Anyone feel like this?

[Fuzzyhead]

Do any of you suffer with anxiety?
Whenever I get new symptoms I freak out that it's something serious. I had vertigo at the end of November for a month and pressure in the side of my head/ face and headaches etc. I start googling and diagnosed myself with a brain tumour, all the doctors kept saying I didn't but I never believe them. I work myself up and cause all sorts of symptoms and think its due to serious illness and not with anxiety and worrying.
I feel shaky all over, sweating at night, loose bowels, constantly fatigued, can't seem to relax and my body constantly feels tense, cry most days, no energy etc etc. Everybody thinks a lot of my problem is anxiety but why can't I accept it might be and not some undiagnosed serious illness that's being missed?

 

[maryb]

Fuzzy head, we get anxious because we're sick, well I'd say the majority of us do.
No wonder - This illness has so many symptoms - they appear, some then go and another one takes their place. Its constantly changing.
Vertigo, night sweats, bad head pressure - I have them all too its horrible. I also have a palpitations and fast heart rate - early on in my illness I went to A &E 3 times I was so worried, they said something not right but no reason to worry!!!
A big part for me was accepting I had a serious illness in ME - that most doctors poo poohed as psychiatric, as for convincing friends any other - most can't accept it- only a few members of my family do too. So that is hard to deal with too.
Finding out about your illness gives you power - its not only about informing others but yourself.
Stress is an enemy of this illness, it will make you feel worse - you have to find some way of relaxing, easier said than done I know.

My advice would be to concentrate on 1 symptom at a time, the thing thats bothering you the most, say for instance is it because you have constant pressure in your head, if so you need a CT or MRI scan - I have just had one done, the consultant said nothing showed up.
Okay so is mine coming from inflammation from the spine - I wil be asking him that, need to get to the bottom of it.
What I'm trying to say is - so in a similar way you too can work through the worst of your symptoms without worrying about them all the time.

A friend once accused me (in a kindly way) of focusing on my illness and not 'getting on with life' this is the sort of ignorance we have to put up with on a daily basis

I don't know whether you are in the UK or not. eg the vertigo - I was referred by my GP to a ENT consultant who was brilliant - did the head movement?? which sorted out some of the worst bit at the time, but thereafter diagnosed viral labrythitis. I don't feel better but my symptom has a name

We all understand how you feel, you're not alone though even though it sometimes feels like you are with this isolating illness.

 

[Fuzzyhead]

Thanks Maryb. Yes I get that too it feels like my heart is beating so fast my whole body thuds.i feel all tense as if something terrible is about to happen.
I am having a brain ct scan in 2 weeks but my gp is only doing it to reassure me. I have had m.e for 12 yrs and I have had 2 brain MRI in the past. My gp did my bloods the other week and my liver function test was raised so he did bloods for auto immune and hepatitis etc which came back ok. I am getting an ultrasound on my abdomen next fri so i have been worrying about my liver too even though it's been high in the past and then went back to normal. But because I don't feel well I am worrying there something up with my liver.
I am in the uk and I did see an ent in January but the vertigo wasn't has bad so the ent just thought I had had bppv that had resolved.
I usually can cope with life and can get out and about but I haven't got the energy to do anything and have no appetite. I am hoping when I get the scans I will calm down a little.

 

[adreno]

Sounds like your SNS (norepinephrine) is out of control. There can be several reasons for this, infections, low serotonin, low cortisol etc. Basically your immune system is out of whack. Welcome to the club

 

[Fuzzyhead]

I stareted fluoxetine 27 days ago. Is there anything to rectify your sns? I have been looking into the methylation cycle. I took a multivitamin and my bloods were showing high readings of vit b12 and folate but I read it doesn't mean your body is utilising it properly.
I have methylb12, methylfolate and a multi b vitamin on order to try.

 

[adreno]

I stareted fluoxetine 27 days ago. Is there anything to rectify your sns? I have been looking into the methylation cycle. I took a multivitamin and my bloods were showing high readings of vit b12 and folate but I read it doesn't mean your body is utilising it properly.
I have methylb12, methylfolate and a multi b vitamin on order to try.

Usually, SSRIs should help to control and dampen your SNS (NE). Which dose are you on? Any side effects? Did your problems start before taking the drug? Any differences you noticed?

You might have a methyl trap if you have high levels of regular folic acid in the blood. The way to rectify this is to slowly increase intake of methylb12, and then later slowly add in small doses of methylfolate.

But you are in need of help from doctors (tests) to find out what is going on with you, and why your SNS is in overdrive. I doubt the B vitamins will clear up your problems.

 

[Fuzzyhead]

I am on 20 mg but my gp said it can take up to 6 weeks to start working. I can't tell what are side effects because I already felt awful before I started taking them.
I doubt a brain ct scan and abdominal scan will tell me why my sns is in overdrive. I know I don't help myself with worrying and being anxious everyday but I feel like I can't help it.

 

[adreno]

Scans will only show tumors and the like. You probably need blood tests; cortisol, infections, immune system tests.

 

[Fuzzyhead]

I know I have been worrying about brain tumour and liver tumour but my gp doesn't seem concerned. I have had all sorts of bloods done the other week and my lft was raised but all the rest were ok. I had bloods for auto immune stuff but not sure about cortisol. My gp mentioned if my scan was ok to retest my bloods and maybe do thyroid etc. I have had thyroid done in the past which are always ok. What bloods for infections and immune system tests do they do? Do you mean esr?

