Hello anyone who is interested. Last year I started abusing steroids for bodybuilding purposes and it completely changed my life. I started having heart palpitations and I got dizzy. The next six months I couldn’t even get out of bed. I have seen an endocrinologist, a cardiologist, a neurologist. I’ve had mris blood tests x rays you name it. Well needless to say everything came back fine. I decided to get a job to get my mind off of this. Next thing you know I hurt my back and I’ve gone way done hill since. My symptoms started to change and I started dealing with numbness in my left arm and face. I started having chest pains. I just went to urgent care and got more x rays and another ekg done and everything looks fine. Now I’m all freaked out that they missed something and I’m having an aortic dissection which I know is completely ridiculous but I can’t help it. I try to keep my mind off this stuff but it’s as if my mind is playing tricks on me. Almost every time these symptoms lead to a panic attack. I almost always have some weird symptom going on and it really eats at me. I am so sick of leaving with this junk. I just want to be better. I started seeing a psychiatrist and it sort of helps. Health anxiety is literally the worst thing I have ever gone through. Can I please have some advice?
Health anxiety: Hello anyone who is... - Anxiety and Depre...
Health anxiety
Someone that was close to me used steroids to get bigger n look tougher...it's rough for the person using them..but the ones around them become punching bags because of the sideeffects.I've been there n have 1 st hand knowledge.
Listen..it's gonna take ur body some time to get that crap out.it's not easy n weird shit is gonna happen to u mentally n physically. If u feel there's something truly wrong..definitely see a different doc n don't stop till ur ok with it.coming off that stuff also causes paranoia n will make anxiety n panic attacks worse.sounds like ur trying to help urself ..be strong n u can get through it.keep posting it will aid in ur recovery.
I have actually been off of it for a year now. It literally scared the crap out of me. I need to just stop freaking out about symptoms I think. Tell myself that it’s uncomfortable not catastrophic. I’ve also been Dr googling like an idiot. Thank you for your reply.
I hope you feel better!! You are not alone!!!
I get numbness in my left arm a lot and face too - I cant seem to convince myself that I am a-ok and nothing is wrong since I have been tested and seen a bunch of doctors. Its like that part of me cant be convinced as long as I have the symptoms I worry about them and connect them to the worst possible outcome when very well it could just be a pinched nerve, bad posture, stress, you name it but nothing life threatening!
I feel your suffering and I am here to talk, I hope you feel better and we both learn how to relax and let these symptoms go and not let them ruin our day to day enjoyment of life!
It’s a crazy illness man. I feel like people don’t get it. My psychiatrist says the symptoms are real. It’s part of your fight or flight response. It’s nice to hear from people that get it. I kinda need to stop getting all these tests because I’ve wracked up some medical bills.
It really is a crazy thing to deal with - my family and friends will constantly say things like "just chill out man" "you are so young just let it go" "why are you thinking like that just relax" - trust me guys if I could I gladly would!!!!
Glad you are getting help, its something I have considered heavily lately as its been tough to resolve these issues on my own. Medical bills can also be a pain, fortunate enough to not have to pay for medical expenses but I can imagine, that in itself is overbearing along with this stress we give ourselves.
You are not alone, and its something we both can overcome - its just going to take a lot of practice to get out of these bad habits our brains have developed, symptoms and feelings do not equal doom or illness, its just bodily changes we have now become hypersensitive too.
I try to remind myself of this every day like some kind of mantra, until I feel that symptom again then its like a battle in my mind!
Feel better, send me a PM if you are ever having a rough time and we can chat through it and try to reassure each other we are alright!!
That sounds good. I am new to this. How do I pm you? I think the worst sensation for me is the chest pain and feeling like I can’t breathe. Do you ever feel like you aren’t getting enough air even though you are? I actually have that right now as I type this. Or how about just feeling randomly dizzy and out of sorts?
Hey, just click my name and you will get to my profile - then hit send a message on there.
I know exactly how you feel, I have had chest pains and the feeling like no matter how hard I try I cant seem to get enough air - I start to feel tingling in my arms and legs then dizzy like I could pass out...I promise you are OK and you are not having a life threatening experience - you are just focused on your breathing and are "over breathing" and breathing from your chest not from your stomach.
