Our entire family has been through a great deal the past 3 years and this is just the latest in a lot of super-shitty things. Thankfully, he was able to come home without being admitted, which is why he was on the forum.

I appreciate all of the good wishes and I'm sure he does as well.

LISTEN TO YOUR BODY! You know it better than anyone. I was going to mention panic attacks but I never had those kind of headaches from them....although all the other symptoms sound familiar.

I had recurring appedicitis for 5 years and the doctors did not diagnose it and my friends all tried to convince me it was all in my head. When I went to the emergency room for the 3rd time the doctors were hesitant to say it was appendicitis because of how many attacks I had.....14 of them. People only have one attack and take the appendix out or die. Wouldn't you know I am so damn special that even my afflictions are unique

Well they did surgery and sure enough it was my appendix. I spent those 5 years and nobody believed me. It was horrible and having a real diagnosis was such peace of mind because it wasn't just me like everyone thought.

When you had the numbness was it just numb or did you actually experience paralysis. Young people sometimes have strokes you know. Baby, keep on top of this and get to the doctor ASAP if it happens again. I'm almost ready to invade and I need you there!!!

The symptoms you describe do sound like "panic attacks" which is just a cutesy name for an attack of intense anxiety. I should know, beacause I have suffered them on occaissions. They feel exactly like you are dieing and convincingly seem to be a genuinely physical problem.

However, it is vitally important that you get all the physical tests to rule out any underlying physical cause. Once that is ruled out you can treat the anxiety (if that's what is is).

About 1 in 10 people suffer anxiety of one form or another so it is a pretty common problem.

I wish you well Nathan.

SupaFunkyOrgangrinderSexy said:

Thanks for that. I'm worried about coming across as 'the boy who cried wolf' too. When all the tests are coming back with nothing, it makes me look like I'm over-reacting. But the intensity, frequency and duration of this is what has me worried. Do panic attacks sometimes last for days on end? I don't feel like I'm panicking.

And no, I've had no paralysis thankfully.
[Edited 5/25/06 16:57pm]

Moonbeam said:

I'm actually hoping I caught your mono.

I doubt that's what I have, but it'd be preferable to some of the alternatives.

bkw said:

Thank you.

When you've had a panic attack, how long did it last?

Nay Nay...

I feel so dumb about leaving a message yesterday saying "Oh you're all out, hope you're having a late dinner out somewhere having a party blah blah"

And meanwhile, you're all at the ER.

I love you, and I'm so sorry to know what you have been going through. It is so frustrating and worrying when your body doesn't behave and react like you know it normally should. I'm proud of you for being proactive about it and going to the right people to examine you instead of taking it all on by yourself.

I'm thinking of you and missing you SO much, I'm sorry I can't be there.

Make sure those mofo family members of yours pamper and take care of ya, lol...

The actual attack itself only lasts about a minute or two but it then leaves me feeling totally wrecked, exhausted, sweaty. It is very common, although not so much with me, to feel like you have a racing heart, skipping beats etc.

The fear of having another episode, along with the worry there is something badly fataly wrong with you can hang around for days. This can leave you very tense, which leads to fatigue, eye soreness, headaches, tingly/numbness in your extremities (fingers, toes, lips etc). I also get very dizzy if anxiety strikes.

bkw said:

See, that sounds about halfway there. But my heart has been out of wack almost constantly for 2 weeks now. At least it feels that way. This 24 hour test will probably show more. I've also been consistently weak and having pain in my neck. I keep praying that it'll just work itself out and go away.

SupaFunkyOrgangrinderSexy said:

Thanks for that. I'm worried about coming across as 'the boy who cried wolf' too. When all the tests are coming back with nothing, it makes me look like I'm over-reacting. But the intensity, frequency and duration of this is what has me worried. Do panic attacks sometimes last for days on end? I don't feel like I'm panicking.

And no, I've had no paralysis thankfully.
[Edited 5/25/06 16:57pm]

GangstaFam said:

Nathan, many of your symptoms do mirror having a panic attack, but as bkw said it is important to rule out anything else, which is what you're in the process of doing.

These are some of the symptoms of a panic attack, which you can have all of, or just a few of...

# raging heartbeat
# difficulty breathing, feeling as though you 'can't get enough air
# terror that is almost paralyzing
# nervous, shaking, stress
# heart palpitation, feeling of dread
# dizziness, lightheadedness or nausea
# trembling, sweating, shaking
# choking, chest pains, distress
# fear, fright, afraid, anxious
# hot flashes, or sudden chills
# tingling in fingers or toes ('pins and needles')
# fearful that you're going to go crazy or are about to die

They can most often be unprovoked, you can be having a good time, not stressed, and have one... that is why people so often go to ER because they cannot understand why it would just be a panic attack if you're weren't necessarily feeling panicked right before it occured.

Having a panic attack is a very physiological experience, those symptoms are very real. I'm not saying this is necessarily what you're going through, but it could very well be... You know what my mom has gone through, she had the same symptoms as you when Ian and I took her to the ER. It can be very scary, and it is a relief to here that everything seems normal, however at the same time very frustrating. It makes you second guess yourself, and also not understand how everything can appear so normal when your body feels so fucked up. You're not crying wolf though, your symptoms are there, whether panic attack induced or not. I am sure it is nothing too serious and we will get to the bottom of it, at least you have taken the right steps towards finding an explanation.