 

[adreno]

I'm afraid I can't guide you about which tests to do. Personally at the moment I am waiting for the result of gut test, to see if anything turns up. Regular blood panels from regular doctors probably won't show much. It's best if you can find a specialist doctor to help you. You can also find a lot of info on this board.

 

[Fuzzyhead]

Ok thanks. Are you in the uk? I have had numerous tests over the years, endoscopy, sigmoidoscopy, brain scans, Abdominal scan, rheumatologist and the most that's been found was gastritis, a gallstone and told ibs.
I see an immunologist next month.

 

[vamah]

Sudden onset anxiety was my first symptom 15 years ago. I went from having always been a moderately anxious person to having multiple, crippling anxiety attacks every day. SSRI's got that under control but also resulted in my doctors assuming every symptom I have had since then is "all in my head."

 

[Fuzzyhead]

How long before the ssri's to kick in? I feel tense and anxious all day and crushing fatigue all day, no appetite, loose bowels, headaches, nausea and just don't feel myself at all. I feel all jittery inside and shaky.

 

[vamah]

How long before the ssri's to kick in? I feel tense and anxious all day and crushing fatigue all day, no appetite, loose bowels, headaches, nausea and just don't feel myself at all. I feel all jittery inside and shaky.

At least a couple weeks. It takes longer that that to get full theraputic benefit, but you should start to feel some relief within a couple weeks. Of course, it depends on your dosage, what ssri you are taking, etc. I did well on prozac for many years until a period of extreme stress caused a huge flare in symptoms. You may need some trial and error to find the right drug for you. It looks like you have been taking for almost a month, so I think you probably need a higher dose or a different drug. Wellbutrin is a drug that works well for some people who do not respond well to other antidepressants. I may try that next, as I have been taking an SNRI that i feel is of limted help.

 

[Fuzzyhead]

4 weeks on Monday I have been on 20mg of fluoxetine. Did you have any of those symptoms i mentioned with anxiety?

 

[vamah]

4 weeks on Monday I have been on 20mg of fluoxetine. Did you have any of those symptoms i mentioned with anxiety?

Absolutely. Heart racing, inability to concentrate, sleep or eat. Shaking hands, can never relax or sit still. 20 mg is a very low dose. Unless you are taking other meds that may interact, you should not worry about increasing to 30 or 40. Prozac is a very "safe" drug with few side effects for most people. On the other hand, your symptoms may be caused by something an SSRI is not going to help (thyroid, etc.). I would up the dose, but keep looking into other things. Even if the prozac works it is only relieving symptoms -- a HUGE relief, I know from experience -- but not the underlying cause, which is what you really need to start fixing. And if any doctor tells you that, because and SSRI has helped you, your problems must be completely psychiatric in nature, walk out of that office and never go back. To paraphrase what a friend once told me: you don't feel sick because you are crazy, you feel crazy because you are sick.

 

[vamah]

If you haven't already, you should consider testing for infectious diseases. Diseases like lyme, bartonella, herpes viruses can present with neurologic symptoms. In my case, HHV-6.

 

[Fuzzyhead]

Thanks vamah. I am seing an immunologist next month so I am going to ask about lymes etc but I have heard the tests in the uk aren't reliable. I know I have been tested for lupus in the past and some autoimmune stuff. I always say that I am anxious because I am ill not I'll because I am anxious.
I just wonder after 12 years why these problems would appear.

 

[Zensational]

Do any of you suffer with anxiety?
Whenever I get new symptoms I freak out that it's something serious. I had vertigo at the end of November for a month and pressure in the side of my head/ face and headaches etc. I start googling and diagnosed myself with a brain tumour, all the doctors kept saying I didn't but I never believe them. I work myself up and cause all sorts of symptoms and think its due to serious illness and not with anxiety and worrying.
I feel shaky all over, sweating at night, loose bowels, constantly fatigued, can't seem to relax and my body constantly feels tense, cry most days, no energy etc etc. Everybody thinks a lot of my problem is anxiety but why can't I accept it might be and not some undiagnosed serious illness that's being missed?

Yes, feels like anxiety and just might be but I believe it is the inability of the autonomic nervous system to regulate itself. Your symptoms are pretty pronounced. I'm a big believer that everyone with CFS should have an Brain MRI with contrast. The contrast is important because they cannot see tiny tumors on the pituitary with regular MRI. I think that might put you mind at rest about the brain tumor if you haven't already done it.
I started having migraines and my neurologist found a partially empty sella that is a result of the infection i'm sure. That is when the membrane around the pituitary gland is ruptured and the spinal fluid starts to leak in and flattens the pituitary. My understanding is that some CFS people experience this. I should probably mention that pituitary tumors are almost always benign.
It's certainly worth checking out.

 

[Fuzzyhead]

I am having a brain ct scan in 2 weeks but only because I asked, my gp doesn't think I need one.
It started with full on spinning vertigo nearly 4 months ago, with left sided head pressure and left sided headaches. The vertigo has since subsided but I have been left with all these other symptoms.
I am in the uk so my gp won't just send me for an mri especially when I am getting a ct scan.