All physical symptoms

Hi everyone,

I'm new here and have never tried posting to an anxiety forum before so bear with me :) Little bit about myself - I'm a 26-year-old female working in the medical field and have become a bit of a hypochondriac (I guess?) --

I have been suffering from "anxiety" for years now - I put that in quotes because it's still hard for me to wrap my mind around all of my symptoms being caused by this intangible, intellectual thing - but for the past few months, it's gotten so much worse. The thing that gets me is the concept of what came first, the chicken or the egg? To me, it feels like I get the physical symptoms and THEN I get anxious about those symptoms; therefore, it's incredibly hard for me to believe that anxiety is the catalyst and not some horrific neurological disease.

I've gotten so many tests: MRI w/ contrast (negative), EKGs, abdominal ultrasound, full opthalmology work-up, seen by a neuro-MS specialist (all negative with his screens) ... so here are my symptoms which are pretty much constant to varying degrees:

- dizzy, impaired depth perception, light sensitivity, floaters everywhere, graininess in vision, headaches and head "zaps", feel like I have no control over my limbs, numbness/tingling mostly in left arm and leg, tremors, depersonalization, can't focus, feel like I'm about to die, and (most embarrassingly) some urine dribbling, weakness (sometimes I do push-ups at work just to prove I'm not losing my strength, eek.) etc etc etc

No one understands it because no one else is feeling it - I tell my co-workers I'm having "migraines" and I've had to leave work early several times because my symptoms have gotten so bad. My doctor started me on 75 mg of Venlafaxine (generic for Effexor) and Clonazapem as needed but I still feel terrible almost all of the time.

Any suggestions? I've started going to a psychologist but it doesn't seem to be helping, though she's offering sound suggestions like CBT. I just want my life back because it's a good one and I don't want to spend it worrying about dying all of the time :(

Sorry this is so lengthy - it's nice to meet you all and I look forward to hearing all of your stories too! Thank you so much in advance for your help.

-Bevington

Hi Bev, I have a lot of the same symptoms you have. I have had MRI's, CT Scans, and been to many many specialist. I don't have the answer and I'm 47 and have been dealing with this for a long long time. I feel exactly the way you do, I feel the physical stuff comes first and then the anxiety. I have a hard time wrapping my head around that I could be doing all this to myself. I keep thinking the doctors are missing something. I feel for you as I know your pain. Keep fighting and do all you can to make yourself feel better. Hang in there:)

Thank you for the replies, I'll check out those resources right away - it truly helps to know there are others out there that are feeling the same way (though I'm sorry to hear that this is the case!) I'll keep checking back in, thank you again and I'll be thinking and praying for you all :)

Scaredycat, my doctor is actually pursuing a migraine diagnosis because I used to get really bad ones as a kid - but these are constant (if that's what they are) - so good call on that one!

Sickofitall21, I'm sorry you're going through this too - your story helped me so so much. I just looked up somatization disorder and it sounds spot on - I'll try your suggestions and see if they work and will keep you posted on whether or not I find relief with the Venlafaxine in case you want to give it a try. Hopefully you find some relief soon!