Doctor me up, Thumbs

[subbes]

Also possible! But if you contradict doctors, they start asking which board certified you and then call the police.

[Salka]

The doctor thought it has nothing to do with B12 either, she just gave it to me to prevent a future problem and also to rule it out as maybe the problem.

Maybe it is anxiety. Today at work I felt like my heart was going to explode for 5 hours straight. I was twitching, my blood pressure was high-ish when I was sedentary (144/81 I think my new gadget told me, where normally at resting levels it's in the ideal range). It came from nowhere, it felt difficult to breath but I wasn't hyperventilating or breathing fast. In felt, I fact like everything that was happening was an annoying physical thing with absolutely no connection to my state of mind at all. My hands and legs were also shaking.

I wasn't even worried about it or thought that I was dying, because I am getting increasingly used to it and have read about it to the point where I know that it's not detrimental really, just uncomfortable.

So I guess on Monday I should ask the doctor for some kind of anti-anxiety doo-dah because there is no way I want to sit through five hours of that again (the only thing that helped was a friend giving me a valium and going to bed to sleep for a couple of hours, although even now I still feel buzzy and crap).

Exhausting day.

[subbes]

If the docs confirm anxiety, I'd look into some short course of cognitive-behavioral and/or mindfulness therapy, if you can. Both are helpful for anxiety.

[Salka]

My heart rate is still above normal and I still feel twitchy and crap, even thought it's like 9.30pm now.

Subbes the frustrating thing is I'm pretty much the most chilled person, I don't have negative thoughts or thought patterns, I don't have any enemies or worries or basically anything that could cause anxiety. I don't even worry that I'm going to die when I have these attacks, or worry about death ever. I am always laughing and happy, inside and out, so that's why the idea of it being anxiety seemed unlikely to me. I'm not anxious, I'm excited and happy and content with every aspect of my life right now. I just had an awesome 10 days with my family and a load of time off work.

I have an awesome boyfriend who is similarly chilled; we never argue or disagree and he is very supportive.

So if I did CBT they'd have nothing to work with. I already have healthy thought patterns. I don't dwell on problems or anything. That's why anxiety seemed wrong to me. I know people say that you can have it even when you don't feel stressed or whatever, but you know. It feels like there should be SOMETHING causing anxiety for it to be this severe...

I'm also healthy, I eat lots of fruit and veg, I'm on B12 supplements now because my B12 was slightly down... I drink loads of water and caffeine-free tea (just because I like Rooibos), I am very active (walk and cycle everywhere I go). Anxiety seems like the most bullshit reason for me to be feeling this way. It doesn't make any sense.

But I'd go on Xanax or whatever it's called, long before I'd ever willingly experience another day like this one :-(

[Gwardinen]

What the hell are Rooibos and what is their agenda?

[Salka]

It's naturally caffeine-free tea that totally fills your tea hole.

[syntheticgerbil]

Is this what happened to the old people in Cocoon?

[Armchair General]

Sorry, I've been at work for like a hundred years straight - how are things now? Any further with your GP?

[Salka]

Nothing exciting. I had a horrible day on Sunday where I basically felt like I was having a massive anxiety attack for about ten hours, which was exhausting. Pains in my left arm, heart beating fast, shaking, that sort of thing. But also I wasn't the slightest bit anxious in my mind - in fact it all started when I was playing a guitar I really want to own. Maybe I got stressed out that I don't own it, I don't know. I was so bored of the symptoms after a few hours, genuinely bored. My breathing was fine too, there was basically nothing I seemed able to do "calm" myself down because I was in no way worried or anxious in my mind. Worst.

I haven't had pins and needles for almost a week now, but I have gotten occasional stinging rashes on my chest that only last ten minutes at a time. Erm what else... I think that's it. I'm just bored of it now, I'm going to ignore it until it goes away.

Apparently my B12 was at 140 and I've been taking supplements every day and eating lots of eggs (urhgrhhghhiickkkuiucckkk) so maybe it was B12 related, I don't know. I get occasional crappy symptoms but since Sunday haven't had a really bad attack so maybe it's going away now...

EDIT: damnit I got pins and needles in the same leg as always, about ten minutes after I posted that. CURSESSSSSS. Luckily I quite like the feeling of pins and needles now.

[Flynn]

B12 deficiency does indeed cause a bunch of nasty symptoms:

http://en.wikipedia....rnicious_anemia

Sounds scary, but is cured if you simply take extra b12 and keep normal levels. Regular shots of B12 are required if you can't absorb it well.

[Armchair General]

Hmmm, this is still a thing. Your symptoms could all be due to anxiety (often people can't pin it on something) but that's hard to be sure without meeting you face to face, I'd be reluctant to stake it all on B12 deficiency but you never say never in medicine. Your symptoms are too complicated for internet diagnosis as I said before. Have you been keeping a diary of events and your weight etc?

The pains in your left arm and your heart beating fast are the most concerning features you've mentioned so far I think. Have you had an ECG at any point? and has your GP listened to your heart sounds do you know? You should count your pulse during an episode (just at one or two points within it - when it's at it's worst perhaps) and see if it really is beating fast or whether that is just a sensation you're having. Also, tapping your pulse out like a drumbeat on a table, will help with the timing if there is an irregular pulse and then you can replicate the beat to your GP if need be.

I'm trying to help but am anxious not to make things worst with 'it could be this, it could be that' - ultimately you should listen to the doctor who has seen and talked to you in the flesh, who also knows your medical history.

Alternatively, you can do none of the above, play some Video games and try to forget all about it, this may be the best option - either your symptoms will get worse and the pathology will declare itself, or it will disappear and in time we might see something with the retrospectoscope.

[subbes]

we might see something with the retrospectoscope

I need one of these to determine whether I actually had Cyclical Vomiting Syndrome.

