Still very worried :-(

[Anxiety Jim]

Hi,

As some of you may know over the last week or two I've been very worried about various cancers (stomach, liver, bowel, pancreatic, kidney) and also of a DVT/blood clot, and since last night I've been having heart worries too.

I was just falling asleep when I suddenly woke up, I couldn't move, I couldn't breath and I had bad pain in my chest. And ever since that happened whenever I lie down my chest hurts, and it feels like my heart isn't beating right :-(

I wish I could put it down to palpitations, but it doesn't feel like skipped/extra beats, it feels like my chest is constantly shaking, like a phone on vibrate. It's got me very very worried indeed, and this on top of all of my other worries is driving me insane!

I've got an appointment to see my GP on Thursday to talk about my symptoms as well as health anxiety.

I was wondering if anyone has experienced this heart thing?

[Anxious_gal]

Might have been sleep paralyisis, happens to me when I fall asleep on my back or am very stressed out. Basically your mind wakes up before your body.

How long did it last for?

Well if it only hurts when you lie down, the it might just be tense or sore muscles.
I find with my heart palps they tend to be worse when I am lying down.

Is your heart racing? That can make your chest feel as if it's vibrating. Happens to me lots.

Anxiety and the low calcium can both make your heart race or beat funny, but like I said heart issues are picked up in the ECG/EKG .

Being anxious will make all your symptoms worse as well as cause more symptoms.
You should ring a friend or watch tv and see if it goes away when you are not paying attention to the symptoms.

Maybe see if the doctor can see you sooner?

[Anxiety Jim]

Hi Anxious Gal,

It lasted for about 10 seconds, I was terrified, I thought it was a heart attack/cardiac arrest. I couldn't move or breath or anything, and it felt like all my muscles were contracting, because I was sleeping face down, but when it happened my head lifted off the pillow and then I couldn't move...

My heart was at it's normal rate of 80bpm, but every now and then there were 4 or 5 beats really close together and then a long gap.

[Anxious_gal]

It could have to do with you sleeping face down.

What do you mean by contractions ? Feeling as if your whole body is shaking is very comon when falling asleep or just waking up . It can feel pretty intense as if your whole body is shaking .

Well if you moved before it happened, maybe you pintched a nerve or your muscles locked up and you got stuck for a few seconds?

I often wake up n find it can take me a few seconds to breath in air, always kind of scary.

You might have had some palpitations from the fright.
You would have panicked a little after you woke up .

Does the chest pain hurt more when you move?
If I sleep on my belly, my ribs and chest will be rather achy and sore .

[Anxiety Jim]

I nearly always sleep face down, it helps my sleep apnoea.

I mean my whole body went rigid, like I was being electrocuted or something, it's happened once before, and it's really gotten me worried.

I've been having palpitations for a few days now, and it's really gotten me frightened, I've got low calcium, which is quite often caused by hypoparathyroid which if left untreated causes heart rhythm problems.

And also, hypoparathyroid is quite often caused by advanced cancer in the first place :-(

---------- Post added at 22:56 ---------- Previous post was at 21:10 ----------

I really can't cope with thinking I've only got weeks/months to live, how do people get over this? and if I do have cancer, how will I ever cope with that?

[nomorepanic]

Jim

You do not have cancer at all as the blood tests would have shown abnormalities.

What you do have is HA and what you also need to do is start some therapy of some kind and do some self-help in the meantime.

[Anxiety Jim]

I thought if my blood test came back OK I'd feel relaxed, but because I've got low calcium that's really hurt my progress, and can mean lots of diseases :-(

I've been reading the articles on here, and they're helping me see that I'm always thinking the worst. But the worst happens a lot, everywhere you look on the internet on on the news people are dying, and it really terrifies me.

[nomorepanic]

Everyone is going to die Jim. How you choose to LIVE your life makes the difference.

Would you rather live it waiting to die or live it?

You are putting yourself under enormous stress too and that is not good for your health so try and look at it like that

[Louise36]

I totally empathise with you as have had cancer worries for yrs now and know that even if you are given the all clear another health worry will spring up and take it's place before you even have time to relax.
I often think about how I would cope if I was told I had cancer... I don't think I could cope, but as we all know lots of people do cope and maybe if you were in that situation you would cope bcos you have to. It seems to me that I worry about coping a lot. But if it were to happen, I would hope we would have a good support network. Nicola is correct in saying why waste time worrying when life is for living, we all know that, but it is so hard to drag yourself away from your thoughts when you are in the midst of an anxiety. I'm sure you do not have cancers you would look and feel ill. My friend had pancreatic c and he looked very ill not long after diagnosis... There were things wrong with his blood results and then he had tohave further tests to diagnose. Take care. There are lots of us out here all feeling the same as you. Louise.

[GoogleNoMore]

I've been reading the articles on here, and they're helping me see that I'm always thinking the worst. But the worst happens a lot, everywhere you look on the internet on on the news people are dying, and it really terrifies me.


