Don’t know what’s wrong, scared

[Sugarcoatt]

I feel so weak. Jelly legs and arms. Aching all over for months. My shoulders and arm muscles are so achy today that my hands feel weak and I’m struggling to type. Terrible acid reflux that makes me feel like I’m being strangled.

I’m 43. Please someone tell me this is due to menopause! Because I’m shitting myself thinking I have MS or ALS or something. The doctor has given me meds for panic attacks and anxiety because I’m so scared. I’ve already had blood tests which say I need iron and Vit D, and I have meds for the acid reflux.

Anxiety’s capacity to make its presence known in your body is spectacular.

It can literally make you feel like your bones have melted. Which of course sets off massive internal alarm bells because it’s such a big and distinct BODY problem that it doesn’t seem realistic that “just” anxiety could do that to you. So multiple sclerosis (or in my case, a brain tumour) seems like a much more obvious root cause. I don’t have a brain tumour. They checked. I j”ust” have Olympic Gold Medal winning anxiety (despite not actually feeling anxious) that charges around my body showing off its skills , cos peri menopause.

Being low in iron is also a kicker in terms of fatigue and feeling weak.

I use Ferratone, but it’s just a rebranding of a British product that I think is called Spatone in the U.K. Give it a try, I found it got iron back into my system faster than the pills that basically bunged up my digestive system. Which I didn’t find helpful.

Sardines for breakfast is a good source of vit D. But you can also get stuff you spray under your tongue. My sister went for the latter, me the former (because I’ve had to up my protein intake due to peri and sardine feels like 2 birds, one breakfast shaped stone).

You are completely normal lovie. This is what anxiety can manifest as. And it gets easier to deal with once you get to know your own personal version of it a little better. But as Claire Weekes puts it, it can be utterly bewildering and scary as hell when your body decides to play up mightily and you get told it’s “just” all in your head.

”Just” my arse. There is fuck all “just” about the gitfaced bastard called anxiety.

Op, anxiety or increased anxiety, which can be absolutely crippling, is very, very common in peri-menopause, and you are definitely not too young for it. I had this and mine started at 40. HRT saved me.

And big fat hug, because I know how it feels when it comes from the left field and throws the mother of all curve balls at you.

Thank you. My DH keeps saying it’s all in my head and I’m causing it myself. As if I want to feel like this! It’s not in my head - the doctor has confirmed that it’s the acid reflux that’s making my throat constrict and making me feel like I’m choking.

The anxiety is being caused by my symptoms, not the other way around. My arms muscles are so achy today that I can’t move my hands properly. So obviously my mind goes to MS, ALS, Parkinsons. The doctor just keeps saying it’s unlikely. I’m having massive panic attacks and lying awake all night thinking I’m dying.

God this is awful. I’m constantly pushing down feelings of panic. My hands don’t work properly any more and my muscles keep twitching. How the heck can this just be perimenopause?

The gp needs to do some further blood tests. it obviously is very real to you and needs investigating. Please go back and do not take no for an answer

I’m praying it IS perimenopause. I’m absolutely terrified. The GP has done various blood tests and hasn’t found anything except anaemia and Vit D deficiency.

Just because your head is causing it, doesn’t make the symptoms any less real. This really does
sound like bad anxiety.

Vit D deficiency presents exactly as you described. Muscle weakness, bone & joint pain & fatigue. Anaemia can make you breathless, dizzy & extremely fatigued. My friend had similar with added pins & needles thrown into the mix. It is scary, but I expect that when you get your levels back up to normal range it’ll improve.

Another one voting for anxiety here. I have horrific health anxiety which comes and goes. When I'm in a dip it is debilitating. It started when I noticed pins and needles in one leg (very likely caused by a bulging disk and definately an actually physical symptom - not in my head). Noticing this symptom put my panic systems on hyper alert for every 'strange' feeling/sensation in my body. Within a few weeks I had arm weakness, dizziness, a numb patch on my face, twitching in my stomach muscles along with the utter conviction I had either MS or a brain tumour. The more i focussed on these symptoms, the more ill I felt.

I didn't feel anxious in the traditional sense of the word. I wasn't worrying about anything else, or feeling at all stressed. The doctor explained to me that it was a typical 'nervous breakdown' as it would have been called years ago, the nervous system in overdrive trying to detect threats. I know that when I was in a dip there was nothing anyone could say to convince me that I wasn't dying of something awful and it may be that that is where you are too.

The tummy upset started when I had a breast cancer scare. It’s been a year since I got the all clear and I don’t even think about it, but the tummy upset won’t go away. So now I think why isn’t it going away, is it stomach cancer?

Reflux is so bad that I feel like I’m choking and can’t swallow, and my throat is hurting. So of course I worry about what’s causing it. Because surely a tummy upset wouldn’t make me feel like I’m being strangled (the doctor says that’s exactly what’s causing it).

Then there’s the muscle pain and weakness. I’m convinced it’s something awful like MS or ALS. The doctor says it’s probably perimenopause and iron deficiency. The fear is fuelling the tummy upset and choking feeling.

