Anxiety And Stress Masking Real Health Issues Posted: 04-22-06 01:35am
Majority of my symptoms appeared within
the last 2 years, but some have been with
me for significantly longer. I have
symptom free days, but more often than
not, my days are consumed by fear and
anxiety. I have an amazing life with an
equally exciting future and I refuse to be
consumed by my health every minute of
every day any longer. I need answers.
My life is as stressful as any career
driven, dedicated wife and mother, but
admittedly, the last 3 years have been
more challenging than the rest. I believe
I am currently living in a state of
anxiety due to the extended time spent
living in a consistently “high stress”
environment.
I believe some of my symptoms are due to
this anxious state, but i’m not
convinced they all are. I am concerned
about ignoring a serious health problem by
always attributing symptoms to anxiety I
have acknowledged, but not dealt with
seriously.
I have a history of visual problems with
my left eye due to an injury caused
detached retina. Years later, a macular
hole and vitectomy in same eye. These
visual challenges have confused things as
it is difficult to determine which
symptoms are truly neurological,
psychological or visual.
The symptoms:
balance
dizziness: this started happening in
the last 2 years. It varies in severity
anywhere from lightheadedness to not being
able to walk straight and stumbling. It
only ever lasts for a few seconds but can
continue to occur over and over throughout
the day.
vertigo (?): this has only happened
twice and both times only lasted a few
seconds. I refer to it as vertigo because
it is the sensation of movement without
movement, but it doesn’t follow the
normal description as it is not a spinning
sensation. I feel an absolute up and down
movement. The first time I honestly
thought it was an earthquake, but I was
the only one who felt it. It feels like
someone picked up the world and shook it
quickly. Both situations occurred out of
nowhere – once at rest while watching tv
and the second time in a move store
picking out a movie.
Hearing
muffled hearing: for years I have
noticed I have difficulty hearing people
in busy, loud environments and I find
myself reading lips instead of actually
hearing what they are saying. More often
than not, I struggle with low, male
voices.
ringing in ears: since I was a child I
have experienced ringing in my ears. It
is not constant and it has not worsened
over time. It occurs only for a few
seconds and leaves. I am not able to
identify if it is one ear or another.
Heart/chest
chest pain / discomfort: I have
experienced this for years. Never in one
particular place or side - sometimes left,
sometimes right, sometimes in the middle
just under the breast, and sometimes in
the back. Pain varies anywhere from a
minor twinge to severe pain where I have
seriously contemplated calling 911. The
pain is never accompanied by pain down my
arm or a feeling of suffocation.
heart flutters: this has started in
the last 2 years. Heart rate stays
regular (average rate at rest is 64 –
68/minute) I feel “flutters” in my
chest and/or throat. Sometimes just
little “flutters” and sometimes it
feels like my heart flips right over.
They can occur during regular day to day
activity, at rest or just as I drift off
to sleep.
Sometimes these “flutters” are
accompanied by difficulty swallowing
and/or sweating, but not always. They
are not attributed to any high stress
situation and usually take me by surprise.
They can occur once in a day or
constantly throughout the day for many
days.
heart palpitations: this has started
in the last 2 years. Racing, pounding
heart beat felt in chest and throat
followed by an anxiety attack and fear of
heart attack. Palpitations can appear
from high stress situations or out of
nowhere.
adrenaline rush: on several occasions
I have felt a “pop” or a “burst”
inside my chest followed by a “rush”
of energy flow throughout my body. This
sensation brings on severe anxiety and
fear. Most occurrences happened in
multiples. I have no idea if it is truly
adrenaline, but it is the only way I can
describe the feeling.
History of heart disease in family:
my father’s father died at 64 from
heart attack.
my father has been diagnosed with
severe heart disease with over 13
blockages that are untreatable.
I was born with a heart murmur but
doctors can no longer find a murmur.
Stomach
nausea: this has just started in the
last 2 years. I never vomit – just feel
sick to my stomach whether i’ve eaten or
not. Often use ginger root to assist.
The nausea can accompany the other
symptoms or can be the only symptom.
Visual disturbances
ocular migraines: I have suffered from
ocular migraines for years – self
diagnosed. When I was much younger in my
late teens, I experienced migraine
headaches beginning with the migraine aura
followed by the intense headache, light
and sound sensitivity and nausea. In the
last 7 to 8 years, I have only experienced
the visual disturbance – the ocular
migraine. It lasts approximately 40 mins
and once it passes, I feel fine. Majority
of the time it follows the exact same
pattern and timing. I have kept complete
food journals for months and cannot find
any triggers other than stress. I take
nothing for these.
Psychological
panic attack – I have experienced
only one known panic attack. It happened
after the first vertigo episode. It
lasted a couple of hours.
anxiety attack – I believe I
experience these regularly. I keep a
journal to track my feelings while having
anxiety. Most attacks are the same and
consist of some or all of the following
symptoms:
heart flutters and flips
nausea / butterflies
sweating
feeling stressed, tense and uptight
about the anxiety attack
fear of heart attack or dying
difficulty swallowing – thick phlegm
in throat
rubbery legs
headache
self diagnosis is I have a panic disorder,
but I have not had that professionally
diagnosed.
I have a fantastic doctor who I have seen
for 17 years. I trust her. She has given
me every test she can think of to rule out
life threatening concerns:
mri of brain – results were normal
– ruled out ms and tumor
complete hearing exam – results were
better than average hearing
eng – normal results
ecg – normal results
holter monitor worn for 24 hours –
normal results
complete blood work – normal
results
thyroid checked – normal results
I have been seeing a psychologist for
a year with my husband. He is excellent.
I believe my mistake has been our visits
have been focused on the stresses
impacting our life and finding resolution
rather than the impact the stress is
having on me and learning how I can deal
with it better.
I constantly have visual challenges
adapting to the two different
prescriptions as my right eye continues to
worsen with time and my left does not due
to an implanted lens. I believe my brain
must struggle coping with the unequal
visual changes as normal vision changes
occur in both eyes at the same time. This
may be the cause or at least contribute to
my balance issues, but once again – self
diagnosed.
I have turned to deep breathing and
meditation exercises to attempt to control
the anxiety. It seems to have eliminated
a full blown attack but it does not
resolve the attack.
I am seriously debating medication for
anxiety but I don’t feel I have
exhausted the possibility I may have a
heart condition as well as anxiety. I
believe the root of my anxiety comes from
the flutters, chest pain and palpitations.
I don’t want to treat one and mask the
other.
I did not have any of the heart symptoms
when I wore the holter. I did feel the
lightheadedness, but not the flutters,
chest pain or palpitations. I am
considering spending the money and having
an mri of my heart to rule out all heart
conditions before medicating but don’t
want to if it will not be conclusive.
