Could this really ALL be anxiety?!

Sorry this is so long but I really, really appreciate anyone who reads and gives input!
I just turned 22 and I have been plagued with the craziest symptoms for going on a year. I have had anxiety to some extent all of my life and depression/anxiety sort of run in my family. I've seen about 10 doctors and all of them diagnosed me with anxiety, and most of them said anxiety was responsible for all of my symptoms. But with how debilitating this has been, and how I've never had any of these problems before, I just don't know.
My problems started right after I turned 21, in March of 2012. I started feeling kind of sick to my stomach in the mornings and I was very tired a lot of the time. Thought I could be pregnant, got tested and it was negative.
Then around the beginning of April those symptoms got a little worse, and I kept getting headaches, which was unusual for me. A couple days later I started coming down with a virus, or what I think was a virus. It basically started with dizzy/lightheaded spells and fatigue, progressed to nausea and vomiting, and sharp pains in my ribs and back. I stayed in bed for a week, started feeling better and thought I was going to go back to my life.
Two weeks later the dizzy/lightheaded feelings started coming back, then turned into stomach problems like nausea, vomiting, and no appetite. I started vomiting every morning like clockwork. Nausea would wake me up. I was CONSTANTLY dizzy and lightheaded, thought it was because I wasn't eating, then when I started eating again the feeling stuck.
Some more symptoms appeared... I started getting a very slight weak feeling on the whole left side of my body that was on and off. Then I started getting symptoms like hypoglycemia; even though I was usually nauseous and didn't have much of an appetite I had to eat every couple hours to keep the lightheaded feeling at bay. Sometimes I would be just sitting there and I would get a wave of lightheadedness or just a weird feeling in my head that made me feel like I was going to pass out, but I never actually fainted. Some days I felt much better, other days I felt like I was going to die.
Some of the symptoms faded... the morning vomiting gradually tapered off, and hasn't happened since late September *knock on wood*. The lightheaded feeling isn't AS constant. I thought I was getting gradually better in October - January, then starting in February I started getting worse. Here are my symptoms right now:
-I have to eat CONSTANTLY or I will feel like I'm going to pass out. It's exactly like hypoglycemia, but when I check my blood sugar it's always normal.
-I have a lot of nausea and some IBS-like symptoms, and also gas and bloating. The gas was absolutely awful in late summer/fall, but has gotten slightly better. I was getting gas pains so bad I couldn't move.
-In the past two weeks I have been getting weak feelings in my arms and legs. I had an infection in my finger and thought the weakness/malaise was part of that, then I took antibiotics and it healed and I still feel bad. The weakness has been scaring the crap out of me and making me think I have MS... but it usually only happens when I need to eat, or sometimes right after I eat. Today it happened in a store right after I ate a meal, and I felt lightheaded and just like I was in a daze.
-Sometimes I get slight pains in my ribs and back like when I had that virus, but not nearly as severe.

That's about the extent of it right now. I felt like I was learning to live with it for a while but now it's getting so much worse again. Part of me wants to accept anxiety/panic disorder as a diagnosis because I HAVE had panic attacks during this, my heart rate is always really fast, I went through a lot of emotional stress before this happened, etc. But I don't want to keep thinking that and ignore a more serious problem.

Hi Lindsay.:)

I am sorry that you are still struggling to get a definitive answer for the way that you are feeling. This can be extremely confusing and frustrating.

However, since you have seen so many doctors and had the major screening tests come back as showing you are healthy...it may be time to put your energy towards treating the anxiety as JPE suggested.

I can't remember if you have done any therapy, but if not, then I strongly urge you to take this step.

It is hard to believe the symptoms that anxiety can cause, but many of us are here to tell you that we have felt similar to what you have described.

If the therapy helps to relieve your anxiety and subsequent symptoms...then hooray, right?

If it does not help, then at the very least, you will gain some new insight and tools to deal with the ongoing search for the answers in regards to your health.

I wish that we could help more...there is just no magic answer or quick fix. I do encourage you to keep doing whatever you can to get the answers that you need, so that you can feel well again.

With much support,

S.C.

lindsay0891 said...
Thanks guys.
Have either of you had hypoglycemia symptoms due to anxiety/panic disorder? That's the most debilitating and frustrating symptom I have.

Hello Lindsay. I was doing a Google search and ran across this forum and your thread and
just registered because I wanted to reply to you. First off I am sorry you are experiencing
all these horrible symptoms, most of them I also experience. Especially yesterday. I had the worse
back pain in my upper back and shoulders from all the tension and I was nauseas all day and night. Anyhow, about the hypoglycemia, I experience this as well! I have always struggled with low blood sugar problems ever since I was 14, I am 40 now but it has gotten worse over last 2 or so yrs. I am in a constant state of anxiety and lately get panic attacks almost daily. A psychiatrist I used to see a yr or so ago told me when we are in a panic state or high anxiety, our bodies produce adrenaline, which makes us feel all wired and like we are on speed or something ( well at least that is how I feel!) If I remember correctly, something about all this adrenaline and we are in the "fight or flight" state makes our bodies produce too much insulin which then makes our blood sugars DROP and we get hypoglycemia. So, if we are in a high state of anxiety all the time we are constantly getting low blood sugars and feel hungry/need to eat. Apparently this is not healthy for our bodies to go through this. Anxiety and panic attacks REALLY take it's toll on our bodies. I sometimes have to get up in the middle of the night to have a snack; it is really annoying. I feel like I need to eat all the time, but just small healthy meals w/enough protein. Avoid sugar! I am having a horrible time myself w/these panic attacks so I know how you feel. The key is to get a tackle on your anxiety and to get relaxed. If you are able to exercise, like go walking, that is the BEST medicine for panic attacks and anxiety! I have multiple physical med problems that make it hard for me to exercise so that is why it's so hard for me
to manage my panic disorder. I'm looking for a new therapist cause meds just aren't enough.

I'mdoing a little better lately. I had a doctor's appointment on Wednesday and when they tell me nothing's wrong it usually frustrates me but she was really reassuring and told me I'm so young and have had so many normal tests, there is absolutely nothing seriously wrong with me and I have nothing to worry about. I feel pretty bad still but I think I can get over it if I really just try to push through all the physical symptoms and accept they're there and will go away...

Lindsay, TOP is right when we are in a adrenalin charged state our pulse is high our heart will use up stored energy called glucose,
when it is depleted we can have many symptoms, weakness in limbs, tired, even thirsty , none of this will do any permanent damage. Peace!

Larry ***

lindsay0891 said...
Wow, that's really interesting! Have you actually checked your blood sugar? It's so confusing because mine is always in the normal range yet I feel "classic" hypoglycemia symptoms, and it's getting worse.

Hi, sorry for taking long to respond but i've been getting migraines daily, yeah
dealing w/that on top of everything else! Yes, it IS really interesting. I have gotten my blood sugar checked many times just from being in the hospital (surgeries) last couple yrs. and had to go to E/R many times. Blood
sugar all "normal". But, I should check it in the middle of the night when I feel the worst. My mom
has a blood glucose monitor machine i could use. Lately i have been feeling better, though.