinion) and get a really good check-up which I believe should include a chest X-ray to see what's going on with your lungs. A swab should also be taken of your sinues to check for infection there. And while you're there, be really up front with your doc and discuss the possibility of a brain tumor. If he/she wants to think your crazy, that is definitely they're problem! I would also let them know about all the stress you've been under and the resultant anxiety you're feeling. Get your health under control and while it won't make the anxiety of your other life situations go away, being healty in body will make it far easier to deal with them.
You said nothing about your relationship, so I'll just assume that is going OK. Your job situation is, unfortuantely, where millions of people are finding themselves in this current economy. I guess you can be thankful that so far, you DO still have a job, but most of us can relate to the anxiety of never knowing, for sure, from one day to the next, if we'll still have a job NEXT week.
That your parents have split up is very difficult to deal with. But you are a grown woman now and while I can understand how sad that must be, you are mature enough to know that these things happen. I realize how lame that sounds because it must be devastating, but one would hope that you are able to talk to your parents about your feelings regarding this situation.
Accepting that there are some things in life that we simply have no control over is a giant step into adulthood. So, stop for a minute and look at the things you can change. Then look at the things you can't. Wisdom comes from knowing the difference.
Do what you can to change what you can. Accept what you can't.
And if the things you can't accept are causing you to feel anxious, then I would next suggest you find a good therapist to help you deal with those issues.
I think you are emotionally overwhelmed and physically exhausted and those are the areas you need to concentrate on.
You are not losing your mind and you do not have a brain tumor. What you have is too much worry..........and when we let worry fester, we end up with anxiety. Get pro-active, take control and get your "fab" life back.
Peace
Greenlydia  
Helpful - 0
1042487 tn?1275279899
Hello there,

I think your only problem might be just anxiety. You mentioned brain tumors, it's extremely common anxiety sufferers think they have brain tumors but brain tumors will almost always have a neurological effect and they can be diagnosticed easily with a CT-Scan if you are so worried about having one ( which i doubt you have ).

quote: ''Everyday I have headaches, a burning feeling in the back of my head, numbess, tingling, feeling unable to take a deep breathe, shakey, blurred vision, feeling woozy as if I'm not actually where I am.''

Those are commonly seen symptoms of anxiety sufferers. I am pretty sure your only problem have to do more with anxiety rather than a medical condition.

Considering all the stress you are having in your life right now i think it is normal at some point that your anxiety is worse. Have you considered seeking a therapist? This could be good for you to talk with someone about all this.

Physical activity and healthy diet is always good to keep good healthy mind-body balance.

Relaxation techniques are proven to be very effective too.

Natural anti-anxiety medications are also available like Gamma-aminobutyric Acid (GABA), Passionflower, Kava, Seredyn and even vitamin B complex.

Last resort treatments include antidepressants and benzodiazepines. But you must consider that i'm not a doctor and those are issues you should discuss with a qualified doctor.

If you need any advice concerning diet or relaxation techniques or even music feel free to send me a message.

Best regards,
M4
Helpful - 0
1042487 tn?1275279899
Hey newzor what are you playing here? Are you a doctor to tell someone and i quote you ''Take some Lorazepam (ativan) for a few days and see if your problems go away.
If they go away, they are probably caused by anxiety.''

Stop telling people take that or do that. Keep in mind that you must suggest people and include in your post that you are not a doctor and they should consult their doctor before taking anything.

It's good you include your journal links on every posts about the danger of all psychiatric drugs but i don't think it's a good idea to let people with anxiety know all that in case their doctor prescribe a drug and the poster read your journal and is having anxiety about taking the drug that might proves to be effective for him/her.

I'm not picking on you but just try to be more careful and less straightforward.

Best regards,
M4
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Take some Lorazepam (ativan) for a few days and see if your problems go away.
If they go away, they are probably caused by anxiety.

I must warn you, Lorazepam (like xanax) is very physically and it can be very mentally addictive as well. There are many problems with trying to come off ALL kind of psychiatric drugs, some problems are longterm or even permanent.

I would not suggest you use Lorazepam for longer than a couple of days in a row.
At minimum, you should probably keep 4x as much time of soberness between after using lorazepam. Longacting benzo's like valium last in the blood for longer than 4 days, so if you take it one day you should theoretically wait 16 days to stop.

Benzo addiction is hell so it's not a place you want to go.
The body starts becoming physically addicted to it after as little as 14 days.
Mental addiction can start to develop after only 1 day. (Anything that is fun can be and often is addictive).
So be aware that benzo's are not a thing you should allow yourself to want whenever you feel like it. If you can do that, you will probably not have a mental addiction.

But physical addiction is a problem every benzo-user deals with.
Don't believe doctors who minimize the side-effects or physical addiction potential of ALL psychiatric drugs.
Unless the mental problems you have can not be cured by psychological methods,
and unless your mental problems are absolutely impossible to live with... do not reach for the pharma drugs.

They are only for those who really need them. And i hope that those who really need them will be lucky and will not have much problems with them. Unfortunately, evidence suggests that chance of having problems with them ranging from annoying to severe is much higher than doctor's are often aware off.

Read more about how to heal your anxiety, and read more about the danger of ALL psychiatric drugs in my journal here:
http://www.medhelp.org/user_journals/show/139638?personal_page_id=833496
Helpful - 0
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370181 tn?1595629445
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