That's true, the worst does happen a lot. But so does the good, the great, and the awesome. Those things happen every day too. Unfortunately, though, we live in a world where bad and pain sells. That's why you see it everywhere. It's not because there's more of it, it's because there's more of it shown. The good is there. In fact, we see so much good here, on the forum, don't we? The positive stories and the reassuring stories and the success stories and even the "Hey, the doctor said I'm healthy" stories?

Death can be terrifying, but it is also a reality. But you are not dead yet. Don't give up on life because of a fear of death. And hopefully you and your GP will come up with a strong plan to help you work on your anxiety. Then it will be easier for you to see the good stuff. I know this because I was where you are. It can get better.

[Anxious_gal]

Have you been diagnoised with tyroid problems and sleep apnea?
Working on getting healthy would really help with the apnea and calcium levels and that's something that's within your control.

Do you have any friends, family you can talk to?
Ask your doctor for therapy or help for your anxiety .

[Anxiety Jim]

I've diagnosed myself with sleep apnoea because I often wake up suddenly and take a big breath in.

I've not been diagnosed with thyroid problems, but I think it's pretty likely because of my low calcium levels, that or it's cancer.

As for the weight, I lost 5kg in 8 days, that seems pretty fast to me, which makes me think it's cancer making me lose it so quickly :-(

[spuder]

my hubbys got sleep apnoea he has had it since we have been married he will sleep then wake up couging scares me but sleep apnoea wont kill you i dont think as he is still here

[Anxious_gal]

You know what else causes low calcium, not getting enough from your diet .
Are you taking the tablets at least?


Is 5kg 11 pounds?
Well stress, not eating causes weighloss .
Also the more you weigh the faster you loose weight, as your body has to work harder than normal to carry all that weight and to pump blood around and so on.
So when you diet the first few pounds often fall off very quick :)

Mention the weighloss to your doctor though just so he's aware .

There's no way to rule out all illnesses ! So you will always be able to find something to worry about .

Do you think you'll manage until you get to see the doctor?
How are you doing in general ? Are you still able to get out, do stuff, meet people ?

[Dizzzie]

hey jim sorry to hear your feeling that way i too went through a phase where i thought i had various things wrong with me only to find out i did not all panic and axiety related i think aswell when we feel something is wrong we can sometimes look stuff up on the internet and u may think i have those symptoms which deos not help ive stopped doing that, you are thinking the worst when i have a panic attack thats what happens i think the worst apart from starting on citalopram i have had to change the way i think i tell myself i have had tests im fine its just the panic, i think im no expert its a mind thing but if your feeling desperate go to the doctor get some reassurance , are you getting any kind of therapy or medicine ?? :hugs:

[Anxiety Jim]

You know what else causes low calcium, not getting enough from your diet .
Are you taking the tablets at least?

I've never been told I have low calcium before, and my diet is basically the same, and I've had quite a few blood tests over the last 5 years.


Is 5kg 11 pounds?
Well stress, not eating causes weighloss .
Also the more you weigh the faster you loose weight, as your body has to work harder than normal to carry all that weight and to pump blood around and so on.
So when you diet the first few pounds often fall off very quick :)

Mention the weighloss to your doctor though just so he's aware .

Yes 11 pounds. I've not been eating much at all because I'm never hungry, and when I do eat I get full very quickly. I would have thought I'd be happy to be losing weight, but it just makes me think of cancer now :-(



There's no way to rule out all illnesses ! So you will always be able to find something to worry about .

Do you think you'll manage until you get to see the doctor?
How are you doing in general ? Are you still able to get out, do stuff, meet people ?

I'm not sure if I'll manage, the soonest I could see him anyway would be Tuesday, because of the bank holiday. So I hope I can last till Thursday.

I'm not doing well in general, I've only seen friends once in the past month, the rest of the time I'm at home. And today I'm going to my sisters wedding which is making me really anxious, I'll be there for about 8 hours in total, I'm so nervous about having a panic attack and trying to talk to people I don't know.

:-(

[Dizzzie]

hey jim u know what i do if im out at busy place and feel an attack coming on head for the toilet head for a cubicle x:)

[Anxious_gal]

My diets always been pretty much the same but I got diagnoised with low calcium too!
So really I wouldn't worry too much.

I get full very fast too, the anxiety really messes with my appetite. :(
But loosing weight is good if you're overweight :) so the weight coming off is making your body more healthy.

Aw hope you manage to have a little fun at wedding.
Try to keep in touch with your friends via phone or online.

The ladies rooms in hotels can be so relaxing , often with a seperate area filled with mirrors and lounge chairs :)
I've no idea what the men's room is like in comparrison ;p

Have a drink but don't get drunk! Make sure to stay hydrated.
Drink n hangovers aren't worth the Xtra anxiety .

If you're having trouble with chat, download a new browser such as Google Chrome :)
Might work.

[Louise36]

You only need to worry more about losing weight if you are eatingnormally and still losing weight. The fact that you have said you are not eating much means you are bound to lose weight.... I know how hard this all is, I'm stressed most of the time about oesophagal c worries etc - the mind is a horrible thing and can make things seem really real.