Help latest fear: STROKE!!

Hi everyone I'm new to the group and hoping learning about similar experiences from the community will help ease my fears. I have been living with generalized anxiety and panic disorder for about 8 years now. Within this time the intensity fluctuates from just feeling dizzy, light-headed and nausea to downright scared of my impending death or going crazy. I am currently not on daily medication (was on Paxil initially, but eased out of it) and don't want to be. I try practicing breathing and facing my anxieties and while it still sometimes feels unbearable I rather be off meds.

As most of you must surely experience too, my most frequent panics come from the physical symptoms that convince me I'm suffering or going to die of something serious. Previously it has been fear of having heart attacks, testicular cancer, diabetes, tumor, etc..... I usually don't push my thoughts on my doctor and let him do his job and accept that I'm pretty healthy (I'm 29 y/o and average weight) when he says so. I've heard testimony from other anxiety sufferers that request MRI's, Cat scans and so many other tests just to ease they fears but in the end they never are at ease anyway so I don't want to go that route either.

Recently I've had frequent and long lasting numbness and pressure in my face and limbs, while I've had these before and know they are caused by anxiety they have never lasted as long or as focused. Most of what I feel is extremely close to stroke symptoms, with the numbness usually focused on only one side of my body, I get confused and can't concentrate sometimes to the point I can't speak well. I feel like I need to put all my concentration to mundane tasks such as keeping my balance and driving. By the end of the day I feel so tired and exhausted, but at the same time I fear falling asleep thinking this time I might not wake up.

Now I usually try to reassure myself with reasons this is not what I fear but my anxiety instead, but this has been the hardest since the symptoms are so similar.... till now I have:
- Stroke victims usually don't feel it coming or fear it (they describe it more like a lightning bolt that just hits you), while instead I'm in incredible fear and just waiting for it to hit me strong enough to pass out.
- Strokes cause very serious injury to the brain if not treated immediately, including disabilities. By my count if these were even genuine "mini-strokes" I would have suffered over a dozen already, luckily no signs of any permanent damage or motor skill loss.
- Slurring speech is usually caused by loss of motor skill on the face. To reassure myself I usually take a look in the mirror and play around making faces which all muscles seem to be working fine. I'm sure the confused speech is due to all the focus I'm putting into the panic attack.

Of course I will see my doctor and tell him these feelings, and anyone else should too. But sometimes seeing the reasons why it probably isn't what you think helps calm panic attacks, so if you have any other convincing reasons why it's not a stroke add them here to help me and other people.

Thanks, I'll update after my doctors visit.

Hi Tony and welcome to the site. I'm sure you'll find it very supportive and encouraging.

I really don't have any advice for you. It's sounds like you have a great grasp on what's happening and that you're doing all of the right things. You've acknowledged that you have anxiety and that as a result you're susceptible to health concerns that are not real. You've educated yourself about what would constitute a legitimate reason to be concerned. You've listed the reasons why you believe this is most likely anxiety, and you've even made an appointment with your doctor just to be safe. Hopefully you can trust your doctor and whatever he says about this, just as you have with your prior concerns. I wish you well! Let us know how it goes...

Hello and welcome to HealingWell,

I also had a TIA this summer.  It lasted for about one minute. 

TIA is caused by a clot; the only difference between a stroke and TIA is that with TIA the blockage is transient (temporary). TIA symptoms occur rapidly and last a relatively short time. Most TIAs last less than five minutes; the average is about a minute. Unlike a stroke, when a TIA is over, there’s no permanent injury to the brain.

I am not sure what is going on with you however your sx bear discussion with your Dr.  If you end up with a clean bill of health then I would suggest you look into some kind of therapy that could help you learn to change your thought patterns.  I know you used to take medications but what else have you done to help manage your anxiety ? 

There are lots of things available so please do look into some or talk to us and let us know what you have tried.  The members here are very wise and we are all here to help you.

Kindly,

Kitt