How sick can anxiety make you?

I am still trying to figure out what is wrong with me.   I have been sick for 1 year and 3 months.  I have had horrific symptoms like dizziness, fatigue, sore muscles, sore throats, weakness, dark circles under eyes,panic attacks, etc etc.  I felt and still sometimes feel so horrible I cannot even describe it.  I felt such a sickness in my body.  Anxiety was present since the beginning of the illness, however it was only a strange thought here and there in the beginning- it felt totally physical not mental. I went through every medical test- over and over again. Everything was showing up normal.  How could I be so sick and not have one test abnormal.  Well at the six month point the anxiety became very very severe. I felt like I was going crazy- had horrible thoughts- and all the worst symptoms.  I went to therapy and went on Welllbutrin. So here I am all this time later.  I have only been diagnosed with severe anxiety disorder.  I have improved greatly,but I still struggle physically and mentally.  I just wonder if the whole thing has been anxiety????!!  One doctor told me I had chronic fatigue syndrome, but other doctors said they never saw CFS patients complaining of being violently ill.  So what are your opinions- do you think the whole thing could be caused by anxiety?  I know there are no doctors here, your opinions mean as much to me as a doctors- because no doctor could help me.  Has anyone been this sick with anxiety?

  One thing I have found out is that an anxiety disorder and p/a tend to be more physically then mental even though it's just the thoughts of an on coming p/a or the none stop thinking about it,and the facted that it's hard to get it though your head that it is a mental problem when there are are so miny physical symptoms that are so horrific to deal with that one tends not to belive your doc. and you go on the net looking for the right answers and all you find is symptoms of other things that  you think that your doc had missed.

  I know that when I was first told I had an anxiety disorder and p/a's I thought my doc was crazy because of all the physical symptoms I was having at the time, it took along time for me to to get it in my head that I was the one that really did have a mental problem and not a physical problem

Yes, anxiety does cause many different physical symptoms. Just as the mind can prove a powerful healer, with A/P its almost the opposite. Severe and prolonged stress is also known to have physical symptoms. Your symptoms could very well be all anxiety related (especially since all your tests were fine). At my worst I could not eat (would get hungry, but two or three mouthfulls later there was a boulder in my stomach), had severe heartburn/acid reflux, always tired, but could never sleep well, etc.

Have you been tested for lyme disease and thyroid imbalance? From others here they can bring on A/P and play havoc with treating the A/P.

I've never heard of wellbutrin alone for anxiety/panic attacks. I took a low dose for a while to counter balance the side effects of paxil. The wellbutrin I could do without - but not the paxil! If its not working as well as you'd like (especially since you are also going to therapy), ask your doctor if you should try something else.

Karen

I often ask myself the same question that you are asking yourself. Everyday, I cannot figure out how symptoms can be mental and not physical. Its a strange sensation and tough to get over. Recently, I was experiencing all of your symptoms and went for tests, I took an Cat scan for the headaches and an MRI of the spine as well. When I got back the begative results, the symptoms all disappeared. So I do believe the brain can control all of this. It also helps to know that there are other people out there who experience the same symptoms as you do. And we do. Just remain strong.

I've had this for 13 years. I understand. I've had soooo many tests. I personally believe that PD is not just a mental disorder, but turns from mental to mental/physical. There is research being done about where in the brain we malfunction. I think it also has to do with a problem with our glands (pituitary,adrenal, etc.) where they don't work right after so much stress and I also think it's possibly neurological (not as severe as MS but enough to make us feel lousy everyday).

JMO

Thank you all for your replies.  I am so lost and confused and frustrated, but somehow it helps when other people have had the same thing.  I have tested negative for Lyme 8 times and I have had extensive testing on my thyroid.  I would not let them stop testing- I was sure there was something there. I tested different things up until about 4 months ago. I gave blood so many times I was like a pin cushion.  I have tested for parasites, all viruses, had cat scans and MRI's, been to infectious disease docs, nuerologists, cardiologists, and any other thing you can think of.  I have to believe it is highly caused by something mental because I have exhausted all medical testing.  I am not sure Wellbutrin is the right med for me. It had no side effects and that is the only reason I took it- plus I have lost 15 pounds and I don't know if that is the med or the anxiety, my doctors have told me they think I should take Cymbalta or something different. I am just so scared it is going to make me more tired or have bad side effects.  Well, thanks for all the posts- it gives me some peace of mind!!

