What does this sound like...anxiety??

Hi everyone

Middle-aged male here with a long history of anxiety, panic attacks, OCD, Hypochondria, Tourettes, Gastritis, GERD, Chronic Sinusitis, Allergic Rhinitis, Cervical Arthritis, Lactose Intolerance and IBS. I also have quite a bit of stress in my life and am very stress-intolerant. I'm currently taking Ativan, Atenolol, Prevacid and Astelin nasal spray. I'm an ex-smoker. An ex-alcoholic and I've been on various meds over the years. Like many others, I've had shoeboxes full of tests over a period of decades and every one of them (except for a few) have come back normal.

For years, I have had all of the symptoms you would expect from the conditions I mentioned above but over the last few months I have also been dealing with mild prickly evening sweats, on and off again lethargy, dazed/spacey/loopy/zombie feeling in head almost like I'm in a mild "vegetative state". Muscle twitches, too cold then too hot, waking up feeling hungover at times (even though I stopped drinking years ago), sometimes feels like I have poison flowing through me like that sick feeling you get when you are withdrawaling from something (even though I'm not). Sometimes my throat feels tight other times it's like I have this "nervous swallow", sometimes my breathing feels "off". I have intermittant bouts of anxiety (sometimes severe and prolonged and other times very mild). Waves of mild "butterfly" feelings that go through me from the pit of my stomach up through my chest and head (not nausea though). Then the next day I can be feeling really great, feeling perfectly healthy/normal, highly motivated, zipping around doing a bunch of things.

Some of these symptoms I've had in the past and a few might be new (I really can't remember at the moment). Can all of these be caused by anxiety?. Can anyone relate?. Sometimes I wonder if all of this is REALLY just anxiety or if something much deeper and more sinister is at work. Like maybe I have some mysterious disease that noone has picked up on yet. It's very scary at times and just completely wears me out. Oddly enough, the only thing that seems to help at all is the Astelin nasal spray (an antihistamine) but if I take it too long it seems to have a bad rebound affect.

Thanks for your help and support people!.

Hello,

Yes. I know exactly what you are dealing with my friend. For the past few months I have had similar symptoms. It started back in november with chest pains, throat tightening and pulsating.
It got worse after I had my gallbladder removed in January and had a few kidney stone attacks. I have become very paranoid and stressed from all I have been dealing with that I feel there may be something else wrong with me. But much like you I have had many, many tests and the majority come back with no logical explanation that explains my symptoms.
currently I have been experiencing, tingling in my hands, abdominal pains, arm pains, chest pains, throat tightening, pains in the back of my head and neck, headaches, panic attacks, back aches, feel like sometimes it gets harder to breath like a weight is sitting on my chest.
I deal with it everyday, sometimes it's everything at once or a mixture of a few things. Someday's I feel like, wow. I feel good today. But then I go back to where I was.
I was also on Avitan, but being only 23 doctors didn't want to give it to me. I hardly ever took any. Cause that stuff scares me. But recently I went back to my doctor and told him about all my pains, he said he believes it's due to uncontrolled stress, anxiety and depression. I was prescribed Palix and I am scheduled to see a psychologist on the 18th. It's very, very strange the connection between the mind and the body has. I've always dealt with Anxiety, stress and depression. But the older I get the more it develops into these crazy physical symptoms that have no real logical explanation. I can also understand your experience with the hung over feeling. I am better now, but the previous few weeks I have felt that same exact feeling, it feels like your almost drugged, when your not taking anything to give you that feeling, or like you have a light buzz going. I was telling friends and family that everyday I feel goofy, like I don't feel real or the world around me doesn't feel real, like I'm watching everything from a third person perspective. This is only temporary. It will go away. Best thing you can do is not to focus or dwell on it. It will eventually subside.

Best of luck to you. See a doctor, once he feels everything is ruled out seek some Psychological treatment and get some medication to alleviate your symptoms. Once you find out everything you deal with comes from Stress and Anxiety rather then something more sinister. It becomes easier to handle.