4 ms·

> On the symptoms side of things though, I now have to go to the doctor. Again. Reading about the buzzing in the right eye and the tingling was terrifying becau

by daeken 10y ago

> On the symptoms side of things though, I now have to go to the doctor. Again. Reading about the buzzing in the right eye and the tingling was terrifying because I've been feeling something similar for the past few months. So onto my 4th brain scan in the past few years... Sigh. Hypochondria is a bitch. I really hope you find a way to handle this that doesn't involve very expensive reassurance from doctors. I experience something very similar when I read about heart conditions; I go into a spiral of anxiety where I believe my heart is failing, even though countless doctors have assured me that I'm perfectly fine there. Isn't the human brain just a ton of fun?

M_Grey 10y ago
The trick is to accept that we're animals, and that meta-cognition is only a part of the game we're playing. We have to figure out ways to deal with the less expressive and more primitive parts of ourselves that don't respond as well to that "internal voice". Sometimes you just have to count primes and take deep breaths, even if it feels silly.
- mercer 10y ago
  I try to remind myself of that whenever I am anxious. Sometimes it helps, sometimes it doesn't. Meditation has also had some positive effect, as has CBT. But man does it feel weird that my brain is aware of its own misbehavior and yet can't master it.
  - M_Grey 10y ago
    It's a humbling experience, especially if (as I'm sure many here are) you're an analytical sort, used to problems being resolved with focus and attention.
DenisM 10y ago
Did you try treating anxiety as such?
- daeken 10y ago
  Yep, been treating my anxiety for the last year and a half or so. I'm doing a lot better, thanks to a combination of medications (propranolol to take the edge off the physical symptoms I experience, and xanax to make panic attacks much less awful). But it's still something that's essentially everpresent -- just being managed.
gm-conspiracy 10y ago
How many of us here have gotten EKGs for panic attacks we thought were heart-attacks?
- agumonkey 10y ago
  I did delay such tests for long, what decided me is very weak pulse in the morning, even after a normal night of sleep, and completely at rest horizontally. I had trouble keep my arms above my chest (felt like they were weighting a ton, same sensation if you try to hold your arms up for a few minutes). Also the fact that I couldn't use my indoor bike for 10 minutes without feeling numbness in many places and tingling that also reminded me of bad blood flow. I had to submit to cardiologists conclusion saying "nothing I can see here". My main problem with this is that, maybe a big panic/anxiety can trigger weak heart, bad blood flow, fat accumulation and small stroke. Which then weaken your heart for longer period, hence the whole fatigue, weak pulse, effort intolerance. Etc. Standard cardiac/blood pressure tests don't look there, and the only way would be high end cardiac or very invasive artery monitoring (angiography, coronarography) ...

by daeken 10y ago

M_Grey 10y ago

The trick is to accept that we're animals, and that meta-cognition is only a part of the game we're playing. We have to figure out ways to deal with the less expressive and more primitive parts of ourselves that don't respond as well to that "internal voice". Sometimes you just have to count primes and take deep breaths, even if it feels silly.

mercer 10y ago
I try to remind myself of that whenever I am anxious. Sometimes it helps, sometimes it doesn't. Meditation has also had some positive effect, as has CBT. But man does it feel weird that my brain is aware of its own misbehavior and yet can't master it.
- M_Grey 10y ago
  It's a humbling experience, especially if (as I'm sure many here are) you're an analytical sort, used to problems being resolved with focus and attention.

DenisM 10y ago

Did you try treating anxiety as such?

daeken 10y ago
Yep, been treating my anxiety for the last year and a half or so. I'm doing a lot better, thanks to a combination of medications (propranolol to take the edge off the physical symptoms I experience, and xanax to make panic attacks much less awful). But it's still something that's essentially everpresent -- just being managed.

gm-conspiracy 10y ago

How many of us here have gotten EKGs for panic attacks we thought were heart-attacks?

agumonkey 10y ago
I did delay such tests for long, what decided me is very weak pulse in the morning, even after a normal night of sleep, and completely at rest horizontally. I had trouble keep my arms above my chest (felt like they were weighting a ton, same sensation if you try to hold your arms up for a few minutes). Also the fact that I couldn't use my indoor bike for 10 minutes without feeling numbness in many places and tingling that also reminded me of bad blood flow. I had to submit to cardiologists conclusion saying "nothing I can see here". My main problem with this is that, maybe a big panic/anxiety can trigger weak heart, bad blood flow, fat accumulation and small stroke. Which then weaken your heart for longer period, hence the whole fatigue, weak pulse, effort intolerance. Etc. Standard cardiac/blood pressure tests don't look there, and the only way would be high end cardiac or very invasive artery monitoring (angiography, coronarography) ...