I love you... you'll be ok sweety.

Are you skipping beats or does it feel like it's beating irregularly or is the heartbeat just fast?

bkw said:

See, that sounds about halfway there. But my heart has been out of wack almost constantly for 2 weeks now. At least it feels that way. This 24 hour test will probably show more. I've also been consistently weak and having pain in my neck. I keep praying that it'll just work itself out and go away.

Now for the emotional blackmail...I know how you could help me get better...Isn't a certain Midwestern popstar on tour right now?

Diva said:

I would have all of those symptoms while having these attacks. The feeling of death is a very real feeling!!!

Also, my arms would go numb from the elbow down. Numb to the point that I couldn't hold a glass of water. And if you looked at my arm, you could see my muscles rippling from the tension and I wouldn't even be moving my hands or anything. When the attack would be done, I would get the feeling back in my arms/hands.

GangstaFam said:

Nathan, many of your symptoms do mirror having a panic attack, but as bkw said it is important to rule out anything else, which is what you're in the process of doing.

These are some of the symptoms of a panic attack, which you can have all of, or just a few of...

# raging heartbeat
# difficulty breathing, feeling as though you 'can't get enough air
# terror that is almost paralyzing
# nervous, shaking, stress
# heart palpitation, feeling of dread
# dizziness, lightheadedness or nausea
# trembling, sweating, shaking
# choking, chest pains, distress
# fear, fright, afraid, anxious
# hot flashes, or sudden chills
# tingling in fingers or toes ('pins and needles')
# fearful that you're going to go crazy or are about to die

They can most often be unprovoked, you can be having a good time, not stressed, and have one... that is why people so often go to ER because they cannot understand why it would just be a panic attack if you're weren't necessarily feeling panicked right before it occured.

Having a panic attack is a very physiological experience, those symptoms are very real. I'm not saying this is necessarily what you're going through, but it could very well be... You know what my mom has gone through, she had the same symptoms as you when Ian and I took her to the ER. It can be very scary, and it is a relief to hear that everything seems normal, however at the same time very frustrating. It makes you second guess yourself, and also not understand how everything can appear so normal when your body feels so fucked up. You're not crying wolf though, your symptoms are there, whether panic attack induced or not. I am sure it is nothing too serious and we will get to the bottom of it, at least you have taken the right steps towards finding an explanation.

I love you... you'll be ok sweety.
[Edited 5/25/06 17:17pm]

Really?

Well gosh darn it, I had no idea....

SupaFunkyOrgangrinderSexy said:

You're so thorough Tracy, I love it! I'm glad you didn't catch Monoboy's nastiness too.

Looking at that list makes me even more sure it's not panic attacks. It's not sudden. It's almost constant in varying degrees. I'm breathing fine. I'm not having any lingering feelings of dread or fear other than when I'm in bed at night at can't get to sleep. It just feels like my body is maxed out and even simple tasks like getting out of my chair or bending over to pick something up spikes my heart rate. I can see my pulse racing just by looking in the mirror at my chest. The doctor was guessing it might be something viral, in which case it would be extremely hard to diagnose and even harder to treat.

Diva said:

Great post. God I miss you Tracy.

I'm glad you didn't catch Monoboy's nastiness too.

Diva said:

Well now ya know.

Well I can see my pulse in my eyeballs and the doctors say that can be normal for someone of my size Have you been tested for diabetes and stuff like that? Might check that out.

huh? what?

SupaFunkyOrgangrinderSexy said:

You're so thorough Tracy, I love it! I'm glad you didn't catch Monoboy's nastiness too.

Looking at that list makes me even more sure it's not panic attacks. It's not sudden. It's almost constant in varying degrees. I'm breathing fine. I'm not having any lingering feelings of dread or fear other than when I'm in bed at night at can't get to sleep. It just feels like my body is maxed out and even simple tasks like getting out of my chair or bending over to pick something up spikes my heart rate. I can see my pulse racing just by looking in the mirror at my chest. The doctor was guessing it might be something viral, in which case it would be extremely hard to diagnose and even harder to treat.

SupaFunkyOrgangrinderSexy said:

They did a really thorough blood test and weren't able to turn up anything. Is it a separate test?

GangstaFam said:

Not yet anyway, there is still time, lol... God forbid!

That's very interesting. What actually started my anxiety problems was a genuine problem I had with my heart.

I was at work when suddenly, from out of nowhere, I felt extremely dizzy and lightheaded. I actually collapsed to the ground in a colleagues office and had to get immediate medical attention. My doctor hooked up and ECG and found my heart was racing and it had an odd "spike" in the beat. It was a type of arrythmia.

That was on a Friday and I couldn't see a specialist until the Monday so I was bedridden all weekend and kleft to wollow in my fears (hence, the development of my anxiety ). When i saw the specialist on the Monday the problem had dissappeared and the beat was back to normal. I had a number ot tests that showed my heart was fine.

It seems, amd the doctors dont really seem to know, but the initial episode of arrythmia was most likely due to a virus that effected my heart.

The good news is that it has never re-occured, but the anxiety about my health remained with me.