Full Body Pain And Aches That Appear And Randomly Disappear

[DannyWagg11]

Hi, I was just wondering. I've had severe anxiety and depression for a solid ten years now. The OCD mindset always has me worrying about one thing or another, sometimes not so big like "I hope I get all my portfolio stuff done for my final this week, to "oh god, there is that horrible random symptom that is bothering me again, clearly I have to be dying from this mystery condition.

I also worry about family and friends a lot, but for the most part ever since I developed all these conditions my life has been pure chaos and misery.

I was just wondering though, at the peak of my OCD/anxiety/depression I started developing every symptom in the book (still have all of them too) but the one that always stuck out the most to me was the severe full body pains. I could never just accept that it's these conditions and it has to be a much more life threatening ordeal, they are just too painful and debilitating for me to believe otherwise.

My doctor and therapist have both been very supportive through out all of this, but I was still making appointments with my doctor once every three weeks to a month for some horrible condition I'm certain I had. And everytime I was just told to chill, and try to not let these signs of stress get the best of me.

Still five years later, I can get by sometimes but once it starts to get really painful and the OCD kicks in I'm back into the downward spiral. I've has full blood counts, CT scans, sonograms, and a plethora of other tests I can not remember haha.

So with all that being said has anyone one ever has said Anxiety or Depression related pains that lasted for a while, just to disappear and then reappear again even worse? I'm personally convinced along with my therapist I have Fibro

 

[Flossy]

Fibromyalgia!

I have it. What works for me is SNRI's. I take Pristiq 100mg AM. If I don't it's like the worst toothache in my wrists and legs and other areas..

There is a Tender Point Test your doctor should done by now to diagnose it. If he hints you are causing the pain through your anxiety, get another doctor. He doesn't know what he is talking about.

Show him this diagram from the Mayo clinic. All General Practitioners should know about this diagnostic test.

http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/fibromyalgia/multimedia/tender-points/img-20007586

I suspect you may be better with a new doctor.

 

[Neverthesame]

I have anxiety related pain that pops up at the most inconvenient times. A few of them actually, but my favourite. Ha ha. I say that in jest, but it's really quite terrifying. It also still catches me off guard every once in awhile.

Anxiety gets bad, then:
- Shortness of breath
- severe pain in middle of chest
- pain and numbness radiating down left arm.

Sounds a lot like a heart attack doesn't it?
Nope. All in my head. I have had this checked repeatedly since it first started happening. My heart is in perfect health.

You are most definitely not alone with this. I wish I had some useful advice to go with my anecdote, but all I can really suggest is try not to give it power over you. The more you obsess about it, the worse it gets.

That doesn't mean that you should just grin and bear it, in the hopes that it should just go away. But if there is no physical reason for the pain, don't continue to worry about the cause. Try to find the best way for you to treat it, without getting strung out on addictive drugs. An SNRI, if it helps, is usually not a bad idea.

For example, I know that I have a healthy heart. To keep this sense of safety and confidence to say "ha, whatever, it's just anxiety." I have my heart checked out every couple years. So I know that I don't need to worry about it, when I feel like I am having a heart attack. Makes it easier to deal with the real cause. The anxiety.

 

[Sandstone]

Sorting out the whole body/mind thing is so hard.

I have the same experience of chest pain as @Neverthesame, (though just to complicate things I do actually have a mild heart condition, caused by a serious illness in the past.) I know that paying attention to that pain will worsen it, but distracting myself will make it go away. So in retrospect I can be sure an incidence of that pain wasn't organic in origin.

Generalised pain is much harder to work out though. I have no real basis to judge what is organic pain and what is somatic. I've become aware that my lowest states of mind often co-incide with aching, painful joints and swollen fingers. What I can't work out is which is the chicken and which the egg. Do I experience pain as an expression of internal distress, or is there a condition which lowers the ability of both my body and my mind to cope? Or is it that case that my body attacks itself in that same way my mind does?

Sorry that's no help to you @DannyWagg11 except to know that it isn't just you.