I never had this sort of anxiety until I was late 30s. Since then it just seems to have got worse and worse. I’m 43 now and I’m falling apart.

In the nicest possible way, if it was stomach cancer you would be pretty much definitely dead by now x

@Fluffyrug191 yes that’s it exactly. I don’t feel anxious in the normal sense. I admit I’m not happy with my current situation, I’m a bit depressed, but not anxious. It’s the symptoms that are making me anxious. The aches and twitches, the upset tummy and choking. It’s terrifying. And everyone keeps saying I don’t have an awful disease because it’s unlikely. But I keep thinking someone has to be the unlucky one. Yes I think I am having a nervous breakdown 😩

Sounds like you have health anxiety. The slightest symptom you have then you worry about it and the symptoms worsen. This happens to me and it's horrible. I try not to go to the doctor too often but sometimes I have to and they can't find anything wrong.

Another vote for severe health anxiety OP… I’m sorry, because that can be absolutely awful. You need to be on medication for your anxiety, are you? Because life doesn’t have to be like this, trust me.

They prescribed me propanalol. Which the pharmacist advised me against taking. He said it’s a beta blocker that they give to people with bad hearts, and it doesn’t actually stop the anxiety, it just suppresses symptoms like racing heart and sweating. He said it doesn’t seem healthy to slow your heart rate down when there’s nothing wrong with it, it will just create more side effects which I will then worry about. And I agree, it does seem a bit pointless if it isn’t going to stop the actual anxiety or worrying.

The thing is, the anxiety is being triggered by very real symptoms. Muscular pains and tummy problems that have lasted all year. When something doesn’t get better you start to worry about it. Every time I try to relax and tell myself it’s anxiety related, my brain goes “anxiety can’t cause that, you must have a disease”. And as I said, I think this is menopause related because I never had anxiety until recently.

@Sugarcoatt tell me what you eat. What your diet is like

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/_chat/4884421-starting-eating-gluten-free-a-few-days-ago-and-feel-a-lot-better-already

I suspect that you will find a lot of help on this thread.

Until a few months ago I ate a lot of processed food and too many carbs. Toast. Sandwiches. Biscuits. Crisps. Pasta. No alcohol though. My weight was normal but towards the top end of BMI. Then the doctor told me my blood sugar was getting too high and I’d be at risk of diabetes if I didn’t get it under control. So I switched to a low carb diet, which is incredibly unpleasant. I don’t desire protein in the same way as carbs, so I’m not eating enough because I just feel like “bleurgh, I don’t want salmon/chicken/eggs and veg”. I have lost weight. The stomach problems have continued. It’s definitely acid, I can feel it burning my throat.

Eat carbs but make them gluten free. Use lactose free milk. Avoid onions, garlic, tomatoes, spicy foods, fatty foods .It's all in the thread I attached. It's rotten but it seems at a certain age our bodies just say nope don't want that.

I eat gluten free pasta, rice, lacto free milk, brie and camembert cheese. Feel better for it.

Ask GP to check out H pylori as well.

I take a low dose of beta blocker it helps. Was the cardio consultant who put me on them.

I had pizza last night, but that's a one off and only a small piece because I know my gut now

Avoid fizzy drinks too, oh and caffeine. Sorry ☹️

Please look into some kind of calming stuff like doing meditation regularly. There is a guy called Alistair Appleton who runs live online zoom sessions several times a week. He has one specifically for anxiety. You get a recorded version after the event so can replay.

He works doing quite a lot of science backed research to reduce anxiety, so some of it involves moving, tapping, using acupressure points etc, as well as sitting or lying quietly while he guides you.

I’ve found it really useful in tackling my anxiety. ( Not the complete answer, but a good additional layer of help)

https://www.mind-springs.org/

When did you have covid?

What you describe is entirely consistent with long covid

My symptoms started roughly two months after I had Covid for the first time. Aches and pains, upset tummy, etc. But as time goes on it’s getting worse not better.

I couldn't read and run hun! I could've wrote this a couple of years ago. My health anxiety was actually triggered by a close friend being diagnosed with mnd in his is thirties. Literally overnight I started having muscle twitches and weakness. I then developed a tremor. Long story short....I luckily got referred for cbt therapy and it worked wonders. It made me realise just how powerful the brain is and how anxiety can manifest itself in the craziest of ways. Don't get me wrong, I still have my moments, but I'm a million percent better. Propranolol worked too. Please do not stress my love. Xxx

If your doctor has prescribed Propranalol I think you should take it. I am on it and it’s helped me massively, I know others who are too and it’s been helpful. Yes it’s a beta blocker but it does also help anxiety as it dampens down that “fight or flight” response. You don’t have to take it every day. I’m also on 150mg sertraline which has helped significantly. I was similar to you, at one point I thought I had a brain tumour. It was anxiety and I honestly didn’t know it until I spoke to the doctor, as it felt more physical than mental, up to a point where I felt I was going to have a breakdown. I’m nearly 46 and I think it’s been hormonal, I’ve got other symptoms, so just about to start HRT.