In a spiral with no answers - Anxiety Message Board

bobcat_grad · 10-22-2004, 07:13 AM

Hello all -

I'm a 27 year old white male with something strange going on with me.

Back in February, I was having sensation on the left top of my head that worsened to sharp pains if I was tense or stressed. I went to see a nuerologist, and he ordered a brain MRI. I also started seeing a chiropractor, and that really helped the sensation and pain.

But then the MRI came back showing 6 very small T2 weighted hyperintensities in the white matter on the left side of my head. Well, needless to say, it really upset me. Over the course of the past 6 months, I've had various other symptoms like:

-Minor facial numbness on left side that comes and goes
-Minor tingling in left hand (had that twice now, for about 3 days each time)
-Odd sensation in lower left leg that has progressed from twitching to just a constant fatigued feeling
-Overall fatigue that just seems to never go away
-Periodic extreme tired left eye
-Sometimes I just feel like I'm in a fog - feel like I'm not as sharp as normal
-The past two weeks I've been getting headaches/pains towards the front of my face. They aren't constant - almost seem like they're positional.
-Can't sleep well - wake up lots at night time
-I seem to sigh a lot - not sure how else to describe it, I take deep breaths all the time
-Feels like my heart is pounding in my chest sometimes
-My blood pressure has gone up
-Minor stomach aches and intestinal aches

Now, I've had about every test done that I know of.
-Second brain MRI (no change),
-Lumbar puncture (negative for MS)
-Spinal MRI (nothing other than minor degeneration where I had a vertebrae out of whack)
-Blood work (nothing wrong there, checked Thyroid)
-EEG on left leg and left arm/hand (diagnosed with minor carpal tunnel in left hand - I do type all day long)
-Eye test (astigmatism in left eye)

And I'm left with no real answer. My nuerologist only said it's not MS, nor is he concerned about any other major degenerative disease. But I haven't felt my normal self for 6 months now, and I'm very frustrated. I'm normally a very active person, working out 5 days a week - now, I'm down to 2 if I'm lucky due to being tired all the time. My regular doctor diagnosed me with minor/moderate depression and anxiety this week and started me on Luxapro (I think that's the name). I hate being on medication - I don't like to even take Advil or Tylenol.

So what am I to do? I've been searching for a long time looking for an answer, and I just can't. I have been stressing myself out drastically worrying about my health, not for me so much, but for my wife and 5 month old son. I want to be there for them, and don't want to have something that will debilitate me or shorten my life.

How many of these symptoms can be attributed to stress and anxiety? How can I relieve myself?

Geesh, this is long. Sorry, but in a way, it helps to write it all out. The short of it is, I want to know what I'm dealing with. Anyone out there have any advice?

lexdc1 · 10-22-2004, 07:22 AM

Hey bobcat,

It's really tough to say what symptoms come from anxiety because I don't know what symptoms are being caused by the spots. But take it from me, you can make these things up. Numbness, tingling, aches, muscle weakness, brain fog...if you think about these things constantly they appear. Try to relax, start an SSRI and see what happens. You have to relax though, or nothing is going to get better.

Hope this helps.

bobcat_grad · 10-22-2004, 08:23 AM

Thanks for the response.

I know I need to relax. I keep telling myself to do so. But logically knowing that you need to do it, and actually doing it are two very different things.

I can only keep trying, though.

tooanxious · 10-22-2004, 09:54 PM

You can only keep trying. Thats all I got too. I have a lot of the symptoms that you have and I feel its never ending. Just remember your body got this way over time and it will take time to reverse it. Keep hope alive that one day youll be better and the only way it will happen is by practicing relaxation and stress reduction.

rosyposy · 10-23-2004, 09:56 AM

here are some of the things that help me to relax and ease the aches, maybe you could try some of them:

reminding myself that my senses are heightened for 'fight' or 'flight' when the adrenalin is going off, so my heart is not really pumping louder or my ears are not really ringing louder, i am just noticing them more.

drinking coffee only in the mornings, and tea or water the rest of the day or night

to help me fall asleep i breathe as if from my stomach rather than my chest, then blow out small breaths from my mouth, then make sure my jaw is relaxed and my tongue is floating in my mouth

neck stretches from side to side when on the pc or watching tv

walking

herbal baths, herbal teas

thinking positively, reminding myself that everything will be fine