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Tingling


mbellamy09

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So long story short last night I stayed up all night thinking I was having a heart attack and dying so got tests in the morning and lungs and hard are fine but I still have chest tightness. And some tingling in my head and arms sometimes. Especially after I take a deep breath. Most of the time tingly feeling increases and lightheaded.

I'm obviously a hypochondriac and I look up everything but I know I always have the head pressure and lightheaded feeling from my hppd and dp. So my question is, is this anxiety even 24 hours later? I'm new to this as I used to take klonopin to calm me down I cases like this but I've been off of that for over 3 months.

I came down to anxiety with the tingling in arms and my feet or lymphoma because...hypochondriac

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It is most likely anxiety. It sets the whole system in alert. Chest tightness defends the internal organs, neck tightness defends the neck, circulation gets prioritized to the torso and head. Glucose depots in the liver excretes until they're drained. Therefore the tingling, racing heart, cold limbs and feverish head/torso, lightheadedness and overtense muscles.

Shoveling in benzos is a temporary relief, but makes the whole problem worse in the end..

The question you should ask is: What triggered the anxiety. Remember that even such things as feeling dizzy or having an upset stomach can trigger an panic attack, because the brain associates these sensations with panic attacks, therefore it can trigger one.

Most of the times it is some kind of fear or phobia which triggers them.

And some are not related to any of the above, but happens because of surges in electric activity in the brain, both HPPD'ers, migraine sufferers and epileptics get this. Usually it's strong feelings of dread and doom.

In your case I would probably say it's the first of these examples, since you say you're a hypochondriac.

Vague physical symptoms-->

interpretation of it like it's an heart attack-->

Alert mode, fear-->

Panic attack!!

Does it sound like a likely flow chart for this event in particular?

Then the solution would be; did you sleep enough? Low blood sugar? Eat something bad? Maybe a stressful day? Or maybe to much hypochondria forced itself into your thoughts?

Keep these factors in check = removing anxiety triggers.

I hope my very lenghty answer helps you understand more of what's happening to you.. You're on a good way already, quitting benzos and admitting you have a problem with hypochondria is the beginning of winning the fight against anxiety! :-)

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I think it might be the HPPD also playing a part. If you persistently feel lightheaded, dissociated and dizzy (yes it can last more than 24 hours easy), without any external triggers, it's the signature type of anxiety & DP/DR which is related to HPPD itself. Or rather to the damaged pathways in the brain, which also brings on HPPD. There's also a type of pain called "neuropathic pain" which the CNS is responsible for, charactherized by tingling, pins and needles, hot and cold spots and "bruising" spots.

These are by evidence very common comorbid symptoms with HPPD.

Needless to say, they can in turn trigger emotional responses, such as fear, panic anxiety and hypochondria etc.

The best medical alleviation for the HPPD specific comorbid problems are anti-epileptics in general (Lamotrigine, Carbamazepine, Valproic acid etc.) but in particular Levetiracetam (Keppra).

Maybe give one of these anti-EP:s a try also?

The sharp pain in the chest I'm 99% sure is the muscles in between the ribs squeezing hard, due to anxiety. Many people misinterpret this pain as some kind of heart attack, go to the ER and gets it diagnosed as an panic attack. Very common, and nothing strange with that, as the symptoms are fairly similar. But the pain from a heart attack is much sharper and pushes a part of the vagus nerve which runs down the left arm.

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