Can anyone else relate to this?

Hi everyone!

First, allow me to share a little history about myself if I may...

I'm a middle-aged man and over the years I have been diagnosed with GERD, IBS, Gastritis, Hiatal Hernia, GAD, Panic Disorder, Tourette's Syndrome, Bi-Polar Disorder, OCD, Chronic Sinusitis, Allergic Rhinitis, Cervical Arthritis with bone spur at C-4/C-5 and a few others I can't think of at the moment. I've had tons of tests (even rare ones) and regularly see various specialists.

I Have experienced many bouts of anxiety and depression over the years. I've also fretted and worried endlessly about various things and had my share of panic attacks but there are periods in between where I do feel pretty good and am able to do the things I enjoy and carry on with life. Anyway, a few weeks ago I was feeling just fine and then I began to experience the following symptoms which would wax and wane or get better or worse. These symptoms came on after a period of intense stress in which I had 4-5 very stressful events occur in my life...

- Lack of drive, ambition, motivation
- Diminished mental clarity
- Brain fog
- Feeling scatter-brained, disorganized thought processes
- Some mild memory issues
- Feeling mentally dull, "retarded", loopy in the head
- Lots of anxiety
- Lump in throat, sometime feels like throat is tight
- Feeling like I'm truly losing my mind or about to die
- Feeling like my head is empty or full of air
- Feeling like my head is under pressure
- Feeling "zombie-ish", spaced out
- Random aches and pains in head, neck and chest
- Eyes feel "buggy" and unfocused, pressure feeling

For some reason, these symptoms almost always seem to get much worse late in the evening and at night. A few times, I even thought I was truly losing my mind or dying. I've been having fears of a brain tumor, a stroke, mad cow disease, brain damage, brain cancer, dementia, etc. Sometimes I can be sitting there and it's like my mind is just blank and it's difficult to do things (especially if they are complex and require a lot of steps). Other times, it feels like my thoughts are very scrambled (like alphabet soup) and my head is just an empty void. Taking a sedative seems to relieve some or most of these symptoms. Some days are better than others. I would think that maybe all of this is just anxiety but the random aches and pains (which are real and not imagined) make me wonder sometimes.

I hope I've covered everything here (I think I have). Can anyone relate to these symptoms?. The really sad part is that all of this started just as I had begun to get interested in a new hobby and was really learning a lot and enjoying myself. Now, quite often I feel like a vegetable - well, not quite that bad but sometimes it feels that way.

Thanks so much for your support and please know your input is greatly appreciated!.

I have had those issues when withdrawing from medications for depression/anxiety. Any chance you've made changes recently?

Thank you for all the responses!. I felt slightly better last night and and today. I am taking several different meds and one of them is Doxylamine Succinate (to calm me and for sleep). I have read that it can cause memory problems. Has anyone else ever taken this and what was your experience with it?.

I also wanted to mention that the day before yesterday, I felt this electric buzzing sensation go through my head/brain. Scared me a bit. I also have periods where I can feel this internal vibration - almost as if I had a car engine inside me and it was just idling. Anyone else ever have these symptoms?.

Thanks again for your support :)

Post Edited (Sethp) : 5/20/2013 4:47:42 PM (GMT-6)