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Suggest Treatment For Anxiety, Dizziness, Blurred And Double Vision, And Intermittent Elevated Pulse Rate
Question: My son who is 19 is having some anxiety issues. He says he feels dizzy all the time. And also , blurred and double vision. He heart races at times , pulse palpitates. He admits that heart race and puse condition happen when anxiety is at highest. Can dizziness all the time and blurred vision part of that ? He also complains about ear drum blocking suddenly and headaches. Can you pl help to determine if this is symtom of anxiety ? Few days back he complained lot about arms tingling and going numb
Brief Answer:
This could be anxiety but other causes should be ruled out.
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
Symptoms like sudden onset palpitations, some dizziness, feeling as if ear drums are chocked etc can be seen in anxiety. Anxiety results in chocking sensation in throat which could result in feeling as if ear drums are blocked. But it not very common in anxiety to see blurred vision, severe headaches, tingling of arms. Though sometimes tingling could occur in anxiety too.
To rule out any thing serious his MRI brain should be done. This will rule out any anatomical cause of the symptoms. His blood pressure should be monitored which if comes normal then we can rule out hypotension. These symptoms could occur in migraine too. Proper history should be taken to make diagnosis. His vision should be checked to rule out any ocular cause.
If everything comes normal then we can reach to a diagnosis of anxiety.
Please let me know if you need more help.
Thanks.
Regards
This could be anxiety but other causes should be ruled out.
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
Symptoms like sudden onset palpitations, some dizziness, feeling as if ear drums are chocked etc can be seen in anxiety. Anxiety results in chocking sensation in throat which could result in feeling as if ear drums are blocked. But it not very common in anxiety to see blurred vision, severe headaches, tingling of arms. Though sometimes tingling could occur in anxiety too.
To rule out any thing serious his MRI brain should be done. This will rule out any anatomical cause of the symptoms. His blood pressure should be monitored which if comes normal then we can rule out hypotension. These symptoms could occur in migraine too. Proper history should be taken to make diagnosis. His vision should be checked to rule out any ocular cause.
If everything comes normal then we can reach to a diagnosis of anxiety.
Please let me know if you need more help.
Thanks.
Regards
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Thank you for your answer.
He has been perfectly healthy boy so far , absolutely having no health issues. However , he developed lot of acidity issues lately and plenty of heart ache and heart burn due to acid reflux. He read plenty of internet about health himself and one fine day when he had lot of heart ache and dizziness he thought he was going to get a heart attack. He panicked , had a panic attack visibly and we called 911. In emergency room they did EKG and ruled out any issues with heart , categorized it as acidity related heart issues and panic attack and released him. But after that from last month he has been complaining racing heart , as if something is going to happen to him , complained lot about hand pain , tingling , he thought he would have carper tunnel issue in hand , he had diarrhea , and spent days in thinking something bad is going to happen to him. Then he started complaining about constant dizziness , and occasionally blurred vision , and headaches. Given a day he switches between heart racing , heart aching , headaches , dizziness etc during the day. And says he feels like he is going to faint anytime. Digestive doctors , urgent care doctors have ruled this out as anxiety issue , however I am still afraid. His Dad passed away at age 45 due to brain aneurysm. Do you think we should take his brain MRI right away or wait till few months since he is going thru lot of anxiety issues thinking something is going to happen to his health. What is your best advice ? We will be seeing his PCP next week.
He has been perfectly healthy boy so far , absolutely having no health issues. However , he developed lot of acidity issues lately and plenty of heart ache and heart burn due to acid reflux. He read plenty of internet about health himself and one fine day when he had lot of heart ache and dizziness he thought he was going to get a heart attack. He panicked , had a panic attack visibly and we called 911. In emergency room they did EKG and ruled out any issues with heart , categorized it as acidity related heart issues and panic attack and released him. But after that from last month he has been complaining racing heart , as if something is going to happen to him , complained lot about hand pain , tingling , he thought he would have carper tunnel issue in hand , he had diarrhea , and spent days in thinking something bad is going to happen to him. Then he started complaining about constant dizziness , and occasionally blurred vision , and headaches. Given a day he switches between heart racing , heart aching , headaches , dizziness etc during the day. And says he feels like he is going to faint anytime. Digestive doctors , urgent care doctors have ruled this out as anxiety issue , however I am still afraid. His Dad passed away at age 45 due to brain aneurysm. Do you think we should take his brain MRI right away or wait till few months since he is going thru lot of anxiety issues thinking something is going to happen to his health. What is your best advice ? We will be seeing his PCP next week.
