Anxiety or something else?

I can relate to the internal vibrating that wakes you up. Every am, starting around 5, I have first incomfortable dreams then adrenaline-like rushes/vibrating throughout my body. I have GAD as a result of a horrific year.

Youve got anxiety. End of story. Get professional help.

I have to commend @doorman response. Finally a response that is bold enough to tell someone this is all anxiety. Be very careful to seek reassurance on this site as many people do not understand the mind/body connection and will try to convince you to see more doctors and further perpetuate the now health anxiety cycle you are in…

Your details illustrate a prime example of a panic attack mistaken for a “health issue”. You have missed the meaning/message behind the panic attack and have now gone down the rabbit hole of doctor shopping which is now keeping you stuck in a state of “heath anxiety” waiting to find a diagnosis. All it takes is one visit to an ER to start this whole cycle. Ask any ER doctor this is about 80% of their visits.

Meet with someone who can explain the mind/body connection and how stress and thoughts alone can wreak havoc on the body. Do not underestimate the power of bodily related sensations from anxiety.

Address yourself from within and you will address the problem. Tell your body you are safe and get back to enjoying life again.

@mariell, as you said, it sounds like you're at your wit's end and you're desperately seeking answers from everywhere and anywhere. While members on a patient community like this one can offer understanding and support, and share experiences, we can't diagnose.

I'm glad that some potentially serious conditions, like MS, have been ruled out. @nrd1 is quite right that physical and mental health are intertwined. Whether your issues started as a symptom of a physical condition or anxiety, the stress of seeking answers and the anxiety you are now experiencing should get some attention. Reading more and more online about your symptoms may not be a good idea at this time.

Do you have a therapist or someone you can talk to about the anxiety you're experiencing?

Hi,

Yes I have explored all options on the anxiety side of things and they are in motion, i am now taking pain killers for my pain, but my legs have got a mind of their own, im not seeing any improvement even 2 weeks after the mri, and nerve pain is back in full swing, i am worried the longer this is being left the more of a problem i am going to keep facing with with getting relief from this. i am worried about losing feeling in my leg, or worse it spreading to my body, all sorts have left me wondering. The neurologist has said i should take anti depressants and nerve pain medication. and discharged me, but my symptoms have got worse. has anyone got any light to shed for me, i have a feeling all of my other symptoms have been brought on through stress and anxiety but my original problem of nerve pain stands as a persistent worry.

Hello @mariell, I'm Rachel, it's nice to meet you. Thank you for sharing your story. I want you to know that I have lived in uncertainty and confusion just like you, and have experienced the physical, emotional and behavioral symptoms you describe. I, too, was an over-thinker and worrier. I, too, took pain pills. I, too, had been to specialist after specialist, tried medication after medication, treatment after treatment, been tested for autoimmune diseases, fibromyalgia, had EMG/Nerve Conduction studies, etc... I had a skin biopsy and was finally diagnosed with Small Fiber Neuropathy from a B12 deficiency and that may have explained specific nerve pain, but I had much more going on that doctors were unable to pinpoint or explain. At times I thought it was all in my head and I felt as though I was going crazy, but thankfully my family supported and believed in me and I got on a better path forward.

It is an accurate question to wonder which came first, the chicken or the egg? Did we begin with a physical malfunction, emotional malfunction, or behavioral malfunction? Certainly one can feed off the other as you have already rightfully questioned. It's easy to begin second guessing, psychoanalyzing, catastrophizing and filtering. Mitigating circumstances along the journey of figuring things out can send our bodies in fight or flight mode which it sounds like you are in.

Do you mind sharing a bit more about yourself? May I ask:

Do you feel confident that doctors have ruled out all possible causes?

How long ago would you say this all began?

What do you think still needs to be done regarding the management of your health?

What does your daily routine look like?

I am happy to help further and want to see you succeed. I look forward to hearing back from you.

Hi Rachel,

This has been so useful for me, as it has really had me thinking what did come first, I would presume at the time it all started with a panic attack and has spiralled since then, at that particular time I wasn't particularly stressed but I did have a heavy night drinking and lead to a bit of a hangover and feeling a little bit down in the dumps, and I suppose things have been on my mind, but they have just gone back and forth like this for over 2 months now, this started on 24/12/22 where started with panic attack, and no other symptoms and everything else developed. then for example on new years day, the burning and stabbing started one night, and it was quite bad, comes and goes, so its hard to say whether it is fibromyalgia as it's not constant, as I said I have tinnitus that come on start of Jan, and seen about ear wax, and audiologist, all said was fine, then the mri etc, and thought that wold be the end of it, but they haven't performed any other tests on me other than ruling out the bloods. is it possible to still have a B12 deficiency, even if the hospital said they were in normal range? the internal vibrations have eased off a bit but i still feel al over, and had this, yesterday my work trousers felt like they were itching and so uncomfortable like i was really sensitive to touch , the list goes on. I did used to go to the gym run around doing errands, and was generally full of life. i feel like this is knocking it out of me when i have a bad day it just ruins my mood and upsets me so i spent yesterday crying even with the pain killers etc, sometimes i feel like when is it going to stop. !

sorry to repeat myself il answer the questions below;

Do you mind sharing a bit more about yourself? May I ask:

Do you feel confident that doctors have ruled out all possible causes?