[Salka]

AG: I had an ECG last week since one day at work was so bad, people could even see me shaking. That was perfectly normal :-/

Sometimes the symptoms go away for a few days and I think they've gone, and then they come back. My arm did its weird cold tingly thing again just two days ago.

I know this is going to sound insane but I think if I don't eat anything I don't get the symptoms as badly. Like in the past week I have eaten extremely little (partially due to heat, which kills my appetite, and then due to actually doing it on purpose to test the results it has on my symptoms). In that week I've had hardly any issues with my breathing... But then, it could just be one of those stages when the symptoms go away for a while anyway.

I bought a heart pressure monitor so I could figure out what was happening during various symptoms. When my arm or leg goes numb, there is no change to my resting blood pressure or BPM (which are all in the 'ideal' range). When I have breathing issues/feel my heart beating fast it usually escalates to about 145/81 which is much higher than normal, but my BPM is usually still fine. Maybe I bought a shit blood pressure monitor, I don't know.

[Salka]

Actually nm again ¬¬

[ThunderPeel2001]

You say you weren't anxious in your mind? Even when you started to shake? It didn't freak you out or make you worried about what was happening?

[Salka]

Nope, partly because I'm used to it and partly because I've looked up my symptoms and know that they probably aren't going to kill me ASAP. Especially because I assumed it was anxiety, which is harmless. So I wasn't in the least bit anxious. After a few hours I was weary and bored of the symptoms which didn't seem to be improving and were making it uncomfortable to continue working.

Only my hands were shaking badly, my legs were a bit wobbly.

I had a really bad sinus headache on one side of my face yesterday, and my neck hurt and what felt like my carotid artery ached on the same side, making it hard to turn my head without pain. That lasted about an hour, and it's weird because I don't have a cold or sniffles at all. Maybe this all points back to an allergy somehow? Or at least some of the symptoms. I checked the pollen count yesterday and it was high.

Also eating nothing seems to appease the symptoms, I've felt much better since consuming only a pot of chickpea and feta salad every day, but then I'm not sure if this is a temporary lull in my symptoms (and I did get that nasty sinus headache yesterday but also that could, and probably is, totally unrelated). The symptoms also were less severe in Berlin where, due to the heat, I barely ate anything (my appetite dies in hot weather). So maybe digestion-related. I don't know. Maybe it's lupus.

[ThunderPeel2001]

I think going back to your GP and explaining the above symptoms is your best bet. I wonder if the EKG would pick up anything while you were having your symptoms?

[Salka]

Yeah I wondered that ¬¬

I'm seeing her again in a few weeks after my blood test (to check that my B12 levels have increased while on supplements) so I'll do it then.

[DanJW]

I hope you get some more help at the doctors. At the moment it does sound most likely to be anxiety related.

One thing to remember is that stress and anxiety related somatic symptoms don't have to appear in the moment of stress. You say they happen when you are feeling fine, but this kind of thing can be delayed reaction, or it can be entirely unconscious - meaning that your conscious mind thinks you are totally relaxed while the triggers are still swirling around somewhere that you are unaware of.

In any case good luck.

[Salka]

EXCITING UPDATE. Ish.

I went to the allergy and immune system dept for some tests today. Apparently my allergic-type symptoms are, in 96% of cases like mine, not related to an allergy. They think it's indicative of some sort of thyroid disorder and although my thyroid levels came back fine in a blood test I took a while ago, they're doing other tests as apparently sometimes... I don't know. Just, sometimes.

It could also just be unexplained, forever. But they're going down the thyroid disorder-of-some-sort route for now.

Exciting!

I bet the blood tests come back fine though ¬¬

Does anyone know the answer to the following question: if it IS related to a thyroid thing, why is it that it wouldn't have been picked up in my first blood test? I'm not exactly sure what it was for, my doctor said "thyroid levels" I think. What else can they test for in order to check for thyroid issues, and what issues would they be that wouldn't have affected my blood thyroid levels (I don't know if this question makes any sense).

[brkl]

There are a bunch of different hormones that can get affected by thyroid issues and the levels considered normal change from country to country for each of them. I think. My ex had some sort of thyroid issues, but the doctors refused to recognize them because her levels were just inside what's considered normal here. She would have been treated in Sweden, though... Although what she described was nothing like what you're going through.

[Armchair General]

Sorry to be 'that guy' again, but I wouldn't hold out much hope for your thyroid being the problem if your tests have already been normal. Thyroid function tests would be an almost standard test for somebody presenting with your symptoms, therefore I am pretty much certain that your GP would have explored this already.

Out of interest, what's your weight/BMI?

Re-reading your posts, it seems you don't eat very much?

[Salka]

DAMN YOU ARMCHAIR GENERAL.

5"9 and 134lb, so BMI is allegedly 19.8. I usually eat a decent amount, but when it's hot (which it rarely ever is in the UK, so basically when I go on holiday to hot countries) my appetite drops off totally. So in Berlin when it was super hot and I had no symptoms, I ate very little. Then my boyfriend went away and I tend not to bother eating much when nobody is around to eat with, and I noticed that - again - my symptoms didn't seem so bad. So then I decided to eat very little every day and for the past few days have been living off a couple of bananas and a salad, and my symptoms have disappeared again. So I'm almost afraid of eating properly again in case they come back ¬¬

But more than likely it's a coincidence, so I'm waiting for something crap to happen again. Also it could just be the B12 kicking in or something.

Is it just going to be some weird thing I have to live with for the rest of my life with no idea why, Dr General?

[baconian]

How are you doing now Rusalka?

Could it be something to do with your work environment? The air or water there???

[subbes]

Salka? Are you dead?

(PRODS WITH BROOM.)