New Here: My story

Good stuff! Keep it up!

Thank you for your input AnxiousTexan!

I to am no doubt connecting these two issues to one another in my personal case. I'm just not to sure which one is triggering the other. Most of my obvious stress comes from physical symptoms it seems or some other type of extreme discomfort or things such as sleep deprivation not so much a constant anxious feeling as many others describe. Although I do indeed get anxious from time to time, the pattern is when I'm already experiencing strong physical symptoms of disrupted digestion for an extended period of time. I feel as if the constant internal stress of by body being upset for long periods of times wears me out and then I become anxious and develop Panic attacks. As of today I'm currently in this cycle, I need to eat but I'm hesitant by nature because I know everything will be rough for the next 3-4 hours. Everything I seem to try medication wise to help seems to only make it worse as my body is currently in this hypersensitive state. The temporary doctor I seen yesterday advised me to get to the bottom of my digestive problems first then move on to the anxiety side once I get setup with a Primary Care Physician.

Mikedangit11 said...
Hey Orange!

I am right there with ya. Sounds just like me, man. I've done so many tests, even went to a different cardiologist when the first one told me I have a perfectly healthy 31 year old heart. I can tell you that the Xanax does work. I am even trying to convince myself that it works and to take it more often. Not more often because I like it but because it makes me feel better, more relaxed, but I always seem to force myself NOT to take it so that I can drink when I want. This forum has definitely helped me. Lot of great support here, a nice outlet, and awesome reference sheets. Hope it gets better.

PS - when your doctor was concerned about your teeth, what did he say? Was that something he thought could be contributing to your anxiety?

Hiya Mikedangit11,

When you get time, tell me a bit more of your situation if you don't mind. What are your main symptoms and what have you tried to eliminate thus far? As far as my teeth, I never really took care of them like I should have. My dentist always has said I have very strong teeth and that I'm extremely lucky to have the others in pretty good shape considering my complete neglect of oral hygiene over the years. When I hit 30, all of a sudden within 2 years, my upper teeth started deteriorating rapidly. Once our teeth are damaged, it's very expensive with no insurance to get them taken care off. Ended up costing me 7k to get them removed under anastasia and having some uppers inserted. In those two years all of my upper teeth were rotting out, some were even completely gone just rotted stubs, pretty darn embarrassing and I think a lot of my Anxiety stems from subconsciously thinking how unattractive my situation makes it. Anyhow, the VIP doctor I was seeing in Las Vegas explained to me that all the rotting can make you septic and the bacteria can spread throughout your body causing inflammation and other nasty things. Even if it had nothing to do with my current symptoms, it most definitely could have some serious consequences if left untreated and he was surprised none of my previous Dr's had mentioned it, so I took a loan out and got them taken care of.

I've yet to try the Xanax, it's somewhat comforting just knowing I have them on hand but I am reserving them strictly for severe Panic attacks the next time one pokes it's ugly head.

I don't want to jinx anything but over the last 4 days, I've started taking OTC Nexium at double the dosage. The first two days were very upsetting to my stomach but I think they have started working their magic in my situation. 90% of my symptoms have slowly faded away the past few days and I'm able to eat again without any severe reactions shortly after eating. Tonight, as I write this, I almost feel somewhat normal for the first time as long as I can remember. Thinking about it all in the larger picture, the puzzle pieces are starting to make sense. I think the rapid decay of my teeth was due to acid reflux making it's way all the way up into my mouth during the night at rest causing the decay, which apparently is very common with sever acid reflux and LPR. Hopefully, the Nexium treatment keeps progressing and I'm planning on having another endoscopy when I can to make sure it hasn't done to much damage over the years. My Medi-Cal finally went through today as well, so it's time to find a PCP and I'm super excited about that.

Thanks for taking the time to listen to my story friend, and please share a little bit about yourself if you don't mind!

Hi Mikedangit11,

Most of your situation does sound very eerily to mine. As far back as I can remember, when I was younger, for some reason I always wanted to be "cool" yet I was extremely shy. I was kind of a verbal bully because I found that one of the only good traits I had was making others laugh and everyone thought I was extremely funny. Looking back now, I was just a giant arsehole and made fun of others to hide my own insecurities of shyness and what I would now say was Social Anxiety. Throughout High School most of my close friends were like me, and we would make fun of each other 24/7. So I developed what I would call a thick skin myself and wasn't so much worried anymore what others might think of me. Although subconsciously, to this day I know that I still do somewhat desire approval of others to feel better.

Over these last 4-5 years, whatever it's actually been now... Everyone said I became extremely moody and Iv'e lost most of my close friends over the years as everyone moved or got married and started families and such. My father swears that I'm Bi-Polar but I know that I'm not. When I physically don't feel good, I get extremely irritable. It's not a sudden mood swing of highs and lows per say, it's more of a direct response to physically feeling crappy all the time. (Maybe it's karma :/)

As far as the palpitations and everything you describe, I noticed you too said you started feeling them after lunch. Have you ever had a 24 hour holter monitor test to see if it's actually a heart palpation? One thing I have learned over the years of researching all my symptoms is that there are some sensory nerves in your upper throat but there is basically none in your esophagus. When your esophagus gets irritated you can get esophageal spasms that trigger the closest sensory nerves which are closer to where the Esophagus meets your stomach. So the feeling you get is right by your heart and it can be very difficult to differentiate between the two. It's also the same to my understanding when it comes to the lump in the throat feeling that many people with GERD and sometimes Anxiety experience. It feels like it's right under your Adam's Apple but more often than not, it's actually coming from your LES (Lower Esophageal Sphincter) being irritated by small amounts of acid making it's way through when it's not supposed to. More and more studies are coming out linking Anxiety and Gerd together. I just read a user reported poll the other day of some 12,000 patients in which upwards of 65% of patients with Anxiety also reported sudden GERD or heartburn as a Anxiety response. Out of curiosity, do you ever get heartburn or a burning feeling in your throat? There is also a form of Heartburn called Silent Reflux. The reason they call it that is because it doesn't present as anything at all symptom wise, although it is there and can be just as irritating to your esophagus and throat possibly triggering other problems that would logically seem impossible to be related. Also, millions of people have it and don't know it apparently.

I can wholeheartedly (No pun intended) relate to the worries about the heart, when experiencing palpitations. I can also relate to the Anxiety before going out. In the back of my mind, I worry that I will have an "Episode" of whatever it is while I'm away from my home or "Comfort Zone." and my Social Anxiety comes back forcing me to just play it safe and stay home.

Keep posting friend, I firmly believe every detail large and small, is important because it gives us more pieces to fit together in the entire puzzle. Some will say not to do your own research and the let the professionals figure it out but I somewhat personally disagree. Most Medical professionals go strictly by the Western Medical Book tells them to and will only go so far into finding out what is truly wrong in some cases. By law, they cannot get into things not covered in the book without possibly losing their Medical License. At the end of the day, they just don't know everything nor can they explain it. For the most part, they just follow what the book says and leave it at that.

Post Edited (OrangeStarburst) : 9/15/2016 1:47:50 PM (GMT-6)

Just checking in. Two more weeks until I can pick a PcP and hopefully start to find answers. Still fighting day to day through various symptoms that just make the day no fun at all. Hope everyone else is having better days!

Hi O.S.,

Hang in there until your appointment. Continue to use your meds and adjusted diet to help the gastro issue...

...and work those coping skills to manage the anxiety.

Thanks for the update, and post anytime you need encouragement!

S.C.