I listen to breathing techniques on youtube when I experience this and try to inhale and exhale to the video to help keep a more healthy rhythm and try to relax until I feel like I can breath again.
The best medicine for me is anything that can distract my focus like video games, tv shows or talking to someone I trust.
Feel better, you are OK I promise!
Everything you are describing, I feel too. I currently feel like I have a balloon in my chest and yes, sometimes taking a breath just doesn't seem possible, though I can. I have had every test run in past episodes, with all negative results. I am waiting for a head and chest MRI to be approved now. It's bad, but, I have come through it before, and I will again. Finding things that bring you pleasure in life is huge. For me now, I am going through menopause, my kids are older teens and don't need me on the constant and I recently retired from 30 years of doing hair, which not only helped me to express my creativity,but helped me to connect with and help others feel good about themselves. I feel lost. I know I need to find a new passion. Art really helps me, but my symptoms make it hard to do right now. My limbs go numb and tingley. I just started a brain training program that I am hopeful will help my brain get out if it's very obvious fight or flight response.
myoptimalbrain.com/. They have offered amazing support and give so many personalized tools.
I also started using the chakra tuner app. It helps.
I called a psychiatrist today for the 1st time ever. I have done years of counseling and natural therapies ( amino therapies, homeopathic, essential oils) but what has worked for me in the past, just isn't working now. I need to take it a step further and just accept some Western medicine. I am scared of meds because my body and digestion are so reactive and hypersensitive. I honestly don't know if I can allow myself to be comfortable with taking any meds but, I am going to stay open because, this isn't a happy life I am living currently. We are NOT alone. This forum is a great support. Knowing others understand helps me to feel not so CRAZY. We will get through this.
It’s horible... I deal with health anxiety it sucks! Now I’m even afraid to go places it’s ruining my life ... I think I’m gonna start my medication cuz this is no way to live
I agree
Have you tried any meds
Only about four. I might try to go back on Prozac bc the side effects weren’t that bad for me.
You know theyvsay we don’t really have side affects from them it’s our actual anxiety we’re having the side affects from... they say it’s not even in our system to have side affects that fast
I know it’s true. I only had numbness and the breathing stuff on Prozac. I stopped taking it and I still get the same symptoms.
Yep.. did u try zoloft
No
They gave it to me it’s supposed to be really food
That’s good to know
Thank you. Let me know how it goes.
I have health anxiety pretty bad. It's exhausting. I commonly have chest pain, tingling in my face, muscle twitching, racing heart, and head pain. I always think that they are the worst thing possible. Most recently my left cheek has been tingly for weeks and the Dr claims it's all anxiety related but I always believe that they are wrong. It's an endless spiral. I have recently started CBD oil, meditation, and I'm going to an acupuncturist this week to try that. Knowing that I am not alone has helped and being on here talking to others has helped alot. I'm here to talk if you need anyone to talk to.
It’s good to know I’m not the only one with this. Monday morning I woke up to intense stabbing chest pain that eventually subsided and I rushed to urgent care. Everything turned out fine. Actually when all of this first started I had my cardiologist put a loop recorded in my chest because I was so paranoid about having a heart attack. I’ve had it in for a year now and nothing has happened thank God. The chest pain on Monday was super scary. Now my left pec is tender and sore so I think stained something and I was having muscle spasms. Doesn’t it seem like all of your pain senses are super sensitive?
Yes. I feel like I am super in tune with my body. Like I can feel every little thing. I can feel every nerve endings. Someone else can probably have the same thing happening and they do not even notice it but I feel everything. I can't take medications because I convince myself I'm having the side effects. So that's why I'm trying any natural things that I can.
I thought I was going crazy. I have this in grown nail on my thumb and I could feel it pulsing and throbbing all night. I too have the medication. Phobia. I first got the numb sensation on Prozac. I also started feeling like I couldn’t breathe one day out of the blue. My physiatrist says I’m hyper sensitive to medicine but he still wants me in meds. I’m only 35 but I feel like I’m 135. Anxiety sucks!!
Hey bro, you are not alone with this illness. I do get left arm pain and other heart related symptoms mostly everyday which leads me to panic attack. I feel that something is stuck into my mind that is telling me I have something wrong with my heart.
