Can anyone relate? (horrible anxiety and more...)

Hi everyone

I'm a 48 year old male with a history of anxiety, panic attacks, OCD, Tourettes, hypochondria, various phobias, etc. I also have acute sinusitis, a deviated septum (left side), allergic rhinitis and cervical arthitis (an "osteophyte"/bone spur at C-4/5).

Anyway, when I have bouts of anxiety, they either come "out of the blue" for no apparent reason -or- there is some underlying source(s) of stress in my life that I believe triggers it. I DO have tons of stress in my life.

This particular bout came on very strong about 4 days ago.

I had been working on a new project and was really motivated, enjoying myself. Anxiety was the last thing on my mind and I was completely caught up in what I was doing. Then, some time in the late afternoon, I began experiencing this sudden feeling/sensation in my head. It felt like severe brain fog, pressure, a fullness in my head. Almost like a burning sensation at times. It's very difficult to describe.

My eyes also felt blurry and unfocused but then again, I also suffer from amblyopia ("lazy eye"). Then my nose started to drip a little bit and I just felt pretty lousy. I also had these sharp shooting pains traveling from my right shoulder down my arm (for a breif period) but I've had these and all kind of other weird pains/symptoms in the past (sometimes I feel like a lab rat!). Then my brain starts feeling woozy/loopy and it's almost like I get these strange "adrenalin rushes" going through my head which is really scary. Then the anxiety rears it's ugly head and it just gets worse from there. I mean not-stop anxiety that eats at you day and night and at times when you never used to have anxiety before. The kind of anxiety that makes you ask yourself "is this REALLY anxiety??").

Now here I am about 4 days into this and last night I was sitting there reading something on the computer when suddenly the words looked very blurry and unreadable. This lasted about 10-15 minutes. I freaked out and left the room to take my blood pressure because I have heard this can be caused by high blood pressure. Everything was normal so I came back in and the blurriness had left.

I ended up going to bed with my anxiety raging within me. I very rarely have bedtime anxiety so this scared me. All day today I have had this numb, anesthetized, dazed, loopy, foggy, pressure feeling in my head. For the last 3-4 days I have also (on a few ocassions) had muscle twitches, a quivering/nervous feeling under my chin and the left side of my face (and the left-back side of my head) has felt like it's "crawling" (followed by goosebumps) a few times. The swallowing/lump feeling is there. Sometimes my throat feels irritated. I have no fever or any other obvious symptoms.

I've been spraying astelin (an antihistamine) up my nose for about the same amount of time (3-4 days but perhaps longer) because it helps with my anxiety but the other day I read that it can cause a lot of the same symptoms I'm describing here so I discontinued using it and the symptoms are still there. I have also been on Ativan/Lorazepam for many years but it is not helping with this latest attack at all. I took Atenolol and that didn't help either. Last night I took an Atarax and that only helped slightly.

As far as test go, I'm like a lot of other people. I took that route a long time ago (had every test in the book done multiple times over a period of years) and they all kept coming back negative and so I finally just gave up in frustration.

I wonder if the neck arthritis could be causing (or contributing to) all (or any) of this. Perhaps part of it has to do with the years of head/neck jerking from Tourettes. I suppose it could also be the astelin that is partly to blame or maybe all (or most) of these symptom are being caused by plain old anxiety. I just don't know. I've thought about all sorts of dreadful diseases and became absolutely convinced that my demise was near, obsessed over my vision, etc. What a life )-:

Can anyone else relate?. I'm at my wits end. It almost feels like I'm being tortured.

- Seth

Seth,

Hello and welcome to HealingWell.  You have quite a complicated medical history and I noted that your medications (astelin - normally prescribed twice a day for allergies) and Atenlol along with Vistaril etc combined may be cuasing some of your problems.  May I kindly recommend that you talk with your Dr. and sort out your medications using only what is prescribed and as directed.  I cannot really tell from your post what medications you are currently using as prescribed. 

Sometimes we become our own worst enemy when we start taking meds randomly out of desperation for relief of anxiety and end up causing more anxiety due to the mixing and the side effects of the drugs.

Also as this seems to be a sudden onset of sx it seems wise to check in with a medical professional.

I hope this helps you in some small way.

Kindly,

Kitt

 

I agree with the others...all good input, I just had one other thought...your attack that you described starting with the foggy/pressure head, blurry vision and dripping nose sound like the classic symptoms of a 'cluster' headache. They can be pretty common in middle-aged men.

I am not a doctor, so inquire with yours, but it sounds a lot like you had something like this, which sparked your anxiety and increased your symptoms...understandable. Migraines and cluster headaches can be scary.

I hope that you feel better and get the answers that you need soon. Keep positing with us, we are hear to listen and understand!

S.C.

Hi Seth! I feel for you I the anxiety department as related to sinuses and allergies. From what my doctors and even my therapist has told me, some of the symptoms of the fluids in your head being off balance can contribute to feelings of being foggy and unsettled, therefore triggering panic or anxiety. I also, too, suffer from pretty severe headaches as well. Because the feelings are so uncomfortable, I can't help but feel anxious when I'm physically experiencing a bad time with my sinuses, allergies, or headaches.

That all being said, if you're up-to-date with a medical physical and all has been shown to be ok, then try to remind yourself that, when you're feeling poorly, the anxiety is just anxiety, and your physical symptoms are not a sign of something more serious. I've had to do that myself a LOT lately, as I've been sick quite a bit lately between allergies and sinuses.

Best wishes, and I hope you find relief soon!!