Brief Answer:
These symptoms are related to health anxiety.
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
Though one MRI brain would be great considering his symptoms of dizziness, blurred vision but there is no need to get panicked for that. This can be done as per convenience.
His symptoms are more related to some health condition. He has fear of heart attack or any other specific medical issue. These symptoms are more related to health anxiety. A lot of individuals with anxiety has fear of specific health conditions. Even minor symptoms in body are considered as serious symptoms and this results in fear. Like when he developed racing heart which was probably due to anxiety he thought that he might get heart attack. Even epigastric distress due to hyperacidity was taken as some cardiac issue. These are part of anxiety.
Since his dad had brain aneurysm so its better to get MRI done. But keep one thing in mind that aneurysms risk is not related to direct genetic inheritance. So no need to get worried.
Just consider a psychiatrist for his treatment.
Thanks.
Regards
These symptoms are related to health anxiety.
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
Though one MRI brain would be great considering his symptoms of dizziness, blurred vision but there is no need to get panicked for that. This can be done as per convenience.
His symptoms are more related to some health condition. He has fear of heart attack or any other specific medical issue. These symptoms are more related to health anxiety. A lot of individuals with anxiety has fear of specific health conditions. Even minor symptoms in body are considered as serious symptoms and this results in fear. Like when he developed racing heart which was probably due to anxiety he thought that he might get heart attack. Even epigastric distress due to hyperacidity was taken as some cardiac issue. These are part of anxiety.
Since his dad had brain aneurysm so its better to get MRI done. But keep one thing in mind that aneurysms risk is not related to direct genetic inheritance. So no need to get worried.
Just consider a psychiatrist for his treatment.
Thanks.
Regards
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Dear Dr.Bishnoi,
Thank you so much ! Your answer soothes me a lot as a mother. As you can imagine we have been enough distorted about his Dads loss that occurred 6 yrs ago. Its perfectly natural for him to loose confidence on body as his Dads incident was overnight. I was planning to have him and his twin bother checked for Aneurysm little later on even though their PCP has said it is not genetic . Also it does not run in family. My husband is the only one who had it unfortunately. But I am 100% convinced that his all symptoms are anxiety related ; all started ever since 911 call a month ago. I have been trying to counsel him about health and body in general saying all major diseases in body do not show up in body at once just like that. He has seen couple of docs so far including digestive center. At this point only health issue he has is acid reflux , and we are treating that. I think his body and mind will take little time to get to normal state for all mental trauma he faced. He just ended up worrying about his body and health a lot , feared about it a lot before he hit that state of body responding in anxiety.
I have ultimately thought about psychiatrist as a resort to get over current issues. I am hoping after so many doctors telling him same thing , he should be able to get over this on his own. He is in general very happy , social boy and trying to be with his friends a lot. My hope and prayers are that he should be able to put this phase behind soon.
Thank you so much for your responses.
Thank you so much ! Your answer soothes me a lot as a mother. As you can imagine we have been enough distorted about his Dads loss that occurred 6 yrs ago. Its perfectly natural for him to loose confidence on body as his Dads incident was overnight. I was planning to have him and his twin bother checked for Aneurysm little later on even though their PCP has said it is not genetic . Also it does not run in family. My husband is the only one who had it unfortunately. But I am 100% convinced that his all symptoms are anxiety related ; all started ever since 911 call a month ago. I have been trying to counsel him about health and body in general saying all major diseases in body do not show up in body at once just like that. He has seen couple of docs so far including digestive center. At this point only health issue he has is acid reflux , and we are treating that. I think his body and mind will take little time to get to normal state for all mental trauma he faced. He just ended up worrying about his body and health a lot , feared about it a lot before he hit that state of body responding in anxiety.
I have ultimately thought about psychiatrist as a resort to get over current issues. I am hoping after so many doctors telling him same thing , he should be able to get over this on his own. He is in general very happy , social boy and trying to be with his friends a lot. My hope and prayers are that he should be able to put this phase behind soon.
Thank you so much for your responses.
Brief Answer:
He will be alright.
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
He will be alright. Sometime sudden psychological trauma results in development of anxiety and intrusive thoughts. In his case thoughts are regarding health condition.
But remain assured that there is nothing serious.
Best wishes, all the best.
Thanks.
Regards
He will be alright.
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
He will be alright. Sometime sudden psychological trauma results in development of anxiety and intrusive thoughts. In his case thoughts are regarding health condition.
But remain assured that there is nothing serious.
Best wishes, all the best.
Thanks.
Regards
Note: For further guidance on mental health, Click here.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
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