I did a lot of tests regarding heart, blood tests, ecgs, heart echos, chest x-rays, 24hr holter monitor and nothing is wrong there. My cardiologist told me that my heart is good and strong. I still dunno why I get this symptoms, even if I'm not anxious. Vicious circle ehhh, I've became very hyper-sensitive, alerted for every symptom. It is very terrible and I think health anxiety/hypochondriac is one of the worst illness you ever can get.
Sorry to hear that man. Yeah it is such a trip. Right now the pain is a dull ache. I can feel the pain in my muscles. I’m telling myself I’m just sore. That’s pretty much been my morning everyday this week. I always thought this stuff was fake. My mom is scizophrinic and I could never understand it. Now I’m a little more sympathetic. Take it easy man. Let me know if I can help.
Yup I know the feeling regarding the aches you get in the muscles. The symptoms are real but it depends on our mind when we keep focus on them. You too bud.
Well so far no good. I got home from the gym and I am getting dizzy. I feel super weird and out of it. Gotta love it.
How guilty do you feel about the steroids?
I didn’t see this until now. I don’t feel guilty I feel dumb. I truly regret it and I’m pretty sure it heightened my anxiety.
I have severe health anxiety too. I used to drink a lot do drugs when I was younger, a long time ago. Yet at that time my anxiety seemed okay, like my biggest worry besides neighborhood violence was trying to get beer. Yet when I went sober somehow in that the me period I developed health anxiety really bad and a tremendous sense of guilt for the risks I took, and I felt stupid too but to be honest that’s away of saying I shouldn’t have made the mistake which I’m turn can be a form of guilt. You were a guy who was obessed with getting big and working out and looking like the pinacle of health and you in your mind now realize that you could have really hurt yourself, but you didn’t you got lucky and now your mind is finding a way to punish you for the mistake. Don’t take your mind literal. No more mental slavery, that dedication to lifting has to be applied to yours cognition now. when the death thoughts come in you say okay let’s sit together at the dinner table and not talk. At first it’s uncomfortable but if you can eat your food and experience the anxiety eventually it will go down. Next time you you are in a panic try to visualize holding on to that dead lift and say oh no I’m not going to drop you. You can do this.
Yes I have noticed that if I focus on other things it tends to be better. I’m struggling with the subconscious now I think. I’m having a lot of random pain right now which sucks too. I know what I’m dealing with it is just hard to conquer. I’m going to go back to school and try to better myself. I have given this way too much attention. It really has consumed my life the past two years. You maybe right about the guilt. I really had no business doing that stuff.
You had no business doing that but maybe it was a lesson you got to share with others so they will not go down that path. And I bet you know dudes who have gone down that path and haven’t put the breaks on it. It’s awesome you were able to catch yourself. If you were to meet me now, a horribly anxious person limited by my severe OCD you would be bugged out haha, but before this I was headed down a path of deep self destruction and that person who was less aware of his anxiety was not a very conscious person. Thank God I got in trouble and was shown a light many moons ago. As for the pain I understand your concerns but if it’s any comfort anxiety presents lots of pain, twitches, palpataions, joint stiffness and if you have health anxiety the pains get super magnified and you are way more susceptible to perceiving body changes.
Here is a list of things I went to the doctors and or first med for do to anxiety:
Heart palpataions
General Numbness and pain
Nerve issues and muscle spasms
Hip pains
Vision issues ( I bought 500 dollar glasses too that I never used)
Feeling like I was floating
Sleep Apnea
Gerd and digestion issues
Random disproportionate shapes in my body
Tinnitus
Hernia fears
Testicular fears
And I bet you this list is not complete
Not to say I did not have a legit concern here or there but the majority of things were mind created or emphasized. And I am not saying that your concerns and pains are not real, I just want to give you some feedback to show how powerful the anxious mind can be in sending us messages about our bodies. Have a good day today man, keep distracting and moving forward!
Thank you. Yes I have been checked out for many of the same things. Oddly enough my head has been super clear lately. I’m having this recurring pain in my lower right abdomen that descends into my nether region. I’m going to just let it go and ask my doctor in a month
There is a floating rib in that area dont forget that reacts to stress and can lock up a bit. Great to give it a month it will be hard but that’s awesome you are giving it time.
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