I totally agree with all posters
This can make you so sick as you already have seen in self
That is what makes my sores come out anxiety and it is hades to live with
I call them sores but if you saw pics you would know what I mean they are on page 2 or 3 I think
I have been so bad I have been bedridden and like freezin I have had every test known so far
I do have crohns but the a/p makes it worse too
So I guess the answer here is it can make you very sick and I wish to hades it didnt
Take care
Lyn

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I guess our disease is pyschosomatic. The brain is a powerful organ and imbalances can manifest into physical symptoms.

My physical symptoms are horrible. Always have been. Thats why I still struggle every single day with believing its all anxiety/panic related.

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Expecting life to treat you well because you are a good person is like expecting an angry bull not to charge because you are a vegetarian.--

I agree my physical symtoms are really bad between the A/P and all the other DD i have but I know its not in my head it is real
Doctors HAVE to treat this as a real disease not just a " thing or problem " we are having ..........
Need more research and definitely more docs trained in this as more and more ppl are coming out now and accepting they have a problem and know its not in the head ......
my opinion
take care
Lyn

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Yes I was very sick when I had anxiety and p/a a few ago. It was so bad I had the same symptoms you said.

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PLEASE READ!!!!

I'm frustrated about Panic Disorder being thought of as only a mental illness. It cannot be. Here's why:

How many of us have had a clear head (thinking clearly), been in a great mood, had motivation to go out an enjoy life, completely NOT DEPRESSED that are hit with this....

Suddenly, out of the blue, cannot breathe, swallow, heart pounding, sweating, shaking, on the verge of passing out FOR NO REASON!!!! Vision is blurry, tingling in one arm, freezing/hot etc. Then we "freak out" thinking we're dying because the symptoms are soooo bad, we search high and low for an explanation and are told it is all in our heads.

I know our minds can make it worse and stress can make it worse, but I think it's a PHYSICAL disorder STEMMED FROM CHRONIC STRESS OR CHEMICALS/DRUGS. Just because it cannot be proven with a blood test or scan doesn't mean it's not there. And only RECENTLY are scientists beginning to understand this disease. Just because you read it is only a chemical imbalance doesn't make it so. I believe in the future, docs will figure that it is more like a disease.

If it was ONLY psychological, most of us here wouldn't have the SAME SYMPTOMS. Have you noticed that we all seem to share the SAME symptoms and many of them are neurological?



By the way, I can be sitting around, relaxing, reading a book and be breathing normally and then my leg will go numb or I will get dizzy or I will get short of breath.

I can be meditating without any worries and start gasping for air, trouble swallowing, heart pounding, blurry vision, stomach cramps and there's nothing mental to trigger it.

I'm only 17 but panic and anxiety have been taking over my life for the past 6 months.
I know exactly how you feel.Any little feeling and I think I'm going to die.Its ridiculous and I have every physical feeling under the sun.If someone mentions an illness I automatically think I have it.For example,cancer.I am convinced I have it because I've been having bad headaches.I've been to the doctor so many times,havnt had an MRI or anything,but otherwise I'm 100% healthy,but its like i refuse to believe it until I'm checked out.Its like my escape is to talk to a doctor.I've had therapy and hypnotherapy and while they have helped,nothing has gotten rid of it 100%.Now with this whole swine fly fiasco,I've somehow convinced myself that i have it.I've been getting hot&cold and muscle pains,and lots of other flu symptoms.I know its my mind,well i hope it is.I'd just really appreciate some advice and reassurance really.I need to know I'm not going crazy and that I'm okay because right now all I ever want to do is stay in bed and never get out,I havn't been in school since january and its getting me really depressed.

Yes, it is very physical. I was very sick for several years, and most of my symptoms were physical as well, I was convinced I was dying of some rare disease.

I can get better! The meds will help you! I know it is a long hard road, but it is not your fault, some people are wired this way.

In response to this being purely psychosomatic, I truly disagree. These are REAL symptoms, and your brian is a REAL organ that controls every aspect of your body, just as real as your heart or liver, when this organ (brain) is out of wack, everything is out of wack.

My current belief is that p/a, and other disorders like migraines, are linked to a hyper-sensative nervous system, our bodies are just "high tuned" Have you ever noticed that you sense everything before others? Smells, sounds, peoples reactions?

Just a theory :) I hope you are all doing well, be thankful there are meds these days that can help. Although I was on SSRI and Klonopin and had my share of trouble with them, I would take them again in a heartbeat rather than go through panic/anxiety and the resulting depression again.