No, i feel like they hvant got the bottom of whats happening, because they havn't done a full body mri, they have only done to the top of my spine , not right down to my waist or legs where i experience the most pain, and causes most concern. they blamed the internal tremors or vibrations on anxiety. so i am week into my amitriptyline tablets now, and started taking naproxen to ease the pain if it comes about during the day.
How long ago would you say this all began?

24/12/2022 - started with just tingling, and then progressively moved onto stronger fuzzy feeling across all of my legs. sometimes senstive when i wake up too and stand on my feet

What do you think still needs to be done regarding the management of your health?
More checks regarding my nerves , and nerve damage, I seen a chiropractor 15/12/22 and she cracked my neck and also pushed into my back, that's the first and last time ive visited a chiropractor.

What does your daily routine look like?

get up, go to work, i work in an office, i work in sales so it is high energy generally, and then i like going out socialising, going to the pub, catching with my friends, seeing family. and cleaning the house and doing work in my house. i love travelling, and feel like i cant even enjoy that.

Thank you so much for reaching out, it has really made me feel better to know you may be similar, did they also rule out diabetes for you? even though diabetes is generally the main reason for your diagnosis? and who was it that managed to get to the route cause, as my neurlogist only did an observation and then discharged me, very frustrating. i have had moments wheere i felt light headed and off balance too.

i will wait for your reply thank you

@mariell You're welcome. I hear your mind spinning from NY (where I live). If your doctor ran full proper blood tests then yes, B12 deficiency should have been ruled out as well as diabetes. If the hospital told you it was ruled out and your general practitioner read the results and agreed, then you have your answer and can move on. I realize the fear and anxiety you have, but please keep in mind that 2 months of symptoms may feel like an eternity, it is not. My best advice is to remain positive, do your very best to pull back on over thinking, and calm your system by using diaphragmatic breathing exercises, mindfulness and distraction. I speak from experience and learned later that my emotions and behaviors exacerbated my symptoms. Being a perfectionist, over thinker and worrier can be self sabotaging. Think of it this way...a house fire is burning and someone pours gas on it. The house fire now becomes a forest fire and gets harder and harder to put out, hence upregulation of the central nervous system. Don't fuel your own fire.

Please keep in mind that each medication you take may have side effects and be adding to symptoms. It gets confusing along the way. I tried many meds through my journey, the ones you mention, and more. My experience was that each chemical I put in my system came with consequence. I've been anti meds my whole life but when my health changed and I was desperate, I welcomed anything in hopes of fixing myself. It wasn't until I went to Mayo Clinic's Pain Rehabilitation Center that I found help and a better way to live and manage my chronic symptoms. After many years of no answers from doctors, I discovered Central Sensitization Syndrome (CSS). It explained everything I had been living with, every odd symptom I felt, every wrong move I made and every bit of my confusion. It validated all the stuff I thought I was going crazy over. I was not crazy. I had a chronic pain syndrome, since childhood actually but it did not fully upregulate until my 40's after I had several eye surgeries and had a lot of stress in my life. Here is a video on Central Sensitization:

- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJNhdnSK3WQ

I have no medical training and can not diagnose. I only have my personal experience and what I have learned through the years of process of elimination on my journey. I am not showing you this video to tell you that CSS is what you have, I am showing you this video so you can keep it in your back pocket as you navigate and rule out health concerns.

You seem concerned about fibromyalgia. Have you had the physical exam to rule it out? I'm also curious to know how long ago you went to the chiropractor? Have you been back? Is it routine for you and does it cause you pain?

@mariell-I have read your detailed posts.
If you keep focusing on the physical sensations and catastrophizing them into diagnoses and diseases, you are going to be walking a slippery slope.

In one of your replies, you actually addressed your issues yourself. Take note of that.
You said yourself it all started after a panic attack. Perhaps after a heavy night of drinking.
Not “stressed” but things had been on your mind. Unresolved things on mind cause stress/anxiety. Look from within, truly. Put your reassurance back into yourself and work with someone as to why you are dealing with uncertainty and insecurity. Each time someone replies to you on here, it is actually giving your anxious cycle exactly what it wants.
It’s just the way it works. 2 months is nothing. If you catch this cycle early on enough you can get back to enjoying life and get out of your own way and head.